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Isaguliants M, Krotova O, Petkov S, Jansons J, Bayurova E, Mezale D, Fridrihsone I, Kilpelainen A, Podschwadt P, Agapkina Y, Smirnova O, Kostic L, Saleem M, Latyshev O, Eliseeva O, Malkova A, Gorodnicheva T, Wahren B, Gordeychuk I, Starodubova E, Latanova A. Cellular Immune Response Induced by DNA Immunization of Mice with Drug Resistant Integrases of HIV-1 Clade A Offers Partial Protection against Growth and Metastatic Activity of Integrase-Expressing Adenocarcinoma Cells. Microorganisms 2021; 9:1219. [PMID: 34199989 PMCID: PMC8226624 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9061219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Revised: 05/28/2021] [Accepted: 05/29/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Therapeutic DNA-vaccination against drug-resistant HIV-1 may hinder emergence and spread of drug-resistant HIV-1, allowing for longer successful antiretroviral treatment (ART) up-to relief of ART. We designed DNA-vaccines against drug-resistant HIV-1 based on consensus clade A integrase (IN) resistant to raltegravir: IN_in_r1 (L74M/E92Q/V151I/N155H/G163R) or IN_in_r2 (E138K/G140S/Q148K) carrying D64V abrogating IN activity. INs, overexpressed in mammalian cells from synthetic genes, were assessed for stability, route of proteolytic degradation, and ability to induce oxidative stress. Both were found safe in immunotoxicity tests in mice, with no inherent carcinogenicity: their expression did not enhance tumorigenic or metastatic potential of adenocarcinoma 4T1 cells. DNA-immunization of mice with INs induced potent multicytokine T-cell response mainly against aa 209-239, and moderate IgG response cross-recognizing diverse IN variants. DNA-immunization with IN_in_r1 protected 60% of mice from challenge with 4Tlluc2 cells expressing non-mutated IN, while DNA-immunization with IN_in_r2 protected only 20% of mice, although tumor cells expressed IN matching the immunogen. Tumor size inversely correlated with IN-specific IFN-γ/IL-2 T-cell response. IN-expressing tumors displayed compromised metastatic activity restricted to lungs with reduced metastases size. Protective potential of IN immunogens relied on their immunogenicity for CD8+ T-cells, dependent on proteasomal processing and low level of oxidative stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Isaguliants
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden; (S.P.); (A.K.); (P.P.); (L.K.); (M.S.); (B.W.)
- Department of Research, Riga Stradins University, LV-1007 Riga, Latvia; (J.J.); (D.M.); (I.F.)
- N.F. Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 123098 Moscow, Russia; (O.K.); (E.B.); (O.S.); (O.L.); (O.E.); (I.G.)
- Chumakov Federal Scientific Center for Research and Development of Immune-and-Biological Products of Russian Academy of Sciences, 108819 Moscow, Russia
| | - Olga Krotova
- N.F. Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 123098 Moscow, Russia; (O.K.); (E.B.); (O.S.); (O.L.); (O.E.); (I.G.)
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia;
| | - Stefan Petkov
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden; (S.P.); (A.K.); (P.P.); (L.K.); (M.S.); (B.W.)
| | - Juris Jansons
- Department of Research, Riga Stradins University, LV-1007 Riga, Latvia; (J.J.); (D.M.); (I.F.)
- Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, LV-1067 Riga, Latvia
| | - Ekaterina Bayurova
- N.F. Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 123098 Moscow, Russia; (O.K.); (E.B.); (O.S.); (O.L.); (O.E.); (I.G.)
- Chumakov Federal Scientific Center for Research and Development of Immune-and-Biological Products of Russian Academy of Sciences, 108819 Moscow, Russia
| | - Dzeina Mezale
- Department of Research, Riga Stradins University, LV-1007 Riga, Latvia; (J.J.); (D.M.); (I.F.)
| | - Ilze Fridrihsone
- Department of Research, Riga Stradins University, LV-1007 Riga, Latvia; (J.J.); (D.M.); (I.F.)
| | - Athina Kilpelainen
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden; (S.P.); (A.K.); (P.P.); (L.K.); (M.S.); (B.W.)
| | - Philip Podschwadt
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden; (S.P.); (A.K.); (P.P.); (L.K.); (M.S.); (B.W.)
| | - Yulia Agapkina
- Department of Chemistry and Belozersky Institute of Physicochemical Biology, Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia;
| | - Olga Smirnova
- N.F. Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 123098 Moscow, Russia; (O.K.); (E.B.); (O.S.); (O.L.); (O.E.); (I.G.)
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia;
| | - Linda Kostic
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden; (S.P.); (A.K.); (P.P.); (L.K.); (M.S.); (B.W.)
| | - Mina Saleem
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden; (S.P.); (A.K.); (P.P.); (L.K.); (M.S.); (B.W.)
| | - Oleg Latyshev
- N.F. Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 123098 Moscow, Russia; (O.K.); (E.B.); (O.S.); (O.L.); (O.E.); (I.G.)
| | - Olesja Eliseeva
- N.F. Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 123098 Moscow, Russia; (O.K.); (E.B.); (O.S.); (O.L.); (O.E.); (I.G.)
| | - Anastasia Malkova
- Institute of Medical Biological Research and Technologies, 143090 Krasnoznamensk, Russia;
| | | | - Britta Wahren
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden; (S.P.); (A.K.); (P.P.); (L.K.); (M.S.); (B.W.)
| | - Ilya Gordeychuk
- N.F. Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 123098 Moscow, Russia; (O.K.); (E.B.); (O.S.); (O.L.); (O.E.); (I.G.)
- Chumakov Federal Scientific Center for Research and Development of Immune-and-Biological Products of Russian Academy of Sciences, 108819 Moscow, Russia
- Institute for Translational Medicine and Biotechnology, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, 127994 Moscow, Russia
| | - Elizaveta Starodubova
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia;
- Center for Precision Genome Editing and Genetic Technologies for Biomedicine, Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia
| | - Anastasia Latanova
- N.F. Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 123098 Moscow, Russia; (O.K.); (E.B.); (O.S.); (O.L.); (O.E.); (I.G.)
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia;
- Center for Precision Genome Editing and Genetic Technologies for Biomedicine, Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia
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Murakoshi H, Zou C, Kuse N, Akahoshi T, Chikata T, Gatanaga H, Oka S, Hanke T, Takiguchi M. CD8 + T cells specific for conserved, cross-reactive Gag epitopes with strong ability to suppress HIV-1 replication. Retrovirology 2018; 15:46. [PMID: 29970102 PMCID: PMC6029025 DOI: 10.1186/s12977-018-0429-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2018] [Accepted: 06/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Development of AIDS vaccines for effective prevention of circulating HIV-1 is required, but no trial has demonstrated definitive effects on the prevention. Several recent T-cell vaccine trials showed no protection against HIV-1 acquisition although the vaccines induced HIV-1-specific T-cell responses, suggesting that the vaccine-induced T cells have insufficient capacities to suppress HIV-1 replication and/or cross-recognize circulating HIV-1. Therefore, it is necessary to develop T-cell vaccines that elicit T cells recognizing shared protective epitopes with strong ability to suppress HIV-1. We recently designed T-cell mosaic vaccine immunogens tHIVconsvX composed of 6 conserved Gag and Pol regions and demonstrated that the T-cell responses to peptides derived from the vaccine immunogens were significantly associated with lower plasma viral load (pVL) and higher CD4+ T-cell count (CD4 count) in HIV-1-infected, treatment-naive Japanese individuals. However, it remains unknown T cells of which specificities have the ability to suppress HIV-1 replication. In the present study, we sought to identify more T cells specific for protective Gag epitopes in the vaccine immunogens, and analyze their abilities to suppress HIV-1 replication and recognize epitope variants in circulating HIV-1. RESULTS We determined 17 optimal Gag epitopes and their HLA restriction, and found that T-cell responses to 9 were associated significantly with lower pVL and/or higher CD4 count. T-cells recognizing 5 of these Gag peptides remained associated with good clinical outcome in 221 HIV-1-infected individuals even when comparing responders and non-responders with the same restricting HLA alleles. Although it was known previously that T cells specific for 3 of these protective epitopes had strong abilities to suppress HIV-1 replication in vivo, here we demonstrated equivalent abilities for the 2 novel epitopes. Furthermore, T cells against all 5 Gag epitopes cross-recognized variants in majority of circulating HIV-1. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrated that T cells specific for 5 Gag conserved epitopes in the tHIVconsvX have ability to suppress replication of circulating HIV-1 in HIV-1-infected individuals. Therefore, the tHIVconsvX vaccines have the right specificity to contribute to prevention of HIV-1 infection and eradication of latently infected cells following HIV-1 reactivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hayato Murakoshi
- Center for AIDS Research, Kumamoto University, 2-2-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto, 860-0811, Japan
| | - Chengcheng Zou
- Center for AIDS Research, Kumamoto University, 2-2-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto, 860-0811, Japan
| | - Nozomi Kuse
- Center for AIDS Research, Kumamoto University, 2-2-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto, 860-0811, Japan
| | - Tomohiro Akahoshi
- Center for AIDS Research, Kumamoto University, 2-2-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto, 860-0811, Japan
| | - Takayuki Chikata
- Center for AIDS Research, Kumamoto University, 2-2-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto, 860-0811, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Gatanaga
- Center for AIDS Research, Kumamoto University, 2-2-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto, 860-0811, Japan.,AIDS Clinical Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shinichi Oka
- Center for AIDS Research, Kumamoto University, 2-2-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto, 860-0811, Japan.,AIDS Clinical Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Tomáš Hanke
- International Research Center of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.,The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus Research Building, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford, UK
| | - Masafumi Takiguchi
- Center for AIDS Research, Kumamoto University, 2-2-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto, 860-0811, Japan.
