MICA Lentivirus

The MICA Lentiviruses are replication incompetent, HIV-based, VSV-G pseudotyped lentiviral particles ready to transduce almost all types of mammalian cells, including primary and non-dividing cells. These viruses transduce cells with human MICA (MHC class I polypeptide-related sequence A) (NM_000247.3) driven by an EF1a promoter. The lentiviruses also contain a puromycin selection gene (Figure 1). Figure 1. Schematic of the lenti-vector used to generate the MICA Lentivirus. Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I proteins are ubiquitously expressed and mediate the recognition of intracellular antigens by cytotoxic T cells (CTLs). The expression of proteins of a related family, termed the MHC class I chain-related (MIC) proteins recruits anti-tumor lymphocytes such as T cells or NK cells through their recognition receptor NKG2D (natural killer group 2D) to promote anti-tumor activity. Stress signals that accompany cellular transformation upregulate MICA (MHC class I polypeptide-related sequence A), one of the members of the MIC family. MICA is then recognized by the stimulatory NKG2D receptor on NK cells, resulting in cytotoxicity towards MICA-expressing tumor cells. Cancer cells can shed MICA from their cell surface as a mechanism of tumor evasion. A deeper understanding of the role of this protein and the mechanisms it triggers will open new therapeutic opportunities in cancer therapy