Role of MHC Class I molecules in anti-tumoral mechanisms in human malignant melanoma

Malignant melanoma is still the most frequent cause of death due to skin cancer with a rising incidence and mortality. Despite continued progress in understanding the pathophysiology of tumor progression and metastasis, curative therapeutic options are still missing for metastatic melanoma. The ability of a malignant melanoma to metastasize is partially derived from the capacity to avoid destruction by an intact immune system. Thus, a better understanding of the immunological processes that lead to the escape of melanoma cells from immune recognition could help to develop preventive strategies or effective new therapies. Therefore, an analysis of the MHC class 1 pathway and molecules involved in peptide loading of the MHC class 1 molecules could provide an important clue to future immune-based melanoma therapies, and might also help to select patients who could be expected to profit from T-cell-based immunotherapy. In this review article, we report on current data and concepts about the generation of MHC class 1 peptide complexes in human malignant melanoma.