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Weaker HLA Footprints on HIV in the Unique and Highly Genetically Admixed Host Population of Mexico. J Virol 2018; 92:JVI.01128-17. [PMID: 29093100 PMCID: PMC5752930 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01128-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2017] [Accepted: 10/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
HIV circumvents HLA class I-restricted CD8+ T-cell responses through selection of escape mutations that leave characteristic mutational “footprints,” also known as HLA-associated polymorphisms (HAPs), on HIV sequences at the population level. While many HLA footprints are universal across HIV subtypes and human populations, others can be region specific as a result of the unique immunogenetic background of each host population. Using a published probabilistic phylogenetically informed model, we compared HAPs in HIV Gag and Pol (PR-RT) in 1,612 subtype B-infected, antiretroviral treatment-naive individuals from Mexico and 1,641 individuals from Canada/United States. A total of 252 HLA class I allele subtypes were represented, including 140 observed in both cohorts, 67 unique to Mexico, and 45 unique to Canada/United States. At the predefined statistical threshold of a q value of <0.2, 358 HAPs (201 in Gag, 157 in PR-RT) were identified in Mexico, while 905 (534 in Gag and 371 in PR-RT) were identified in Canada/United States. HAPs identified in Mexico included both canonical HLA-associated escape pathways and novel associations, in particular with HLA alleles enriched in Amerindian and mestizo populations. Remarkably, HLA footprints on HIV in Mexico were not only fewer but also, on average, significantly weaker than those in Canada/United States, although some exceptions were noted. Moreover, exploratory analyses suggested that the weaker HLA footprint on HIV in Mexico may be due, at least in part, to weaker and/or less reproducible HLA-mediated immune pressures on HIV in this population. The implications of these differences for natural and vaccine-induced anti-HIV immunity merit further investigation. IMPORTANCE HLA footprints on HIV identify viral regions under intense and consistent pressure by HLA-restricted immune responses and the common mutational pathways that HIV uses to evade them. In particular, HLA footprints can identify novel immunogenic regions and/or epitopes targeted by understudied HLA alleles; moreover, comparative analyses across immunogenetically distinct populations can illuminate the extent to which HIV immunogenic regions and escape pathways are shared versus population-specific pathways, information which can in turn inform the design of universal or geographically tailored HIV vaccines. We compared HLA-associated footprints on HIV in two immunogenetically distinct North American populations, those of Mexico and Canada/United States. We identify both shared and population-specific pathways of HIV adaptation but also make the surprising observation that HLA footprints on HIV in Mexico overall are fewer and weaker than those in Canada/United States, raising the possibility that HLA-restricted antiviral immune responses in Mexico are weaker, and/or escape pathways somewhat less consistent, than those in other populations.
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Novel, in-natural-infection subdominant HIV-1 CD8+ T-cell epitopes revealed in human recipients of conserved-region T-cell vaccines. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0176418. [PMID: 28448594 PMCID: PMC5407754 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0176418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2017] [Accepted: 04/10/2017] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Fine definition of targeted CD8+ T-cell epitopes and their human leucocyte antigen (HLA) class I restriction informs iterative improvements of HIV-1 T-cell vaccine designs and may predict early vaccine success or failure. Here, lymphocytes from volunteers, who had received candidate HIVconsv vaccines expressing conserved sub-protein regions of HIV-1, were used to define the optimum-length target epitopes and their HLA restriction. In HIV-1-positive patients, CD8+ T-cell responses predominantly recognize immunodominant, but hypervariable and therefore less protective epitopes. The less variable, more protective epitopes in conserved regions are typically subdominant. Therefore, induction of strong responses to conserved regions by vaccination provides an opportunity to discover novel important epitopes. METHODS Cryopreserved lymphocytes from vaccine recipients were expanded by stimulation with 15-mer responder peptides for 10 days to establish short term-cell-line (STCL) effector cells. These were subjected to intracellular cytokine staining using serially truncated peptides and peptide-pulsed 721.221 cells expressing individual HLA class I alleles to define minimal epitope length and HLA restriction by stimulation of IFN-γ and TNF-α production and surface expression of CD107a. RESULTS Using lymphocyte samples of 12 vaccine recipients, we defined 14 previously unreported optimal CD8+ T-cell HIV-1 epitopes and their four-digit HLA allele restriction (6 HLA-A, 7 HLA-B and 1 HLA-C alleles). Further 13 novel targets with incomplete information were revealed. CONCLUSIONS The high rate of discovery of novel CD8+ T-cell effector epitopes warrants further epitope mining in recipients of the conserved-region vaccines in other populations and informs development of HIV-1/AIDS vaccines. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01151319.
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Chan CN, Trinité B, Lee CS, Mahajan S, Anand A, Wodarz D, Sabbaj S, Bansal A, Goepfert PA, Levy DN. HIV-1 latency and virus production from unintegrated genomes following direct infection of resting CD4 T cells. Retrovirology 2016; 13:1. [PMID: 26728316 PMCID: PMC4700562 DOI: 10.1186/s12977-015-0234-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2015] [Accepted: 12/21/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Background HIV-1 integration is prone to a high rate of failure, resulting in the accumulation of unintegrated viral genomes (uDNA) in vivo and in vitro. uDNA can be transcriptionally active, and circularized uDNA genomes are biochemically stable in non-proliferating cells. Resting, non-proliferating CD4 T cells are prime targets of HIV-1 infection and latently infected resting CD4 T cells are the major barrier to HIV cure. Our prior studies demonstrated that uDNA generates infectious virions when T cell activation follows rather than precedes infection. Results Here, we characterize in primary resting CD4 T cells the dynamics of integrated and unintegrated virus expression, genome persistence and sensitivity to latency reversing agents. Unintegrated HIV-1 was abundant in directly infected resting CD4 T cells. Maximal gene expression from uDNA was delayed compared with integrated HIV-1 and was less toxic, resulting in uDNA enrichment over time relative to integrated proviruses. Inhibiting integration with raltegravir shunted the generation of durable latency from integrated to unintegrated genomes. Latent uDNA was activated to de novo virus production by latency reversing agents that also activated latent integrated proviruses, including PKC activators, histone deacetylase inhibitors and P-TEFb agonists. However, uDNA responses displayed a wider dynamic range, indicating differential regulation of expression relative to integrated proviruses. Similar to what has recently been demonstrated for latent integrated proviruses, one or two applications of latency reversing agents failed to activate all latent unintegrated genomes. Unlike integrated proviruses, uDNA gene expression did not down modulate expression of HLA Class I on resting CD4 T cells. uDNA did, however, efficiently prime infected cells for killing by HIV-1-specific cytotoxic T cells. Conclusions These studies demonstrate that contributions by unintegrated genomes to HIV-1 gene expression, virus production, latency and immune responses are inherent properties of the direct infection of resting CD4 T cells. Experimental models of HIV-1 latency employing directly infected resting CD4 T cells should calibrate the contribution of unintegrated HIV-1. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12977-015-0234-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chi N Chan
- Department of Basic Science, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, NY, 10010, USA.
| | - Benjamin Trinité
- Department of Basic Science, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, NY, 10010, USA.
| | - Caroline S Lee
- Department of Basic Science, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, NY, 10010, USA.
| | - Saurabh Mahajan
- Department of Basic Science, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, NY, 10010, USA.
| | - Akanksha Anand
- Department of Basic Science, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, NY, 10010, USA.
| | - Dominik Wodarz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, School of Biological, Sciences, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA.
| | - Steffanie Sabbaj
- Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA.
| | - Anju Bansal
- Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA.
| | - Paul A Goepfert
- Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA.
| | - David N Levy
- Department of Basic Science, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, NY, 10010, USA.
