Analysis of T-cell receptor beta chain variable gene segment usage in healthy adult responders and nonresponders to recombinant hepatitis B vaccine

Vaccinomics: A scoping review

BACKGROUND

This scoping review summarizes a key aspect of vaccinomics by collating known associations between heterogeneity in human genetics and vaccine immunogenicity and safety.

METHODS

We searched PubMed for articles in English using terms covering vaccines routinely recommended to the general US population, their effects, and genetics/genomics. Included studies were controlled and demonstrated statistically significant associations with vaccine immunogenicity or safety. Studies of Pandemrix®, an influenza vaccine previously used in Europe, were also included, due to its widely publicized genetically mediated association with narcolepsy.

FINDINGS

Of the 2,300 articles manually screened, 214 were included for data extraction. Six included articles examined genetic influences on vaccine safety; the rest examined vaccine immunogenicity. Hepatitis B vaccine immunogenicity was reported in 92 articles and associated with 277 genetic determinants across 117 genes. Thirty-three articles identified 291 genetic determinants across 118 genes associated with measles vaccine immunogenicity, 22 articles identified 311 genetic determinants across 110 genes associated with rubella vaccine immunogenicity, and 25 articles identified 48 genetic determinants across 34 genes associated with influenza vaccine immunogenicity. Other vaccines had fewer than 10 studies each identifying genetic determinants of their immunogenicity. Genetic associations were reported with 4 adverse events following influenza vaccination (narcolepsy, GBS, GCA/PMR, high temperature) and 2 adverse events following measles vaccination (fever, febrile seizure).

CONCLUSION

This scoping review identified numerous genetic associations with vaccine immunogenicity and several genetic associations with vaccine safety. Most associations were only reported in one study. This illustrates both the potential of and need for investment in vaccinomics. Current research in this field is focused on systems and genetic-based studies designed to identify risk signatures for serious vaccine reactions or diminished vaccine immunogenicity. Such research could bolster our ability to develop safer and more effective vaccines.

Human immune repertoire in hepatitis B virus infection

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a public health threat that affects 257 million people worldwide and can progress to liver cirrhosis, liver failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma. The HBV antigen- induced adaptive immune response plays an important role in HBV clearance. Immune repertoire sequencing (IRS) has been used to investigate the molecular mechanisms behind the immune system, find novel ways to treat HBV infection, and evaluate the genetic responses and immune characteristics of individuals infected by HBV or immunized by HBV vaccine. This review summarizes the human immune repertoire analysis methodology, and the application of the IRS in the prediction of HBV infection progression, treatment, and vaccination.

Profiling T cell receptor β-chain in responders after immunization with recombinant hepatitis B vaccine

BACKGROUND

T cells with edited T cell receptor β-chain variable (TRBV) are involved in the immune response to recombinant hepatitis B surface antigen (rHBsAg) vaccine and the production of hepatitis B surface antibody (HBsAb). The immune repertoire (IR) profile and mechanism of vaccination positive responders (VPR) with rHBsAg are not fully understood.

METHODS

The IR of six VPRs (HBsAb+, HbsAg-) with rHBsAg vaccination was established by the high throughput sequencing technique and bioinformatics analysis and compared with those in five vaccination negative responders (VNRs) (HbsAb-, HbsAg-) who were also inoculated with rHBsAg. The repertoire features of the BV, BJ and V (CDR3) J genes and immune diversity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, respectively, were analyzed for each subject.

RESULTS

There was no significant difference in sequencing amplification indices of each sample. However, TRBV15/BJ2-3 demonstrated significantly high expression levels in VPR compared to those in the VNR group (both p < 0.05). Further results showed that the BV15/BJ2-5 level was significantly increased for VPR compared to that of VNR group. Interestingly, the motif of CDR3 in TRBV15/BJ2-5 was mostly expressed as "GGETQ" or "GETQ". Additionally, there was no remarkable difference between the two groups of distribution with respect to the different clone expression levels of V (CDR3) J.

