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Klink GV, Kalinina OV, Bazykin GA. Changing selection on amino acid substitutions in Gag protein between major HIV-1 subtypes. Virus Evol 2024; 10:veae036. [PMID: 38808036 PMCID: PMC11131029 DOI: 10.1093/ve/veae036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2023] [Revised: 12/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/28/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Amino acid preferences at a protein site depend on the role of this site in protein function and structure as well as on external constraints. All these factors can change in the course of evolution, making amino acid propensities of a site time-dependent. When viral subtypes divergently evolve in different host subpopulations, such changes may depend on genetic, medical, and sociocultural differences between these subpopulations. Here, using our previously developed phylogenetic approach, we describe sixty-nine amino acid sites of the Gag protein of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) where amino acids have different impact on viral fitness in six major subtypes of the type M. These changes in preferences trigger adaptive evolution; indeed, 32 (46 per cent) of these sites experienced strong positive selection at least in one of the subtypes. At some of the sites, changes in amino acid preferences may be associated with differences in immune escape between subtypes. The prevalence of an amino acid in a protein site within a subtype is only a poor predictor for whether this amino acid is preferred in this subtype according to the phylogenetic analysis. Therefore, attempts to identify the factors of viral evolution from comparative genomics data should integrate across multiple sources of information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Galya V Klink
- Laboratory of Molecular Evolution, Institute for Information Transmission Problems (Kharkevich Institute) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Bolshoy Karetny per. 19, build.1, Moscow 127051, Russia
- Center for Molecular and Cellular Biology, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Bolshoy Boulevard, 30, p.1, Skolkovo 121205, Russia
| | - Olga V Kalinina
- Drug Bioinformatics, Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS)/Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Campus E8.1, Saarbrücken 66123, Germany
- Center for Bioinformatics, Saarland University, Campus E2.1, Saarbrücken 66123, Germany
- Medical Faculty, Saarland University, Kirrberger Str. 100, Homburg 66421, Germany
| | - Georgii A Bazykin
- Laboratory of Molecular Evolution, Institute for Information Transmission Problems (Kharkevich Institute) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Bolshoy Karetny per. 19, build.1, Moscow 127051, Russia
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2
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He X, Wong YC, Zhong M, Mo Y, Li B, Yim LY, Li X, Liu W, Du Y, Wang H, Zhang H, Chen Z. A follow-up study: 6-year cART-free virologic control of rhesus macaques after PD-1-based DNA vaccination against pathogenic SHIV SF162P3CN challenge. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0335023. [PMID: 37921496 PMCID: PMC10715146 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.03350-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/01/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Efficient strategies for HIV-1 cART-free virologic control are critical for ending the AIDS pandemic. The essential role of effector-memory CD8+ T cells in controlling viremia and eliminating virus-infected cells has made them a promising target for vaccine development. It has been previously reported that PD-1-based DNA vaccination was effective in inducing polyfunctional effector-memory CD8+ T cells for AIDS virus control for 2 years in rhesus monkeys. This follow-up study extends the findings and shows that a viremia-free period of over 6 years was detected in two monkeys immunized with PD-1-based DNA vaccine against pathogenic SHIVSF162P3CN infection in the absence of antiretroviral therapy. Long-term vaccine-induced memory T cell responses were detected. Our results warrant the clinical trials of PD-1-based DNA vaccines for achieving HIV-1 cART-free virologic control used either alone or in combination with other biomedical interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoen He
- Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infection Control, The University of Hong Kong–Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Yik Chun Wong
- Immuno Cure Holding (HK) Limited, Hong Kong, China
- AIDS Institute and Department of Microbiology, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Menglong Zhong
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, China
| | - Yufei Mo
- AIDS Institute and Department of Microbiology, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Bo Li
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, China
| | - Lok Yan Yim
- AIDS Institute and Department of Microbiology, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Xin Li
- AIDS Institute and Department of Microbiology, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Wan Liu
- AIDS Institute and Department of Microbiology, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yanhua Du
- Immuno Cure Holding (HK) Limited, Hong Kong, China
- AIDS Institute and Department of Microbiology, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Hui Wang
- HKU-AIDS Institute Shenzhen Research Laboratory and AIDS Clinical Research Laboratory, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Haoji Zhang
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, China
| | - Zhiwei Chen
- Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infection Control, The University of Hong Kong–Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- AIDS Institute and Department of Microbiology, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- Center for Virology, Vaccinology and Therapeutics, Hong Kong Science and Technology Park, Hong Kong, China
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3
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Hake A, Germann A, de Beer C, Thielen A, Däumer M, Preiser W, von Briesen H, Pfeifer N. Insights to HIV-1 coreceptor usage by estimating HLA adaptation with Bayesian generalized linear mixed models. PLoS Comput Biol 2023; 19:e1010355. [PMID: 38127856 PMCID: PMC10769057 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2024] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The mechanisms triggering the human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV-1) to switch the coreceptor usage from CCR5 to CXCR4 during the course of infection are not entirely understood. While low CD4+ T cell counts are associated with CXCR4 usage, a predominance of CXCR4 usage with still high CD4+ T cell counts remains puzzling. Here, we explore the hypothesis that viral adaptation to the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) complex, especially to the HLA class II alleles, contributes to the coreceptor switch. To this end, we sequence the viral gag and env protein with corresponding HLA class I and II alleles of a new cohort of 312 treatment-naive, subtype C, chronically-infected HIV-1 patients from South Africa. To estimate HLA adaptation, we develop a novel computational approach using Bayesian generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs). Our model allows to consider the entire HLA repertoire without restricting the model to pre-learned HLA-polymorphisms. In addition, we correct for phylogenetic relatedness of the viruses within the model itself to account for founder effects. Using our model, we observe that CXCR4-using variants are more adapted than CCR5-using variants (p-value = 1.34e-2). Additionally, adapted CCR5-using variants have a significantly lower predicted false positive rate (FPR) by the geno2pheno[coreceptor] tool compared to the non-adapted CCR5-using variants (p-value = 2.21e-2), where a low FPR is associated with CXCR4 usage. Consequently, estimating HLA adaptation can be an asset in predicting not only coreceptor usage, but also an approaching coreceptor switch in CCR5-using variants. We propose the usage of Bayesian GLMMs for modeling virus-host adaptation in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Hake
- Research Group Computational Biology, Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Saarbrücken, Germany
- Saarbrücken Graduate School of Computer Science, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Anja Germann
- Main Department Medical Biotechnology, Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Sulzbach, Germany
| | - Corena de Beer
- Division of Medical Virology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
- National Health Laboratory Service, Tygerberg Business Unit, Cape Town, South Africa
| | | | - Martin Däumer
- Institute of Immunology and Genetics, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Preiser
- Division of Medical Virology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
- National Health Laboratory Service, Tygerberg Business Unit, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Hagen von Briesen
- Main Department Medical Biotechnology, Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Sulzbach, Germany
| | - Nico Pfeifer
- Research Group Computational Biology, Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Saarbrücken, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research, Partner Site Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Methods in Medical Informatics, Department of Computer Science, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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4
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Hokello J, Tyagi P, Dimri S, Sharma AL, Tyagi M. Comparison of the Biological Basis for Non-HIV Transmission to HIV-Exposed Seronegative Individuals, Disease Non-Progression in HIV Long-Term Non-Progressors and Elite Controllers. Viruses 2023; 15:1362. [PMID: 37376660 DOI: 10.3390/v15061362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2023] [Revised: 06/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
HIV-exposed seronegative individuals (HESIs) are a small fraction of persons who are multiply exposed to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), but do not exhibit serological or clinical evidence of HIV infection. In other words, they are groups of people maintaining an uninfected status for a long time, even after being exposed to HIV several times. The long-term non-progressors (LTNPs), on the other hand, are a group of HIV-infected individuals (approx. 5%) who remain clinically and immunologically stable for an extended number of years without combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). Meanwhile, elite controllers are comprise a much lower number (0.5%) of HIV-infected persons who spontaneously and durably control viremia to below levels of detection for at least 12 months, even when using the most sensitive assays, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the absence of cART. Despite the fact that there is no universal agreement regarding the mechanisms by which these groups of individuals are able to control HIV infection and/or disease progression, there is a general consensus that the mechanisms of protection are multifaceted and include genetic, immunological as well as viral factors. In this review, we analyze and compare the biological factors responsible for the control of HIV in these unique groups of individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Hokello
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Education, Busitema University, Tororo P.O. Box 236, Uganda
| | - Priya Tyagi
- Cherry Hill East High School, 1750 Kresson Rd, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003, USA
| | - Shelly Dimri
- George C. Marshall High School, Fairfax County Public Schools, 7731 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22043, USA
| | | | - Mudit Tyagi
- Center for Translational Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University, 1020 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA
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5
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Eser TM, Baranov O, Huth M, Ahmed MIM, Deák F, Held K, Lin L, Pekayvaz K, Leunig A, Nicolai L, Pollakis G, Buggert M, Price DA, Rubio-Acero R, Reich J, Falk P, Markgraf A, Puchinger K, Castelletti N, Olbrich L, Vanshylla K, Klein F, Wieser A, Hasenauer J, Kroidl I, Hoelscher M, Geldmacher C. Nucleocapsid-specific T cell responses associate with control of SARS-CoV-2 in the upper airways before seroconversion. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2952. [PMID: 37225706 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38020-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite intensive research since the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, it has remained unclear precisely which components of the early immune response protect against the development of severe COVID-19. Here, we perform a comprehensive immunogenetic and virologic analysis of nasopharyngeal and peripheral blood samples obtained during the acute phase of infection with SARS-CoV-2. We find that soluble and transcriptional markers of systemic inflammation peak during the first week after symptom onset and correlate directly with upper airways viral loads (UA-VLs), whereas the contemporaneous frequencies of circulating viral nucleocapsid (NC)-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells correlate inversely with various inflammatory markers and UA-VLs. In addition, we show that high frequencies of activated CD4+ and CD8+ T cells are present in acutely infected nasopharyngeal tissue, many of which express genes encoding various effector molecules, such as cytotoxic proteins and IFN-γ. The presence of IFNG mRNA-expressing CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the infected epithelium is further linked with common patterns of gene expression among virus-susceptible target cells and better local control of SARS-CoV-2. Collectively, these results identify an immune correlate of protection against SARS-CoV-2, which could inform the development of more effective vaccines to combat the acute and chronic illnesses attributable to COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tabea M Eser
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Olga Baranov
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Manuel Huth
- Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
- Center for Mathematics, Technische Universität München, 85748, Garching, Germany
| | - Mohammed I M Ahmed
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Flora Deák
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Kathrin Held
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Luming Lin
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Kami Pekayvaz
- Department of Medicine I, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Munich Heart Alliance, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Alexander Leunig
- Department of Medicine I, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Munich Heart Alliance, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Leo Nicolai
- Department of Medicine I, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Munich Heart Alliance, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Georgios Pollakis
- Institute of Infection and Global Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 2BE, UK
| | - Marcus Buggert
- Center for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, 141 86, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - David A Price
- Division of Infection and Immunity, Cardiff University School of Medicine, University Hospital, Heath Park, Cardiff, CF14 4XN, UK
- Systems Immunity Research Institute, Cardiff University School of Medicine, University Hospital, Heath Park, Cardiff, CF14 4XN, UK
| | - Raquel Rubio-Acero
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Jakob Reich
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Philine Falk
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Alissa Markgraf
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Kerstin Puchinger
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Noemi Castelletti
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Laura Olbrich
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Kanika Vanshylla
- Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Institute of Virology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, 50931, Cologne, Germany
| | - Florian Klein
- Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Institute of Virology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, 50931, Cologne, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Bonn-Cologne, 50937, Cologne, Germany
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, 50931, Cologne, Germany
| | - Andreas Wieser
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
- Max von Pettenkofer Institute for Hygiene and Medical Microbiology, LMU Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Jan Hasenauer
- Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
- Center for Mathematics, Technische Universität München, 85748, Garching, Germany
- Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Bonn, 53113, Bonn, Germany
| | - Inge Kroidl
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Michael Hoelscher
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Christof Geldmacher
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany.
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany.
