1
|
Smith CJ, Strausz S, Spence JP, Ollila HM, Pritchard JK. Haplotype Analysis Reveals Pleiotropic Disease Associations in the HLA Region. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2024:2024.07.29.24311183. [PMID: 39132491 PMCID: PMC11312630 DOI: 10.1101/2024.07.29.24311183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/13/2024]
Abstract
The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region plays an important role in human health through involvement in immune cell recognition and maturation. While genetic variation in the HLA region is associated with many diseases, the pleiotropic patterns of these associations have not been systematically investigated. Here, we developed a haplotype approach to investigate disease associations phenome-wide for 412,181 Finnish individuals and 2,459 traits. Across the 1,035 diseases with a GWAS association, we found a 17-fold average per-SNP enrichment of hits in the HLA region. Altogether, we identified 7,649 HLA associations across 647 traits, including 1,750 associations uncovered by haplotype analysis. We find some haplotypes show trade-offs between diseases, while others consistently increase risk across traits, indicating a complex pleiotropic landscape involving a range of diseases. This study highlights the extensive impact of HLA variation on disease risk, and underscores the importance of classical and non-classical genes, as well as non-coding variation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Courtney J Smith
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Satu Strausz
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Plastic Surgery, Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Center, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Jeffrey P Spence
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Hanna M Ollila
- Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, MA, USA
- Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Anesthesia, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jonathan K Pritchard
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Lenz TL. HLA Genes: A Hallmark of Functional Genetic Variation and Complex Evolution. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2809:1-18. [PMID: 38907887 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3874-3_1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/24/2024]
Abstract
The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) with its highly polymorphic HLA genes represents one of the most intensely studied genomic regions in the genome. MHC proteins play a key role in antigen-specific immunity and are associated with a wide range of complex diseases. Despite decades of research and many advances in the field, the characterization and interpretation of its genetic and genomic variability remain challenging. Here an overview is provided of the MHC, the nature of its exceptional variability, and the complex evolutionary processes assumed to drive this variability. Highlighted are also recent advances in the field that promise to improve our understanding of the variability in the MHC and in antigen-specific immunity more generally.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tobias L Lenz
- Research Unit for Evolutionary Immunogenomics, Department of Biology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Buhler S, Sollet ZC, Bettens F, Schäfer A, Ansari M, Ferrari-Lacraz S, Villard J. HLA variants and TCR diversity against SARS-CoV-2 in the pre-COVID-19 era. HLA 2023; 102:720-730. [PMID: 37461808 DOI: 10.1111/tan.15158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/11/2023]
Abstract
HLA antigen presentation and T-cell mediated immunity are critical to control acute viral infection such as COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2. Recent data suggest that both the depth of peptide presentation and the breadth of the T-cell repertoire are associated with disease outcome. It has also been shown that unexposed subjects can develop strong T-cell responses against SARS-CoV-2 due to heterologous immunity. In this study, we explored the anti-SARS-CoV-2 T-cell repertoire by analyzing previously published T-cell receptor (TCR) CDR3β immunosequencing data in a cohort of 116 healthy donors and in the context of immune reconstitution after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in 116 recipients collected during the pre-COVID-19 era. For this, 143,310 publicly available SARS-CoV-2 specific T-cell sequences were investigated among the 3.5 million clonotypes in the cohort. We also performed HLA class I peptide binding predictions using the reference proteome of the virus and high resolution genotyping data in these patients. We could demonstrate that individuals are fully equipped at the genetic level to recognize SARS-CoV-2. This is evidenced by the 5% median cumulative frequency of clonotypes having their sequence matched to a SARS-CoV-2 specific T-cell. In addition, any combination of HLA class I variants in this cohort is associated with a broad capacity of presenting hundreds of SARS-CoV-2 derived peptides. These results could be explained by heterologous immunity and random somatic TCR recombination. We speculate that these observations could explain the efficacy of the specific immune response against SARS-CoV-2 in individuals without risk factors of immunodeficiency and infected prior to vaccination.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stéphane Buhler
