TPBG

Trophoblast glycoprotein (TPBG), also known as 5T4, M6P1, 5T4AG, or Wnt-Activated Inhibitory Factor 1 (WAIF1), is a cell surface antigen that is restrictedly expressed in human adult tissues and upregulated in a number of carcinomas, including colorectal, ovarian, gastric…. The confined expression pattern of TPBG is used as a prognostic of these cancers and it is often associated with their poor clinical outcomes.

TPBG is a 72-kDa N-glycosylated transmembrane glycoprotein that is characterized by its 8 leucine-rich sequence motifs. It is speculated to be involved in cell-cell adhesion and its expression in foetal trophoblast renders it as an oncofetal antigen. TPBG is also a Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway antagonist and the up-regulation of TPBG expression usually correlates with the downregulation of OCT-4 and Tra-1–60. The unique expression pattern of TPBG makes it an appealing target for cancer therapy. By far, it is the target of the cancer vaccine TroVax and several targeted immune therapy strategies, including ADC, are under active development.

Entrez Gene ID: 7162
UniProt ID: Q13641