H5N1 strain-specific hemagglutinin CD4+ T cell epitopes restricted by HLA DR4

Avian and Human Seasonal Influenza Hemagglutinin Proteins Elicit CD4 T Cell Responses That Are Comparable in Epitope Abundance and Diversity

Avian influenza viruses remain a significant concern due to their pandemic potential. Vaccine trials have suggested that humans respond poorly to avian influenza vaccines relative to seasonal vaccines. It is important to understand, first, if there is a general deficiency in the ability of avian hemagglutinin (HA) proteins to generate immune responses and, if so, what underlies this defect. This question is of particular interest because it has been suggested that in humans, the poor immunogenicity of H7 vaccines may be due to a paucity of CD4 T cell epitopes. Because of the generally high levels of cross-reactive CD4 T cells in humans, it is not possible to compare the inherent immunogenicities of avian and seasonal HA proteins in an unbiased manner. Here, we empirically examine the epitope diversity and abundance of CD4 T cells elicited by seasonal and avian HA proteins. HLA-DR1 and HLA-DR4 transgenic mice were vaccinated with purified HA proteins, and CD4 T cells to specific epitopes were identified and quantified. These studies revealed that the diversity and abundance of CD4 T cells specific for HA do not segregate on the basis of whether the HA was derived from human seasonal or avian influenza viruses. Therefore, we conclude that failure in responses to avian vaccines in humans is likely due to a lack of cross-reactive CD4 T cell memory perhaps coupled with competition with or suppression of naive, HA-specific CD4 T cells by memory CD4 T cells specific for more highly conserved proteins.

A high-affinity CDR-grafted antibody against influenza A H5N1 viruses recognizes a conserved epitope of H5 hemagglutinin

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus infection is still a potential threat to public health worldwide. While vaccines and antiviral drugs are currently under development, neutralizing antibodies could offer an alternative strategy to prevent and treat H5N1 virus infection. In the present study, we had developed a humanized antibody against H5N1 viruses from mouse-derived hybridoma in order to minimize its immunogenicity for potential clinical application. The humanized antibody hH5M9 was generated by transferring the mouse complementarity determining region (CDR) residues together with four key framework region (FR) residues onto the FR of the human antibody. This humanized antibody exhibited high affinity and specificity comparable to the parental mouse or chimeric counterpart with broad and strong neutralization activity against all H5N1 clades and subclades except for Egypt clades investigated. Furthermore, through epitope mapping we identified a linear epitope on the top region of hemagglutinin (HA) that was H5N1 specific and conserved. Our results for the first time reported a humanized antibody against H5N1 viruses by CDR grafting method. With the expected lower immunogenicity, this humanized antibody was expected to be more efficacious than murine or human-mouse chimeric antibodies for future application in humans.

Correlation between human leukocyte antigen class II alleles and HAI titers detected post-influenza vaccination

Influenza is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Despite vaccination, many elderly recipients do not develop a protective antibody response. To determine whether Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) alleles modulate seroprotection to influenza, a cohort of HLA class II-typed high-risk vaccine recipients was investigated. Haemagglutinin inhibition (HAI) titres were measured 14–40 days post-subunit vaccination. Seroprotection was defined as HAI titres reaching 40 or greater for all three vaccine strains. HLA-DRB1*04∶01 and HLA-DPB1*04∶01 alleles were detected at higher frequencies in seroprotected compared with non-seroprotected individuals. Thus, the presence of certain HLA class II alleles may determine the magnitude of antibody responses to influenza vaccination.