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Pereyra F, Heckerman D, Carlson JM, Kadie C, Soghoian DZ, Karel D, Goldenthal A, Davis OB, DeZiel CE, Lin T, Peng J, Piechocka A, Carrington M, Walker BD. HIV control is mediated in part by CD8+ T-cell targeting of specific epitopes. J Virol 2014; 88:12937-48. [PMID: 25165115 PMCID: PMC4249072 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01004-14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2014] [Accepted: 08/19/2014] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED We investigated the hypothesis that the correlation between the class I HLA types of an individual and whether that individual spontaneously controls HIV-1 is mediated by the targeting of specific epitopes by CD8(+) T cells. By measuring gamma interferon enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot (ELISPOT) assay responses to a panel of 257 optimally defined epitopes in 341 untreated HIV-infected persons, including persons who spontaneously control viremia, we found that the correlation between HLA types and control is mediated by the targeting of specific epitopes. Moreover, we performed a graphical model-based analysis that suggested that the targeting of specific epitopes is a cause of such control--that is, some epitopes are protective rather than merely associated with control--and identified eight epitopes that are significantly protective. In addition, we use an in silico analysis to identify protein regions where mutations are likely to affect the stability of a protein, and we found that the protective epitopes identified by the ELISPOT analysis correspond almost perfectly to such regions. This in silico analysis thus suggests a possible mechanism for control and could be used to identify protective epitopes that are not often targeted in natural infection but that may be potentially useful in a vaccine. Our analyses thus argue for the inclusion (and exclusion) of specific epitopes in an HIV vaccine. IMPORTANCE Some individuals naturally control HIV replication in the absence of antiretroviral therapy, and this ability to control is strongly correlated with the HLA class I alleles that they express. Here, in a large-scale experimental study, we provide evidence that this correlation is mediated largely by the targeting of specific CD8(+) T-cell epitopes, and we identify eight epitopes that are likely to cause control. In addition, we provide an in silico analysis indicating that control occurs because mutations within these epitopes change the stability of the protein structures. This in silico analysis also identified additional epitopes that are not typically targeted in natural infection but may lead to control when included in a vaccine, provided that other epitopes that would otherwise distract the immune system from targeting them are excluded from the vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florencia Pereyra
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, USA Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | | | - Carl Kadie
- Microsoft Research, Redmond, Washington, USA
| | | | - Daniel Karel
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Ariel Goldenthal
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Oliver B Davis
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Tienho Lin
- Microsoft Research, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Jian Peng
- Microsoft Research, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Alicja Piechocka
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Mary Carrington
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, USA Cancer and Inflammation Program, Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Bruce D Walker
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, USA Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland, USA
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The immunodominant influenza A virus M158-66 cytotoxic T lymphocyte epitope exhibits degenerate class I major histocompatibility complex restriction in humans. J Virol 2014; 88:10613-23. [PMID: 24990997 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00855-14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED Cytotoxic T lymphocytes recognizing conserved peptide epitopes are crucial for protection against influenza A virus (IAV) infection. The CD8 T cell response against the M158-66 (GILGFVFTL) matrix protein epitope is immunodominant when restricted by HLA-A*02, a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecule expressed by approximately half of the human population. Here we report that the GILGFVFTL peptide is restricted by multiple HLA-C*08 alleles as well. We observed that M158-66 was able to elicit cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses in both HLA-A*02- and HLA-C*08-positive individuals and that GILGFVFTL-specific CTLs in individuals expressing both restriction elements were distinct and not cross-reactive. The crystal structure of GILGFVFTL-HLA-C*08:01 was solved at 1.84 Å, and comparison with the known GILGFVFTL-HLA-A*02:01 structure revealed that the antigen bound both complexes in near-identical conformations, accommodated by binding pockets shaped from shared as well as unique residues. This discovery of degenerate peptide presentation by both HLA-A and HLA-C allelic variants eliciting unique CTL responses to IAV infection contributes fundamental knowledge with important implications for vaccine development strategies. IMPORTANCE The presentation of influenza A virus peptides to elicit immunity is thought to be narrowly restricted, with a single peptide presented by a specific HLA molecule. In this study, we show that the same influenza A virus peptide can be more broadly presented by both HLA-A and HLA-C molecules. This discovery may help to explain the differences in immunity to influenza A virus between individuals and populations and may also aid in the design of vaccines.
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Tenzer S, Crawford H, Pymm P, Gifford R, Sreenu VB, Weimershaus M, de Oliveira T, Burgevin A, Gerstoft J, Akkad N, Lunn D, Fugger L, Bell J, Schild H, van Endert P, Iversen AKN. HIV-1 adaptation to antigen processing results in population-level immune evasion and affects subtype diversification. Cell Rep 2014; 7:448-463. [PMID: 24726370 PMCID: PMC4005910 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2014.03.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2013] [Revised: 12/04/2013] [Accepted: 03/11/2014] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The recent HIV-1 vaccine failures highlight the need to better understand virus-host interactions. One key question is why CD8(+) T cell responses to two HIV-Gag regions are uniquely associated with delayed disease progression only in patients expressing a few rare HLA class I variants when these regions encode epitopes presented by ~30 more common HLA variants. By combining epitope processing and computational analyses of the two HIV subtypes responsible for ~60% of worldwide infections, we identified a hitherto unrecognized adaptation to the antigen-processing machinery through substitutions at subtype-specific motifs. Multiple HLA variants presenting epitopes situated next to a given subtype-specific motif drive selection at this subtype-specific position, and epitope abundances correlate inversely with the HLA frequency distribution in affected populations. This adaptation reflects the sum of intrapatient adaptations, is predictable, facilitates viral subtype diversification, and increases global HIV diversity. Because low epitope abundance is associated with infrequent and weak T cell responses, this most likely results in both population-level immune evasion and inadequate responses in most people vaccinated with natural HIV-1 sequence constructs. Our results suggest that artificial sequence modifications at subtype-specific positions in vitro could refocus and reverse the poor immunogenicity of HIV proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Tenzer
- Institute of Immunology, University Medical Center of the Johannes-Gutenberg University of Mainz, Langenbeckstrasse 1, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | - Hayley Crawford
- Medical Research Council Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Oxford University, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headley Way, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK; Division of Clinical Neurology, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Oxford University, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headley Way, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Phillip Pymm
- Medical Research Council Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Oxford University, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headley Way, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK; Division of Clinical Neurology, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Oxford University, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headley Way, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Robert Gifford
- Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, 455 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Vattipally B Sreenu
- Medical Research Council Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Oxford University, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headley Way, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Mirjana Weimershaus
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Unité 1151, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR8253, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Hôpital Necker, 149 rue de Sèvres, 75015 Paris, France
| | - Tulio de Oliveira
- Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, KwaZulu-Natal 3935, South Africa; Research Department of Infection, University College London, Cruciform Building, 90 Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Anne Burgevin
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Unité 1151, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR8253, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Hôpital Necker, 149 rue de Sèvres, 75015 Paris, France
| | - Jan Gerstoft
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Rigshospitalet, The National University Hospital, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Kbh Ø Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Nadja Akkad
- Institute of Immunology, University Medical Center of the Johannes-Gutenberg University of Mainz, Langenbeckstrasse 1, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | - Daniel Lunn
- Department of Statistics, University of Oxford, 1 South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3TG, UK
| | - Lars Fugger
- Medical Research Council Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Oxford University, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headley Way, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK; Division of Clinical Neurology, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Oxford University, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headley Way, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK
| | - John Bell
- Office of the Regius Professor of Medicine, The Richard Doll Building, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus, Roosevelt Drive 1, Oxford OX3 7LF, UK
| | - Hansjörg Schild
- Institute of Immunology, University Medical Center of the Johannes-Gutenberg University of Mainz, Langenbeckstrasse 1, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | - Peter van Endert
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Unité 1151, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR8253, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Hôpital Necker, 149 rue de Sèvres, 75015 Paris, France
| | - Astrid K N Iversen
- Medical Research Council Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Oxford University, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headley Way, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK; Division of Clinical Neurology, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Oxford University, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headley Way, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK.
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9
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Watanabe K, Murakoshi H, Tamura Y, Koyanagi M, Chikata T, Gatanaga H, Oka S, Takiguchi M. Identification of cross-clade CTL epitopes in HIV-1 clade A/E-infected individuals by using the clade B overlapping peptides. Microbes Infect 2013; 15:874-86. [PMID: 23968885 DOI: 10.1016/j.micinf.2013.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2013] [Revised: 08/08/2013] [Accepted: 08/08/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Identification of cross-clade T cell epitopes is one of key factors for the development of a widely applicable AIDS vaccine. We here investigated cross-clade CD8(+) T cell responses between clade B and A/E viruses in chronically HIV-1 clade A/E-infected Japanese individuals. CD8(+) T cell responses to 11-mer overlapping peptides derived from Nef, Gag, and Pol clade B consensus sequences were at a similar level to those to the same peptides found in clade B-infected individuals. Fifteen cross-clade CTL epitopes were identified from 13 regions where the frequency of responders was high in the clade A/E-infected individuals. The sequences of 6 epitopes were conserved between the clade B and clade A/E viruses whereas 9 epitopes had different amino acid sequences between the 2 viruses. CD8(+) T cells specific for the 6 conserved epitopes recognized cells infected with the clade A/E virus, whereas those for 8 diverse epitopes recognized both the clade A/E virus-infected and clade B-infected cells. All of the cross-clade CD8(+) T cells specific for conserved and diverse epitopes were detected in chronically HIV-1 clade A/E-infected individuals. These results show that in addition to conserved regions polymorphic ones across the clades can be targets for cross-clade CTLs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koji Watanabe
- Center for AIDS Research, Kumamoto University, 2-2-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto, Japan; AIDS Clinical Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, 1-21-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
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10