- Transplantation Immunology Unit and National Reference Laboratory for Histocompatibility, Department of Diagnostic, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Zuleika Calderin Sollet
- Transplantation Immunology Unit and National Reference Laboratory for Histocompatibility, Department of Diagnostic, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Florence Bettens
- Transplantation Immunology Unit and National Reference Laboratory for Histocompatibility, Department of Diagnostic, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Antonia Schäfer
- Transplantation Immunology Unit and National Reference Laboratory for Histocompatibility, Department of Diagnostic, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Marc Ansari
- CANSEARCH Research Platform for Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Gynecology and Obstetrics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Division of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, Department of Women, Child and Adolescent, University Geneva Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Sylvie Ferrari-Lacraz
- Transplantation Immunology Unit and National Reference Laboratory for Histocompatibility, Department of Diagnostic, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Jean Villard
- Transplantation Immunology Unit and National Reference Laboratory for Histocompatibility, Department of Diagnostic, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Vinkler M, Fiddaman SR, Těšický M, O'Connor EA, Savage AE, Lenz TL, Smith AL, Kaufman J, Bolnick DI, Davies CS, Dedić N, Flies AS, Samblás MMG, Henschen AE, Novák K, Palomar G, Raven N, Samaké K, Slade J, Veetil NK, Voukali E, Höglund J, Richardson DS, Westerdahl H. Understanding the evolution of immune genes in jawed vertebrates. J Evol Biol 2023; 36:847-873. [PMID: 37255207 PMCID: PMC10247546 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Revised: 04/23/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Driven by co-evolution with pathogens, host immunity continuously adapts to optimize defence against pathogens within a given environment. Recent advances in genetics, genomics and transcriptomics have enabled a more detailed investigation into how immunogenetic variation shapes the diversity of immune responses seen across domestic and wild animal species. However, a deeper understanding of the diverse molecular mechanisms that shape immunity within and among species is still needed to gain insight into-and generate evolutionary hypotheses on-the ultimate drivers of immunological differences. Here, we discuss current advances in our understanding of molecular evolution underpinning jawed vertebrate immunity. First, we introduce the immunome concept, a framework for characterizing genes involved in immune defence from a comparative perspective, then we outline how immune genes of interest can be identified. Second, we focus on how different selection modes are observed acting across groups of immune genes and propose hypotheses to explain these differences. We then provide an overview of the approaches used so far to study the evolutionary heterogeneity of immune genes on macro and microevolutionary scales. Finally, we discuss some of the current evidence as to how specific pathogens affect the evolution of different groups of immune genes. This review results from the collective discussion on the current key challenges in evolutionary immunology conducted at the ESEB 2021 Online Satellite Symposium: Molecular evolution of the vertebrate immune system, from the lab to natural populations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michal Vinkler
- Department of ZoologyFaculty of ScienceCharles UniversityPragueCzech Republic
| | | | - Martin Těšický
- Department of ZoologyFaculty of ScienceCharles UniversityPragueCzech Republic
| | | | - Anna E. Savage
- Department of BiologyUniversity of Central FloridaFloridaOrlandoUSA
| | - Tobias L. Lenz
- Research Unit for Evolutionary ImmunogenomicsDepartment of BiologyUniversity of HamburgHamburgGermany
| | | | - Jim Kaufman
- Institute for Immunology and Infection ResearchUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
- Department of Veterinary MedicineUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
| | - Daniel I. Bolnick
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of ConnecticutStorrsConnecticutUSA
| | | | - Neira Dedić
- Department of Botany and ZoologyMasaryk UniversityBrnoCzech Republic
| | - Andrew S. Flies
- Menzies Institute for Medical ResearchUniversity of TasmaniaHobartTasmaniaAustralia
| | - M. Mercedes Gómez Samblás
- Department of ZoologyFaculty of ScienceCharles UniversityPragueCzech Republic
- Department of ParasitologyUniversity of GranadaGranadaSpain
| | | | - Karel Novák
- Department of Genetics and BreedingInstitute of Animal SciencePragueUhříněvesCzech Republic
| | - Gemma Palomar
- Faculty of BiologyInstitute of Environmental SciencesJagiellonian UniversityKrakówPoland
| | - Nynke Raven
- Department of ScienceEngineering and Build EnvironmentDeakin UniversityVictoriaWaurn PondsAustralia
| | - Kalifa Samaké
- Department of Genetics and MicrobiologyFaculty of ScienceCharles UniversityPragueCzech Republic
| | - Joel Slade
- Department of BiologyCalifornia State UniversityFresnoCaliforniaUSA
| | | | - Eleni Voukali
- Department of ZoologyFaculty of ScienceCharles UniversityPragueCzech Republic
| | - Jacob Höglund
- Department of Ecology and GeneticsUppsala UniversitetUppsalaSweden