A human CD4+ T cell epitope in the influenza hemagglutinin is cross-reactive to influenza A virus subtypes and to influenza B virus

The hemagglutinin protein (HA) of the influenza virus family is a major antigen for protective immunity. Thus, it is a relevant target for developing vaccines. Here, we describe a human CD4(+) T cell epitope in the influenza virus HA that lies in the fusion peptide of the HA. This epitope is well conserved in all 16 subtypes of the HA protein of influenza A virus and the HA protein of influenza B virus. By stimulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from a healthy adult donor with peptides covering the entire HA protein based on the sequence of A/Japan/305/1957 (H2N2), we generated a T cell line specific to this epitope. This CD4(+) T cell line recognizes target cells infected with influenza A virus seasonal H1N1 and H3N2 strains, a reassortant H2N1 strain, the 2009 pandemic H1N1 strain, and influenza B virus in cytotoxicity assays and intracellular-cytokine-staining assays. It also lysed target cells infected with avian H5N1 virus. We screened healthy adult PBMCs for T cell responses specific to this epitope and found individuals who had ex vivo gamma interferon (IFN-γ) responses to the peptide epitope in enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assays. Almost all donors who responded to the epitope had the HLA-DRB1*09 allele, a relatively common HLA allele. Although natural infection or standard vaccination may not induce strong T and B cell responses to this highly conserved epitope in the fusion peptide, it may be possible to develop a vaccination strategy to induce these CD4(+) T cells, which are cross-reactive to both influenza A and B viruses.

Identification of H5N1-specific T-cell responses in a high-risk cohort in vietnam indicates the existence of potential asymptomatic infections

BACKGROUND

Most reported human H5N1 viral infections have been severe and were detected after hospital admission. A case ascertainment bias may therefore exist, with mild cases or asymptomatic infections going undetected. We sought evidence of mild or asymptomatic H5N1 infection by examining H5N1-specific T-cell and antibody responses in a high-risk cohort in Vietnam.

METHODS

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were tested using interferon-γ enzyme-linked immunospot T assays measuring the response to peptides of influenza H5, H3, and H1 hemagglutinin (HA), N1 and N2 neuraminidase, and the internal proteins of H3N2. Horse erythrocyte hemagglutination inhibition assay was performed to detect antibodies against H5N1.

RESULTS

Twenty-four of 747 individuals demonstrated H5-specific T-cell responses but little or no cross-reactivity with H3 or H1 HA peptides. H5N1 peptide-specific T-cell lines that did not cross-react with H1 or H3 influenza virus HA peptides were generated. Four individuals also had antibodies against H5N1.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first report of ex vivo H5 HA-specific T-cell responses in a healthy but H5N1-exposed population. Our results indicate that the presence of H5N1-specific T cells could be an additional diagnostic tool for asymptomatic H5N1 infection.

Identification of small-molecule inhibitors against human leukocyte antigen-death receptor 4 (HLA-DR4) through a comprehensive strategy

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease mediated by T-lymphocytes and associated with the human leukocyte antigen-death receptor 4 (HLA-DR4). The HLA-DR4 protein selectively interacts with the antigenic peptides on the cell surface and presents them to the T cell receptor (TCR) on CD4+ T cells. The HLA-DR4-antigen-TCR complex initiates the autoimmune response and eventually causes the chronic inflammation within patients bodies. To inhibit HLA-DR4-restricted T cell activation, an ideal approach is to discover non-T cell stimulating substrates that specifically bind to HLA-DR4. In this paper, a comprehensive structure-based design strategy involved de novo design approach, pharmacophore search, and dock method was presented and applied to "simplify" the known binding peptide ligand of HLA-DR4 and identified specific small-molecule inhibitors for HLA-DR4. The designed three-step strategy successfully identified five nonpeptide ligands with novel scaffolds from a chemical library containing 4 × 10(6) commercially available compounds within a tolerable computing time. The identified five chemicals, BAS-0219606, T0506-2494, 6436645, 3S-71981, and KM 11073, are all non-T cell stimulators and are able to significantly inhibit HLA-DR4-restricted T cell activation induced by type II collagen (CII) 263-272 peptide. IC(50) for the best two potentials, BAS-0219606 and T0506-2494, was 31 and 17 μM, respectively, which is equivalent or better than the known peptide ligands. It is hopeful that they can be used as effective therapeutic means for further treatment of RA patients. In addition, the comprehensive strategy presented in this paper exhibited itself to be an effective flow line from peptide ligands to small-molecule inhibitors and will have applications to other targets.