Melanoma-associated endogenous retrovirus (merv) derived peptide sequences and their therapeutic/ diagnostic use

摘要

Provided is an antigen being a fragment of an amino acid sequence of the env-protein of the melanoma-associated endogenous retrovirus MERV, comprising the amino acid sequences of YQRSLKFRPKGKPCPKE and specified variants thereof sharing the same motif. Further provided are methods of detecting anti-MERV antibodies and diagnosing cancerous cells using the antigens.