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
5
|
Pagliuca S, Gurnari C, Rubio MT, Visconte V, Lenz TL. Individual HLA heterogeneity and its implications for cellular immune evasion in cancer and beyond. Front Immunol 2022; 13:944872. [PMID: 36131910 PMCID: PMC9483928 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.944872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Structural and functional variability of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) is the foundation for competent adaptive immune responses against pathogen and tumor antigens as it assures the breadth of the presented immune-peptidome, theoretically sustaining an efficient and diverse T cell response. This variability is presumably the result of the continuous selection by pathogens, which over the course of evolution shaped the adaptive immune system favoring the assortment of a hyper-polymorphic HLA system able to elaborate efficient immune responses. Any genetic alteration affecting this diversity may lead to pathological processes, perturbing antigen presentation capabilities, T-cell reactivity and, to some extent, natural killer cell functionality. A highly variable germline HLA genotype can convey immunogenetic protection against infections, be associated with tumor surveillance or influence response to anti-neoplastic treatments. In contrast, somatic aberrations of HLA loci, rearranging the original germline configuration, theoretically decreasing its variability, can facilitate mechanisms of immune escape that promote tumor growth and immune resistance. The purpose of the present review is to provide a unified and up-to-date overview of the pathophysiological consequences related to the perturbations of the genomic heterogeneity of HLA complexes and their impact on human diseases, with a special focus on cancer.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Simona Pagliuca
- Translational Hematology and Oncology Research Department, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, United States
- Service d’hématologie Clinique, Hôpital Brabois, CHRU Nancy and CNRS UMR 7365 IMoPa, Biopole de l’Université de Loarraine, Vandoeuvre les Nancy, France
| | - Carmelo Gurnari
- Translational Hematology and Oncology Research Department, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, United States
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - Marie Thérèse Rubio
- Service d’hématologie Clinique, Hôpital Brabois, CHRU Nancy and CNRS UMR 7365 IMoPa, Biopole de l’Université de Loarraine, Vandoeuvre les Nancy, France
| | - Valeria Visconte
- Translational Hematology and Oncology Research Department, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Tobias L. Lenz
- Research Unit for Evolutionary Immunogenomics, Department of Biology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Wang Y, Tsitsiklis A, Devoe S, Gao W, Chu HH, Zhang Y, Li W, Wong WK, Deane CM, Neau D, Slansky JE, Thomas PG, Robey EA, Dai S. Peptide Centric Vβ Specific Germline Contacts Shape a Specialist T Cell Response. Front Immunol 2022; 13:847092. [PMID: 35967379 PMCID: PMC9372435 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.847092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Certain CD8 T cell responses are particularly effective at controlling infection, as exemplified by elite control of HIV in individuals harboring HLA-B57. To understand the structural features that contribute to CD8 T cell elite control, we focused on a strongly protective CD8 T cell response directed against a parasite-derived peptide (HF10) presented by an atypical MHC-I molecule, H-2Ld. This response exhibits a focused TCR repertoire dominated by Vβ2, and a representative TCR (TG6) in complex with Ld-HF10 reveals an unusual structure in which both MHC and TCR contribute extensively to peptide specificity, along with a parallel footprint of TCR on its pMHC ligand. The parallel footprint is a common feature of Vβ2-containing TCRs and correlates with an unusual Vα-Vβ interface, CDR loop conformations, and Vβ2-specific germline contacts with peptides. Vβ2 and Ld may represent "specialist" components for antigen recognition that allows for particularly strong and focused T cell responses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yang Wang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado School of Pharmacy, Aurora, CO, United States
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, United States
| | - Alexandra Tsitsiklis
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Stephanie Devoe
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado School of Pharmacy, Aurora, CO, United States
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, United States
| | - Wei Gao
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado School of Pharmacy, Aurora, CO, United States
- Biological Physics Laboratory, College of Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - H. Hamlet Chu
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Yan Zhang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado School of Pharmacy, Aurora, CO, United States
| | - Wei Li
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado School of Pharmacy, Aurora, CO, United States
| | - Wing Ki Wong
- Department of Statistics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | | | - David Neau
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Northeastern Collaborative Access Team (NE-CAT), Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Cornell University, Argonne, IL, United States