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6
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Michelo CM, Fiore-Gartland A, Dalel JA, Hayes P, Tang J, McGowan E, Kilembe W, Fernandez N, Gilmour J, Hunter E. Cohort-Specific Peptide Reagents Broaden Depth and Breadth Estimates of the CD8 T Cell Response to HIV-1 Gag Potential T Cell Epitopes. Vaccines (Basel) 2023; 11:472. [PMID: 36851349 PMCID: PMC9961105 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11020472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Revised: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023] Open
Abstract
An effective HIV vaccine will need to stimulate immune responses against the sequence diversity presented in circulating virus strains. In this study, we evaluate breadth and depth estimates of potential T-cell epitopes (PTEs) in transmitted founder virus sequence-derived cohort-specific peptide reagents against reagents representative of consensus and global sequences. CD8 T-cells from twenty-six HIV-1+ PBMC donor samples, obtained at 1-year post estimated date of infection, were evaluated. ELISpot assays compared responses to 15mer consensus (n = 121), multivalent-global (n = 320), and 10mer multivalent cohort-specific (n = 300) PTE peptides, all mapping to the Gag antigen. Responses to 38 consensus, 71 global, and 62 cohort-specific PTEs were confirmed, with sixty percent of common global and cohort-specific PTEs corresponding to consensus sequences. Both global and cohort-specific peptides exhibited broader epitope coverage compared to commonly used consensus reagents, with mean breadth estimates of 3.2 (global), 3.4 (cohort) and 2.2 (consensus) epitopes. Global or cohort peptides each identified unique epitope responses that would not be detected if these peptide pools were used alone. A peptide set designed around specific virologic and immunogenetic characteristics of a target cohort can expand the detection of CD8 T-cell responses to epitopes in circulating viruses, providing a novel way to better define the host response to HIV-1 with implications for vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clive M. Michelo
- Center for Family Health Research Zambia, PostNet 412, P/Bag E891, B22/737 Bwembelelo, Emmasdale, Lusaka 10101, Zambia
| | - Andrew Fiore-Gartland
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Jama A. Dalel
- IAVI Human Immunology Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW10 9NH, UK
| | - Peter Hayes
- IAVI Human Immunology Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW10 9NH, UK
| | - Jianming Tang
- Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
| | - Edward McGowan
- IAVI Human Immunology Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW10 9NH, UK
| | - William Kilembe
- Center for Family Health Research Zambia, PostNet 412, P/Bag E891, B22/737 Bwembelelo, Emmasdale, Lusaka 10101, Zambia
| | - Natalia Fernandez
- IAVI Human Immunology Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW10 9NH, UK
| | - Jill Gilmour
- IAVI Human Immunology Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW10 9NH, UK
| | - Eric Hunter
- Center for Family Health Research Zambia, PostNet 412, P/Bag E891, B22/737 Bwembelelo, Emmasdale, Lusaka 10101, Zambia
- Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University, 954 Gatewood Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
- Emory National Primate Research Center, Emory University, 954 Gatewood Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
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7
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Ahmed MIM, Diepers P, Janke C, Plank M, Eser TM, Rubio-Acero R, Fuchs A, Baranov O, Castelletti N, Kroidl I, Olbrich L, Bauer B, Wang D, Prelog M, Liese JG, Reinkemeyer C, Hoelscher M, Steininger P, Überla K, Wieser A, Geldmacher C. Enhanced Spike-specific, but attenuated Nucleocapsid-specific T cell responses upon SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough versus non-breakthrough infections. Front Immunol 2022; 13:1026473. [PMID: 36582222 PMCID: PMC9792977 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1026473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 vaccine breakthrough infections frequently occurred even before the emergence of Omicron variants. Yet, relatively little is known about the impact of vaccination on SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell and antibody response dynamics upon breakthrough infection. We have therefore studied the dynamics of CD4 and CD8 T cells targeting the vaccine-encoded Spike and the non-encoded Nucleocapsid antigens during breakthrough infections (BTI, n=24) and in unvaccinated control infections (non-BTI, n=30). Subjects with vaccine breakthrough infection had significantly higher CD4 and CD8 T cell responses targeting the vaccine-encoded Spike during the first and third/fourth week after PCR diagnosis compared to non-vaccinated controls, respectively. In contrast, CD4 T cells targeting the non-vaccine encoded Nucleocapsid antigen were of significantly lower magnitude in BTI as compared to non-BTI. Hence, previous vaccination was linked to enhanced T cell responses targeting the vaccine-encoded Spike antigen, while responses against the non-vaccine encoded Nucleocapsid antigen were significantly attenuated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed Ibraheem Mahmoud Ahmed
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Munich, Germany
| | - Paulina Diepers
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Christian Janke
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Michael Plank
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Tabea M. Eser
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Munich, Germany
| | - Raquel Rubio-Acero
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Anna Fuchs
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Olga Baranov
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Munich, Germany
| | - Noemi Castelletti
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Inge Kroidl
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Munich, Germany
| | - Laura Olbrich
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Munich, Germany
- Oxford Vaccine Group, Department of Paediatrics, NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Bernadette Bauer
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Danni Wang
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Martina Prelog
- Pediatric Rheumatology/Special Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Johannes G. Liese
- Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Christina Reinkemeyer
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Michael Hoelscher
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Munich, Germany
| | - Philipp Steininger
- Institute of Clinical and Molecular Virology, University Hospital Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Klaus Überla
- Institute of Clinical and Molecular Virology, University Hospital Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Andreas Wieser
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Munich, Germany
| | - Christof Geldmacher
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Munich, Germany
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8
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Immunological Control of HIV-1 Disease Progression by Rare Protective HLA Allele. J Virol 2022; 96:e0124822. [DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01248-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
HLA-B57 is a relatively rare allele around world and the strongest protective HLA allele in Caucasians and African black individuals infected with HIV-1. Previous studies suggested that the advantage of this allele in HIV-1 disease progression is due to a strong functional ability of HLA-B57-restricted Gag-specific T cells and lower fitness of mutant viruses selected by the T cells.
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9
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Li M, Yuan Y, Li P, Deng Z, Wen Z, Wang H, Feng F, Zou H, Chen L, Tang S, Sun C. Comparison of the Immunogenicity of HIV-1 CRF07_BC Gag Antigen With or Without a Seven Amino Acid Deletion in p6 Region. Front Immunol 2022; 13:850719. [PMID: 35450078 PMCID: PMC9017423 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.850719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
HIV-1 CRF07_BC-p6Δ7, a strain with a seven amino acid deletion in the p6 region of the Gag protein, is becoming the dominant strain of HIV transmission among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China. Previous studies demonstrated that HIV-1 patients infected by CRF07_BC-p6Δ7 strain had lower viral load and slower disease progression than those patients infected with CRF07_BC wild-type strain. However, the underlying mechanism for this observation is not fully clarified yet. In this study, we constructed the recombinant DNA plasmid and adenovirus type 2 (Ad2) vector-based constructs to express the HIV-1 CRF07_BC Gag antigen with or without p6Δ7 mutation and then investigated their immunogenicity in mice. Our results showed that HIV-1 CRF07_BC Gag antigen with p6Δ7 mutation induced a comparable level of Gag-specific antibodies but stronger CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell immune responses than that of CRF07_BC Gag (07_BC-wt). Furthermore, we identified a series of T-cell epitopes, which induced strong T-cell immune response and cross-immunity with CRF01_AE Gag. These findings implied that the p6Gag protein with a seven amino acid deletion might enhance the Gag immunogenicity in particular cellular immunity, which provides valuable information to clarify the pathogenic mechanism of HIV-1 CRF07_BC-p6Δ7 and to develop precise vaccine strategies against HIV-1 infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minchao Li
- School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yue Yuan
- School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Pingchao Li
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health (GIBH), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhaomin Deng
- School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Ziyu Wen
- School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Haiying Wang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Fengling Feng
- School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Huachun Zou
- School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Ling Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health (GIBH), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shixing Tang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Caijun Sun
- School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China.,Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control (Sun Yat-Sen University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
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10
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Preservation of lymphocyte functional fitness in perinatally-infected and treated HIV+ pediatric patients displaying sub-optimal viral control. COMMUNICATIONS MEDICINE 2022; 2. [PMID: 35434722 PMCID: PMC9012494 DOI: 10.1038/s43856-022-00085-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Host–pathogen dynamics associated with HIV infection are quite distinct in children versus adults. We interrogated the functional fitness of the lymphocyte responses in two cohorts of perinatally infected HIV+ pediatric subjects with early anti-retroviral therapy (ART) initiation but divergent patterns of virologic control. We hypothesized that sub-optimal viral control would compromise immune functional fitness.
Methods
The immune responses in the two HIV+ cohorts (n = 6 in each cohort) were benchmarked against the responses measured in age-range matched, uninfected healthy control subjects (n = 11) by utilizing tests for normality, and comparison [the Kruskal–Wallis test, and the two-tailed Mann–Whitney U test (where appropriate)]. Lymphocyte responses were examined by intra-cellular cytokine secretion, degranulation assays as well as phosflow. A subset of these data were further queried by an automated clustering algorithm. Finally, we evaluated the humoral immune responses to four childhood vaccines in all three cohorts.
Results
We demonstrate that contrary to expectations pediatric HIV+ patients with sub-optimal viral control display no significant deficits in immune functional fitness. In fact, the patients that display better virologic control lack functional Gag-specific T cell responses and compared to healthy controls they display signaling deficits and an enrichment of mitogen-stimulated CD3 negative and positive lymphocyte clusters with suppressed cytokine production.
Conclusions
These results highlight the immune resilience in HIV+ children on ART with sub-optimal viral control. With respect to HIV+ children on ART with better viral control, our data suggest that this cohort might potentially benefit from targeted interventions that might mitigate cell-mediated immune functional quiescence.
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11
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Bansal A, Gehre MN, Qin K, Sterrett S, Ali A, Dang Y, Abraham S, Costanzo MC, Venegas LA, Tang J, Manjunath N, Brockman MA, Yang OO, Kan-Mitchell J, Goepfert PA. HLA-E-restricted HIV-1-specific CD8+ T cell responses in natural infection. J Clin Invest 2021; 131:148979. [PMID: 34228645 PMCID: PMC8363272 DOI: 10.1172/jci148979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
CD8+ T cell responses restricted by MHC-E, a nonclassical MHC molecule, have been associated with protection in an SIV/rhesus macaque model. The biological relevance of HLA-E-restricted CD8+ T cell responses in HIV infection, however, remains unknown. In this study, CD8+ T cells responding to HIV-1 Gag peptides presented by HLA-E were analyzed. Using in vitro assays, we observed HLA-E-restricted T cell responses to what we believe to be a newly identified subdominant Gag-KL9 as well as a well-described immunodominant Gag-KF11 epitope in T cell lines derived from chronically HIV-infected patients and also primed from healthy donors. Blocking of the HLA-E/KF11 binding by the B7 signal peptide resulted in decreased CD8+ T cell responses. KF11 presented via HLA-E in HIV-infected cells was recognized by antigen-specific CD8+ T cells. Importantly, bulk CD8+ T cells obtained from HIV-infected individuals recognized infected cells via HLA-E presentation. Ex vivo analyses at the epitope level showed a higher responder frequency of HLA-E-restricted responses to KF11 compared with KL9. Taken together, our findings of HLA-E-restricted HIV-specific immune responses offer intriguing and possibly paradigm-shifting insights into factors that contribute to the immunodominance of CD8+ T cell responses in HIV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anju Bansal
- Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Mika N. Gehre
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, USA
| | - Kai Qin
- Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Sarah Sterrett
- Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Ayub Ali
- Department of Medicine and AIDS Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Ying Dang
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, El Paso, Texas, USA
| | - Sojan Abraham
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, El Paso, Texas, USA
| | - Margaret C. Costanzo
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, USA
| | - Leon A. Venegas
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, USA
| | - Jianming Tang
- Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - N. Manjunath
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, El Paso, Texas, USA
| | | | - Otto O. Yang
- Department of Medicine and AIDS Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - June Kan-Mitchell
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, USA
| | - Paul A. Goepfert
- Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
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12
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Wong YC, Liu W, Yim LY, Li X, Wang H, Yue M, Niu M, Cheng L, Ling L, Du Y, Chen SMY, Cheung KW, Wang H, Tang X, Tang J, Zhang H, Song Y, Chakrabarti LA, Chen Z. Sustained viremia suppression by SHIVSF162P3CN-recalled effector-memory CD8+ T cells after PD1-based vaccination. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009647. [PMID: 34125864 PMCID: PMC8202916 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [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: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/15/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
HIV-1 functional cure requires sustained viral suppression without antiretroviral therapy. While effector-memory CD8+ T lymphocytes are essential for viremia control, few vaccines elicit such cellular immunity that could be potently recalled upon viral infection. Here, we investigated a program death-1 (PD1)-based vaccine by fusion of simian immunodeficiency virus capsid antigen to soluble PD1. Homologous vaccinations suppressed setpoint viremia to undetectable levels in vaccinated macaques following a high-dose intravenous challenge by the pathogenic SHIVSF162P3CN. Poly-functional effector-memory CD8+ T cells were not only induced after vaccination, but were also recalled upon viral challenge for viremia control as determined by CD8 depletion. Vaccine-induced effector memory CD8+ subsets displayed high cytotoxicity-related genes by single-cell analysis. Vaccinees with sustained viremia suppression for over two years responded to boost vaccination without viral rebound. These results demonstrated that PD1-based vaccine-induced effector-memory CD8+ T cells were recalled by AIDS virus infection, providing a potential immunotherapy for functional cure. HIV-1/AIDS remains a major global pandemic although treatment regimen has improved. Identifying efficacious vaccines and therapeutics to achieve long-term viral control with very low/undetectable plasma viral loads in the absence of antiretroviral therapy, a status known as functional cure, would be highly beneficial. We previously demonstrated that antigens fused to a soluble program death-1 (PD1) domain could effectively bind and be cross-presented by dendritic cells that constitutively expressed PD1 ligands. When applied in the form of DNA vaccination, this antigen-targeting strategy was highly immunogenic in mice. Here, we investigated the efficacy of the PD1-based DNA vaccine approach against pathogenic simian-human immunodeficiency virus challenge in rhesus monkeys. Our results showed that homologous PD1-based DNA vaccinations induced highly functional effector-memory CD8+ T cells carrying a unique cytotoxicity gene expression profile. These T cells actively supressed viremia in monkeys and were re-activated via boost vaccination at 2 years after viral challenge without viral rebound. In summary, our study demonstrates the potential application of PD1-based DNA vaccination to control AIDS virus infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yik Chun Wong
- AIDS Institute, Department of Microbiology, State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- HKU-AIDS Institute Shenzhen Research Laboratory and AIDS Clinical Research Laboratory, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Wan Liu
- AIDS Institute, Department of Microbiology, State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Lok Yan Yim
- AIDS Institute, Department of Microbiology, State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- HKU-AIDS Institute Shenzhen Research Laboratory and AIDS Clinical Research Laboratory, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xin Li
- AIDS Institute, Department of Microbiology, State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, China
| | - Hui Wang
- HKU-AIDS Institute Shenzhen Research Laboratory and AIDS Clinical Research Laboratory, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Ming Yue
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Mengyue Niu
- AIDS Institute, Department of Microbiology, State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Lin Cheng
- HKU-AIDS Institute Shenzhen Research Laboratory and AIDS Clinical Research Laboratory, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Lijun Ling
- AIDS Institute, Department of Microbiology, State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Yanhua Du
- AIDS Institute, Department of Microbiology, State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Samantha M. Y. Chen
- AIDS Institute, Department of Microbiology, State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Ka-Wai Cheung
- AIDS Institute, Department of Microbiology, State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Haibo Wang
- AIDS Institute, Department of Microbiology, State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Xian Tang
- HKU-AIDS Institute Shenzhen Research Laboratory and AIDS Clinical Research Laboratory, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, Shenzhen, China