CONCLUSIONS

The features of IR in the VPR and VNR will contribute to the exploration of the mechanism of the positive response to rHBsAg, and also contribute to development of optimized hepatitis B vaccine, in addition to providing a partial interpretation of the VNR who has a relatively low infection with HBV.

Healthy adult vaccination: An urgent need to prevent hepatitis B in China

Prevalence of hepatitis B is still high among adults in China, athough the prevalence in children has decreased dramatically. Immunization against hepatitis B among adults is urgently required. Through analyzing the immunogenicity of different doses, schedules and booster immunization among adults, we recommend 10 or 20 μg with a 0-1-6-month schedule or a 0-1-12-month schedule for migrant adults. For immunity failure, increasing the dose or covalent vaccine is suggested to provide protective antibodies. To enhance immunity among adults, hepatitis B vaccine should be included in health insurance.

Analysis of the complementarity determining regions β-chain genomic rearrangement using high-throughput sequencing in periphery cytotoxic T lymphocytes of patients with chronic hepatitis B

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) are important for the recognition of the hepatitis B virus (HBV), mediating immunoprotective mechanisms and determining the clinical outcome following HBV infection. CTLs recognize the invading virus via the T cell receptor (TCR). The aim of the current study was to investigate the variability of TCR in lymphocytes from patients with chronic hepatitis B and whether TCR genomic recombination is regulated by the current treatment strategies. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from patients with chronic hepatitis B and high-throughput sequencing was performed to analyze the gene expression diversity of β chain complementarity determining region. High-throughput sequencing produced ~380,000 reads. The sequences of V and J family mRNAs of the β chain V area were analyzed and databases were created for all 30 V family and J family genes. Using the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool, 15 genes were identified to be upregulated in the samples following treatment. Among them, the expression of T cell receptor β variable 28 (TRBV28)_T cell receptor β joining 1–5 (TRBJ1.5) and TRBV6_TRBJ2.10 were significantly different in the treated samples compared with samples taken prior to treatment. Genomic recombination patterns of TRBV and TRBJ of the β chain V area were observed to be different in the samples following treatment. The data of the current study demonstrated that the genomic rearrangement of the V and J segments of TCR β chain V area may be associated with the chronic progression of HBV and impact on treatment efficacy.

Analysis of T Cell Receptor Vβ Diversity in Peripheral CD4+ and CD8+ T Lymphocytes Obtained From Patients With Chronic Severe Hepatitis B

BACKGROUND

The hepatitis B virus (HBV) antigen-induced cellular immune response plays an important role in HBV clearance. Changes in the diversity of complementarity determining region 3 (CDR3) and T-cell receptor (TCR) sequences are used to monitor the response of T cells to antigens.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of the present study was to determine whether the TCR Vβ repertoire of patients with chronic severe hepatitis B (CSHB) undergoes increased stimulation, and to identify conserved motifs in specific TCR Vβ families.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 18 patients with CSHB were sorted into CD4+ and CD8+ T subsets, using monoclonal antibody-coated magnetic beads. The TCR Vβ CDR3 was subsequently characterized using immune spectratyping. The TCR Vβ families exhibiting a CDR3 spectratype that underwent monoclonal expansion were sequenced.

RESULTS

The number of oligoclonal or monoclonal expansion TCR Vβ families detected in the analyzed CD8+ T cells was significantly higher than the number detected in CD4+ T cells. The CDR3 spectratype analysis showed predominant usage of TCR Vβ5, Vβ7, Vβ9, Vβ12, and Vβ18 families in CD8+ T cell subsets of CSHB patients. Furthermore, conserved amino acid motifs were found to be associated with the monoclonal expansion of CD8+ TCR Vβ families. In addition, JB1S1 and JB2S7 region genes were present at a high frequency.

CONCLUSIONS

The CD4+ and CD8+ TCR Vβ gene families undergo clonal expansion in CSHB patients, and CD8+ T cells play a major role in the pathogenesis of CSHB. Moreover, the conserved motifs and limited use of joining region genes observed in the CSHB patients of this cohort indicated that similar antigenic epitopes are recognized.