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Wiens KE, Swaminathan H, Copin R, Lun DS, Ernst JD. Equivalent T cell epitope promiscuity in ecologically diverse human pathogens. PLoS One 2013; 8:e73124. [PMID: 23951341 PMCID: PMC3739752 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0073124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2013] [Accepted: 07/15/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The HLA (human leukocyte antigen) molecules that present pathogen-derived epitopes to T cells are highly diverse. Correspondingly, many pathogens such as HIV evolve epitope variants in order to evade immune recognition. In contrast, another persistent human pathogen, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, has highly conserved epitope sequences. This raises the question whether there is also a difference in the ability of these pathogens’ epitopes to bind diverse HLA alleles, referred to as an epitope’s binding promiscuity. To address this question, we compared the in silico HLA binding promiscuity of T cell epitopes from pathogens with distinct infection strategies and outcomes of human exposure. Methods We used computer algorithms to predict the binding affinity of experimentally-verified microbial epitope peptides to diverse HLA-DR, HLA-A and HLA-B alleles. We then analyzed binding promiscuity of epitopes derived from HIV and M. tuberculosis. We also analyzed promiscuity of epitopes from Streptococcus pyogenes, which is known to exhibit epitope diversity, and epitopes of Bacillus anthracis and Clostridium tetani toxins, as these bacteria do not depend on human hosts for their survival or replication, and their toxin antigens are highly immunogenic human vaccines. Results We found that B. anthracis and C. tetani epitopes were the most promiscuous of the group that we analyzed. However, there was no consistent difference or trend in promiscuity in epitopes contained in HIV, M. tuberculosis, and S. pyogenes. Conclusions Our results show that human pathogens with distinct immune evasion strategies and epitope diversities exhibit equivalent levels of T cell epitope promiscuity. These results indicate that differences in epitope promiscuity do not account for the observed differences in epitope variation and conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsten E. Wiens
- Department of Pathology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Harish Swaminathan
- Department of Computer Science and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Rutgers University, Camden, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Richard Copin
- Department of Pathology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Desmond S. Lun
- Department of Computer Science and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Rutgers University, Camden, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Joel D. Ernst
- Department of Pathology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
- Department of Microbiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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11
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Krotova O, Starodubova E, Petkov S, Kostic L, Agapkina J, Hallengärd D, Viklund A, Latyshev O, Gelius E, Dillenbeck T, Karpov V, Gottikh M, Belyakov IM, Lukashov V, Isaguliants MG. Consensus HIV-1 FSU-A integrase gene variants electroporated into mice induce polyfunctional antigen-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. PLoS One 2013; 8:e62720. [PMID: 23667513 PMCID: PMC3648577 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0062720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2013] [Accepted: 03/25/2013] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Our objective is to create gene immunogens targeted against drug-resistant HIV-1, focusing on HIV-1 enzymes as critical components in viral replication and drug resistance. Consensus-based gene vaccines are specifically fit for variable pathogens such as HIV-1 and have many advantages over viral genes and their expression-optimized variants. With this in mind, we designed the consensus integrase (IN) of the HIV-1 clade A strain predominant in the territory of the former Soviet Union and its inactivated derivative with and without mutations conferring resistance to elvitegravir. Humanized IN gene was synthesized; and inactivated derivatives (with 64D in the active site mutated to V) with and without elvitegravir-resistance mutations were generated by site-mutagenesis. Activity tests of IN variants expressed in E coli showed the consensus IN to be active, while both D64V-variants were devoid of specific activities. IN genes cloned in the DNA-immunization vector pVax1 (pVaxIN plasmids) were highly expressed in human and murine cell lines (>0.7 ng/cell). Injection of BALB/c mice with pVaxIN plasmids followed by electroporation generated potent IFN-γ and IL-2 responses registered in PBMC by day 15 and in splenocytes by day 23 after immunization. Multiparametric FACS demonstrated that CD8+ and CD4+ T cells of gene-immunized mice stimulated with IN-derived peptides secreted IFN-γ, IL-2, and TNF-α. The multi-cytokine responses of CD8+ and CD4+ T-cells correlated with the loss of in vivo activity of the luciferase reporter gene co-delivered with pVaxIN plasmids. This indicated the capacity of IN-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells to clear IN/reporter co-expressing cells from the injection sites. Thus, the synthetic HIV-1 clade A integrase genes acted as potent immunogens generating polyfunctional Th1-type CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Generation of such response is highly desirable for an effective HIV-1 vaccine as it offers a possibility to attack virus-infected cells via both MHC class I and II pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga Krotova
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- DI Ivanovsky Institute of Virology, Moscow, Russia
- WA Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Moscow, Russia
| | - Elizaveta Starodubova
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- WA Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Moscow, Russia
| | - Stefan Petkov
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Linda Kostic
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Julia Agapkina
- WA Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Moscow, Russia
| | - David Hallengärd
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Alecia Viklund
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | | | | | - Vadim Karpov
- WA Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Moscow, Russia
| | - Marina Gottikh
- Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Igor M. Belyakov
- Michigan Nanotechnology Institute for Medicine and Biological Sciences, and the Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Vladimir Lukashov
- DI Ivanovsky Institute of Virology, Moscow, Russia
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Maria G. Isaguliants
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- DI Ivanovsky Institute of Virology, Moscow, Russia
- * E-mail:
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12
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Carlson JM, Brumme CJ, Martin E, Listgarten J, Brockman MA, Le AQ, Chui CKS, Cotton LA, Knapp DJHF, Riddler SA, Haubrich R, Nelson G, Pfeifer N, DeZiel CE, Heckerman D, Apps R, Carrington M, Mallal S, Harrigan PR, John M, Brumme ZL. Correlates of protective cellular immunity revealed by analysis of population-level immune escape pathways in HIV-1. J Virol 2012; 86:13202-16. [PMID: 23055555 PMCID: PMC3503140 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01998-12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2012] [Accepted: 10/02/2012] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
HLA class I-associated polymorphisms identified at the population level mark viral sites under immune pressure by individual HLA alleles. As such, analysis of their distribution, frequency, location, statistical strength, sequence conservation, and other properties offers a unique perspective from which to identify correlates of protective cellular immunity. We analyzed HLA-associated HIV-1 subtype B polymorphisms in 1,888 treatment-naïve, chronically infected individuals using phylogenetically informed methods and identified characteristics of HLA-associated immune pressures that differentiate protective and nonprotective alleles. Over 2,100 HLA-associated HIV-1 polymorphisms were identified, approximately one-third of which occurred inside or within 3 residues of an optimally defined cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) epitope. Differential CTL escape patterns between closely related HLA alleles were common and increased with greater evolutionary distance between allele group members. Among 9-mer epitopes, mutations at HLA-specific anchor residues represented the most frequently detected escape type: these occurred nearly 2-fold more frequently than expected by chance and were computationally predicted to reduce peptide-HLA binding nearly 10-fold on average. Characteristics associated with protective HLA alleles (defined using hazard ratios for progression to AIDS from natural history cohorts) included the potential to mount broad immune selection pressures across all HIV-1 proteins except Nef, the tendency to drive multisite and/or anchor residue escape mutations within known CTL epitopes, and the ability to strongly select mutations in conserved regions within HIV's structural and functional proteins. Thus, the factors defining protective cellular immune responses may be more complex than simply targeting conserved viral regions. The results provide new information to guide vaccine design and immunogenicity studies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Chanson J. Brumme
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Eric Martin
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | - Mark A. Brockman
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, Canada
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Anh Q. Le
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Celia K. S. Chui
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Laura A. Cotton
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | - Sharon A. Riddler
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Richard Haubrich
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
| | - George Nelson
- Basic Research Program, Center for Cancer Research Genetics Core, SAIC-Frederick, Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Nico Pfeifer
- Microsoft Research, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | | | | | - Richard Apps
- Cancer and Inflammation Program, Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, SAIC-Frederick, Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland, USA, and Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, MIT, and Harvard, Charlestown, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Mary Carrington
- Cancer and Inflammation Program, Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, SAIC-Frederick, Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland, USA, and Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, MIT, and Harvard, Charlestown, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Simon Mallal
- Centre for Clinical Immunology and Biomedical Statistics, Institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia
- Department of Clinical Immunology, Royal Perth Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | | | - Mina John
- Centre for Clinical Immunology and Biomedical Statistics, Institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia
- Department of Clinical Immunology, Royal Perth Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Zabrina L. Brumme
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, Canada
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - the International HIV Adaptation Collaborative
- Microsoft Research, Los Angeles, California, USA
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, Canada
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
- Basic Research Program, Center for Cancer Research Genetics Core, SAIC-Frederick, Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland, USA
- Cancer and Inflammation Program, Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, SAIC-Frederick, Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland, USA, and Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, MIT, and Harvard, Charlestown, Massachusetts, USA
- Centre for Clinical Immunology and Biomedical Statistics, Institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia
- Department of Clinical Immunology, Royal Perth Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
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13
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Martorelli D, Guidoboni M, De Re V, Muraro E, Turrini R, Merlo A, Pasini E, Caggiari L, Romagnoli L, Spina M, Mortarini R, Gasparotto D, Mazzucato M, Carbone A, Rosato A, Anichini A, Dolcetti R. IGKV3 proteins as candidate "off-the-shelf" vaccines for kappa-light chain-restricted B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Clin Cancer Res 2012; 18:4080-91. [PMID: 22705988 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-12-0763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE An increasing set of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (B-NHL) show a biased usage of IGKV3-20 and IGKV3-15 immunoglobulin genes, a feature that could be exploited for the development of ready-to-use, broadly applicable cancer vaccines. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN The immunogenic properties of clonal IGKV3-20 and IGKV3-15 proteins were analyzed with particular focus on their ability to elicit cross-reactive responses against molecularly related IGKV proteins expressed by different B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders. RESULTS IGK+ lymphoma patients show humoral and T-cell responses to IGKV3-20 and IGKV3-15 proteins and IGKV3-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) can be easily induced ex vivo. IGKV3-20-specific CTLs cross-react against different IGKV3 proteins, an effect mediated by the presence of 21 shared, sometimes promiscuous, T-cell epitopes, presented by common HLA class I allele products, thus assuring a broad HLA coverage of IGKV3-based vaccines. Many natural epitope variants are carried by IGK light chains expressed by a broad spectrum of B-NHLs and we show that IGKV3-20-specific CTLs cross-react also against several of these variant epitopes. Both humoral and CTL-specific responses were induced by KLH-conjugated IGKV3-20 protein in HLA-A2-transgenic mice and coinjection of IGKV3-20-specific CTLs with IGKV3-20+ or IGKV3-15+ lymphoma cells into SCID mice totally prevented tumor growth, thus confirming the ability of these effectors to mediate efficient and cross-reactive cytotoxic responses also in vivo. CONCLUSIONS These results provide the rationale to exploit IGKV3 proteins as "off-the-shelf" vaccines for a large fraction of lymphoma patients.