- Virus and Immunity Unit, Pasteur Institute, Paris, France; INSERM U1108, Paris, France
| | - Jiansong Tang
- AIDS Institute, Department of Microbiology, State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Haoji Zhang
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, China
| | - Youqiang Song
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Lisa A. Chakrabarti
- Virus and Immunity Unit, Pasteur Institute, Paris, France; INSERM U1108, Paris, France
| | - Zhiwei Chen
- AIDS Institute, Department of Microbiology, State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- HKU-AIDS Institute Shenzhen Research Laboratory and AIDS Clinical Research Laboratory, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, Shenzhen, China
- * E-mail:
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13
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Brand I, Gilberg L, Bruger J, Garí M, Wieser A, Eser TM, Frese J, Ahmed MIM, Rubio-Acero R, Guggenbuehl Noller JM, Castelletti N, Diekmannshemke J, Thiesbrummel S, Huynh D, Winter S, Kroidl I, Fuchs C, Hoelscher M, Roider J, Kobold S, Pritsch M, Geldmacher C. Broad T Cell Targeting of Structural Proteins After SARS-CoV-2 Infection: High Throughput Assessment of T Cell Reactivity Using an Automated Interferon Gamma Release Assay. Front Immunol 2021; 12:688436. [PMID: 34093595 PMCID: PMC8173205 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.688436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Adaptive immune responses to structural proteins of the virion play a crucial role in protection against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We therefore studied T cell responses against multiple SARS-CoV-2 structural proteins in a large cohort using a simple, fast, and high-throughput approach. Methods An automated interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) for the Nucleocapsid (NC)-, Membrane (M)-, Spike-C-terminus (SCT)-, and N-terminus-protein (SNT)-specific T cell responses was performed using fresh whole blood from study subjects with convalescent, confirmed COVID-19 (n = 177, more than 200 days post infection), exposed household members (n = 145), and unexposed controls (n = 85). SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies were assessed using Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 (Ro-N-Ig) and Anti-SARS-CoV-2-ELISA (IgG) (EI-S1-IgG). Results 156 of 177 (88%) previously PCR confirmed cases were still positive by Ro-N-Ig more than 200 days after infection. In T cells, most frequently the M-protein was targeted by 88% seropositive, PCR confirmed cases, followed by SCT (85%), NC (82%), and SNT (73%), whereas each of these antigens was recognized by less than 14% of non-exposed control subjects. Broad targeting of these structural virion proteins was characteristic of convalescent SARS-CoV-2 infection; 68% of all seropositive individuals targeted all four tested antigens. Indeed, anti-NC antibody titer correlated loosely, but significantly with the magnitude and breadth of the SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell response. Age, sex, and body mass index were comparable between the different groups. Conclusion SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity correlates with broad T cell reactivity of the structural virus proteins at 200 days after infection and beyond. The SARS-CoV-2-IGRA can facilitate large scale determination of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell responses with high accuracy against multiple targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel Brand
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Munich, Germany
- Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine IV, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Leonard Gilberg
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Munich, Germany
- Department of Infectious Diseases, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Jan Bruger
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Mercè Garí
- Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München – German Research Center for Environmental Health (HMGU), Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Andreas Wieser
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Tabea M. Eser
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Jonathan Frese
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Mohamed I. M. Ahmed
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Raquel Rubio-Acero
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Jessica M. Guggenbuehl Noller
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Noemi Castelletti
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Jana Diekmannshemke
- Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München – German Research Center for Environmental Health (HMGU), Neuherberg, Germany
- Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Sophie Thiesbrummel
- Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München – German Research Center for Environmental Health (HMGU), Neuherberg, Germany
- Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Duc Huynh
- Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine IV, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Simon Winter
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Inge Kroidl
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Christiane Fuchs
- Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München – German Research Center for Environmental Health (HMGU), Neuherberg, Germany
- Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
- Center for Mathematics, Technische Universität München, Garching, Germany
| | - Michael Hoelscher
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany
- Center for International Health (CIH), University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Julia Roider
- Department of Infectious Diseases, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Sebastian Kobold
- Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine IV, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Translational Cancer Research (DKTK), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany
- Unit for Clinical Pharmacology (EKLiP), Helmholtz Zentrum München – German Research Center for Environmental Health (HMGU), Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Michael Pritsch
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Christof Geldmacher
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany
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14
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Mining for humoral correlates of HIV control and latent reservoir size. PLoS Pathog 2020; 16:e1008868. [PMID: 33048992 PMCID: PMC7553335 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2019] [Accepted: 08/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
While antiretroviral therapy (ART) has effectively revolutionized HIV care, the virus is never fully eliminated. Instead, immune dysfunction, driven by persistent non-specific immune activation, ensues and progressively leads to premature immunologic aging. Current biomarkers monitoring immunologic changes encompass generic inflammatory biomarkers, that may also change with other infections or disease states, precluding the antigen-specific monitoring of HIV-infection associated changes in disease. Given our growing appreciation of the significant changes in qualitative and quantitative properties of disease-specific antibodies in HIV infection, we used a systems approach to explore humoral profiles associated with HIV control. We found that HIV-specific antibody profiles diverge by spontaneous control of HIV, treatment status, viral load and reservoir size. Specifically, HIV-specific antibody profiles representative of changes in viral load were largely quantitative, reflected by differential HIV-specific antibody levels and Fc-receptor binding. Conversely, HIV-specific antibody features that tracked with reservoir size exhibited a combination of quantitative and qualitative changes marked by more distinct subclass selection profiles and unique HIV-specific Fc-glycans. Our analyses suggest that HIV-specific antibody Fc-profiles provide antigen-specific resolution on both cell free and cell-associated viral loads, pointing to potentially novel biomarkers to monitor reservoir activity. Current combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimens have reversed the death sentence once associated with an HIV diagnosis. However, the virus is never fully eliminated. Rather, latently infected cells with integrated virus (latent reservoir) persist and the virus rebounds rapidly upon discontinuation of therapy. Further, even for those on ART, immune dysfunction, driven by persistent non-specific immune activation, ensues and progressively leads to premature immunologic aging. Current biomarkers monitoring these changes are non-specific–they focus on generic inflammatory changes that may also track with other infections or disease states. In this manuscript, we used an unbiased analytical systems approach to identify antigen-specific biomarkers of HIV disease state/treatment status, active viremia and the latent reservoir. By virtue of them being antigen-specific, these are robust context-specific biomarkers of HIV disease progression, viremia and reservoir size. Our framework highlights the strength of using systems approaches in identifying humoral biomarkers, and can be used in other contexts to identify antigen-specific correlates of infectious disease outcome.
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15
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Pasternak AO, Grijsen ML, Wit FW, Bakker M, Jurriaans S, Prins JM, Berkhout B. Cell-associated HIV-1 RNA predicts viral rebound and disease progression after discontinuation of temporary early ART. JCI Insight 2020; 5:134196. [PMID: 32097124 DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.134196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2019] [Accepted: 02/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Plasma viral load (VL) and CD4+ T cell count are widely used as biomarkers of HIV type 1 (HIV-1) replication, pathogenesis, and response to antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, the clinical potential of cell-associated (CA) HIV-1 molecular markers is much less understood. Here, we measured CA HIV-1 RNA and DNA in HIV-infected individuals treated with temporary ART initiated during primary HIV-1 infection. We demonstrate substantial predictive value of CA RNA for (a) the virological and immunological response to early ART, (b) the magnitude and time to viral rebound after discontinuation of early ART, and (c) disease progression in the absence of treatment. Remarkably, when adjusted for CA RNA, plasma VL no longer appeared as an independent predictor of any clinical endpoint in this cohort. The potential of CA RNA as an HIV-1 clinical marker, in particular as a predictive biomarker of virological control after stopping ART, should be explored in the context of HIV-1 curative interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marlous L Grijsen
- Department of Internal Medicine, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.,Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Ferdinand W Wit
- Department of Internal Medicine, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.,Global Health program, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.,Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development, Amsterdam, Netherlands.,HIV Monitoring Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Margreet Bakker
- Laboratory of Experimental Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology, and
| | - Suzanne Jurriaans
- Laboratory of Clinical Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Jan M Prins
- Department of Internal Medicine, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Ben Berkhout
- Laboratory of Experimental Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology, and
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16
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Bugembe DL, Ekii AO, Ndembi N, Serwanga J, Kaleebu P, Pala P. Computational MHC-I epitope predictor identifies 95% of experimentally mapped HIV-1 clade A and D epitopes in a Ugandan cohort. BMC Infect Dis 2020; 20:172. [PMID: 32087680 PMCID: PMC7036183 DOI: 10.1186/s12879-020-4876-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2019] [Accepted: 02/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Identifying immunogens that induce HIV-1-specific immune responses is a lengthy process that can benefit from computational methods, which predict T-cell epitopes for various HLA types. Methods We tested the performance of the NetMHCpan4.0 computational neural network in re-identifying 93 T-cell epitopes that had been previously independently mapped using the whole proteome IFN-γ ELISPOT assays in 6 HLA class I typed Ugandan individuals infected with HIV-1 subtypes A1 and D. To provide a benchmark we compared the predictions for NetMHCpan4.0 to MHCflurry1.2.0 and NetCTL1.2. Results NetMHCpan4.0 performed best correctly predicting 88 of the 93 experimentally mapped epitopes for a set length of 9-mer and matched HLA class I alleles. Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) analysis gave an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.928. Setting NetMHCpan4.0 to predict 11-14mer length did not improve the prediction (37–79 of 93 peptides) with an inverse correlation between the number of predictions and length set. Late time point peptides were significantly stronger binders than early peptides (Wilcoxon signed rank test: p = 0.0000005). MHCflurry1.2.0 similarly predicted all but 2 of the peptides that NetMHCpan4.0 predicted and NetCTL1.2 predicted only 14 of the 93 experimental peptides. Conclusion NetMHCpan4.0 class I epitope predictions covered 95% of the epitope responses identified in six HIV-1 infected individuals, and would have reduced the number of experimental confirmatory tests by > 80%. Algorithmic epitope prediction in conjunction with HLA allele frequency information can cost-effectively assist immunogen design through minimizing the experimental effort.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Lule Bugembe
- MRC/UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit, P. O. Box 49, Plot 51-59 Nakiwogo Road, Entebbe, Uganda.
| | - Andrew Obuku Ekii
- MRC/UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit, P. O. Box 49, Plot 51-59 Nakiwogo Road, Entebbe, Uganda
| | | | - Jennifer Serwanga
- MRC/UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit, P. O. Box 49, Plot 51-59 Nakiwogo Road, Entebbe, Uganda.,Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda
| | - Pontiano Kaleebu
- MRC/UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit, P. O. Box 49, Plot 51-59 Nakiwogo Road, Entebbe, Uganda.,Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda
| | - Pietro Pala
- MRC/UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit, P. O. Box 49, Plot 51-59 Nakiwogo Road, Entebbe, Uganda
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17
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Zheltkova V, Argilaguet J, Peligero C, Bocharov G, Meyerhans A. Prediction of PD-L1 inhibition effects for HIV-infected individuals. PLoS Comput Biol 2019; 15:e1007401. [PMID: 31693657 PMCID: PMC6834253 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2019] [Accepted: 09/16/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The novel therapies with immune checkpoint inhibitors hold great promises for patients with chronic virus infections and cancers. This is based mainly on the partial reversal of the exhausted phenotype of antigen-specific cytotoxic CD8 T cells (CTL). Recently, we have shown that the restoration of HIV-specific T cell function depends on the HIV infection stage of an infected individual. Here we aimed to answer two fundamental questions: (i) Can one estimate growth parameters for the HIV-specific proliferative responsiveness upon PD-L1 blockade ex vivo? (ii) Can one use these parameter estimates to predict clinical benefit for HIV-infected individuals displaying diverse infection phenotypes? To answer these questions, we first analyzed HIV-1 Gag-specific CD8 T cell proliferation by time-resolved CFSE assays and estimated the effect of PD-L1 blockade on division and death rates, and specific precursor frequencies. These values were then incorporated into a model for CTL-mediated HIV control and the effects on CTL frequencies, viral loads and CD4 T cell counts were predicted for different infection phenotypes. The biggest absolute increase in CD4 T cell counts was in the group of slow progressors while the strongest reduction in virus loads was observed in progressor patients. These results suggest a significant clinical benefit only for a subgroup of HIV-infected individuals. However, as PD1 is a marker of lymphocyte activation and expressed on several lymphocyte subsets including also CD4 T cells and B cells, we subsequently examined the multiple effects of anti-PD-L1 blockade beyond those on CD8 T cells. This extended model then predicts that the net effect on HIV load and CD4 T cell number depends on the interplay between positive and negative effects of lymphocyte subset activation. For a physiologically relevant range of affected model parameters, PD-L1 blockade is likely to be overall beneficial for HIV-infected individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valerya Zheltkova
- Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
- Marchuk Institute of Numerical Mathematics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Jordi Argilaguet
- Infection Biology Laboratory, Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Cristina Peligero
- Infection Biology Laboratory, Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Gennady Bocharov
- Marchuk Institute of Numerical Mathematics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
- Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Andreas Meyerhans
- Infection Biology Laboratory, Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
- ICREA, Pg. Lluís Companys 23, Barcelona, Spain
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18
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Identification of Immunodominant HIV-1 Epitopes Presented by HLA-C*12:02, a Protective Allele, Using an Immunopeptidomics Approach. J Virol 2019; 93:JVI.00634-19. [PMID: 31217245 PMCID: PMC6694829 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00634-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2019] [Accepted: 06/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the fact that the cell surface expression level of HLA-C on both uninfected and HIV-infected cells is lower than those of HLA-A and -B, increasing evidence suggests an important role for HLA-C and HLA-C-restricted CD8+ T cell responses in determining the efficiency of viral control in HIV-1-infected individuals. Nonetheless, HLA-C-restricted T cell responses are much less well studied than HLA-A/B-restricted ones, and relatively few optimal HIV-1 CD8+ T cell epitopes restricted by HLA-C alleles have been defined. Recent improvements in the sensitivity of mass spectrometry (MS)-based approaches for profiling the immunopeptidome present an opportunity for epitope discovery on a large scale. Here, we employed an MS-based immunopeptidomic strategy to characterize HIV-1 peptides presented by a protective allele, HLA-C*12:02. We identified a total of 10,799 unique 8- to 12-mer peptides, including 15 HIV-1 peptides. The latter included 2 previously reported immunodominant HIV-1 epitopes, and analysis of T cell responses to the other HIV-1 peptides detected revealed an additional immunodominant epitope. These findings illustrate the utility of MS-based approaches for epitope definition and emphasize the capacity of HLA-C to present immunodominant T cell epitopes in HIV-infected individuals, indicating the importance of further evaluation of HLA-C-restricted responses to identify novel targets for HIV-1 prophylactic and therapeutic strategies.IMPORTANCE Mass spectrometry (MS)-based approaches are increasingly being employed for large-scale identification of HLA-bound peptides derived from pathogens, but only very limited profiling of the HIV-1 immunopeptidome has been conducted to date. Notably, a growing body of evidence has recently begun to indicate a protective role for HLA-C in HIV-1 infection, which may suggest that despite the fact that levels of HLA-C expression on both uninfected and HIV-1-infected cells are lower than those of HLA-A/B, HLA-C still presents epitopes to CD8+ T cells effectively. To explore this, we analyzed HLA-C*12:02-restricted HIV-1 peptides presented on HIV-1-infected cells expressing only HLA-C*12:02 (a protective allele) using liquid chromatography-tandem MS (LC-MS/MS). We identified a number of novel HLA-C*12:02-bound HIV-1 peptides and showed that although the majority of them did not elicit T cell responses during natural infection in a Japanese cohort, they included three immunodominant epitopes, emphasizing the contribution of HLA-C to epitope presentation on HIV-infected cells.
