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Fernandes LGR, Spillner E, Jakob T. Potential and limitations of epitope mapping and molecular targeting in Hymenoptera venom allergy. FRONTIERS IN ALLERGY 2023; 4:1327391. [PMID: 38162556 PMCID: PMC10755883 DOI: 10.3389/falgy.2023.1327391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Hymenoptera venom (HV) allergy can lead to life threatening conditions by specific IgE (sIgE)-mediated anaphylactic reactions. The knowledge about major allergens from venom of different clinically relevant species increased in the last decades, allowing the development of component-resolved diagnostics in which sIgE to single allergens is analysed. Despite these advances, the precise regions of the allergens that bind to IgE are only known for few HV allergens. The detailed characterization of IgE epitopes may provide valuable information to improve immunodiagnostic tests and to develop new therapeutic strategies using allergen-derived peptides or other targeted approaches. Epitope-resolved analysis is challenging, since the identification of conformational epitopes present in many allergens demands complex technologies for molecular analyses. Furthermore, functional analysis of the epitopeś interaction with their respective ligands is needed to distinguish epitopes that can activate the allergic immune response, from those that are recognized by irrelevant antibodies or T cell receptors from non-effector cells. In this review, we focus on the use of mapping and molecular targeting approaches for characterization of the epitopes of the major venom allergens of clinically relevant Hymenoptera species. The screening of the most relevant allergen peptides by epitope mapping could be helpful for the development of molecules that target major and immunodominant epitopes blocking the allergen induced cellular reactions as novel approach for the treatment of HV allergy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luís Gustavo Romani Fernandes
- Experimental Dermatology and Allergy Research Group, Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University Medical Center Gießen-Marburg, Justus Liebig University Gießen, Gießen, Germany
- Laboratory of Translational Immunology, Internal Medicine Department, School of Medical Sciences, State University of Campinas, Campinas-SP, Brazil
| | - Edzard Spillner
- Immunological Biotechnology, Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Thilo Jakob
- Experimental Dermatology and Allergy Research Group, Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University Medical Center Gießen-Marburg, Justus Liebig University Gießen, Gießen, Germany
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Cook L, Rees WD, Wong MQ, Kwok WW, Levings MK, Steiner TS. Recurrent Clostridioides difficile Infection Is Associated With Impaired T Helper Type 17 Immunity to C difficile Toxin B. Gastroenterology 2021; 160:1410-1413.e4. [PMID: 33253683 DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2020.11.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Revised: 11/04/2020] [Accepted: 11/20/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Cook
- Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - William D Rees
- Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - May Q Wong
- Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - William W Kwok
- Department of Translational Research, Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason, Seattle, Washington
| | - Megan K Levings
- BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Theodore S Steiner
- Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
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Poran A, Harjanto D, Malloy M, Arieta CM, Rothenberg DA, Lenkala D, van Buuren MM, Addona TA, Rooney MS, Srinivasan L, Gaynor RB. Sequence-based prediction of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine targets using a mass spectrometry-based bioinformatics predictor identifies immunogenic T cell epitopes. Genome Med 2020; 12:70. [PMID: 32791978 PMCID: PMC7425796 DOI: 10.1186/s13073-020-00767-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created an urgency to identify novel vaccine targets for protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2. Early reports identify protective roles for both humoral and cell-mediated immunity for SARS-CoV-2. METHODS We leveraged our bioinformatics binding prediction tools for human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-I and HLA-II alleles that were developed using mass spectrometry-based profiling of individual HLA-I and HLA-II alleles to predict peptide binding to diverse allele sets. We applied these binding predictors to viral genomes from the Coronaviridae family and specifically focused on T cell epitopes from SARS-CoV-2 proteins. We assayed a subset of these epitopes in a T cell induction assay for their ability to elicit CD8+ T cell responses. RESULTS We first validated HLA-I and HLA-II predictions on Coronaviridae family epitopes deposited in the Virus Pathogen Database and Analysis Resource (ViPR) database. We then utilized our HLA-I and HLA-II predictors to identify 11,897 HLA-I and 8046 HLA-II candidate peptides which were highly ranked for binding across 13 open reading frames (ORFs) of SARS-CoV-2. These peptides are predicted to provide over 99% allele coverage for the US, European, and Asian populations. From our SARS-CoV-2-predicted peptide-HLA-I allele pairs, 374 pairs identically matched what was previously reported in the ViPR database, originating from other coronaviruses with identical sequences. Of these pairs, 333 (89%) had a positive HLA binding assay result, reinforcing the validity of our predictions. We then demonstrated that a subset of these highly predicted epitopes were immunogenic based on their recognition by specific CD8+ T cells in healthy human donor peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Finally, we characterized the expression of SARS-CoV-2 proteins in virally infected cells to prioritize those which could be potential targets for T cell immunity. CONCLUSIONS Using our bioinformatics platform, we identify multiple putative epitopes that are potential targets for CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, whose HLA binding properties cover nearly the entire population. We also confirm that our binding predictors can predict epitopes eliciting CD8+ T cell responses from multiple SARS-CoV-2 proteins. Protein expression and population HLA allele coverage, combined with the ability to identify T cell epitopes, should be considered in SARS-CoV-2 vaccine design strategies and immune monitoring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asaf Poran
