Threshold levels of gene expression of the melanoma antigen gp100 correlate with tumor cell recognition by cytotoxic T lymphocytes

The level of expression of melanoma antigens (MA) may modulate the host immunologic response. Thus, the accurate measurement of MA expression may allow proper patient selection for antigen‐specific therapies and yield important information for the evaluation of clinical results. In this study, we measured the absolute levels of MA messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) in tumor cell lines utilizing real‐time quantitative reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR). mRNA levels of MART‐1, gp100, tyrosinase, TRP‐1 and TRP‐2 melanoma differentiation antigens and MAGE‐1, MAGE‐3 and ESO‐1 cancer testis (CT) antigens were compared in 24 early‐passage (