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19
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Swathirajan CR, Vignesh R, Waldrop G, Shanmugasundaram U, Nandagopal P, Solomon SS, Pradeep A, Saravanan S, Murugavel KG. HIV-specific T-cell Responses and Generalized Activation in HIV-1 Infected Long-term Non-progressors and Progressors from South India. Curr HIV Res 2019; 16:302-314. [PMID: 30543175 PMCID: PMC6416489 DOI: 10.2174/1570162x17666181212122607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2018] [Revised: 11/27/2018] [Accepted: 12/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Background: Anti-viral cytokine expressions by cytotoxic T-cells and lower activation rates have been reported to correlate with suppressed HIV replication in long-term non-progressors (LTNP). Immune mechanisms underlying disease non-progression in LTNP might vary with HIV-1 subtype and geographical locations. Objective: This study evaluates cytokine expression and T-cells activation in relation to disease non-progression in LTNP. Methods: HIV-1 Subtype C infected LTNP (n=20) and progressors (n=15) were enrolled and flowcytometry assays were performed to study HIV-specific CD8 T-cells expressing IL-2, IFN-γ, TNF-α and MIP-1β against gag and env peptides. CD4+ T-cell activation was evaluated by surface expression of HLADR and CD38. Results: Proportions of cytokines studied did not differ significantly between LTNP and progressors, while contrasting correlations with disease progression markers were observed in LTNP. CD4+ T-cell activation rates were significantly lower in LTNP compared to progressors which indicate the potential role of T-cell activation rates in disease non-progression in LTNP. Conclusion: LTNP and progressors showed similar CD8+ T-cell responses, but final conclusions can be drawn only by comparing multiple immune factors in larger LTNP cohort with HIV-1 infected individuals at various levels of disease progression. A possible role of HIV-1 subtype variation and ethnic differences in addition to host-genetic and viral factors cannot be ruled out.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ramachandran Vignesh
- Y. R. Gaitonde Centre for AIDS Research and Education, VHS Hospital Campus, Taramani, Chennai, India.,UniKL-Royal College of Medicine Perak (UniKL-RCMP), Universiti Kuala Lumpur, 3, Jalan Greentown, 30450 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
| | - Greer Waldrop
- University of Maryland School of Medicine, College Park, MD 20742, United States
| | | | - Pannerselvam Nandagopal
- Y. R. Gaitonde Centre for AIDS Research and Education, VHS Hospital Campus, Taramani, Chennai, India
| | - Sunil Suhas Solomon
- Y. R. Gaitonde Centre for AIDS Research and Education, VHS Hospital Campus, Taramani, Chennai, India.,The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 733 N Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States
| | - Amrose Pradeep
- Y. R. Gaitonde Centre for AIDS Research and Education, VHS Hospital Campus, Taramani, Chennai, India
| | - Shanmugam Saravanan
- Y. R. Gaitonde Centre for AIDS Research and Education, VHS Hospital Campus, Taramani, Chennai, India
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20
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Perdiguero B, Sánchez-Corzo C, S Sorzano CO, Mediavilla P, Saiz L, Esteban M, Gómez CE. Induction of Broad and Polyfunctional HIV-1-Specific T Cell Responses by the Multiepitopic Protein TMEP-B Vectored by MVA Virus. Vaccines (Basel) 2019; 7:vaccines7030057. [PMID: 31261918 PMCID: PMC6789790 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines7030057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2019] [Revised: 06/21/2019] [Accepted: 06/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
A human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) vaccine able to induce long-lasting immunity remains a major challenge. We previously designed a T cell multiepitopic immunogen including protective conserved epitopes from HIV-1 Gag, Pol and Nef proteins (TMEP-B), that induced potent HIV-1-specific CD8 T cells when vectored by DNA and combined with the vaccine candidate modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA)-B. Here, we described the vectorization of TMEP-B in MVA (MVA-TMEP) and evaluated the T cell immunogenicity profile elicited in mice when administered in homologous (MVA/MVA) or heterologous (DNA/MVA) prime/boost vector regimens or using homologous or heterologous inserts. The heterologous vector regimen was superior to the homologous protocol in inducing T cell responses. DNA-TMEP-primed animals boosted with MVA-TMEP or MVA-B exhibited the highest magnitudes of HIV-1-specific CD8, CD4 and T follicular helper (Tfh) cells, with MVA-TMEP significantly expanding Gag-specific CD8 T cell responses. In the homologous vector regimen, all groups exhibited similar HIV-1-specific CD8 and CD4 T cell responses, but both MVA-B/MVA-B and MVA-TMEP/MVA-TMEP combinations elicited higher Gag-Pol-Nef (GPN)-specific CD8 T cell responses compared to MVA-TMEP/MVA-B. Our results revealed an enhanced induction of HIV-1-specific T cell responses by TMEP-B when vectored in both DNA and MVA, and supported their use in combined prime/boost strategies for HIV-1 prevention and/or therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatriz Perdiguero
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CNB-CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Cristina Sánchez-Corzo
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CNB-CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Carlos Oscar S Sorzano
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CNB-CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Pilar Mediavilla
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CNB-CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Lidia Saiz
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CNB-CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Mariano Esteban
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CNB-CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Carmen Elena Gómez
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CNB-CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
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21
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Yang Y, Ganusov VV. Defining Kinetic Properties of HIV-Specific CD8⁺ T-Cell Responses in Acute Infection. Microorganisms 2019; 7:E69. [PMID: 30836625 PMCID: PMC6462943 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms7030069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2019] [Revised: 02/22/2019] [Accepted: 02/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Multiple lines of evidence indicate that CD8 + T cells are important in the control of HIV-1 (HIV) replication. However, CD8 + T cells induced by natural infection cannot eliminate the virus or reduce viral loads to acceptably low levels in most infected individuals. Understanding the basic quantitative features of CD8 + T-cell responses induced during HIV infection may therefore inform us about the limits that HIV vaccines, which aim to induce protective CD8 + T-cell responses, must exceed. Using previously published experimental data from a cohort of HIV-infected individuals with sampling times from acute to chronic infection we defined the quantitative properties of CD8 + T-cell responses to the whole HIV proteome. In contrast with a commonly held view, we found that the relative number of HIV-specific CD8 + T-cell responses (response breadth) changed little over the course of infection (first 400 days post-infection), with moderate but statistically significant changes occurring only during the first 35 symptomatic days. This challenges the idea that a change in the T-cell response breadth over time is responsible for the slow speed of viral escape from CD8 + T cells in the chronic infection. The breadth of HIV-specific CD8 + T-cell responses was not correlated with the average viral load for our small cohort of patients. Metrics of relative immunodominance of HIV-specific CD8 + T-cell responses such as Shannon entropy or the Evenness index were also not significantly correlated with the average viral load. Our mathematical-model-driven analysis suggested extremely slow expansion kinetics for the majority of HIV-specific CD8 + T-cell responses and the presence of intra- and interclonal competition between multiple CD8 + T-cell responses; such competition may limit the magnitude of CD8 + T-cell responses, specific to different epitopes, and the overall number of T-cell responses induced by vaccination. Further understanding of mechanisms underlying interactions between the virus and virus-specific CD8 + T-cell response will be instrumental in determining which T-cell-based vaccines will induce T-cell responses providing durable protection against HIV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiding Yang
- Department of Microbiology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
| | - Vitaly V Ganusov
- Department of Microbiology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
- National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
- Department of Mathematics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
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22
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Ogunshola F, Anmole G, Miller RL, Goering E, Nkosi T, Muema D, Mann J, Ismail N, Chopera D, Ndung'u T, Brockman MA, Ndhlovu ZM. Dual HLA B*42 and B*81-reactive T cell receptors recognize more diverse HIV-1 Gag escape variants. Nat Commun 2018; 9:5023. [PMID: 30479346 PMCID: PMC6258674 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07209-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2018] [Accepted: 10/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Some closely related human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles are associated with variable clinical outcomes following HIV-1 infection despite presenting the same viral epitopes. Mechanisms underlying these differences remain unclear but may be due to intrinsic characteristics of the HLA alleles or responding T cell repertoires. Here we examine CD8+ T cell responses against the immunodominant HIV-1 Gag epitope TL9 (TPQDLNTML180–188) in the context of the protective allele B*81:01 and the less protective allele B*42:01. We observe a population of dual-reactive T cells that recognize TL9 presented by both B*81:01 and B*42:01 in individuals lacking one allele. The presence of dual-reactive T cells is associated with lower plasma viremia, suggesting a clinical benefit. In B*42:01 expressing individuals, the dual-reactive phenotype defines public T cell receptor (TCR) clones that recognize a wider range of TL9 escape variants, consistent with enhanced control of viral infection through containment of HIV-1 sequence adaptation. Closely related HLA alleles presenting similar HIV-1 epitopes can be associated with variable clinical outcome. Here the authors report their findings on CD8+ T cell responses to the HIV-1 Gag-p24 TL9 immunodominant epitope in the context of closely related protective and less protective HLA alleles, and their differential effect on viral control
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Affiliation(s)
- Funsho Ogunshola
- Africa Health Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.,HIV Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Gursev Anmole
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada
| | - Rachel L Miller
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada
| | - Emily Goering
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Thandeka Nkosi
- Africa Health Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.,HIV Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Daniel Muema
- Africa Health Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Jaclyn Mann
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Nasreen Ismail
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Denis Chopera
- Africa Health Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Thumbi Ndung'u
- Africa Health Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.,HIV Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.,Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.,Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin, Germany
| | - Mark A Brockman
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada. .,Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada. .,British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 1Y6, Canada.