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MESH Headings
- Adult
- Aged
- Amino Acid Sequence
- Animals
- Cancer Vaccines/administration & dosage
- Cancer Vaccines/immunology
- Cell Line, Tumor
- Cross Reactions/immunology
- Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
- Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte/immunology
- Female
- Flow Cytometry
- HLA Antigens/genetics
- HLA Antigens/immunology
- HLA-A2 Antigen/genetics
- HLA-A2 Antigen/immunology
- Humans
- Immunity, Humoral/immunology
- Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains/immunology
- Lymphoma, B-Cell/immunology
- Lymphoma, B-Cell/pathology
- Lymphoma, B-Cell/therapy
- Male
- Mice
- Mice, SCID
- Mice, Transgenic
- Middle Aged
- T-Lymphocytes/immunology
- T-Lymphocytes/metabolism
- T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic/immunology
- T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic/metabolism
- T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic/transplantation
- Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
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Affiliation(s)
- Debora Martorelli
- Cancer Bio-Immunotherapy Unit, IRCCS-National Cancer Institute, Aviano, Italy
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14
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Carlson JM, Listgarten J, Pfeifer N, Tan V, Kadie C, Walker BD, Ndung'u T, Shapiro R, Frater J, Brumme ZL, Goulder PJR, Heckerman D. Widespread impact of HLA restriction on immune control and escape pathways of HIV-1. J Virol 2012; 86:5230-43. [PMID: 22379086 PMCID: PMC3347390 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.06728-11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2011] [Accepted: 02/20/2012] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The promiscuous presentation of epitopes by similar HLA class I alleles holds promise for a universal T-cell-based HIV-1 vaccine. However, in some instances, cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) restricted by HLA alleles with similar or identical binding motifs are known to target epitopes at different frequencies, with different functional avidities and with different apparent clinical outcomes. Such differences may be illuminated by the association of similar HLA alleles with distinctive escape pathways. Using a novel computational method featuring phylogenetically corrected odds ratios, we systematically analyzed differential patterns of immune escape across all optimally defined epitopes in Gag, Pol, and Nef in 2,126 HIV-1 clade C-infected adults. Overall, we identified 301 polymorphisms in 90 epitopes associated with HLA alleles belonging to shared supertypes. We detected differential escape in 37 of 38 epitopes restricted by more than one allele, which included 278 instances of differential escape at the polymorphism level. The majority (66 to 97%) of these resulted from the selection of unique HLA-specific polymorphisms rather than differential epitope targeting rates, as confirmed by gamma interferon (IFN-γ) enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot assay (ELISPOT) data. Discordant associations between HLA alleles and viral load were frequently observed between allele pairs that selected for differential escape. Furthermore, the total number of associated polymorphisms strongly correlated with average viral load. These studies confirm that differential escape is a widespread phenomenon and may be the norm when two alleles present the same epitope. Given the clinical correlates of immune escape, such heterogeneity suggests that certain epitopes will lead to discordant outcomes if applied universally in a vaccine.
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15
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Fomsgaard A, Karlsson I, Gram G, Schou C, Tang S, Bang P, Kromann I, Andersen P, Andreasen LV. Development and preclinical safety evaluation of a new therapeutic HIV-1 vaccine based on 18 T-cell minimal epitope peptides applying a novel cationic adjuvant CAF01. Vaccine 2011; 29:7067-74. [PMID: 21767590 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2011.07.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2011] [Revised: 06/30/2011] [Accepted: 07/08/2011] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Therapeutic immunization of HIV-1-infected individuals with or without anti-retroviral therapy is a new promising disease prevention. To induce a new cytotoxic T(CD8) lymphocyte (CTL) immunity during chronic HIV-1 infection 15 infrequently targeted but conserved HLA-supertype binding CTL epitopes from Gag, Pol, Nef, Env, Vpu and Vif were identified. The 15 T(CD8) and three T(CD4) helper peptides were GMP synthesised and formulated with a new adjuvant CAF01 which is a synthetic two-component liposomic adjuvant comprising the quaternary ammonium dimethyl-dioctadecyl-ammonium (DDA) and the immune modulator trehalose 6,6'-dibehenate (TDB). Using IFN-γ ELISPOT assay, T-cell immune induction by the vaccine was found to both CD4 and CD8 T-cell restricted peptides in HLA-A2 transgenic mice. Comprehensive toxicity studies of the CAF01 adjuvant-alone and together with different vaccines showed that CAF01 when tested at human dose levels was safe and well tolerated with only local inflammation at the site of injection and no systemic reactions. No pharmacological safety issues were observed in Beagle dogs. The HIV-1 vaccine toxicity study in the Göttingen Minipig(®) showed no systemic toxicity from five repetitive i.m. injections, each with a 2-week interval, of either the 18 HIV-1 peptide antigen solution (AFO18) or the AFO18-CAF01, in which the 18 HIV-1 peptides were formulated with the CAF01 adjuvant. Distinct inflammatory responses were observed in the injected muscles of the AFO18-CAF01 vaccine treated animals as a result of the immune stimulating effect of the adjuvant on the vaccine. The results of the toxicity studies provide optimism for phase I clinical trials evaluating the therapeutic HIV-1 T-cell vaccination approach using multiple subdominant minimal epitope peptides applying the novel cationic adjuvant CAF01.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anders Fomsgaard
- Virus Research & Development Laboratory, Department of Virology, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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16
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Rao X, Hoof I, Fontaine Costa AICA, van Baarle D, Keşmir C. HLA class I allele promiscuity revisited. Immunogenetics 2011; 63:691-701. [PMID: 21695550 PMCID: PMC3190086 DOI: 10.1007/s00251-011-0552-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2011] [Accepted: 06/10/2011] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
The peptide repertoire presented on human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules is largely determined by the structure of the peptide binding groove. It is expected that the molecules having similar grooves (i.e., belonging to the same supertype) might present similar/overlapping peptides. However, the extent of promiscuity among HLA class I ligands remains controversial: while in many studies T cell responses are detected against epitopes presented by alternative molecules across HLA class I supertypes and loci, peptide elution studies report minute overlaps between the peptide repertoires of even related HLA molecules. To get more insight into the promiscuous peptide binding by HLA molecules, we analyzed the HLA peptide binding data from the large epitope repository, Immune Epitope Database (IEDB), and further performed in silico analysis to estimate the promiscuity at the population level. Both analyses suggest that an unexpectedly large fraction of HLA ligands (>50%) bind two or more HLA molecules, often across supertype or even loci. These results suggest that different HLA class I molecules can nevertheless present largely overlapping peptide sets, and that “functional” HLA polymorphism on individual and population level is probably much lower than previously anticipated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangyu Rao
- Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584CH Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Ilka Hoof
- Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584CH Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | | | - Debbie van Baarle
- Department of Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Can Keşmir
- Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584CH Utrecht, The Netherlands
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17
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VINNER LASSE, HOLMGREN BIRGITTA, JENSEN KRISTOFFERJ, ESBJORNSSON JOAKIM, BORGGREN M, HENTZE JULIEL, KARLSSON INGRID, ANDRESEN BETINAS, GRAM GREGERSJ, KLOVERPRIS HENRIK, AABY PETER, DA SILVA ZACARIASJOSÉ, FENYÖ EVAMARIA, FOMSGAARD ANDERS. Sequence analysis of HIV-1 isolates from Guinea-Bissau: selection of vaccine epitopes relevant in both West African and European countries. APMIS 2011; 119:487-97. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0463.2011.02763.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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18
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Axelsson-Robertson R, Ahmed RK, Weichold FF, Ehlers MM, Kock MM, Sizemore D, Sadoff J, Maeurer M. Human leukocyte antigens A*3001 and A*3002 show distinct peptide-binding patterns of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein TB10.4: consequences for immune recognition. CLINICAL AND VACCINE IMMUNOLOGY : CVI 2011; 18:125-34. [PMID: 21084459 PMCID: PMC3019778 DOI: 10.1128/cvi.00302-10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2010] [Revised: 09/15/2010] [Accepted: 11/09/2010] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
High-tuberculosis (TB)-burden countries are located in sub-Saharan Africa. We examined the frequency of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles, followed by recombinant expression of the most frequent HLA-A alleles, i.e., HLA-A*3001 and HLA-A*3002, to study differences in mycobacterial peptide presentation and CD8(+) T-cell recognition. We screened a peptide library (9-mer peptides with an 8-amino-acid overlap) for binding, affinity, and off-rate of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis-associated antigen TB10.4 and identified only three TB10.4 peptides with considerable binding to HLA-A*3001. In contrast, 22 peptides bound to HLA-A*3002. This reflects a marked difference in the binding preference between the two alleles, with A*3002 tolerating a more promiscuous peptide-binding pattern and A*3001 accommodating only a very selective peptide repertoire. Subsequent analysis of the affinity and off-rate of the binding peptides revealed a strong affinity (8 nM to 7 μM) and moderate off-rate (20 min to 3 h) for both alleles. Construction of HLA-A*3001 and HLA-A*3002 tetramers containing selected binding peptides from TB10.4, including a peptide which was shared among both alleles, QIMYNYPAM (TB10.4(3-11)), allowed us to enumerate epitope-specific T cells in HLA-A*3001- and HLA-A*3002-typed patients with active TB. HLA-A*3001 and HLA-A*3002 major histocompatibility complex-peptide complexes were recognized in individuals with active TB, irrespective of their homozygous HLA-A*3001 or HLA-A*3002 genetic background. The antigen-specific T cells exhibited the CD45RA(+) CCR7(+) precursor phenotype and the interleukin-7 receptor (CD127), which were different from the phenotype and receptor exhibited by the parental CD8(+) T-cell population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Axelsson-Robertson
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, Stockholm, Sweden, Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation, Rockville, Maryland, Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Pretoria/NHLS, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Raija K. Ahmed
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, Stockholm, Sweden, Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation, Rockville, Maryland, Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Pretoria/NHLS, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Frank F. Weichold
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, Stockholm, Sweden, Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation, Rockville, Maryland, Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Pretoria/NHLS, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Marthie M. Ehlers
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, Stockholm, Sweden, Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation, Rockville, Maryland, Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Pretoria/NHLS, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Marleen M. Kock
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, Stockholm, Sweden, Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation, Rockville, Maryland, Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Pretoria/NHLS, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Donata Sizemore
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, Stockholm, Sweden, Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation, Rockville, Maryland, Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Pretoria/NHLS, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Jerry Sadoff
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, Stockholm, Sweden, Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation, Rockville, Maryland, Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Pretoria/NHLS, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Markus Maeurer
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, Stockholm, Sweden, Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation, Rockville, Maryland, Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Pretoria/NHLS, Pretoria, South Africa
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Verheyen J, Schweitzer F, Harrer EG, Knops E, Mueller SM, Däumer M, Eismann K, Bergmann S, Spriewald BM, Kaiser R, Harrer T. Analysis of immune selection as a potential cause for the presence of cleavage site mutation 431V in treatment-naive HIV type-1 isolates. Antivir Ther 2010; 15:907-12. [PMID: 20834103 DOI: 10.3851/imp1640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION HIV type-1 (HIV-1) protease (PR) and cleavage site (CS) mutations accumulate in protease-inhibitor-resistant isolates. HIV-1 CS mutation 431V is the most frequent treatment-associated CS mutation; however, little is known about its origin in treatment-naive HIV-1 isolates. Recently, it has been shown that the CS mutation 431V is located within the human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B*13-restricted cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) epitope RQANFLGKI (RI9). Therefore, we investigated whether the presence of CS mutation 431V might additionally be related to immune escape. METHODS CTL recognition of RI9 and of RI9 variants carrying the 431V or the 436R mutation was analysed by ELISPOT in nine HLA-B*13-positive HIV-1-infected patients. Treatment-naive HIV-1-infected patients with primary drug-resistant HIV-1 isolates (n=58) or carrying 431V (n=4) were genotyped for HLA class I alleles. RESULTS ELISPOT analysis showed different patterns of CTL recognition of RI9. CS mutation 431V could abrogate recognition by RI9-specific CTL in a subgroup of patients. Nevertheless, in our study, the occurrence of 431V in treatment-naive HIV-1 without primary drug resistance could not be explained by HLA-B*13-mediated immune selection. In patients with primary drug-resistant HIV-1 isolates, the frequency of HLA-B*13 was not increased and HLA-B*13 did not correlate with CS mutations 436R or 431V. CONCLUSIONS HIV-1 CS mutation 431V can abrogate CTL recognition, indicating interactions between development of drug resistance and the CTL response. However, we could not find evidence that the presence of 431V in treatment-naive HIV-1 isolates with and without primary drug resistance is related to immune selection by HLA-B*13 or other HLA class I alleles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jens Verheyen
- Institute of Virology, University of Cologne, Germany.
