TAP1 and TAP2 allele frequencies in a SNaPshot™: No evidence for allelic prevalence in patients with head and neck squamous-cell carcinoma compared with Dutch controls

The heterodimeric TAP (transporter associated with antigen processing) complex plays a key role in immune surveillance. By forming the portal between the cytoplasm and the endoplasmic reticulum, it enables cells to present antigenic peptides by human leukocyte antigen class I antigens to cytotoxic T cells, so infected and malignant cells can be eradicated. Because the nature of the peptide determines whether an immune response is evoked, peptide selective transport by TAP may influence immune surveillance. Currently, seven TAP1 and four TAP2 alleles are known. Each may have its own effect on peptide transport. In this study, we investigated whether TAP1 and TAP2 alleles are associated with the development of head and neck squamous-cell carcinoma (HNSCC). We developed a high-throughput SNaPshot™ assay to determine the frequencies of the TAP1 and TAP2 alleles in 79 Dutch control subjects and 94 patients with HNSCC. Strikingly, all control and HNSCC samples contained a TAP1*0101 allele, with the exception of one tumor patient. The most frequent alleles were TAP1*0101 (88.2%) and TAP2*0101 (81.2%). No significant difference was found between control subjects and patients with HNSCC. Here, we report the TAP1 and TAP2 allele frequencies in the Dutch population, the development of a high-throughput TAP typing technique, and a new TAP1*0501 allele.