Vaccination with recoverin, a cancer-associated retinopathy antigen, induces autoimmune retinal dysfunction and tumor cell regression in mice

Recoverin (Rec)-specific CTL present in peripheral blood recognize Rec-expressing tumor cells of patients with cancer-associated retinopathy (CAR), a paraneoplastic retinopathy syndrome. To evaluate the effects of Rec on retina and cancer cells, we generated an experimental mouse model, tested the induction of Rec-specific anti-tumor CTL, and analyzed retinal function using electroretinogram (ERG) in these animals. We observed a Rec-specific CTL response in BALB/c mice and significant growth inhibition of Rec-expressing syngeneic MethA fibrosarcoma cells in vivo. R64 (AYAQHVFRSF) peptide, derived from Rec that induces anti-tumor CTL in humans, produced anti-tumor effects in BALB/c mice. Furthermore, elevated anti-Rec antibodies correlated with decreased ERG amplitudes in Rec, Rec-expressing tumor and R64-treated mice. These data suggest that Rec contains amino acid sequences which cause retinal dysfunction, but they also induce anti-tumor CTL and tumor regression. These observations describe initial characterization of the CAR mouse model, a necessary step in developing new insight into immunological mechanisms of paraneoplastic syndromes and tumor immunity for potential immunotherapeutic approaches to cancer.