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20
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Watanabe T, Murakoshi H, Gatanaga H, Koyanagi M, Oka S, Takiguchi M. Effective recognition of HIV-1-infected cells by HIV-1 integrase-specific HLA-B∗4002-restricted T cells. Microbes Infect 2010; 13:160-6. [PMID: 20971209 DOI: 10.1016/j.micinf.2010.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2010] [Revised: 10/13/2010] [Accepted: 10/13/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
HLA-B∗4002 is one of the common HLA-B alleles in the world. All 7 reported HLA-B∗4002-restricted HIV epitopes are derived from Gag, Nef, and Vpr. In the present study we sought to identify novel HLA-B∗4002-restricted HIV epitopes by using overlapping 11-mer peptides of HIV-1 Nef, Gag, and Pol, and found that 6 of these 11-mer Pol peptides included HLA-B∗4002-restricted epitopes. Analysis using truncated peptides of these 6 peptides defined 4 optimal Pol (integrase) epitopes. All epitopes previously reported had Glu at position 2 (P2), suggesting that Glu at P2 is the anchor residue for HLA-B∗4002; whereas only 2 of the integrase epitopes that we here identified had Glu at P2. CTL clones specific for the 2 epitopes effectively recognized HIV-1-infected cells whereas those for other 2 epitopes only weakly recognized them. The antigen sensitivity of the former clones for the epitope peptide was much higher than that of the latter clones, suggesting 2 possibilities: 1) the former T cells have high-affinity TCRs and/or 2) the epitope peptides recognized by the former T cells are highly presented by HLA-B∗4002 in HIV-1-infected cells. These integrase-specific T cells with high antigen sensitivity may contribute to the suppression of HIV-1 replication in HIV-1-infected HLA-B∗4002+ individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamayo Watanabe
- Center for AIDS Research, Kumamoto University, 2-2-1 Honjo, Kumamoto 860-0811, Japan
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21
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Bansal A, Carlson J, Yan J, Akinsiku OT, Schaefer M, Sabbaj S, Bet A, Levy DN, Heath S, Tang J, Kaslow RA, Walker BD, Ndung'u T, Goulder PJ, Heckerman D, Hunter E, Goepfert PA. CD8 T cell response and evolutionary pressure to HIV-1 cryptic epitopes derived from antisense transcription. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010; 207:51-9. [PMID: 20065064 PMCID: PMC2812545 DOI: 10.1084/jem.20092060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Retroviruses pack multiple genes into relatively small genomes by encoding several genes in the same genomic region with overlapping reading frames. Both sense and antisense HIV-1 transcripts contain open reading frames for known functional proteins as well as numerous alternative reading frames (ARFs). At least some ARFs have the potential to encode proteins of unknown function, and their antigenic properties can be considered as cryptic epitopes (CEs). To examine the extent of active immune response to virally encoded CEs, we analyzed human leukocyte antigen class I–associated polymorphisms in HIV-1 gag, pol, and nef genes from a large cohort of South Africans with chronic infection. In all, 391 CEs and 168 conventional epitopes were predicted, with the majority (307; 79%) of CEs derived from antisense transcripts. In further evaluation of CD8 T cell responses to a subset of the predicted CEs in patients with primary or chronic infection, both sense- and antisense-encoded CEs were immunogenic at both stages of infection. In addition, CEs often mutated during the first year of infection, which was consistent with immune selection for escape variants. These findings indicate that the HIV-1 genome might encode and deploy a large potential repertoire of unconventional epitopes to enhance vaccine-induced antiviral immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anju Bansal
- Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA.
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Axelsson-Robertson R, Weichold F, Sizemore D, Wulf M, Skeiky YAW, Sadoff J, Maeurer MJ. Extensive major histocompatibility complex class I binding promiscuity for Mycobacterium tuberculosis TB10.4 peptides and immune dominance of human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-B*0702 and HLA-B*0801 alleles in TB10.4 CD8 T-cell responses. Immunology 2009; 129:496-505. [PMID: 20002212 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2567.2009.03201.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The molecular definition of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I-presented CD8(+) T-cell epitopes from clinically relevant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) target proteins will aid in the rational design of T-cell-based diagnostics of tuberculosis (TB) and the measurement of TB vaccine-take. We used an epitope discovery system, based on recombinant MHC class I molecules that cover the most frequent Caucasian alleles [human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-A*0101, A*0201, A*0301, A*1101, A*2402, B*0702, B*0801 and B*1501], to identify MHC class I-binding peptides from overlapping 9-mer peptides representing the Mtb protein TB10.4. A total of 33 MHC class I-binding epitopes were identified, spread across the entire amino acid sequence, with some clustering at the N- and C-termini of the protein. Binding of individual peptides or closely related peptide species to different MHC class I alleles was frequently observed. For instance, the common motif of xIMYNYPAMx bound to six of eight alleles. Affinity (50% effective dose) and off-rate (half life) analysis of candidate Mtb peptides will help to define the conditions for CD8(+) T-cell interaction with their nominal MHC class I-peptide ligands. Subsequent construction of tetramers allowed us to confirm the recognition of some of the epitopes by CD8(+) T cells from patients with active pulmonary TB. HLA-B alleles served as the dominant MHC class I restricting molecules for anti-Mtb TB10.4-specific CD8(+) T-cell responses measured in CD8(+) T cells from patients with pulmonary TB.
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Protease cleavage sites in HIV-1 gp120 recognized by antigen processing enzymes are conserved and located at receptor binding sites. J Virol 2009; 84:1513-26. [PMID: 19939935 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01765-09] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The identification of vaccine immunogens able to elicit broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) is a major goal in HIV vaccine research. Although it has been possible to produce recombinant envelope glycoproteins able to adsorb bNAbs from HIV-positive sera, immunization with these proteins has failed to elicit antibody responses effective against clinical isolates of HIV-1. Thus, the epitopes recognized by bNAbs are present on recombinant proteins, but they are not immunogenic. These results led us to consider the possibility that changes in the pattern of antigen processing might alter the immune response to the envelope glycoprotein to better elicit protective immunity. In these studies, we have defined protease cleavage sites on HIV gp120 recognized by three major human proteases (cathepsins L, S, and D) important for antigen processing and presentation. Remarkably, six of the eight sites identified in gp120 were highly conserved and clustered in regions of the molecule associated with receptor binding and/or the binding of neutralizing antibodies. These results suggested that HIV may have evolved to take advantage of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II antigen processing enzymes in order to evade or direct the antiviral immune response.
