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Smith S, Honegger JR, Walker C. T-Cell Immunity against the Hepatitis C Virus: A Persistent Research Priority in an Era of Highly Effective Therapy. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med 2021; 11:cshperspect.a036954. [PMID: 32205413 PMCID: PMC7778213 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a036954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Approximately 70% of acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections become chronic, indicating that the virus is exceptionally well adapted to persist in humans with otherwise normal immune function. Robust, lifelong replication of this small RNA virus does not require a generalized failure of immunity. HCV effectively subverts innate and adaptive host defenses while leaving immunity against other viruses intact. Here, the role of CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses in control of HCV infection and their failure to prevent virus persistence in most individuals are reviewed. Two issues of practical importance remain priorities in an era of highly effective antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis C. First, the characteristics of successful T-cell responses that promote resolution of HCV infection are considered, as they will underpin development of vaccines that prevent HCV persistence. Second, defects in T-cell immunity that facilitate HCV persistence and whether they are reversed after antiviral cure to provide protection from reinfection are also addressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Smith
- The Center for Vaccines and Immunity, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's, Columbus, Ohio 43205, USA,Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43004, USA
| | - Jonathan R. Honegger
- The Center for Vaccines and Immunity, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's, Columbus, Ohio 43205, USA,Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43004, USA
| | - Christopher Walker
- The Center for Vaccines and Immunity, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's, Columbus, Ohio 43205, USA,Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43004, USA
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2
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Nelson SA, Sant AJ. Imprinting and Editing of the Human CD4 T Cell Response to Influenza Virus. Front Immunol 2019; 10:932. [PMID: 31134060 PMCID: PMC6514101 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.00932] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2019] [Accepted: 04/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Immunity to influenza is unique among pathogens, in that immune memory is established both via intermittent lung localized infections with highly variable influenza virus strains and by intramuscular vaccinations with inactivated protein-based vaccines. Studies in the past decades have suggested that the B cell responses to influenza infection and vaccination are highly biased by an individual's early history of influenza infection. This reactivity likely reflects both the competitive advantage that memory B cells have in an immune response and the relatively limited diversity of epitopes in influenza hemagglutinin that are recognized by B cells. In contrast, CD4 T cells recognize a wide array of epitopes, with specificities that are heavily influenced by the diversity of influenza antigens available, and a multiplicity of functions that are determined by both priming events and subsequent confrontations with antigens. Here, we consider the events that prime and remodel the influenza-specific CD4 T cell response in humans that have highly diverse immune histories and how the CD4 repertoire may be edited in terms of functional potential and viral epitope specificity. We discuss the consequences that imprinting and remodeling may have on the potential of different human hosts to rapidly respond with protective cellular immunity to infection. Finally, these issues are discussed in the context of future avenues of investigation and vaccine strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrea J. Sant
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, David H. Smith Center for Vaccine Biology and Immunology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, United States
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3
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Hepatitis C Virus Genetic Variability, Human Immune Response, and Genome Polymorphisms: Which Is the Interplay? Cells 2019; 8:cells8040305. [PMID: 30987134 PMCID: PMC6523096 DOI: 10.3390/cells8040305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2019] [Revised: 03/26/2019] [Accepted: 03/30/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is the main cause of chronic hepatitis, affecting an estimated 150 million people worldwide. Initial exposure to HCV is most often followed by chronic hepatitis, with only a minority of individuals spontaneously clearing the virus. The induction of sustained and broadly directed HCV-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses, together with neutralizing antibodies (nAb), and specific genetic polymorphism have been associated with spontaneous resolution of the infection. However, due to its high variability, HCV is able to overwhelm the host immune response through the rapid acquisition of mutations in the epitopes targeted by T cells and neutralizing antibodies. In this context, immune-mediated pressure represents the main force in driving HCV evolution. This review summarizes the data on HCV diversity and the current state of knowledge about the contributions of antibodies, T cells, and host genetic polymorphism in driving HCV evolution in vivo.