| | - Zaza M Ndhlovu
- Africa Health Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. .,HIV Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. .,Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
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23
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Salido J, Ruiz MJ, Trifone C, Figueroa MI, Caruso MP, Gherardi MM, Sued O, Salomón H, Laufer N, Ghiglione Y, Turk G. Phenotype, Polyfunctionality, and Antiviral Activity of in vitro Stimulated CD8 + T-Cells From HIV + Subjects Who Initiated cART at Different Time-Points After Acute Infection. Front Immunol 2018; 9:2443. [PMID: 30405632 PMCID: PMC6205955 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.02443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2018] [Accepted: 10/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Since anti-HIV treatment cannot cure the infection, many strategies have been proposed to eradicate the viral reservoir, which still remains as a major challenge. The success of some of these strategies will rely on the ability of HIV-specific CD8+ T-cells (CD8TC) to clear reactivated infected cells. Here, we aimed to investigate the phenotype and function of in vitro expanded CD8TC obtained from HIV+ subjects on combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), either initiated earlier (median = 3 months postinfection, ET: Early treatment) or later (median = 20 months postinfection, DT: Delayed treatment) after infection. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 12 DT and 13 ET subjects were obtained and stimulated with Nef and Gag peptide pools plus IL-2 for 14 days. ELISPOT was performed pre- and post-expansion. CD8TC memory/effector phenotype, PD-1 expression, polyfunctionality (CD107a/b, IFN-γ, IL-2, CCL4 (MIP-1β), and/or TNF-α production) and antiviral activity were evaluated post-expansion. Magnitude of ELISPOT responses increased after expansion by 103 times, in both groups. Expanded cells were highly polyfunctional, regardless of time of cART initiation. The memory/effector phenotype distribution was sharply skewed toward an effector phenotype after expansion in both groups although ET subjects showed significantly higher proportions of stem-cell and central memory CD8TCs. PD-1 expression was clustered in HIV-specific effector memory CD8TCs, subset that also showed the highest proportion of cytokine-producing cells. Moreover, PD-1 expression directly correlated with CD8TC functionality. Expanded CD8TCs from DT and ET subjects were highly capable of mediating antiviral activity, measured by two different assays. Antiviral function directly correlated with the proportion of fully differentiated effector cells (viral inhibition assay) as well as with CD8TC polyfunctionality and PD-1 expression (VITAL assay). In sum, we show that, despite being dampened in subjects on cART, the HIV-specific CD8TC response could be selectively stimulated and expanded in vitro, presenting a high proportion of cells able to carry-out multiple effector functions. Timing of cART initiation had an impact on the memory/effector differentiation phenotype, most likely reflecting how different periods of antigen persistence affected immune function. Overall, these results have important implications for the design and evaluation of strategies aimed at modulating CD8TCs to achieve the HIV functional cure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jimena Salido
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida (INBIRS), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - María Julia Ruiz
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida (INBIRS), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - César Trifone
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida (INBIRS), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | | | - María Paula Caruso
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida (INBIRS), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - María Magdalena Gherardi
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida (INBIRS), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Omar Sued
- Fundación Huésped, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Horacio Salomón
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida (INBIRS), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Natalia Laufer
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida (INBIRS), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Hospital General de Agudos “Dr. JA Fernández”, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Yanina Ghiglione
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida (INBIRS), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Gabriela Turk
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida (INBIRS), Buenos Aires, Argentina
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24
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Ganusov VV. Time Intervals in Sequence Sampling, Not Data Modifications, Have a Major Impact on Estimates of HIV Escape Rates. Viruses 2018; 10:v10030099. [PMID: 29495443 PMCID: PMC5869492 DOI: 10.3390/v10030099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2017] [Revised: 02/20/2018] [Accepted: 02/22/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to avoid recognition by humoral and cellular immunity (viral escape) is well-documented, but the strength of the immune response needed to cause such a viral escape remains poorly quantified. Several previous studies observed a more rapid escape of HIV from CD8 T cell responses in the acute phase of infection compared to chronic infection. The rate of HIV escape was estimated with the help of simple mathematical models, and results were interpreted to suggest that CD8 T cell responses causing escape in acute HIV infection may be more efficient at killing virus-infected cells than responses that cause escape in chronic infection, or alternatively, that early escapes occur in epitopes mutations in which there is minimal fitness cost to the virus. However, these conclusions were challenged on several grounds, including linkage and interference of multiple escape mutations due to a low population size and because of potential issues associated with modifying the data to estimate escape rates. Here we use a sampling method which does not require data modification to show that previous results on the decline of the viral escape rate with time since infection remain unchanged. However, using this method we also show that estimates of the escape rate are highly sensitive to the time interval between measurements, with longer intervals biasing estimates of the escape rate downwards. Our results thus suggest that data modifications for early and late escapes were not the primary reason for the observed decline in the escape rate with time since infection. However, longer sampling periods for escapes in chronic infection strongly influence estimates of the escape rate. More frequent sampling of viral sequences in chronic infection may improve our understanding of factors influencing the rate of HIV escape from CD8 T cell responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vitaly V Ganusov
- Department of Microbiology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
- Department of Mathematics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
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Turk G, Ghiglione Y, Hormanstorfer M, Laufer N, Coloccini R, Salido J, Trifone C, Ruiz MJ, Falivene J, Holgado MP, Caruso MP, Figueroa MI, Salomón H, Giavedoni LD, Pando MDLÁ, Gherardi MM, Rabinovich RD, Pury PA, Sued O. Biomarkers of Progression after HIV Acute/Early Infection: Nothing Compares to CD4⁺ T-cell Count? Viruses 2018; 10:E34. [PMID: 29342870 PMCID: PMC5795447 DOI: 10.3390/v10010034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2017] [Revised: 01/10/2018] [Accepted: 01/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Progression of HIV infection is variable among individuals, and definition disease progression biomarkers is still needed. Here, we aimed to categorize the predictive potential of several variables using feature selection methods and decision trees. A total of seventy-five treatment-naïve subjects were enrolled during acute/early HIV infection. CD4⁺ T-cell counts (CD4TC) and viral load (VL) levels were determined at enrollment and for one year. Immune activation, HIV-specific immune response, Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) and C-C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5) genotypes, and plasma levels of 39 cytokines were determined. Data were analyzed by machine learning and non-parametric methods. Variable hierarchization was performed by Weka correlation-based feature selection and J48 decision tree. Plasma interleukin (IL)-10, interferon gamma-induced protein (IP)-10, soluble IL-2 receptor alpha (sIL-2Rα) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) levels correlated directly with baseline VL, whereas IL-2, TNF-α, fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-2 and macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1β correlated directly with CD4⁺ T-cell activation (p < 0.05). However, none of these cytokines had good predictive values to distinguish "progressors" from "non-progressors". Similarly, immune activation, HIV-specific immune responses and HLA/CCR5 genotypes had low discrimination power. Baseline CD4TC was the most potent discerning variable with a cut-off of 438 cells/μL (accuracy = 0.93, κ-Cohen = 0.85). Limited discerning power of the other factors might be related to frequency, variability and/or sampling time. Future studies based on decision trees to identify biomarkers of post-treatment control are warrantied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela Turk
- CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Universidad de Buenos Aires- CONICET, Paraguay 2155 Piso 11, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina.
| | - Yanina Ghiglione
- CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Universidad de Buenos Aires- CONICET, Paraguay 2155 Piso 11, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina.
| | | | - Natalia Laufer
- CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Universidad de Buenos Aires- CONICET, Paraguay 2155 Piso 11, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina.
- Hospital Juan A. Fernández, Unidad Enfermedades Infecciosas, Buenos Aires C1425AGP, Argentina.
| | - Romina Coloccini
- CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Universidad de Buenos Aires- CONICET, Paraguay 2155 Piso 11, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina.
| | - Jimena Salido
- CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Universidad de Buenos Aires- CONICET, Paraguay 2155 Piso 11, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina.
| | - César Trifone
- CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Universidad de Buenos Aires- CONICET, Paraguay 2155 Piso 11, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina.
| | - María Julia Ruiz
- CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Universidad de Buenos Aires- CONICET, Paraguay 2155 Piso 11, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina.
| | - Juliana Falivene
- CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Universidad de Buenos Aires- CONICET, Paraguay 2155 Piso 11, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina.
| | - María Pía Holgado
- CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Universidad de Buenos Aires- CONICET, Paraguay 2155 Piso 11, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina.
| | - María Paula Caruso
- CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Universidad de Buenos Aires- CONICET, Paraguay 2155 Piso 11, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina.
| | - María Inés Figueroa
- Fundación Huésped, Buenos Aires C1202ABB, Argentina.
- Hospital Juan A. Fernández, Unidad Enfermedades Infecciosas, Buenos Aires C1425AGP, Argentina.
| | - Horacio Salomón
- CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Universidad de Buenos Aires- CONICET, Paraguay 2155 Piso 11, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina.
| | - Luis D Giavedoni
- Southwest National Primate Research Center, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78227, USA.
| | - María de Los Ángeles Pando
- CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Universidad de Buenos Aires- CONICET, Paraguay 2155 Piso 11, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina.
| | - María Magdalena Gherardi
- CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Universidad de Buenos Aires- CONICET, Paraguay 2155 Piso 11, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina.
| | - Roberto Daniel Rabinovich
- CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Universidad de Buenos Aires- CONICET, Paraguay 2155 Piso 11, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina.
| | - Pedro A Pury
- Facultad de Matemática, Astronomía, Física y Computación, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba X5000HUA, Argentina.
| | - Omar Sued
- Fundación Huésped, Buenos Aires C1202ABB, Argentina.
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26
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Leitman EM, Willberg CB, Tsai MH, Chen H, Buus S, Chen F, Riddell L, Haas D, Fellay J, Goedert JJ, Piechocka-Trocha A, Walker BD, Martin J, Deeks S, Wolinsky SM, Martinson J, Martin M, Qi Y, Sáez-Cirión A, Yang OO, Matthews PC, Carrington M, Goulder PJR. HLA-B*14:02-Restricted Env-Specific CD8 + T-Cell Activity Has Highly Potent Antiviral Efficacy Associated with Immune Control of HIV Infection. J Virol 2017; 91:e00544-17. [PMID: 28878089 PMCID: PMC5660483 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00544-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2017] [Accepted: 08/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Immune control of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV) infection is typically associated with effective Gag-specific CD8+ T-cell responses. We here focus on HLA-B*14, which protects against HIV disease progression, but the immunodominant HLA-B*14-restricted anti-HIV response is Env specific (ERYLKDQQL, HLA-B*14-EL9). A subdominant HLA-B*14-restricted response targets Gag (DRYFKTLRA, HLA-B*14-DA9). Using HLA-B*14/peptide-saporin-conjugated tetramers, we show that HLA-B*14-EL9 is substantially more potent at inhibiting viral replication than HLA-B*14-DA9. HLA-B*14-EL9 also has significantly higher functional avidity (P < 0.0001) and drives stronger selection pressure on the virus than HLA-B*14-DA9. However, these differences were HLA-B*14 subtype specific, applying only to HLA-B*14:02 and not to HLA-B*14:01. Furthermore, the HLA-B*14-associated protection against HIV disease progression is significantly greater for HLA-B*14:02 than for HLA-B*14:01, consistent with the superior antiviral efficacy of the HLA-B*14-EL9 response. Thus, although Gag-specific CD8+ T-cell responses may usually have greater anti-HIV efficacy, factors independent of protein specificity, including functional avidity of individual responses, are also critically important to immune control of HIV.IMPORTANCE In HIV infection, although cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) play a potentially critical role in eradication of viral reservoirs, the features that constitute an effective response remain poorly defined. We focus on HLA-B*14, unique among HLAs associated with control of HIV in that the dominant CTL response is Env specific, not Gag specific. We demonstrate that Env-specific HLA-B*14-restricted activity is substantially more efficacious than the subdominant HLA-B*14-restricted Gag response. Env immunodominance over Gag and strong Env-mediated selection pressure on HIV are observed only in subjects expressing HLA-B*14:02, and not HLA-B*14:01. This reflects the increased functional avidity of the Env response over Gag, substantially more marked for HLA-B*14:02. Finally, we show that HLA-B*14:02 is significantly more strongly associated with viremic control than HLA-B*14:01. These findings indicate that, although Gag-specific CTL may usually have greater anti-HIV efficacy than Env responses, factors independent of protein specificity, including functional avidity, may carry greater weight in mediating effective control of HIV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen M Leitman
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Ming-Han Tsai
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Huabiao Chen
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Søren Buus
- Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Fabian Chen
- Department of Sexual Health, Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading, United Kingdom
| | - Lynn Riddell
- Integrated Sexual Health Services, Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Northampton, United Kingdom
| | - David Haas
- Departments of Medicine, Pharmacology, Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Jacques Fellay
- School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - James J Goedert
- Infections and Immunoepidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | | | - Bruce D Walker
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, The Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Jeffrey Martin
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Steven Deeks
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Steven M Wolinsky
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Jeremy Martinson
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Maureen Martin
- Cancer and Inflammation Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Ying Qi
- Cancer and Inflammation Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Asier Sáez-Cirión
- Institut Pasteur, Unité HIV, Inflammation et Persistance, Paris, France
| | - Otto O Yang
- Department of Medicine, Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
- AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Philippa C Matthews
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Mary Carrington
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Cancer and Inflammation Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Philip J R Goulder
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, The Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
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27
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Leitman EM, Thobakgale CF, Adland E, Ansari MA, Raghwani J, Prendergast AJ, Tudor-Williams G, Kiepiela P, Hemelaar J, Brener J, Tsai MH, Mori M, Riddell L, Luzzi G, Jooste P, Ndung'u T, Walker BD, Pybus OG, Kellam P, Naranbhai V, Matthews PC, Gall A, Goulder PJR. Role of HIV-specific CD8 + T cells in pediatric HIV cure strategies after widespread early viral escape. J Exp Med 2017; 214:3239-3261. [PMID: 28983013 PMCID: PMC5679167 DOI: 10.1084/jem.20162123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2016] [Revised: 06/22/2017] [Accepted: 08/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have suggested greater HIV cure potential among infected children than adults. A major obstacle to HIV eradication in adults is that the viral reservoir is largely comprised of HIV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) escape variants. We here evaluate the potential for CTL in HIV-infected slow-progressor children to play an effective role in "shock-and-kill" cure strategies. Two distinct subgroups of children were identified on the basis of viral load. Unexpectedly, in both groups, as in adults, HIV-specific CTL drove the selection of escape variants across a range of epitopes within the first weeks of infection. However, in HIV-infected children, but not adults, de novo autologous variant-specific CTL responses were generated, enabling the pediatric immune system to "corner" the virus. Thus, even when escape variants are selected in early infection, the capacity in children to generate variant-specific anti-HIV CTL responses maintains the potential for CTL to contribute to effective shock-and-kill cure strategies in pediatric HIV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen M Leitman
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
| | - Christina F Thobakgale
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Emily Adland
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
| | - M Azim Ansari
- Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
| | - Jayna Raghwani
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
| | - Andrew J Prendergast
- Blizard Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, England, UK.,Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research, Harare, Zimbabwe
| | - Gareth Tudor-Williams
- Division of Medicine, Department of Paediatrics, Imperial College London, London, England, UK
| | - Photini Kiepiela
- Medical Research Council, Durban, South Africa.,Witwatersrand Health Consortium, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Joris Hemelaar
- Nuffield Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, England, UK.,Linacre Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Department of Paediatrics, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Jacqui Brener
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
| | - Ming-Han Tsai
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
| | - Masahiko Mori
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, UK.,Department of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Sakamoto, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Lynn Riddell
- Northampton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Cliftonville, England, UK
| | - Graz Luzzi
- Buckinghampshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, High Wycombe, England, UK
| | - Pieter Jooste
- Paediatric Department, Kimberley Hospital, Northern Cape, South Africa