- BioNTech US, Inc., 40 Erie Street, Suite 110, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
| | - Dewi Harjanto
- BioNTech US, Inc., 40 Erie Street, Suite 110, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
| | - Matthew Malloy
- BioNTech US, Inc., 40 Erie Street, Suite 110, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | | | | | - Divya Lenkala
- BioNTech US, Inc., 40 Erie Street, Suite 110, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | | | - Terri A Addona
- BioNTech US, Inc., 40 Erie Street, Suite 110, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Michael S Rooney
- BioNTech US, Inc., 40 Erie Street, Suite 110, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | | | - Richard B Gaynor
- BioNTech US, Inc., 40 Erie Street, Suite 110, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
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Escherichiacoli-Specific CD4+ T Cells Have Public T-Cell Receptors and Low Interleukin 10 Production in Crohn's Disease. Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol 2020; 10:507-526. [PMID: 32361018 PMCID: PMC7385044 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcmgh.2020.04.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2019] [Revised: 04/23/2020] [Accepted: 04/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS Crohn's disease (CD) likely represents decreased immune tolerance to intestinal bacterial antigens. Most CD patients have high titers of antibodies to intestinal commensal proteins, including the outer membrane porin C (OmpC) of Escherichia coli. METHODS By using major histocompatibility complex II tetramers, we identified an HLA-DRB1∗15:01-restricted peptide epitope of OmpC recognized by CD4+ T cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from HLA-DRB1∗15:01+ healthy control (HC) and CD patients. RESULTS The precursor frequency of these cells in CD correlated with anti-OmpC IgA titers, but did not differ from that of HCs. In both cohorts, they showed a CD161+, integrin α4β7+ phenotype ex vivo by flow cytometry, distinct from the C-X-C Motif Chemokine Receptor 3 phenotype of autologous influenza hemagglutinin (Flu) peptide-specific T cells. The T-cell receptor α and β chains of in vitro-expanded OmpC-specific T-cell clones often contained public amino acid sequences that were identical in cells from different patients. Expanded T-cell clones from CD subjects produced significantly less interleukin (IL)10 (P < .0001) than those from HCs, and a trend toward decreased production of the T helper 2 cell-associated IL4, IL5, and IL13 by CD clones also was seen. CONCLUSIONS Both HCs and CD patients have detectable OmpC-specific T cells in circulation, with similar immunophenotypes and often identical T-cell-receptor sequences. However, expanded clones from patients with CD produce less of the immunoregulatory cytokine IL10, showing a selective defect in the regulatory function of intestinal microbial antigen-specific T cells in patients with CD.
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Sampath V, Nadeau KC. Newly identified T cell subsets in mechanistic studies of food immunotherapy. J Clin Invest 2019; 129:1431-1440. [PMID: 30932909 PMCID: PMC6436868 DOI: 10.1172/jci124605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Allergen-specific immunotherapy has shown promise for the treatment of food allergy and is currently being evaluated in clinical trials. Although immunotherapy can induce desensitization, the mechanisms underlying this process are not completely understood. Recent advances in high-throughput technologies along with concomitant advances in data analytics have enabled monitoring of cells at the single-cell level and increased the research focus on upstream cellular factors involved in the efficacy of immunotherapy, particularly the role of T cells. As our appreciation of different T cell subsets and their plasticity increases, the initial simplistic view that restoring Th1/Th2 balance by decreasing Th2 or increasing Th1 responses can ameliorate food allergy is being enhanced by a more complex model involving other T cell subsets, particularly Tregs. In this Review, we focus on the current understanding of T cell functions in food allergy, tolerance, and immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kari C. Nadeau
- Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research and
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
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Antigen-specific regulatory T-cell responses against aeroantigens and their role in allergy. Mucosal Immunol 2018; 11:1537-1550. [PMID: 29858582 DOI: 10.1038/s41385-018-0038-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2018] [Revised: 04/11/2018] [Accepted: 04/14/2018] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
The mucosal immune system of the respiratory tract is specialized to continuously monitor the external environment and to protect against invading pathogens, while maintaining tolerance to innocuous inhaled particles. Allergies result from a loss of tolerance against harmless antigens characterized by formation of allergen-specific Th2 cells and IgE. Tolerance is often described as a balance between harmful Th2 cells and various types of protective "regulatory" T cells. However, the identity of the protective T cells in healthy vs. allergic individuals or following successful allergen-specific therapy is controversially discussed. Recent technological progress enabling the identification of antigen-specific effector and regulatory T cells has significantly contributed to our understanding of tolerance. Here we discuss the experimental evidence for the various tolerance mechanisms described. We try to integrate the partially contradictory data into a new model proposing different mechanism of tolerance depending on the quality and quantity of the antigens as well as the way of antigen exposure. Understanding the basis of tolerance is essential for the rational design of novel and more efficient immunotherapies.
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