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4
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Muñoz de Rueda P, Jiménez-Ruiz SM, Quiles R, Pavón-Castillero EJ, Muñoz-Gámez JA, Casado J, Gila A, Ruiz-Extremera A, Salmerón J. The antigenic variability of HCV in viral HLA-Ag binding is related to the activation of the host immune response. Sci Rep 2017; 7:15513. [PMID: 29138492 PMCID: PMC5686107 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-15605-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2017] [Accepted: 10/23/2017] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Our previous data show that hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 patients expressing the HLA-DQB1 * 0301 allele have a combined response probability of 69%, while the remaining 31% do not respond, probably because the HCV immunodominant epitope (IE) against the DQB1 * 0301 allele is mutated. HCV IE (region sequenced in NS3 is a region encoding aa 1253–1272) from 37 patients (21 Sustained Virological Response, SVR; 16 non-SVR) HLA-DQB1 * 0301+, were analysed by pyrosequencing. In vitro cultures were also determined by CD4+ proliferation, using non-mutated IE (wild-type synthetic peptide) and synthetic mutated peptide. The pyrosequencing study revealed 34 different haplotypes. The SVR patients had fewer haplotypes (P = 0.07), mutations/haplotypes (P = 0.01) and polymorphic sites (P = 0.02) than non-SVR. Three polymorphic sites were associated with the non-SVR patients: haplotype 7 (L5P); haplotype 11 (L7P); and haplotype 15, (L15S) (P = 0.02). The in vitro study (n = 7) showed that in 4/7 patients (Group 1) the CD4+ proliferation obtained with wild-type synthetic peptide was higher than that obtained with the negative control and with the synthetic mutated peptide (P = 0.039). However, in the remaining 3/7 patients (Group 2) this pattern was not observed (P = 0.7). Our findings suggest that HLA-DQB1 * 0301+ patients with high antigenic variability in HCV IE (NS31253-1272) have a lower SVR rate, due to reduced CD4+ proliferation as a result of incorrect viral HLA-Ag binding.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Muñoz de Rueda
- Clinical Management Unit of Digestive Diseases, Research Unit, San Cecilio University Hospital, Granada, 18012, Spain.,CIBER for Liver and Digestive Disease (CIBERehd), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, 28029, Spain.,Instituto De Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (ibs.GRANADA), Granada, 18012, Spain
| | | | - R Quiles
- Clinical Management Unit of Digestive Diseases, Research Unit, San Cecilio University Hospital, Granada, 18012, Spain. .,CIBER for Liver and Digestive Disease (CIBERehd), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, 28029, Spain. .,Instituto De Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (ibs.GRANADA), Granada, 18012, Spain.
| | - E J Pavón-Castillero
- Clinical Management Unit of Digestive Diseases, Research Unit, San Cecilio University Hospital, Granada, 18012, Spain.,Instituto De Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (ibs.GRANADA), Granada, 18012, Spain
| | - J A Muñoz-Gámez
- Clinical Management Unit of Digestive Diseases, Research Unit, San Cecilio University Hospital, Granada, 18012, Spain.,Instituto De Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (ibs.GRANADA), Granada, 18012, Spain
| | - J Casado
- Clinical Management Unit of Digestive Diseases, Research Unit, San Cecilio University Hospital, Granada, 18012, Spain.,Instituto De Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (ibs.GRANADA), Granada, 18012, Spain
| | - A Gila
- Clinical Management Unit of Digestive Diseases, Research Unit, San Cecilio University Hospital, Granada, 18012, Spain.,CIBER for Liver and Digestive Disease (CIBERehd), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, 28029, Spain.,Instituto De Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (ibs.GRANADA), Granada, 18012, Spain
| | - A Ruiz-Extremera
- CIBER for Liver and Digestive Disease (CIBERehd), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, 28029, Spain.,Instituto De Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (ibs.GRANADA), Granada, 18012, Spain.,Paediatric Unit, San Cecilio University Hospital and Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital, Granada, 18012, Spain.,Paediatric Department, Granada University, Granada, 18016, Spain
| | - J Salmerón
- Clinical Management Unit of Digestive Diseases, Research Unit, San Cecilio University Hospital, Granada, 18012, Spain.,CIBER for Liver and Digestive Disease (CIBERehd), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, 28029, Spain.,Instituto De Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (ibs.GRANADA), Granada, 18012, Spain.,Medicine Departament, Granada University, Granada, 18016, Spain
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Spear TT, Callender GG, Roszkowski JJ, Moxley KM, Simms PE, Foley KC, Murray DC, Scurti GM, Li M, Thomas JT, Langerman A, Garrett-Mayer E, Zhang Y, Nishimura MI. TCR gene-modified T cells can efficiently treat established hepatitis C-associated hepatocellular carcinoma tumors. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2016; 65:293-304. [PMID: 26842125 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-016-1800-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2015] [Accepted: 01/19/2016] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