Dynamic monitoring the TCR CDR3 spectratypes in patients with metastatic CRC treated with a combination of bevacizumab, irinotecan, fluorouracil, and leucovorin

In the present study, either modified IFL regimen (modified irinotecan, fluorouracil and leucovorin, mIFL) alone or in combination with bevacizumab was used to treat patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). Treatment efficacy was assessed using coupled tomography imaging diagnosis. The toxicity accompany with treatment was evaluated, as well as T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire before and several cycles after therapy was dynamically monitored by analyzing the complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3) length distribution within CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell subsets. The degrees of normalization of the T cell repertoire in CRC patients treated with the two methods were compared. The results showed that mIFL combined with bevacizumab was more effective in treating patients with metastatic CRC, and was accompanied by an increase in side effects such as proteinuria and hematuria. An even more restricted CDR3 profile in patients with metastatic CRC compared with healthy control has been detected. A prominent usage of TCR beta chain variable (BV) gene BV12 and BV16 families within the CD4(+) T cell subset and BV19 and BV21 families within the CD8(+) T cell subset have been found before treatment. Moreover, CD8(+) T cells showed more restricted patterns than CD4(+) T cells, especially in patients before treatment. For patients with stable disease (SD) or partial remission (PR) after treatment, a less restricted CDR3 profile in post-treatment compared with pre-treatment has been found, but the opposite result was observed for patients with progressive disease (PD). The less restricted CDR3 pattern suggested a trend toward normalization of the TCR repertoire. The normalization of TCR repertoire significantly increased in patients treated with mIFL in combination with bevacizumab, but slightly in patients treated with mIFL alone. The results demonstrate a positive correlation between post-therapy TCR repertoire normalization and remission of metastatic CRC.

Dynamics of the CD8 T-cell response following yellow fever virus 17D immunization

Management of yellow fever is focused on the prevention of illness by the use of the yellow fever virus (YFV) 17D vaccine. The role of neutralizing antibodies in protection is generally accepted with YFV-specific T cells likely contributing to the control of viral replication. We studied CD8(+) T-cell responses to four defined human leucocyte antigen-B35-restricted epitopes in YFV vaccine recipients as a model of the kinetics of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte responses to an acute human viral infection. Multiple features of these epitope-specific responses were analysed after vaccination including magnitude, cytokine production, phenotype and T-cell receptor repertoire. Peak peptide-specific interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) responses of almost 1% of CD8(+) T cells were seen as early as 2 weeks post-vaccination; however, dominant responses varied between donors. Peptide-specific responses were still detectable at 54 months post-vaccination. Tetramer-positive cells, at high frequencies, were detected as early as 7-9 days, before detectable IFN-gamma-producing cells, suggesting a defect in the functional capacity of some antigen-specific cells early post-vaccination. The predominant memory phenotype of the tetramer-positive population was a differentiated effector (CD45RA(+) CCR7(-) CD62L(-)) phenotype. The T-cell receptor Vbeta analysis revealed a diverse oligoclonal repertoire in tetramer-positive T-cell populations in two individuals. These characteristics of the YFV-specific T-cell response could contribute to vaccine effectiveness.

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Differential reactivity of mouse monoclonal anti-HBs antibodies with recombinant mutant HBs antigens

AIM: To investigate the reactivity of a panel of 8 mouse anti-hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) using a collection of 9 recombinant HBsAg mutants with a variety of amino acid substitutions mostly located within the “a” region.

METHODS: The entire HBs genes previously cloned into a mammalian expression vector were transiently transfected into COS7 cells. Two standard unmutated sequences of the ayw and adw subtypes served as controls. Secreted mutant proteins were collected and measured by three commercial diagnostic immunoassays to assess transfection efficiency. Reactivity of anti-HBs mAbs with mutated HBsAgs was determined by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

RESULTS: Reactivity of anti-HBs mAbs with mutated HBsAgs revealed different patterns. While three mutants reacted strongly with all mAbs, two mutants reacted weakly with only two mAbs and the remaining proteins displayed variable degrees of reactivity towards different mAbs. Accordingly, four groups of mAbs with different but overlapping reactivity patterns could be envisaged. One group consisting of two mAbs (37C5-S7 and 35C6-S11) was found to recognize stable linear epitopes conserved in all mutants. Mutations outside the “a” determinant at positions 120 (P→S), 123(T→N) and 161 (M→T) were found to affect reactivity of these mAbs.