| | - Jill E. Slansky
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, United States
| | - Paul G. Thomas
- Department of Immunology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, United States
| | - Ellen A. Robey
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Shaodong Dai
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado School of Pharmacy, Aurora, CO, United States
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, United States
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Pontarotti P, Paganini J. COVID-19 Pandemic: Escape of Pathogenic Variants and MHC Evolution. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23052665. [PMID: 35269808 PMCID: PMC8910380 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23052665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 02/26/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
We propose a new hypothesis that explains the maintenance and evolution of MHC polymorphism. It is based on two phenomena: the constitution of the repertoire of naive T lymphocytes and the evolution of the pathogen and its impact on the immune memory of T lymphocytes. Concerning the latter, pathogen evolution will have a different impact on reinfection depending on the MHC allomorph. If a mutation occurs in a given region, in the case of MHC allotypes, which do not recognize the peptide in this region, the mutation will have no impact on the memory repertoire. In the case where the MHC allomorph binds to the ancestral peptides and not to the mutated peptide, that individual will have a higher chance of being reinfected. This difference in fitness will lead to a variation of the allele frequency in the next generation. Data from the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic already support a significant part of this hypothesis and following up on these data may enable it to be confirmed. This hypothesis could explain why some individuals after vaccination respond less well than others to variants and leads to predict the probability of reinfection after a first infection depending upon the variant and the HLA allomorph.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Pontarotti
- Evolutionary Biology Team, MEPHI, Aix Marseille Université, IRD, APHM, IHU MI, 19-21 Boulevard Jean Moulin, 13005 Marseille, France
- SNC 5039 CNRS, 13005 Marseille, France
- Xegen, 15 Rue Dominique Piazza, 13420 Gemenos, France
- Correspondence: (P.P.); (J.P.)
| | - Julien Paganini
- Xegen, 15 Rue Dominique Piazza, 13420 Gemenos, France
- Correspondence: (P.P.); (J.P.)
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Chong LC, Lim WL, Ban KHK, Khan AM. An Alignment-Independent Approach for the Study of Viral Sequence Diversity at Any Given Rank of Taxonomy Lineage. BIOLOGY 2021; 10:biology10090853. [PMID: 34571730 PMCID: PMC8466476 DOI: 10.3390/biology10090853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2021] [Revised: 08/13/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The study of viral diversity is imperative in understanding sequence change and its implications for intervention strategies. The widely used alignment-dependent approaches to study viral diversity are limited in their utility as sequence dissimilarity increases, particularly when expanded to the genus or higher ranks of viral species lineage. Herein, we present an alignment-independent algorithm, implemented as a tool, UNIQmin, to determine the effective viral sequence diversity at any rank of the viral taxonomy lineage. This is done by performing an exhaustive search to generate the minimal set of sequences for a given viral non-redundant sequence dataset. The minimal set is comprised of the smallest possible number of unique sequences required to capture the diversity inherent in the complete set of overlapping k-mers encoded by all the unique sequences in the given dataset. Such dataset compression is possible through the removal of unique sequences, whose entire repertoire of overlapping k-mers can be represented by other sequences, thus rendering them redundant to the collective pool of sequence diversity. A significant reduction, namely ~44%, ~45%, and ~53%, was observed for all reported unique sequences of species Dengue virus, genus Flavivirus, and family Flaviviridae, respectively, while still capturing the entire repertoire of nonamer (9-mer) viral peptidome diversity present in the initial input dataset. The algorithm is scalable for big data as it was applied to ~2.2 million non-redundant sequences of all reported viruses. UNIQmin is open source and publicly available on GitHub. The concept of a minimal set is generic and, thus, potentially applicable to other pathogenic microorganisms of non-viral origin, such as bacteria.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Li Chuin Chong
- Centre for Bioinformatics, School of Data Sciences, Perdana University, Kuala Lumpur 50490, Malaysia;
| | - Wei Lun Lim
- Faculty of Computing and Informatics, Multimedia University, Cyberjaya 63100, Malaysia;
| | - Kenneth Hon Kim Ban
- Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117596, Singapore;
| | - Asif M. Khan
- Centre for Bioinformatics, School of Data Sciences, Perdana University, Kuala Lumpur 50490, Malaysia;
- Beykoz Institute of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Bezmialem Vakif University, Beykoz, 34820 Istanbul, Turkey
- Correspondence: or
| |
Collapse
|