Description
Product Characteristics: The melanoma-associated antigen (MAGE) family consists of a number of antigens recognized by cytotoxic T lymphocytes. The MAGE genes were initially isolated from different kinds of tumors, and based on their virtually exclusive tumor-specific expression in adult tissues, they have been used as targets for cancer immunotherapy. MAGE genes encode for tumor-rejection antigens and are expressed in tumors of different histologic types, but not in normal tissues, with the exception of testis and placenta.
Target Information: This gene is a member of the MAGEA gene family. The members of this family encode proteins with 50 to 80% sequence identity to each other. The promoters and first exons of the MAGEA genes show considerable variability, suggesting that the existence of this gene family enables the same function to be expressed under different transcriptional controls. The MAGEA genes are clustered at chromosomal location Xq28. They have been implicated in some hereditary disorders, such as dyskeratosis congenita. At least four variants encoding the same protein have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]