| | - Thumbi Ndung'u
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.,Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA
| | - Bruce D Walker
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.,Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA
| | - Oliver G Pybus
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
| | - Paul Kellam
- Kymab Ltd., Babraham Research Campus, Babraham, England, UK.,Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College Faculty of Medicine, London, England, UK
| | - Vivek Naranbhai
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA.,Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Philippa C Matthews
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, England, UK
| | - Astrid Gall
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, England, UK
| | - Philip J R Goulder
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, UK .,HIV Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
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28
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Seki S, Nomura T, Nishizawa M, Yamamoto H, Ishii H, Matsuoka S, Shiino T, Sato H, Mizuta K, Sakawaki H, Miura T, Naruse TK, Kimura A, Matano T. In vivo virulence of MHC-adapted AIDS virus serially-passaged through MHC-mismatched hosts. PLoS Pathog 2017; 13:e1006638. [PMID: 28931083 PMCID: PMC5624644 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2017] [Revised: 10/02/2017] [Accepted: 09/09/2017] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
CD8+ T-cell responses exert strong suppressive pressure on HIV replication and select for viral escape mutations. Some of these major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I)-associated mutations result in reduction of in vitro viral replicative capacity. While these mutations can revert after viral transmission to MHC-I-disparate hosts, recent studies have suggested that these MHC-I-associated mutations accumulate in populations and make viruses less pathogenic in vitro. Here, we directly show an increase in the in vivo virulence of an MHC-I-adapted virus serially-passaged through MHC-I-mismatched hosts in a macaque AIDS model despite a reduction in in vitro viral fitness. The first passage simian immunodeficiency virus (1pSIV) obtained 1 year after SIVmac239 infection in a macaque possessing a protective MHC-I haplotype 90-120-Ia was transmitted into 90-120-Ia- macaques, whose plasma 1 year post-infection was transmitted into other 90-120-Ia- macaques to obtain the third passage SIV (3pSIV). Most of the 90-120-Ia-associated mutations selected in 1pSIV did not revert even in 3pSIV. 3pSIV showed lower in vitro viral fitness but induced persistent viremia in 90-120-Ia- macaques. Remarkably, 3pSIV infection in 90-120-Ia+ macaques resulted in significantly higher viral loads and reduced survival compared to wild-type SIVmac239. These results indicate that MHC-I-adapted SIVs serially-transmitted through MHC-I-mismatched hosts can have higher virulence in MHC-I-matched hosts despite their lower in vitro viral fitness. This study suggests that multiply-passaged HIVs could result in loss of HIV-specific CD8+ T cell responses in human populations and the in vivo pathogenic potential of these escaped viruses may be enhanced. CD8+ T-cell responses exert considerable control over replication of HIV and select for viral escape mutations. Recent studies have suggested that these major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I)-associated mutations accumulate in populations and make viruses less pathogenic in vitro. Other studies have shown that some of these escape mutations can revert after passage to MHC-I-disparate hosts. In an attempt to reconcile these apparently conflicting results, we serially passaged a virus isolate through MHC-I-mismatched hosts in the macaque AIDS model of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection. Here we show an increase in the in vivo virulence of an MHC-I-adapted virus despite a reduction in in vitro viral replication capacity. Only a few of the selected escape mutations reverted after transmission to MHC-I-disparate recipients. Results clearly showed that MHC-I-adapted SIVs that have been serially-transmitted through MHC-I-mismatched hosts can have higher in vivo virulence in MHC-I-matched hosts despite their lower in vitro viral fitness. This study suggests that HIVs may become less sensitive to CD8+ T cell responses and could have increased in vivo virulence by adaptation to MHC-I in human populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sayuri Seki
- AIDS Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Takushi Nomura
- AIDS Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
- Center for AIDS Research, Kumamoto University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masako Nishizawa
- AIDS Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Yamamoto
- AIDS Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Ishii
- AIDS Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Saori Matsuoka
- AIDS Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Teiichiro Shiino
- AIDS Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hironori Sato
- Pathogen Genomics Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kazuta Mizuta
- Institute for Frontier Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Hiromi Sakawaki
- Institute for Frontier Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Tomoyuki Miura
- Institute for Frontier Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Taeko K. Naruse
- Medical Research Institute, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Akinori Kimura
- Medical Research Institute, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Tetsuro Matano
- AIDS Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
- Center for AIDS Research, Kumamoto University, Tokyo, Japan
- The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- * E-mail:
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29
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Preferential Targeting of Conserved Gag Regions after Vaccination with a Heterologous DNA Prime-Modified Vaccinia Virus Ankara Boost HIV-1 Vaccine Regimen. J Virol 2017; 91:JVI.00730-17. [PMID: 28701395 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00730-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2017] [Accepted: 06/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Prime-boost vaccination strategies against HIV-1 often include multiple variants for a given immunogen for better coverage of the extensive viral diversity. To study the immunologic effects of this approach, we characterized breadth, phenotype, function, and specificity of Gag-specific T cells induced by a DNA-prime modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA)-boost vaccination strategy, which uses mismatched Gag immunogens in the TamoVac 01 phase IIa trial. Healthy Tanzanian volunteers received three injections of the DNA-SMI vaccine encoding a subtype B and AB-recombinant Gagp37 and two vaccinations with MVA-CMDR encoding subtype A Gagp55 Gag-specific T-cell responses were studied in 42 vaccinees using fresh peripheral blood mononuclear cells. After the first MVA-CMDR boost, vaccine-induced gamma interferon-positive (IFN-γ+) Gag-specific T-cell responses were dominated by CD4+ T cells (P < 0.001 compared to CD8+ T cells) that coexpressed interleukin-2 (IL-2) (66.4%) and/or tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) (63.7%). A median of 3 antigenic regions were targeted with a higher-magnitude median response to Gagp24 regions, more conserved between prime and boost, compared to those of regions within Gagp15 (not primed) and Gagp17 (less conserved; P < 0.0001 for both). Four regions within Gagp24 each were targeted by 45% to 74% of vaccinees upon restimulation with DNA-SMI-Gag matched peptides. The response rate to individual antigenic regions correlated with the sequence homology between the MVA- and DNA Gag-encoded immunogens (P = 0.04, r2 = 0.47). In summary, after the first MVA-CMDR boost, the sequence-mismatched DNA-prime MVA-boost vaccine strategy induced a Gag-specific T-cell response that was dominated by polyfunctional CD4+ T cells and that targeted multiple antigenic regions within the conserved Gagp24 protein.IMPORTANCE Genetic diversity is a major challenge for the design of vaccines against variable viruses. While including multiple variants for a given immunogen in prime-boost vaccination strategies is one approach that aims to improve coverage for global virus variants, the immunologic consequences of this strategy have been poorly defined so far. It is unclear whether inclusion of multiple variants in prime-boost vaccination strategies improves recognition of variant viruses by T cells and by which mechanisms this would be achieved, either by improved cross-recognition of multiple variants for a given antigenic region or through preferential targeting of antigenic regions more conserved between prime and boost. Engineering vaccines to induce adaptive immune responses that preferentially target conserved antigenic regions of viral vulnerability might facilitate better immune control after preventive and therapeutic vaccination for HIV and for other variable viruses.
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30
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Immune activation and HIV-specific T cell responses are modulated by a cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor in untreated HIV-infected individuals: An exploratory clinical trial. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0176527. [PMID: 28464042 PMCID: PMC5413033 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0176527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2017] [Accepted: 04/09/2017] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Pathologically elevated immune activation and inflammation contribute to HIV disease progression and immunodeficiency, potentially mediated by elevated levels of prostaglandin E2, which suppress HIV-specific T cell responses. We have previously shown that a high dose of the cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor celecoxib can reduce HIV-associated immune activation and improve IgG responses to T cell-dependent vaccines. In this follow-up study, we included 56 HIV-infected adults, 28 antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naïve and 28 on ART with undetectable plasma viremia but CD4 counts below 500 cells/μL. Patients in each of the two study groups were randomized to receive 90 mg qd of the cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor etoricoxib for six months, two weeks or to a control arm, respectively. T cell activation status, HIV Gag-specific T cell responses and plasma inflammatory markers, tryptophan metabolism and thrombin generation were analyzed at baseline and after four months. In addition, patients received tetanus toxoid, conjugated pneumococcal and seasonal influenza vaccines, to which IgG responses were determined after four weeks. In ART-naïve patients, etoricoxib reduced the density of the activation marker CD38 in multiple CD8+ T cell subsets, improved Gag-specific T cell responses, and reduced in vitro plasma thrombin generation, while no effects were seen on plasma markers of inflammation or tryptophan metabolism. No significant immunological effects of etoricoxib were observed in ART-treated patients. Patients receiving long-term etoricoxib treatment had poorer tetanus toxoid and conjugated pneumococcal vaccine responses than those receiving short-course etoricoxib. Cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors may attenuate harmful immune activation in HIV-infected patients without access to ART.
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Hou J, Zhang Q, Liu Z, Wang S, Li D, Liu C, Liu Y, Shao Y. Cyclophilin A as a potential genetic adjuvant to improve HIV-1 Gag DNA vaccine immunogenicity by eliciting broad and long-term Gag-specific cellular immunity in mice. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2016; 12:545-53. [PMID: 26305669 DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2015.1082692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous research has shown that host Cyclophilin A (CyPA) can promote dendritic cell maturation and the subsequent innate immune response when incorporated into an HIV-1 Gag protein to circumvent the resistance of dendritic cells to HIV-1 infection. This led us to hypothesize that CyPA may improve HIV-1 Gag-specific vaccine immunogenicity via binding with Gag antigen. The adjuvant effect of CyPA was evaluated using a DNA vaccine with single or dual expression cassettes. Mouse studies indicated that CyPA specifically and markedly promoted HIV-1 Gag-specific cellular immunity but not an HIV-1 Env-specific cellular response. The Gag/CyPA dual expression cassettes stimulated a greater Gag-specific cellular immune response, than Gag immunization alone. Furthermore, CyPA induced a broad Gag-specific T cell response and strong cellular immunity that lasted up to 5 months. In addition, CyPA skewed to cellular rather than humoral immunity. To investigate the mechanisms of the adjuvant effect, site-directed mutagenesis in CyPA, including active site residues H54Q and F60A resulted in mutants that were co-expressed with Gag in dual cassettes. The immune response to this vaccine was analyzed in vivo. Interestingly, the wild type CyPA markedly increased Gag cellular immunity, but the H54Q and F60A mutants drastically reduced CyPA adjuvant activation. Therefore, we suggest that the adjuvant effect of CyPA was based on Gag-CyPA-specific interactions. Herein, we report that Cyclophilin A can augment HIV-1 Gag-specific cellular immunity as a genetic adjuvant in multiplex DNA immunization strategies, and that activity of this adjuvant is specific, broad, long-term, and based on Gag-CyPA interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jue Hou
- a State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control; National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention; Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention ; Beijing , China
| | - Qicheng Zhang
- a State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control; National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention; Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention ; Beijing , China
| | - Zheng Liu
- a State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control; National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention; Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention ; Beijing , China
| | - Shuhui Wang
- a State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control; National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention; Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention ; Beijing , China
| | - Dan Li
- a State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control; National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention; Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention ; Beijing , China
| | - Chang Liu
- a State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control; National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention; Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention ; Beijing , China
| | - Ying Liu
- a State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control; National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention; Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention ; Beijing , China
| | - Yiming Shao
- a State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control; National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention; Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention ; Beijing , China
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Negi N, Vajpayee M, Singh R, Sharma A, Murugavel KG, Ranga U, Thakar M, Sreenivas V, Das BK. Cross-Reactive Potential of HIV-1 Subtype C-Infected Indian Individuals Against Multiple HIV-1 Potential T Cell Epitope Gag Variants. Viral Immunol 2016; 29:572-582. [PMID: 27875663 DOI: 10.1089/vim.2016.0060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Vaccine immunogen with expanded T cell coverage for protection against HIV-1 diversity is the need of the hour. This study was undertaken to examine the ability of T cells to respond to a broad spectrum of potential T cell epitope (PTE) peptides containing variable as well as conserved sequences that would most accurately reflect immune responses to different circulating strains. Set of 320 PTE peptides were pooled in a matrix format that included 40 pools of 32 peptides per pool. These pools were used in interferon-γ enzyme-linked immunospot assay for screening and confirmation of HIV-1 PTE Gag-specific T cell immune responses in 34 HIV-1 seropositive Indian individuals. "Deconvolute This" software was used for result analysis. The dominant target in terms of magnitude and breadth of responses was observed to be the p24 subunit of Gag protein. Of the 34 study subjects, 26 (77%) showed a response to p24 PTE Gag peptides, 17 (50%) to p17, and 17 (50%) responded to p15 PTE peptides. The total breadth and magnitude of immune response ranged from 0.75 to 14.50 and 95.02 to 1,103 spot-forming cells/106 cells, respectively. Seventy-six peptides located in p24 Gag were targeted by 77% of the study subjects followed by 51 peptides in p17 Gag and 46 peptides in p15 Gag with multiple variants being recognized. Maximum study participants recognized PTE peptide sequence Gag271→285NKIVRMYSPVSILDI located in p24 Gag subunit. T cells from HIV-1-infected individuals can recognize multiple PTE peptide variants, although the magnitude of the responses can vary greatly across these variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neema Negi
- 1 Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences , New Delhi, India
| | - Madhu Vajpayee
- 1 Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences , New Delhi, India
| | - Ravinder Singh
- 2 Department of Pediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences , New Delhi, India
| | - Ashutosh Sharma
- 1 Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences , New Delhi, India
| | - Kailapuri G Murugavel
- 3 YRG Centre for AIDS Research and Education, Voluntary Health Services Hospital , Chennai, India
| | - Udaykumar Ranga
- 4 HIV-AIDS Laboratory, Molecular Biology & Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research , Bangalore, India
| | - Madhuri Thakar
- 5 Department of Immunology, National AIDS Research Institute (ICMR) , Pune, India
| | - Vishnubhatla Sreenivas
- 6 Department of Biostatistics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences , New Delhi, India
| | - Bimal Kumar Das
- 1 Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences , New Delhi, India
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CD25+ FoxP3+ Memory CD4 T Cells Are Frequent Targets of HIV Infection In Vivo. J Virol 2016; 90:8954-67. [PMID: 27384654 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00612-16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2016] [Accepted: 06/17/2016] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED Interleukin 2 (IL-2) signaling through the IL-2 receptor alpha chain (CD25) facilitates HIV replication in vitro and facilitates homeostatic proliferation of CD25(+) FoxP3(+) CD4(+) T cells. CD25(+) FoxP3(+) CD4(+) T cells may therefore constitute a suitable subset for HIV infection and plasma virion production. CD25(+) FoxP3(+) CD4(+) T cell frequencies, absolute numbers, and the expression of CCR5 and cell cycle marker Ki67 were studied in peripheral blood from HIV(+) and HIV(-) study volunteers. Different memory CD4(+) T cell subsets were then sorted for quantification of cell-associated HIV DNA and phylogenetic analyses of the highly variable EnvV1V3 region in comparison to plasma-derived virus sequences. In HIV(+) subjects, 51% (median) of CD25(+) FoxP3(+) CD4(+) T cells expressed the HIV coreceptor CCR5. Very high frequencies of Ki67(+) cells were detected in CD25(+) FoxP3(+) memory CD4(+) T cells (median, 27.6%) in comparison to CD25(-) FoxP3(-) memory CD4(+) T cells (median, 4.1%; P < 0.0001). HIV DNA content was 15-fold higher in CD25(+) FoxP3(+) memory CD4(+) T cells than in CD25(-) FoxP3(-) T cells (P = 0.003). EnvV1V3 sequences derived from CD25(+) FoxP3(+) memory CD4(+) T cells did not preferentially cluster with plasma-derived sequences. Quasi-identical cell-plasma sequence pairs were rare, and their proportion decreased with the estimated HIV infection duration. These data suggest that specific cellular characteristics of CD25(+) FoxP3(+) memory CD4(+) T cells might facilitate efficient HIV infection in vivo and passage of HIV DNA to cell progeny in the absence of active viral replication. The contribution of this cell population to plasma virion production remains unclear. IMPORTANCE Despite recent advances in the understanding of AIDS virus pathogenesis, which cell subsets support HIV infection and replication in vivo is incompletely understood. In vitro, the IL-2 signaling pathway and IL-2-dependent cell cycle induction are essential for HIV infection of stimulated T cells. CD25(+) FoxP3(+) memory CD4 T cells, often referred to as regulatory CD4 T cells, depend on IL-2 signaling for homeostatic proliferation in vivo Our results show that CD25(+) FoxP3(+) memory CD4(+) T cells often express the HIV coreceptor CCR5, are significantly more proliferative, and contain more HIV DNA than CD25(-) FoxP3(-) memory CD4 T cell subsets. The specific cellular characteristics of CD25(+) FoxP3(+) memory CD4(+) T cells probably facilitate efficient HIV infection in vivo and passage of HIV DNA to cell progeny in the absence of active viral replication. However, the contribution of this cell subset to plasma viremia remains unclear.