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Westrop SJ, Grageda N, Imami N. Novel approach to recognition of predicted HIV-1 Gag B3501-restricted CD8 T-cell epitopes by HLA-B3501(+) patients: confirmation by quantitative ELISpot analyses and characterisation using multimers. J Immunol Methods 2008; 341:76-85. [PMID: 19056394 DOI: 10.1016/j.jim.2008.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2008] [Revised: 10/30/2008] [Accepted: 11/03/2008] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Exploring the intricacies of CD8(+) T-cell epitope recognition using emerging technologies to combine assessment of affinity, phenotype and resulting polyfunctional efficacy advances our understanding of HIV-1 immunopathogenesis and disease progression. Complexities within T-cell antigen recognition, such as epitope:MHC binding, stability and affinity, appear to influence the distinction between protective and ineffective anti-HIV-1 immune responses, which are thought to govern rate of disease progression. This study utilises the novel ProImmune REVEAL and ProVE(R) technology of rapid peptide synthesis, binding and affinity assays, and pentamer synthesis in conjunction with flow cytometry and simultaneous assessment of multiple CD8(+) T-cell effector functions in response to HLA-B3501-restricted HIV-1 Gag peptides, to discover new T-cell epitopes. The predicted HLA-B3501-restricted peptides, HPVHAGPIA and YPLTSLRSL, and relevant pentamers were used in parallel to validate T-cell epitopes on clinical HIV-1(+) samples, confirming correlation between the expected superior immunogenicity of newly discovered epitopes and the ex vivo T-cell response. Such a platform should be employed in prophylactic and therapeutic vaccine settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha J Westrop
- Department of Immunology, Imperial College London, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, 369, Fulham Road, London SW10 9NH, United Kingdom
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25
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MAZZARELLA GIUSEPPE, STEFANILE ROSITA, CAMARCA ALESSANDRA, GILIBERTI PAOLO, COSENTINI ELENA, MARANO CATERINA, IAQUINTO GAETANO, GIARDULLO NICOLA, AURICCHIO SALVATORE, SETTE ALESSANDRO, TRONCONE RICCARDO, GIANFRANI CARMEN. Gliadin activates HLA class I-restricted CD8+ T cells in celiac disease intestinal mucosa and induces the enterocyte apoptosis. Gastroenterology 2008; 134:1017-27. [PMID: 18395083 PMCID: PMC3319059 DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2008.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2007] [Accepted: 12/20/2007] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS The extensive infiltration of CD8(+) T cells in the intestinal mucosa of celiac disease (CD) patients is a hallmark of the disease. We identified a gliadin peptide (pA2) that is selectively recognized by CD8(+) T cells infiltrating intestinal mucosa of HLA-A2(+) CD patients. Herein, we investigated the phenotype, the tissue localization, and the effector mechanism of cells responsive to pA2 by using the organ culture of CD intestinal mucosa. The target of pA2-mediated cytotoxicity was also investigated by using the intestinal epithelial cell lines Caco2 and HT29, A2(+) and A2(-), respectively, as target cells. METHODS Jejunal biopsy specimens from CD patients were cultured in vitro with pA2, and cellular activation was evaluated by immunohistochemistry and cytofluorimetric analysis. Cytotoxicity of pA2-specific, intestinal CD8(+) T cells was assayed by granzyme-B and interferon-gamma release and by apoptosis of target cells. RESULTS pA2 challenge of A2(+) CD mucosa increased the percentage of CD8(+)CD25(+) and of CD80(+) cells in the lamina propria, the former mainly localized beneath the epithelium, as well as the number of terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling-positive cells (TUNEL(+)) in the epithelium. Intraepithelial CD3(+) cells and enterocyte expression of Fas were also increased. CD8(+)CD25(+) and CD8(+)FASL(+) T cells were significantly increased in cell preparations from biopsy specimens cultured with pA2. CD8(+) T-cell lines released both granzyme-B and interferon-gamma following recognition of pA2 when presented by Caco2 and not by HT29. CONCLUSIONS These data indicate that gliadins contain peptides able to activate, through a TCR/HLA class I interaction, CD8-mediated response in intestinal CD mucosa and to induce the enterocyte apoptosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- GIUSEPPE MAZZARELLA
- Institute of Food Sciences, CNR, Avellino, Italy,European Laboratory for the Investigation of Food-Induced Diseases, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | | | - ALESSANDRA CAMARCA
- Institute of Food Sciences, CNR, Avellino, Italy,European Laboratory for the Investigation of Food-Induced Diseases, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | | | - ELENA COSENTINI
- Immunohematology and Transfusion Medicin, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - CATERINA MARANO
- European Laboratory for the Investigation of Food-Induced Diseases, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | | | | | - SALVATORE AURICCHIO
- European Laboratory for the Investigation of Food-Induced Diseases, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - ALESSANDRO SETTE
- La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, San Diego, California
| | - RICCARDO TRONCONE
- European Laboratory for the Investigation of Food-Induced Diseases, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - CARMEN GIANFRANI
- Institute of Food Sciences, CNR, Avellino, Italy,European Laboratory for the Investigation of Food-Induced Diseases, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
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Immunological control of chronic HIV-1 infection: HLA-mediated immune function and viral evolution in adolescents. AIDS 2007; 21:2387-97. [PMID: 18025875 DOI: 10.1097/qad.0b013e3282f13823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Differential protein targeting by HIV-specific CD8 T cells is associated with disparate plasma viral loads; however, it is unclear if the quality of these responses differs depending upon the specificity of the targeted epitopes. METHODS We examined HIV-specific CD8 T-cell responses in HIV-infected adolescents carrying either an HLA class I allele associated with a favorable prognosis (HLA-B*57) or an allele associated with usual disease progression (HLA-B*35 or HLA-B*53) using interferon-gamma ELISpot and ICS assays. RESULTS In an interferon-gamma ELISpot assay, p24 was the dominant protein targeted by B*57 carriers while responses to Nef dominated in B*35 or B*53 positive carriers. This differential protein targeting did not change during 4 years of follow-up. In these chronically infected adolescents, there were no significant differences in the quality of the immunodominant T-cell responses between the B*57 and B*35/B*53 carriers as measured by peptide avidity, degranulation, and immune memory markers. There was a trend towards higher expression of interleukin-2 from B*57-KF11 restricted CD8 T cells although this difference was not significant. Nevertheless both B*57 and B*35/53-restricted responses were relatively potent as reflected by the propensity of CD8 T cells to escape in p24 and Nef, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Differential protein targeting rather than the quality of T-cell responses appears to be a major distinguishing feature of HIV-specific CD8 T cells induced in B*57 carriers. These data suggest that viral fitness costs associated with CD8 T-cell pressure is an important factor determining differences in the viral load among HIV-infected patients.
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27
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Frahm N, Yusim K, Suscovich TJ, Adams S, Sidney J, Hraber P, Hewitt HS, Linde CH, Kavanagh DG, Woodberry T, Henry LM, Faircloth K, Listgarten J, Kadie C, Jojic N, Sango K, Brown NV, Pae E, Zaman MT, Bihl F, Khatri A, John M, Mallal S, Marincola FM, Walker BD, Sette A, Heckerman D, Korber BT, Brander C. Extensive HLA class I allele promiscuity among viral CTL epitopes. Eur J Immunol 2007; 37:2419-33. [PMID: 17705138 PMCID: PMC2628559 DOI: 10.1002/eji.200737365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Promiscuous binding of T helper epitopes to MHC class II molecules has been well established, but few examples of promiscuous class I-restricted epitopes exist. To address the extent of promiscuity of HLA class I peptides, responses to 242 well-defined viral epitopes were tested in 100 subjects regardless of the individuals' HLA type. Surprisingly, half of all detected responses were seen in the absence of the originally reported restricting HLA class I allele, and only 3% of epitopes were recognized exclusively in the presence of their original allele. Functional assays confirmed the frequent recognition of HLA class I-restricted T cell epitopes on several alternative alleles across HLA class I supertypes and encoded on different class I loci. These data have significant implications for the understanding of MHC class I-restricted antigen presentation and vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Frahm
- Partners AIDS Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Division of AIDS, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Karina Yusim
- Theoretical Biophysics, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM
| | - Todd J. Suscovich
- Partners AIDS Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Division of AIDS, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | | | - John Sidney
- La Jolla Institute of Allergy and Immunology, Redmond, WA
| | - Peter Hraber
- Theoretical Biophysics, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM
| | - Hannah S. Hewitt
- Partners AIDS Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Division of AIDS, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Caitlyn H. Linde
- Partners AIDS Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Division of AIDS, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Daniel G. Kavanagh
- Partners AIDS Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Division of AIDS, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Tonia Woodberry
- Partners AIDS Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Division of AIDS, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Leah M. Henry
- Partners AIDS Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Division of AIDS, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Kellie Faircloth
- Partners AIDS Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Division of AIDS, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | | | | | | | - Kaori Sango
- Partners AIDS Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Division of AIDS, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Nancy V. Brown
- Partners AIDS Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Division of AIDS, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Eunice Pae
- Fenway Community Health Center, Boston, MA
| | | | - Florian Bihl
- Partners AIDS Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Division of AIDS, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Ashok Khatri
- Endocrine Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital and Division of AIDS, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Mina John
- Centre for Clinical Immunology and Biomedical Statistics, Royal Perth Hospital and Murdoch University, Perth, Australia
| | - Simon Mallal
- Centre for Clinical Immunology and Biomedical Statistics, Royal Perth Hospital and Murdoch University, Perth, Australia
| | | | - Bruce D. Walker
- Partners AIDS Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Division of AIDS, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital and Division of AIDS, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | | | | | - Bette T. Korber
- Theoretical Biophysics, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, USA
| | - Christian Brander
- Partners AIDS Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Division of AIDS, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
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Bansal A, Gough E, Ritter D, Wilson C, Mulenga J, Allen S, Goepfert PA. Group M-based HIV-1 Gag peptides are frequently targeted by T cells in chronically infected US and Zambian patients. AIDS 2006; 20:353-60. [PMID: 16439868 DOI: 10.1097/01.aids.0000206501.16783.67] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The enormous sequence diversity of HIV-1 has been a major obstacle in the development of a globally useful vaccine for AIDS. The consensus and ancestral sequence-based immunogens minimize the genetic distance between contemporary isolates and vaccine strains. Hence these sequences may be promising candidates for HIV vaccines or serve as a universal reagent set for evaluating Gag-specific responses. METHODS In this study, we measured the T-cell reactivity to consensus (subtype A, B, C and group M), ancestral (group M and subtype B) and HXB2 Gag peptides (15-mers overlapping by 11) in HIV-1-infected subjects from two reference populations. We evaluated the Gag-specific T-cell responses in 43 chronically infected US (subtype B) and 13 Zambian (subtype C) subjects using an interferon-gamma enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot assay. RESULTS Our findings demonstrate a broad cross-reactivity of nearly 70% among all the seven Gag immunogens evaluated. Consensus M sequences elicited similar levels of responses as did the consensus B, ancestral subtype B and HXB2 peptides in subtype B-infected US patients. In subtype C-infected Zambian subjects, responses of similar breadth and magnitude were elicited by consensus C, consensus M and ancestral M peptides. CONCLUSION Our data demonstrate that peptide pools based on consensus or ancestral M-based sequences can be used to evaluate Gag-specific responses elicited by subtype B or subtype C-based immunogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anju Bansal
- Department of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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Sanchez-Merino V, Nie S, Luzuriaga K. HIV-1-specific CD8+ T cell responses and viral evolution in women and infants. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2006; 175:6976-86. [PMID: 16272358 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.175.10.6976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
CD8+ T lymphocyte responses play an important role in controlling HIV-1 replication but escape from CD8+ T cell surveillance may limit the effectiveness of these responses. Mother-to-child transmission of CD8+ T cell escape variants may particularly affect CD8+ T cell recognition of infant HIV-1 epitopes. In this study, amino acid sequence variation in HIV-1 gag and nef was examined in five untreated mother-infant pairs to evaluate the potential role of CD8+ T cell responses in the evolution of the viral quasispecies. Several CD8+ T cell escape variants were detected in maternal plasma. Evaluation of infant plasma viruses at 1-3 mo documented heterogeneity of gag and nef gene sequences and mother-to-child transmission of CD8+ T cell escape variants. Infant HLA haplotype and viral fitness appeared to determine the stability of the escape mutants in the infant over time. Changes in CD8+ T cell epitope sequences were detected in infants' sequential plasma specimens, suggesting that infants are capable of generating virus-specific CD8+ T cell responses that exert selective pressures in vivo. Altogether, these studies document that HIV-1-specific CD8+ T cell responses contribute to the evolution of the viral quasispecies in HIV-1-infected women and their infants and may have important implications for vaccine design.
