T-cell receptor-like antibodies: novel reagents for clinical cancer immunology and immunotherapy.

Major histocompatibility complex class I molecules play a central role in the immune response against a variety of cells that have undergone malignant transformation by shaping the T-cell repertoire and presenting peptide antigens from endogeneous antigens to CD8+ cytotoxic T-cells. Diseased tumor or virus-infected cells are present on class I major histocompatibility complex molecule peptides that are derived from tumor-associated antigens or viral-derived proteins. Due to their unique specificity, such major histocompatibility complex-peptide complexes are a desirable target for novel approaches in immunotherapy.