Expression of MAGE Gene Family in Lung Cancers.

MAGE gene family encodes tumor-specific antigens recognized on HLA-A1 by cytotoxic T lymphocytes. We have investigated the mRNA expression of MAGE gene family in lung cancers using MAGE gene specific primers, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and restriction enzyme analysis. MAGE-1, -3, -4, -41 or -6 gene was respectively expressed in 6, 5, 6, 7, and 4 of 53 lung cancer tissues (8 to 13%) or in 0, 6, 6, 7 or 8 of 14 lung cancer cell lines (0 to 53%). These results suggest that a substantial proportion of lung cancers express MAGE genes.