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Jiang F, Han X, Zhang H, Zhao B, An M, Xu J, Chu Z, Dong T, Shang H. Multi-layered Gag-specific immunodominant responses contribute to improved viral control in the CRF01_AE subtype of HIV-1-infected MSM subjects. BMC Immunol 2016; 17:28. [PMID: 27577610 PMCID: PMC5006414 DOI: 10.1186/s12865-016-0166-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2016] [Accepted: 08/20/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to characterize specific cytotoxic T-cell (CTL) responses in men who have sex with men (MSM) subjects infected with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) CRF01_AE subtype during the first year of infection and impacts on viral control and evolution. RESULTS Fifteen HIV-1 primary infected cases were recruited from Liaoning MSM prospective cohort. CTL responses to Gag, Pol and Nef proteins at 3 month and 1 year post infection were detected with Gamma interferon enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay using optimized consensus overlapping peptides, as well as the viral quasispecies sequences from the synchronous plasma. Gag and Nef proteins were the main targets of CTL responses during the first year of HIV-1 infection, and this was evident from the data after adjusting for the length of amino acids by dividing the amino acids number of the corresponding protein and multiplying by 100. Additionally, relative magnitudes of Gag at both 3 months and 1 year post infection were significantly negatively correlated with the viral set point (p = 0.002, r = -0.726; p = 0.025, r = -0.574). While the relative magnitude of Nef at 1 year post infection were significantly positively correlated with viral set point (p = 0.004, r = 0.697). Subjects with multi-layered Gag immunodominant responses during the first year of infection had significantly lower viral set points than subjects without such responses (p = 0.002). CONCLUSION Multi-layered Gag immunodominant responses during the first year of infection were correlated with viral control, which provides a theoretical basis for vaccine design targeting MSM subjects with the CRF01_AE subtype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fanming Jiang
- Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology of National Health and Family Planning Commission, Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoxu Han
- Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology of National Health and Family Planning Commission, Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hui Zhang
- Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology of National Health and Family Planning Commission, Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Hangzhou, China
| | - Bin Zhao
- Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology of National Health and Family Planning Commission, Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Hangzhou, China
| | - Minghui An
- Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology of National Health and Family Planning Commission, Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Hangzhou, China
| | - Junjie Xu
- Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology of National Health and Family Planning Commission, Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zhenxing Chu
- Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology of National Health and Family Planning Commission, Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Hangzhou, China
| | - Tao Dong
- Medical Research Council Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University, Oxford, OX3 9DS United Kingdom
| | - Hong Shang
- Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology of National Health and Family Planning Commission, Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Hangzhou, China
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Modification of the HIV-specific CD8+ T-cell response in an HIV elite controller after chikungunya virus infection. AIDS 2016; 30:1905-11. [PMID: 27124898 DOI: 10.1097/qad.0000000000001129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the impact of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection on the quality of the HIV-specific CD8 T-cell (CTL) response in an HIV elite controller. DESIGN Three blood samples were obtained from an elite controller at 27 days (EC-CHIKV, Sample 1, S1), 41 days (S2) and 1 year (S3) after CHIKV infection. Additionally, samples from another nine elite controllers and nine viremic chronics were obtained. METHODS CD4 T-cell counts, viral load and immune activation were recorded. Natural killer (NK) cells and HIV-specific CTL quality were evaluated. Data were analyzed using nonparametric statistics. RESULTS A male HIV elite controller was confirmed for CHIKV infection. At S1, he presented 211 cells/μl CD4 T-cell count, a HIV viral load blip (145 copies/ml) and high T-cell activation. NK cell percentage and activation were higher at S2. All parameters were recovered by S3. CTLs at S1 were exclusively monofunctional with a high proportion (>80%) of degranulating CTLs. By S3, CTL polyfunctionality was more similar to that of a typical elite controller. The distribution of CTL memory subsets also displayed altered profiles. CONCLUSION The results showed that the phenotype and function of HIV-specific CTLs were modified in temporal association with an HIV viral load blip that followed CHIKV infection. This might have helped to control the transient HIV rebound. Additionally, NK cells could have been involved in this control. These results provide useful information to help understand how elite controllers maintain their status, control HIV infection and alert about the negative impact to the immune function of HIV-infected individuals living in CHIKV endemic areas.
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Leitman EM, Hurst J, Mori M, Kublin J, Ndung'u T, Walker BD, Carlson J, Gray GE, Matthews PC, Frahm N, Goulder PJR. Lower Viral Loads and Slower CD4+ T-Cell Count Decline in MRKAd5 HIV-1 Vaccinees Expressing Disease-Susceptible HLA-B*58:02. J Infect Dis 2016; 214:379-89. [PMID: 26951820 PMCID: PMC4936641 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiw093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2015] [Accepted: 03/02/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background. HLA strongly influences human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) disease progression. A major contributory mechanism is via the particular HLA-presented HIV-1 epitopes that are recognized by CD8+ T-cells. Different populations vary considerably in the HLA alleles expressed. We investigated the HLA-specific impact of the MRKAd5 HIV-1 Gag/Pol/Nef vaccine in a subset of the infected Phambili cohort in whom the disease-susceptible HLA-B*58:02 is highly prevalent. Methods. Viral loads, CD4+ T-cell counts, and enzyme-linked immunospot assay–determined anti-HIV-1 CD8+ T-cell responses for a subset of infected antiretroviral-naive Phambili participants, selected according to sample availability, were analyzed. Results. Among those expressing disease-susceptible HLA-B*58:02, vaccinees had a lower chronic viral set point than placebo recipients (median, 7240 vs 122 500 copies/mL; P = .01), a 0.76 log10 lower longitudinal viremia level (P = .01), and slower progression to a CD4+ T-cell count of <350 cells/mm3 (P = .02). These differences were accompanied by a higher Gag-specific breadth (4.5 vs 1 responses; P = .04) and magnitude (2300 vs 70 spot-forming cells/106 peripheral blood mononuclear cells; P = .06) in vaccinees versus placebo recipients. Conclusions. In addition to the known enhancement of HIV-1 acquisition resulting from the MRKAd5 HIV-1 vaccine, these findings in a nonrandomized subset of enrollees show an HLA-specific vaccine effect on the time to CD4+ T-cell count decline and viremia level after infection and the potential for vaccines to differentially alter disease outcome according to population HLA composition. Clinical Trials Registration. NCT00413725, DOH-27-0207-1539.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jacob Hurst
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
| | | | - James Kublin
- HIV-1 Vaccine Trials Network, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
| | - Thumbi Ndung'u
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts HIV-1 Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal Research Institute for Tuberculosis and HIV-1, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin, Germany
| | - Bruce D Walker
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts HIV-1 Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal
| | | | - Glenda E Gray
- South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town Perinatal HIV-1 Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | | | - Nicole Frahm
- HIV-1 Vaccine Trials Network, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle
| | - Philip J R Goulder
- Department of Paediatrics HIV-1 Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal
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Obuku AE, Bugembe DL, Musinguzi K, Watera C, Serwanga J, Ndembi N, Levin J, Kaleebu P, Pala P. Macrophage Inflammatory Protein-1 Beta and Interferon Gamma Responses in Ugandans with HIV-1 Acute/Early Infections. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2016; 32:237-46. [PMID: 26548707 DOI: 10.1089/aid.2015.0157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Control of HIV replication through CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells might be possible, but the functional and phenotypic characteristics of such cells are not defined. Among cytokines produced by T cells, CCR5 ligands, including macrophage inflammatory protein-1 beta (MIP-1β), compete for the CCR5 coreceptor with HIV, promoting CCR5 internalization and decreasing its availability for virus binding. Interferon (IFN)-γ also has some antiviral activity and has been used as a read-out for T cell immunogenicity. We used cultured ELISpot assays to compare the relative contribution of MIP-1β and IFN-γ to HIV-specific responses. The magnitude of responses was 1.36 times higher for MIP-1β compared to IFN-γ. The breadth of the MIP-1β response (45.41%) was significantly higher than IFN-γ (36.88%), with considerable overlap between the peptide pools that stimulated both MIP-1β and IFN-γ production. Subtype A and D cross-reactive responses were observed both at stimulation and test level, but MIP-1β and IFN-γ responses displayed different effect patterns. We conclude that the MIP-1β ELISpot would be a useful complement to the evaluation of the immunogenicity of HIV vaccines and the activity of adjuvants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Ekii Obuku
- Medical Research Council/Uganda Virus Research Institute, Uganda Research Unit on AIDS, Entebbe, Uganda
| | - Daniel L. Bugembe
- Medical Research Council/Uganda Virus Research Institute, Uganda Research Unit on AIDS, Entebbe, Uganda
| | - Kenneth Musinguzi
- Medical Research Council/Uganda Virus Research Institute, Uganda Research Unit on AIDS, Entebbe, Uganda
| | - Christine Watera
- Medical Research Council/Uganda Virus Research Institute, Uganda Research Unit on AIDS, Entebbe, Uganda
| | - Jennifer Serwanga
- Medical Research Council/Uganda Virus Research Institute, Uganda Research Unit on AIDS, Entebbe, Uganda
| | - Nicaise Ndembi
- Medical Research Council/Uganda Virus Research Institute, Uganda Research Unit on AIDS, Entebbe, Uganda
| | - Jonathan Levin
- Medical Research Council/Uganda Virus Research Institute, Uganda Research Unit on AIDS, Entebbe, Uganda
| | - Pontiano Kaleebu
- Medical Research Council/Uganda Virus Research Institute, Uganda Research Unit on AIDS, Entebbe, Uganda
| | - Pietro Pala
- Medical Research Council/Uganda Virus Research Institute, Uganda Research Unit on AIDS, Entebbe, Uganda
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Wu JW, Patterson-Lomba O, Novitsky V, Pagano M. A Generalized Entropy Measure of Within-Host Viral Diversity for Identifying Recent HIV-1 Infections. Medicine (Baltimore) 2015; 94:e1865. [PMID: 26496342 PMCID: PMC4620842 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000001865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
There is a need for incidence assays that accurately estimate HIV incidence based on cross-sectional specimens. Viral diversity-based assays have shown promises but are not particularly accurate. We hypothesize that certain viral genetic regions are more predictive of recent infection than others and aim to improve assay accuracy by using classification algorithms that focus on highly informative regions (HIRs).We analyzed HIV gag sequences from a cohort in Botswana. Forty-two subjects newly infected by HIV-1 Subtype C were followed through 500 days post-seroconversion. Using sliding window analysis, we screened for genetic regions within gag that best differentiate recent versus chronic infections. We used both nonparametric and parametric approaches to evaluate the discriminatory abilities of sequence regions. Segmented Shannon Entropy measures of HIRs were aggregated to develop generalized entropy measures to improve prediction of recency. Using logistic regression as the basis for our classification algorithm, we evaluated the predictive power of these novel biomarkers and compared them with recently reported viral diversity measures using area under the curve (AUC) analysis.Change of diversity over time varied across different sequence regions within gag. We identified the top 50% of the most informative regions by both nonparametric and parametric approaches. In both cases, HIRs were in more variable regions of gag and less likely in the p24 coding region. Entropy measures based on HIRs outperformed previously reported viral-diversity-based biomarkers. These methods are better suited for population-level estimation of HIV recency.The patterns of diversification of certain regions within the gag gene are more predictive of recency of infection than others. We expect this result to apply in other HIV genetic regions as well. Focusing on these informative regions, our generalized entropy measure of viral diversity demonstrates the potential for improving accuracy when identifying recent HIV-1 infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Wei Wu
- From the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA (JWW); Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA (OP-L, MP); and Department of Immunology and Infectious Disease, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA (VN)
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The Breadth of Expandable Memory CD8+ T Cells Inversely Correlates with Residual Viral Loads in HIV Elite Controllers. J Virol 2015; 89:10735-47. [PMID: 26269189 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01527-15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2015] [Accepted: 07/27/2015] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED Previous studies have shown that elite controllers with minimal effector T cell responses harbor a low-frequency, readily expandable, highly functional, and broadly directed memory population. Here, we interrogated the in vivo relevance of this cell population by investigating whether the breadth of expandable memory responses is associated with the magnitude of residual viremia in individuals achieving durable suppression of HIV infection. HIV-specific memory CD8(+) T cells were expanded by using autologous epitopic and variant peptides. Viral load was measured by an ultrasensitive single-copy PCR assay. Following expansion, controllers showed a greater increase in the overall breadth of Gag responses than did untreated progressors (P = 0.01) as well as treated progressors (P = 0.0003). Nef- and Env-specific memory cells expanded poorly for all groups, and their expanded breadths were indistinguishable among groups (P = 0.9 for Nef as determined by a Kruskal-Wallis test; P = 0.6 for Env as determined by a Kruskal-Wallis test). More importantly, we show that the breadth of expandable, previously undetectable Gag-specific responses was inversely correlated with residual viral load (r = -0.6; P = 0.009). Together, these data reveal a direct link between the abundance of Gag-specific expandable memory responses and prolonged maintenance of low-level viremia. Our studies highlight a CD8(+) T cell feature that would be desirable in a vaccine-induced T cell response. IMPORTANCE Many studies have shown that the rare ability of some individuals to control HIV infection in the absence of antiretroviral therapy appears to be heavily dependent upon special HIV-specific killer T lymphocytes that are able to inhibit viral replication. The identification of key features of these immune cells has the potential to inform rational HIV vaccine design. This study shows that a special subset of killer lymphocytes, known as central memory CD8(+) T lymphocytes, is at least partially involved in the durable control of HIV replication. HIV controllers maintain a large proportion of Gag-specific expandable memory CD8(+) T cells involved in ongoing viral suppression. These data suggest that induction of this cell subset by future HIV vaccines may be important for narrowing possible routes of rapid escape from vaccine-induced CD8(+) T cell responses.