CONCLUSION: Our findings could have important implications for biophysical studies, vaccination strategies and immunotherapy of hepatitis B virus (HBV) mutants.

An improved methodology to detect human T cell receptor beta variable family gene expression patterns

Comprehensive gene expression analysis of the T cell receptor repertoire of an individual can be very useful in evaluating the immune response in a variety of conditions. Antibody-based analysis methods can detect approximately 60% of the human T cell receptor beta variable (TCRBV) proteins, while gene expression analysis, primarily through employment of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), has had somewhat greater success in the detection of additional TCRBV families. Many of these previous PCR methods, however, have been unable to detect all 91 alleles of the human TCRBV genes. This is primarily due to either deficiencies in the amplification of all of the variable beta families, subfamilies, and alleles, or the prior lack of a systematic classification of the TCR variable family gene segment sequences. We describe here a real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction-based method, which allows efficient automation and integration of amplification, detection, and analysis with sequence-specific detection of all T cell receptor beta variable gene families, subfamilies, and alleles. This method, which in itself contributes significant improvements over existing technologies through its comprehensiveness and efficiency, also functions independently of variables such as sample source and sample processing and has the ability to run on multiple real-time PCR platforms, affording one the implementation of personal preferences.

Immunization of volunteers with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi strain Ty21a elicits the oligoclonal expansion of CD8+ T cells with predominant Vbeta repertoires

CD8(+) T cells are likely to play an important role in host defense against Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi by several effector mechanisms, including lysis of infected cells (cytotoxicity) and gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) secretion. In an effort to better understand these responses, we studied the T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire of serovar Typhi-specific CD8(+) T cells in humans. To this end, we determined the TCR beta chain (Vbeta) usage of CD8(+) T cells from three volunteers orally immunized with Ty21a typhoid vaccine by flow cytometry using a panel of monoclonal antibodies. Although TCR Vbeta usage varied among volunteers, we identified oligoclonal Vbeta subset expansions in individual volunteers (Vbeta 2, 5.1, 8, 17, and 22 in volunteer 1; Vbeta 1, 2, 5.1, 14, 17, and 22 in volunteer 2; and Vbeta 3, 8, 14, and 16 in volunteer 3). These subsets were antigen specific, as shown by cytotoxicity and IFN-gamma secretion assays on Vbeta sorted cells and on T-cell clones derived from these volunteers. Moreover, eight-color flow cytometric analysis showed that these clones exhibited a T effector memory phenotype (i.e., CCR7(-) CD27(-) CD45RO(+) CD62L(-)) and coexpressed gut homing molecules (e.g., high levels of integrin alpha4beta7, intermediate levels of CCR9, and low levels of CD103). In conclusion, our results show that long-term T-cell responses to serovar Typhi in Ty21a vaccinees are oligoclonal, involving multiple TCR Vbeta families. Moreover, these serovar Typhi-specific CD8(+) T cells bearing defined Vbeta specificities are phenotypically and functionally consistent with T effector memory cells with preferential gut homing potential.

T-cell receptor BV gene usage in colorectal carcinoma patients immunised with recombinant Ep-CAM protein or anti-idiotypic antibody