The success in recent clinical trials using T cell receptor (TCR)-genetically engineered T cells to treat melanoma has encouraged the use of this approach toward other malignancies and viral infections. Although hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is being treated with a new set of successful direct anti-viral agents, potential for virologic breakthrough or relapse by immune escape variants remains. Additionally, many HCV+ patients have HCV-associated disease, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which does not respond to these novel drugs. Further exploration of other approaches to address HCV infection and its associated disease are highly warranted. Here, we demonstrate the therapeutic potential of PBL-derived T cells genetically engineered with a high-affinity, HLA-A2-restricted, HCV NS3:1406-1415-reactive TCR. HCV1406 TCR-transduced T cells can recognize naturally processed antigen and elicit CD8-independent recognition of both peptide-loaded targets and HCV+ human HCC cell lines. Furthermore, these cells can mediate regression of established HCV+ HCC in vivo. Our results suggest that HCV TCR-engineered antigen-reactive T cells may be a plausible immunotherapy option to treat HCV-associated malignancies, such as HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy T Spear
- Department of Surgery, Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Loyola University Chicago, 2160 S. 1st Ave, Maywood, IL, 60153, USA
| | - Glenda G Callender
- Department of Surgery, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA.,Department of Surgery, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
| | | | - Kelly M Moxley
- Department of Surgery, Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Loyola University Chicago, 2160 S. 1st Ave, Maywood, IL, 60153, USA.,Department of Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29415, USA
| | - Patricia E Simms
- Flow Cytometry Core Facility, Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL, 60153, USA
| | - Kendra C Foley
- Department of Surgery, Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Loyola University Chicago, 2160 S. 1st Ave, Maywood, IL, 60153, USA
| | - David C Murray
- Department of Surgery, Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Loyola University Chicago, 2160 S. 1st Ave, Maywood, IL, 60153, USA
| | - Gina M Scurti
- Department of Surgery, Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Loyola University Chicago, 2160 S. 1st Ave, Maywood, IL, 60153, USA.,Department of Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29415, USA
| | - Mingli Li
- Department of Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29415, USA
| | - Justin T Thomas
- Department of Surgery, Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Loyola University Chicago, 2160 S. 1st Ave, Maywood, IL, 60153, USA
| | | | - Elizabeth Garrett-Mayer
- Department of Public Health Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29415, USA.,Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29415, USA
| | - Yi Zhang
- Department of Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29415, USA.,Biotherapy Center and Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450052, People's Republic of China
| | - Michael I Nishimura
- Department of Surgery, Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Loyola University Chicago, 2160 S. 1st Ave, Maywood, IL, 60153, USA. .,Department of Surgery, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA. .,Department of Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29415, USA.
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Cusick MF, Libbey JE, Cox Gill J, Fujinami RS, Eckels DD. CD4 + T-cell engagement by both wild-type and variant HCV peptides modulates the conversion of viral clearing helper T cells to Tregs. Future Virol 2013; 8. [PMID: 24421862 DOI: 10.2217/fvl.13.49] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
AIM To determine whether modulation of T-cell responses by naturally occurring viral variants caused an increase in numbers of Tregs in HCV-infected patients. PATIENTS MATERIALS & METHODS Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, having proliferative responses to a wild-type HCV-specific CD4+ T-cell epitope, were used to quantify, via proliferative assays, flow cytometry and class II tetramers, the effects of naturally occurring viral variants arising in the immunodominant epitope. RESULTS In combination, the wild-type and variant peptides led to enhanced suppression of an anti-HCV T-cell response. The variant had a lower avidity for the wild-type-specific CD4+ T cell. Variant-stimulated CD4+ T cells had increased Foxp3, compared with wild-type-stimulated cells. CONCLUSION A stable viral variant from a chronic HCV subject was able to induce Tregs in multiple individuals that responded to the wild-type HCV-specific CD4+ T-cell epitope.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew F Cusick
- Department of Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine, 30 North 1900 East, 3R330 SOM, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA
| | - Jane E Libbey
- Department of Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine, 30 North 1900 East, 3R330 SOM, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA
| | - Joan Cox Gill
- Blood Research Institute, Blood Center of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA
| | - Robert S Fujinami
- Department of Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine, 30 North 1900 East, 3R330 SOM, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA
| | - David D Eckels
- Department of Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine, 30 North 1900 East, 3R330 SOM, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA
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Brownell J, Polyak SJ. Molecular pathways: hepatitis C virus, CXCL10, and the inflammatory road to liver cancer. Clin Cancer Res 2013; 19:1347-52. [PMID: 23322900 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-12-0928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
An estimated 170 million people worldwide are chronically infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV), which is characterized histologically by a persistent immune and inflammatory response that fails to clear HCV from hepatocytes. This response is recruited to the liver, in part, by the chemokine CXCL10, the serum and intrahepatic levels of which have been inversely linked to the outcome of interferon-based therapies for hepatitis C. Bystander tissue damage from this ineffective response is thought to lead to increased hepatocyte turnover and the development of fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, CXCL10 is traditionally viewed as an orchestrator of the angiostatic and antitumor immune response. In this review, we will explore this duality and the pathways by which CXCL10 is produced by hepatocytes during HCV infection, its effects on resident and infiltrating immune cells, and how deregulation of these cell populations within the liver may lead to chronic liver inflammation. We will also discuss potential host-directed therapies to slow or reverse HCV-induced inflammation that leads to fibrosis, cirrhosis, and HCCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Brownell
- Pathobiology Program, Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98104, USA
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8
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Bes M, Sauleda S, Casamitjana N, Piron M, Campos-Varela I, Quer J, Cubero M, Puig L, Guardia J, Esteban JI. Reversal of nonstructural protein 3-specific CD4(+) T cell dysfunction in patients with persistent hepatitis C virus infection. J Viral Hepat 2012; 19:283-94. [PMID: 22404727 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2893.2011.01549.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-specific T cell responses are essential for HCV control, and chronic infection is characterized by functionally altered antigen-specific T cells. It has been proposed that the early inactivation of specific CD4(+) T cell responses may be involved in establishment of HCV persistence. We have investigated whether HCV-specific CD4(+) T cells dysfunction can be reversed in vitro. Nonstructural protein 3 (NS3) and core-specific CD4(+) T cells from eight chronically infected and eight spontaneously resolved HCV individuals were selected through transient CD154 (CD40 ligand) expression, and their functional profile (IFN-γ, IL-2, TNF-α, IL-10 and IL-4 production by enzyme-linked immunospot assay, cytometric bead array and intracellular cytokine staining, and proliferation by carboxy-fluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester dilution assay) was determined both ex vivo and after in vitro expansion of sorted CD154-expressing cells in the absence of specific antigen in IL-7/IL-15-supplemented medium. Ex vivo bulk CD4(+) T cells from chronic patients expressed CD154 in most cases, albeit at lower frequencies than those of resolved patients (0.11%vs 0.41%; P = 0.01), when stimulated with NS3, but not core, although they had a markedly impaired capacity to produce IL-2 and IFN-γ. Antigen-free in vitro expansion of NS3-specific CD154(+) cells from chronic patients restored IFN-γ and IL-2 production and proliferation to levels similar to those of patients with spontaneously resolved infection. Hence, NS3-specific CD4(+) T cell response can be rescued in most chronic HCV patients by in vitro expansion in the absence of HCV-specific antigen. These results might provide a rationale for adoptive immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Bes
- Transfusion Safety Laboratory, Banc de Sang i Teixits, Servei Català de la Salut, Barcelona, Spain
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Abstract
MHC class II tetramers have emerged as an important tool for characterization of the specificity and phenotype of CD4 T cell immune responses, useful in a large variety of disease and vaccine studies. Issues of specific T cell frequency, biodistribution, and avidity, coupled with the large genetic diversity of potential class II restriction elements, require targeted experimental design. Translational opportunities for immune disease monitoring are driving the rapid development of HLA class II tetramer use in clinical applications, together with innovations in tetramer production and epitope discovery.
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10
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Bharadwaj M, Mifsud NA, McCluskey J. Detection and characterisation of alloreactive T cells. Methods Mol Biol 2012; 882:309-337. [PMID: 22665242 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-61779-842-9_18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
T cell alloreactivity is responsible for much of the morbidity and mortality associated with tissue transplantation and graft versus host disease. Immunoassays for ex vivo monitoring and quantitation of alloreactive T cells are being increasingly utilised to provide valuable information for individualised clinical management of transplant recipients. Here we describe detailed methodologies for both traditional and novel assays utilised for the detection, quantitation, and functional characterisation of alloreactive T cells and highlight the key advantages and disadvantages of each system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mandvi Bharadwaj
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
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