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Brooks JM, Long HM, Tierney RJ, Shannon-Lowe C, Leese AM, Fitzpatrick M, Taylor GS, Rickinson AB. Early T Cell Recognition of B Cells following Epstein-Barr Virus Infection: Identifying Potential Targets for Prophylactic Vaccination. PLoS Pathog 2016; 12:e1005549. [PMID: 27096949 PMCID: PMC4838210 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1005549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2014] [Accepted: 03/14/2016] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Epstein-Barr virus, a B-lymphotropic herpesvirus, is the cause of infectious mononucleosis, has strong aetiologic links with several malignancies and has been implicated in certain autoimmune diseases. Efforts to develop a prophylactic vaccine to prevent or reduce EBV-associated disease have, to date, focused on the induction of neutralising antibody responses. However, such vaccines might be further improved by inducing T cell responses capable of recognising and killing recently-infected B cells. In that context, EBNA2, EBNA-LP and BHRF1 are the first viral antigens expressed during the initial stage of B cell growth transformation, yet have been poorly characterised as CD8+ T cell targets. Here we describe CD8+ T cell responses against each of these three "first wave" proteins, identifying target epitopes and HLA restricting alleles. While EBNA-LP and BHRF1 each contained one strong CD8 epitope, epitopes within EBNA2 induced immunodominant responses through several less common HLA class I alleles (e.g. B*3801 and B*5501), as well as subdominant responses through common class I alleles (e.g. B7 and C*0304). Importantly, such EBNA2-specific CD8+ T cells recognised B cells within the first day post-infection, prior to CD8+ T cells against well-characterised latent target antigens such as EBNA3B or LMP2, and effectively inhibited outgrowth of EBV-transformed B cell lines. We infer that "first wave" antigens of the growth-transforming infection, especially EBNA2, constitute potential CD8+ T cell immunogens for inclusion in prophylactic EBV vaccine design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jill M. Brooks
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Heather M. Long
- Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Rose J. Tierney
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Claire Shannon-Lowe
- Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Alison M. Leese
- Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Martin Fitzpatrick
- Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Group, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Graham S. Taylor
- Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Alan B. Rickinson
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
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Demachi-Okamura A, Ito Y, Akatsuka Y, Tsujimura K, Morishima Y, Takahashi T, Kuzushima K. Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 1-specific CD4+ T cells directly kill Epstein-Barr virus-carrying natural killer and T cells. Cancer Sci 2008; 99:1633-42. [PMID: 18754877 PMCID: PMC11158741 DOI: 10.1111/j.1349-7006.2008.00852.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) nuclear antigen (EBNA)1 is expressed in every EBV-infected cell, regardless of the state of EBV infection. Although EBNA1 is thought to be a promising antigen for immunotherapy of all EBV-associated malignancies, it is less clear whether EBNA1-specific CD4(+) T cells can act as direct effectors. Herein, we investigated the ability of CD4(+) T-cell clones induced with overlapping peptides covering the C-terminal region of EBNA1, and identified minimal epitopes and their restricted major histocompatibility complex class II molecules. Of these, a novel epitope, EYHQEGGPD, was found to be presented by DRB1*0401, 0403 and 0406. Five CD4(+) T-cell clones recognized endogenously processed and presented antigens on EBV-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL) and one example proved capable of killing EBV-carrying natural killer (NK) and T-cell lines derived from patients with chronic active EBV infection (CAEBV). Identification of minimal epitopes facilitates design of peptide-based vaccines and our data suggest that EBNA1-specific CD4(+) T cells may play roles as direct effectors for immunotherapy targeting EBV-carrying NK and T-cell malignancies.
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Lin X, Gudgeon NH, Hui EP, Jia H, Qun X, Taylor GS, Barnardo MCNM, Lin CK, Rickinson AB, Chan ATC. CD4 and CD8 T cell responses to tumour-associated Epstein-Barr virus antigens in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2008; 57:963-75. [PMID: 18094968 PMCID: PMC11031094 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-007-0427-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2007] [Accepted: 11/10/2007] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated tumour common in Southern Chinese populations, is a potentially important target for T cell-based immunotherapy. The tumour cells are HLA class I- and II-positive and express a limited subset of EBV latent proteins, namely the nuclear antigen EBNA1 and the latent membrane proteins LMP2 and (in some cases) LMP1. To ask whether the tumour develops in the presence of a potentially protective host response or in its absence, we set out to determine the prevailing levels of CD4+ and CD8+ T cell memory to these proteins in NPC patients at tumour diagnosis. We first screened healthy Chinese donors against Chinese strain EBNA1, LMP1 and LMP2 sequences in Elispot assays of interferon-gamma release and identified the immunodominant CD4+ and CD8+ epitope peptides presented by common Chinese HLA alleles. Then, comparing 60 patients with >70 healthy controls on peptide epitope mini-panels, we found that T cell memory to CD4 epitopes in all three proteins was unimpaired in the blood of patients at diagnosis. In most cases NPC patients also showed detectable responses to CD8 epitopes relevant to their HLA type, the one consistent exception being the absence in patients of a B*4001-restricted response to LMP2. We infer that NPC arises in patients whose prevailing levels of T cell memory to tumour-associated EBV proteins is largely intact; the therapeutic goal must therefore be to re-direct the existing memory repertoire more effectively against antigen-expressing tumour cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaorong Lin
- Sir Y. K. Pao Centre for Cancer, Hong Kong Cancer Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Nancy H. Gudgeon
- Cancer Research UK Institute for Cancer Studies, University of Birmingham, Vincent Drive, Birmingham, B15 2TT UK
| | - Edwin P. Hui
- Sir Y. K. Pao Centre for Cancer, Hong Kong Cancer Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- Department of Clinical Oncology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Hui Jia
- Cancer Research UK Institute for Cancer Studies, University of Birmingham, Vincent Drive, Birmingham, B15 2TT UK
| | - Xue Qun
- Sir Y. K. Pao Centre for Cancer, Hong Kong Cancer Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Graham S. Taylor
- Cancer Research UK Institute for Cancer Studies, University of Birmingham, Vincent Drive, Birmingham, B15 2TT UK
| | - Martin C. N. M. Barnardo
- Department of Transplant Immunology, Oxford Transplant Centre, University of Oxford, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, UK
| | - C. Kit Lin
- Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Alan B. Rickinson
- Cancer Research UK Institute for Cancer Studies, University of Birmingham, Vincent Drive, Birmingham, B15 2TT UK
| | - Anthony T. C. Chan
- Sir Y. K. Pao Centre for Cancer, Hong Kong Cancer Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- Department of Clinical Oncology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
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