The tumour-associated antigen, Ep-CAM, is over-expressed in colorectal carcinoma (CRC). In the present study, a recombinant Ep-CAM protein or a human anti-idiotypic antibody (anti-Id) mimicking Ep-CAM, either alone or in combination, was used for vaccination of CRC patients (n=9). GM-CSF was given as an adjuvant cytokine. A cellular immune response was assessed by measuring anti-Ep-CAM lymphoproliferation, IFN-gamma production (ELISPOT) and by analysing the TCR BV gene usage within the CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell subsets followed by CDR3 fragment analysis. A proliferative and/or IFN-gamma T-cell response was induced against the Ep-CAM protein in eight out of nine patients, and against Ep-CAM-derived peptides in nine out of nine patients. Analysis of the TCR BV gene usage showed a significantly higher usage of BV12 family in CD4+ T cells of patients both before and after immunisation than in those of healthy control donors (p<0.05). In the CD8+ T-cell subset, a significant (p<0.05) increase in the BV19 usage was noted in patients after immunisation. In individual patients, a number of TCR BV gene families in both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were over-expressed mainly in post-immunisation samples. Analysis of the CDR3 length polymorphism revealed a higher degree of clonality in post-immunisation samples than in pre-immunisation samples. In vitro stimulation with Ep-CAM protein confirmed the expansion of anti-Ep-CAM T-cell clones. The results indicate that immunisation with the Ep-CAM protein and/or anti-Id entails the induction of an anti-Ep-CAM T-cell response in CRC patients, and suggest that BV19+ CD8+ T cells might be involved in a vaccine-induced immune response.

Hepatitis B surface antigen presentation and HLA-DRB1*- lessons from twins and peptide binding studies

The aim of this study was to investigate the underlying mechanisms of the genetic association between certain HLA-DRB1* alleles and the immune response to HBsAg vaccination. Therefore, HBsAg peptide binding to HLA-DR molecules was measured in vitro by peptide binding ELISAs. Additionally, HBsAg-specific T cell reaction and cytokine profile of immune response were analysed ex vivo in ELISPOT assays and DR-restriction of T-cell proliferative responses was investigated with HBsAg specific T cell clones. In addition, we compared HBsAg specific T cell responses of 24 monozygotic and 3 dizygotic twin pairs after HBsAg vaccination. Our results showed that the peptide binding assays did not reflect antigen presentation in vivo. DR alleles associated with vaccination failure like DRB1*0301 and 0701 efficiently presented HBsAg peptides. In 11 of 24 investigated monozygotic twin pairs we observed pronounced differences in the recognition of HBsAg peptides. This study indicates that HLA-DR associations with HBsAg vaccination response are not caused by differences in peptide binding or by a shift in the Th1/Th2 profile. Our findings strongly argue for differences in the T cell recognition of peptide/MHC complexes as the critical event in T cell responsiveness to HBsAg.

Effect of Hejie decoction on T cell immune state of chronic hepatitis B patients

AIM: To explore the effect of Hejie decoction (HJD) (mediation decoction) on T cellular immune state of chronic hepatitis B patients.

METHODS: Sixty-five patients with chronic hepatitis B were randomly divided into 2 groups. Forty patients in the treatment group were treated by HJD, and 25 patients in the control group were treated by routine Western medicine. The TCRVβ₇ gene expression, T lymphocyte subsets (CD₃⁺, CD₄⁺, CD₈⁺, CD₄⁺/CD₈⁺) levels were observed before and after treatment.

RESULTS: The level of CD₄⁺ cells was lower whereas the level of CD₈⁺ cells was higher in patients than in the normal group. There was no significant difference between the levels of CD₃⁺ cells in patients and normal persons. After 6 months of treatment, ALT, AST, TB levels of the 2 groups were obviously decreased, and the level of CD₄⁺ cells was increased whereas the level of CD₈⁺ cells was decreased in the treatment group. However, the level of CD₄⁺ cells and CD₈⁺ cells had no significant difference in the control group. TCRVβ₇ expressions were detected in 6 patients of the treatment group, whose HBV-DNA and HBeAg turned negative and ALT became normal. HBeAg in another 3 patients turned negative while HBV-DNA did not, and TCRVβ₇ expressions were not detectable. TCRVβ₇ expression could not be detected in the control group, HBV-DNA of the control group did not turn negative. HBeAg in 1 patient turned negative while HBV-DNA did not, and TCRVβ₇ expressions were not detectable. The total effective rate was not significantly different between the 2 groups and the markedly effective rate was significantly different (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSION: HJD is effective for treating chronic hepatitis B, and its effect seems to relate with the improvement of the TCRVβ₇ expression of chronic hepatitis B patients, thus activating T cells and eliminating HBV. T cellular immune function plays an important role in HBV infection and virus elimination.