Pecking order among tumor-specific antigens.

The ultraviolet light-induced fibrosarcoma 1591 is regularly rejected upon transplantation into young syngeneic mice; in rare instances, however, this tumor grows progressively and the tumors that develop are then heritably stable variant progressor tumors (1591-PRO tumors). In this study, we have induced transplantation resistance to 1591-PRO tumors and determined which antigens were recognized by mice that rejected these progressor tumors. We found that cytolytic T cells of such mice recognized a 1591-specific antigen that was present not only on all the independently derived 1591-PRO tumors but also on the parental regressor tumor (1591-RE). However, the cytolytic immune response of mice that rejected 1591-RE lysed 1591-RE tumor cells but not 1591-PRO tumor cells. Thus, the 1591-RE tumor seemed to express two antigens that were specific for tumors of the 1591 lineage, one that was lost and a second that was retained by 1591-PRO tumor cells. Mice challenged with 1591-R# tumor cells mounted a response to only one of the tumor-specific antigens which was therefore "immunodominant" over the other "immunorecessive" antigen. This immunorecessive antigen became the target of the immune response once the immunodominant antigen was lost. This "pecking order" interfered with the simultaneous recognition of two tumor-specific antigens and this mechanism may favor immune escape.