Objective      To detect the  antitumor activity of multiple antigen peptide (MAP) vaccine of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) based on cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) epitope R540 in vitro.       Methods      Dendritic cells (DC) from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) pulsed with HLA-A2-restricted hTERT MAP were used to stimulate lymphocytes to produce hTERT-specific CTL. In vitro antitumor activity of hTERT MAP vaccine against tumor cells was detected by 51 Cr release assay.       Results        The in vitro antitumor activity of hTERT MAP vaccine was significantly stronger than its linear peptide vaccine against tumor cells with a positive expression of hTERT and HLA-A2 and at the maximum effector/target (E/T) ratio (80∶1)

the lysis rate was over 25%. The hTERT MAP vaccine had no killing effect on hTERT or HLA-A2 negative tumor cells and on autologous lymphocytes or DC.       Conclusion        The antitumor activity of hTERT MAP vaccine is stronger than its linear peptide vaccine against tumor cells  in vitro.