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MESH Headings
- Adult
- Amino Acid Sequence
- Base Sequence
- CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology
- DNA, Viral/genetics
- Epitopes/genetics
- Female
- Gene Products, gag/genetics
- Gene Products, nef/genetics
- Genes, gag
- Genes, nef
- Genetic Variation
- HIV Infections/immunology
- HIV Infections/transmission
- HIV Infections/virology
- HIV-1/genetics
- HIV-1/immunology
- Humans
- In Vitro Techniques
- Infant
- Infant, Newborn
- Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical
- Lymphocyte Activation
- Molecular Sequence Data
- Mutation
- Pregnancy
- Selection, Genetic
- Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
- nef Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor Sanchez-Merino
- Department of Pediatrics/Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
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30
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Sabbaj S, Ghosh MK, Edwards BH, Leeth R, Decker WD, Goepfert PA, Aldrovandi GM. Breast Milk-Derived Antigen-Specific CD8+ T Cells: An Extralymphoid Effector Memory Cell Population in Humans. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2005; 174:2951-6. [PMID: 15728507 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.174.5.2951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Although mouse studies have demonstrated the presence of an effector memory population in nonlymphoid tissues, the phenotype of human CD8(+) T cells present in such compartments has not been characterized. Because of the relatively large number of CD8(+) T cells present in breast milk, we were able to characterize the phenotype of this cell population in HIV-infected and uninfected lactating women. CMV, influenza virus, EBV, and HIV-specific CD8(+) T cells as measured by the IFN-gamma ELISPOT and MHC class I tetramer staining were all present at greater frequencies in breast milk as compared with blood. Furthermore, a greater percentage of the breast milk CD8(+) T cells expressed the intestinal homing receptor, CD103, and the mucosal homing receptor CCR9. Breast milk T cells were predominantly CD45RO(+)HLADR(+) and expressed low levels of CD45RA, CD62L, and CCR7 consistent with an effector memory population. Conversely, T cells derived from blood were mainly characterized as central memory cells (CCR7(+)CD62L(+)). These results demonstrate a population of extralymphoid CD8(+) T cells with an effector memory phenotype in humans, which could contribute to enhanced local virologic control and the relative lack of HIV transmission via this route.
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MESH Headings
- Antigens, Surface/biosynthesis
- Antigens, Surface/blood
- Biomarkers/analysis
- Biomarkers/blood
- Cell Differentiation/immunology
- Cytomegalovirus/immunology
- Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
- Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte/analysis
- Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte/biosynthesis
- Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte/blood
- Female
- HIV Antigens/biosynthesis
- HIV Antigens/blood
- Humans
- Immunologic Memory
- Immunophenotyping
- Leukocytes, Mononuclear/cytology
- Leukocytes, Mononuclear/immunology
- Leukocytes, Mononuclear/metabolism
- Lymphocyte Count
- Lymphoid Tissue/cytology
- Lymphoid Tissue/immunology
- Lymphoid Tissue/metabolism
- Milk, Human/cytology
- Milk, Human/immunology
- Milk, Human/metabolism
- T-Lymphocyte Subsets/cytology
- T-Lymphocyte Subsets/immunology
- T-Lymphocyte Subsets/metabolism
- T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory/cytology
- T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory/immunology
- T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory/metabolism
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Affiliation(s)
- Steffanie Sabbaj
- Department of Medicine, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
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31
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Tang J, Kaslow RA. The impact of host genetics on HIV infection and disease progression in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy. AIDS 2004; 17 Suppl 4:S51-60. [PMID: 15080180 DOI: 10.1097/00002030-200317004-00006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jianming Tang
- Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
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32
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Rodriguez WR, Addo MM, Rathod A, Fitzpatrick CA, Yu XG, Perkins B, Rosenberg ES, Altfeld M, Walker BD. CD8+ T lymphocyte responses target functionally important regions of Protease and Integrase in HIV-1 infected subjects. J Transl Med 2004; 2:15. [PMID: 15154967 PMCID: PMC441415 DOI: 10.1186/1479-5876-2-15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2004] [Accepted: 05/21/2004] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Background CD8+ T cell responses are known to be important to the control of HIV-1 infection. While responses to reverse transcriptase and most structural and accessory proteins have been extensively studied, CD8 T cell responses specifically directed to the HIV-1 enzymes Protease and Integrase have not been well characterized, and few epitopes have been described in detail. Methods We assessed comprehensively the CD8 T cell responses to synthetic peptides spanning Protease and Integrase in 56 HIV-1 infected subjects with acute, chronic, or controlled infection using IFN-γ-Elispot assays and intracellular cytokine staining. Fine-characterization of novel CTL epitopes was performed on peptide-specific CTL lines in Elispot and 51Chromium-release assays. Results Thirteen (23%) and 38 (68%) of the 56 subjects had detectable responses to Protease and Integrase, respectively, and together these targeted most regions within both proteins. Sequence variability analysis confirmed that responses cluster largely around conserved regions of Integrase, but responses against a large, highly conserved region of the N-terminal DNA-binding domain of Integrase were not readily detected. CD8 T cell responses targeted regions of Protease that contain known Protease inhibitor mutation residues, but strong Protease-specific CD8 T cell responses were rare. Fine-mapping of targeted epitopes allowed the identification of three novel, HLA class I-restricted, frequently-targeted optimal epitopes. There were no significant correlations between CD8 T cell responses to Protease and Integrase and clinical disease category in the study subjects, nor was there a correlation with viral load. Conclusions These findings confirm that CD8 T cell responses directed against HIV-1 include potentially important functional regions of Protease and Integrase, and that pharmacologic targeting of these enzymes will place them under both drug and immune selection pressure.
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Affiliation(s)
- William R Rodriguez
- Partners AIDS Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
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33
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Frahm N, Korber BT, Adams CM, Szinger JJ, Draenert R, Addo MM, Feeney ME, Yusim K, Sango K, Brown NV, SenGupta D, Piechocka-Trocha A, Simonis T, Marincola FM, Wurcel AG, Stone DR, Russell CJ, Adolf P, Cohen D, Roach T, StJohn A, Khatri A, Davis K, Mullins J, Goulder PJR, Walker BD, Brander C. Consistent cytotoxic-T-lymphocyte targeting of immunodominant regions in human immunodeficiency virus across multiple ethnicities. J Virol 2004; 78:2187-200. [PMID: 14963115 PMCID: PMC369231 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.78.5.2187-2200.2004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 234] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Although there is increasing evidence that virus-specific cytotoxic-T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses play an important role in the control of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) replication in vivo, only scarce CTL data are available for the ethnic populations currently most affected by the epidemic. In this study, we examined the CD8(+)-T-cell responses in African-American, Caucasian, Hispanic, and Caribbean populations in which clade B virus dominates and analyzed the potential factors influencing immune recognition. Total HIV-specific CD8(+)-T-cell responses were determined by enzyme-linked immunospot assays in 150 HIV-infected individuals by using a clade B consensus sequence peptide set spanning all HIV proteins. A total of 88% of the 410 tested peptides were recognized, and Nef- and Gag-specific responses dominated the total response for each ethnicity in terms of both breadth and magnitude. Three dominantly targeted regions within these proteins that were recognized by >90% of individuals in each ethnicity were identified. Overall, the total breadth and magnitude of CD8(+)-T-cell responses correlated with individuals' CD4 counts but not with viral loads. The frequency of recognition for each peptide was highly correlated with the relative conservation of the peptide sequence, the presence of predicted immunoproteasomal cleavage sites within the C-terminal half of the peptide, and a reduced frequency of amino acids that impair binding of optimal epitopes to the restricting class I molecules. The present study thus identifies factors that contribute to the immunogenicity of these highly targeted and relatively conserved sequences in HIV that may represent promising vaccine candidates for ethnically heterogeneous populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Frahm
- Partners AIDS Research Center, Endocrine Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129-2000, USA
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