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Clinical Control of HIV-1 by Cytotoxic T Cells Specific for Multiple Conserved Epitopes. J Virol 2015; 89:5330-9. [PMID: 25741000 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00020-15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2015] [Accepted: 02/20/2015] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED Identification and characterization of CD8(+) T cells effectively controlling HIV-1 variants are necessary for the development of AIDS vaccines and for studies of AIDS pathogenesis, although such CD8(+) T cells have been only partially identified. In this study, we sought to identify CD8(+) T cells controlling HIV-1 variants in 401 Japanese individuals chronically infected with HIV-1 subtype B, in which protective alleles HLA-B*57 and HLA-B*27 are very rare, by using comprehensive and exhaustive methods. We identified 13 epitope-specific CD8(+) T cells controlling HIV-1 in Japanese individuals, though 9 of these epitopes were not previously reported. The breadths of the T cell responses to the 13 epitopes were inversely associated with plasma viral load (P = 2.2 × 10(-11)) and positively associated with CD4 count (P = 1.2 × 10(-11)), indicating strong synergistic effects of these T cells on HIV-1 control in vivo. Nine of these epitopes were conserved among HIV-1 subtype B-infected individuals, whereas three out of four nonconserved epitopes were cross-recognized by the specific T cells. These findings indicate that these 12 epitopes are strong candidates for antigens for an AIDS vaccine. The present study highlighted a strategy to identify CD8(+) T cells controlling HIV-1 and demonstrated effective control of HIV-1 by those specific for 12 conserved or cross-reactive epitopes. IMPORTANCE HLA-B*27-restricted and HLA-B*57-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) play a key role in controlling HIV-1 in Caucasians and Africans, whereas it is unclear which CTLs control HIV-1 in Asian countries, where HLA-B*57 and HLA-B*27 are very rare. A recent study showed that HLA-B*67:01 and HLA-B*52:01-C*12:02 haplotypes were protective alleles in Japanese individuals, but it is unknown whether CTLs restricted by these alleles control HIV-1. In this study, we identified 13 CTLs controlling HIV-1 in Japan by using comprehensive and exhaustive methods. They included 5 HLA-B*52:01-restricted and 3 HLA-B*67:01-restricted CTLs, suggesting that these CTLs play a predominant role in HIV-1 control. The 13 CTLs showed synergistic effects on HIV-1 control. Twelve out of these 13 epitopes were recognized as conserved or cross-recognized ones. These findings strongly suggest that these 12 epitopes are candidates for antigens for AIDS vaccines.
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Chachage M, Geldmacher C. Immune system modulation by helminth infections: potential impact on HIV transmission and disease progression. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2015; 828:131-49. [PMID: 25253030 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-1489-0_6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/21/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Mkunde Chachage
- Department of Cellular Immunology, National Institute for Medical Research-Mbeya Medical Research Centre (NIMR-MMRC), Hospital Hill road, Mbeya, Tanzania,
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Broad and persistent Gag-specific CD8+ T-cell responses are associated with viral control but rarely drive viral escape during primary HIV-1 infection. AIDS 2015; 29:23-33. [PMID: 25387316 DOI: 10.1097/qad.0000000000000508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We characterized protein-specific CD8 T-cell immunodominance patterns during the first year of HIV-1 infection, and their impact on viral evolution and immune control. METHODS We analyzed CD8 T-cell responses to the full HIV-1 proteome during the first year of infection in 18 antiretroviral-naïve individuals with acute HIV-1 subtype C infection, all identified prior to seroconversion. Ex-vivo and cultured interferon-γ ELISPOT assays were performed and viruses from plasma were sequenced within defined CTL Gag epitopes. RESULTS Nef-specific CD8 T-cell responses were dominant during the first 4 weeks after infection and made up 40% of the total responses at this time; yet, by 1 year, responses against this region had declined and Gag responses made up to 47% of all T-cell responses measured. An inverse correlation between the breadth of Gag-specific responses and viral load set point was evident at 26 weeks after infection (P = 0.0081, r = -0.60) and beyond. An inverse correlation between the number of persistent responses targeting Gag and viral set point was also identified (P = 0.01, r = -0.58). Gag-specific responses detectable by the cultured ELISPOT assay correlated negatively with viral load set point (P = 0.0013, r = -0.91). Sequence evolution in targeted and nontargeted Gag epitopes in this cohort was infrequent. CONCLUSIONS These data underscore the importance of HIV-specific CD8 T-cell responses, particularly to the Gag protein, in the maintenance of low viral load levels during primary infection, and show that these responses are initially poorly elicited by natural infection. These data have implications for vaccine design strategies.
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Muenchhoff M, Prendergast AJ, Goulder PJR. Immunity to HIV in Early Life. Front Immunol 2014; 5:391. [PMID: 25161656 PMCID: PMC4130105 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2014.00391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2014] [Accepted: 07/30/2014] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The developing immune system is adapted to the exposure to a plethora of pathogenic and non-pathogenic antigens encountered in utero and after birth, requiring a fine balance between protective immunity and immune tolerance. In early stages of life, this tolerogenic state of the innate and adaptive immune system and the lack of immunological memory render the host more susceptible to infectious pathogens like HIV. HIV pathogenesis is different in children, compared to adults, with more rapid disease progression and a substantial lack of control of viremia compared to adults. Plasma viral load remains high during infancy and only declines gradually over several years in line with immune maturation, even in rare cases where children maintain normal CD4 T-lymphocyte counts for several years without antiretroviral therapy (ART). These pediatric slow progressors also typically show low levels of immune activation despite persistently high viremia, resembling the phenotype of natural hosts of SIV infection. The lack of immunological memory places the fetus and the newborn at higher risk of infections; however, it may also provide an opportunity for unique interventions. Frequencies of central memory CD4+ T-lymphocytes, one of the main cellular reservoirs of HIV, are very low in the newborn child, so immediate ART could prevent the establishment of persistent viral reservoirs and result in "functional cure." However, as recently demonstrated in the case report of the "Mississippi child" who experienced viral rebound after more than 2 years off ART, additional immunomodulatory strategies might be required for sustained viral suppression after ART cessation. In this review, we discuss the interactions between HIV and the developing immune system in children and the potential implications for therapeutic and prophylactic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maximilian Muenchhoff
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research , Oxford , UK
| | - Andrew J Prendergast
- Centre for Paediatrics, Blizard Institute, Queen Mary University of London , London , UK ; Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research , Harare , Zimbabwe
| | - Philip Jeremy Renshaw Goulder
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research , Oxford , UK ; HIV Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal , Durban , South Africa
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Abstract
In spite of several attempts over many years at developing a HIV vaccine based on classical strategies, none has convincingly succeeded to date. As HIV is transmitted primarily by the mucosal route, particularly through sexual intercourse, understanding antiviral immunity at mucosal sites is of major importance. An ideal vaccine should elicit HIV-specific antibodies and mucosal CD8⁺ cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) as a first line of defense at a very early stage of HIV infection, before the virus can disseminate into the secondary lymphoid organs in mucosal and systemic tissues. A primary focus of HIV preventive vaccine research is therefore the induction of protective immune responses in these crucial early stages of HIV infection. Numerous approaches are being studied in the field, including building upon the recent RV144 clinical trial. In this article, we will review current strategies and briefly discuss the use of adjuvants in designing HIV vaccines that induce mucosal immune responses.
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Chapman R, Bourn WR, Shephard E, Stutz H, Douglass N, Mgwebi T, Meyers A, Chin'ombe N, Williamson AL. The use of directed evolution to create a stable and immunogenic recombinant BCG expressing a modified HIV-1 Gag antigen. PLoS One 2014; 9:e103314. [PMID: 25061753 PMCID: PMC4111510 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0103314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2014] [Accepted: 06/28/2014] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Numerous features make Mycobacterium bovis BCG an attractive vaccine vector for HIV. It has a good safety profile, it elicits long-lasting cellular immune responses and in addition manufacturing costs are affordable. Despite these advantages it is often difficult to express viral antigens in BCG, which results in genetic instability and low immunogenicity. The aim of this study was to generate stable recombinant BCG (rBCG) that express high levels of HIV antigens, by modification of the HIV genes. A directed evolution process was applied to recombinant mycobacteria that expressed HIV-1 Gag fused to the green fluorescent protein (GFP). Higher growth rates and increased GFP expression were selected for. Through this process a modified Gag antigen was selected. Recombinant BCG that expressed the modified Gag (BCG[pWB106] and BCG[pWB206]) were more stable, produced higher levels of antigen and grew faster than those that expressed the unmodified Gag (BCG[pWB105]). The recombinant BCG that expressed the modified HIV-1 Gag induced 2 to 3 fold higher levels of Gag-specific CD4 T cells than those expressing the unmodified Gag (BCG[pWB105]). Mice primed with 107 CFU BCG[pWB206] and then boosted with MVA-Gag developed Gag-specific CD8 T cells with a frequency of 1343±17 SFU/106 splenocytes, 16 fold greater than the response induced with MVA-Gag alone. Levels of Gag-specific CD4 T cells were approximately 5 fold higher in mice primed with BCG[pWB206] and boosted with MVA-Gag than in those receiving the MVA-Gag boost alone. In addition mice vaccinated with BCG[pWB206] were protected from a surrogate vaccinia virus challenge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosamund Chapman
- Division of Virology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- * E-mail:
| | - William R. Bourn
- Division of Virology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Enid Shephard
- Division of Virology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa
- Department of Medicine Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Helen Stutz
- Division of Virology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Nicola Douglass
- Division of Virology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Thandi Mgwebi
- Division of Virology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Ann Meyers
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Faculty Of Science, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Nyasha Chin'ombe
- Division of Virology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Anna-Lise Williamson
- Division of Virology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- National Health Laboratory Services, Cape Town, South Africa
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Mugaba S, Nakiboneka R, Nanyonjo M, Bugembe-Lule D, Kaddu I, Nanteza B, Tweyongyere R, Kaleebu P, Serwanga J. Group M consensus Gag and Nef peptides are as efficient at detecting clade A1 and D cross-subtype T-cell functions as subtype-specific consensus peptides. Vaccine 2014; 32:3787-95. [PMID: 24837770 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.05.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2013] [Revised: 04/05/2014] [Accepted: 05/01/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Evaluating HIV-1 specific T-cell response in African populations is sometimes compromised by extensive virus diversity and paucity of non-clade B reagents. We evaluated whether consensus group M (ConM) peptides could serve as comparable substitutes for detecting immune responses in clade A and clade D HIV-1 infection. METHODS Frequencies, breadths and polyfunctionality (≥ 3 functions: IFN-γ, IL-2, TNF-α and Perforin) of HIV-specific responses utilizing ConM, ConA and ConD Gag and Nef peptides was compared. RESULTS Median genetic distances of infecting gag sequences from consensus group M were (8.9%, IQR 8.2-9.7 and 9%, IQR 3.3-10) for consensus A and D, respectively. Of 24 subjects infected with A and D clade virus, Gag responses were detected in comparable proportions of subjects when using ConM peptides 22/24, ConA peptides 17/24, and ConD peptides 21/24; p=0.12. Nef responses were also detected at similar proportions of subjects when using ConM peptides 15/23, ConA peptides 19/23, and ConD peptides 16/23, p=0.39. Virus-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell polyfunctionality were also detected in similar proportions of infected individuals when using different peptide sets. CONCLUSIONS These data support the use of consensus group M overlapping peptide sets as reagents for detecting HIV-specific responses in a clade A and D infected population, but underscore the limitations of utilizing these reagents when evaluating the breadth of virus-specific responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Mugaba
- MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit on AIDS, Entebbe, Uganda
| | - R Nakiboneka
- MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit on AIDS, Entebbe, Uganda
| | - M Nanyonjo
- MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit on AIDS, Entebbe, Uganda
| | | | - I Kaddu
- MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit on AIDS, Entebbe, Uganda
| | - B Nanteza
- MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit on AIDS, Entebbe, Uganda
| | - R Tweyongyere
- MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit on AIDS, Entebbe, Uganda
| | - P Kaleebu
- MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit on AIDS, Entebbe, Uganda; London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom
| | - J Serwanga
- MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit on AIDS, Entebbe, Uganda.
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Pressure from TRIM5α contributes to control of HIV-1 replication by individuals expressing protective HLA-B alleles. J Virol 2013; 87:10368-80. [PMID: 23864638 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01313-13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The expression of certain HLA class I alleles, including HLA-B*27 and HLA-B*57, is associated with better control of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection, but the mechanisms responsible are not fully understood. We sought evidence that pressure from the human restriction factor TRIM5α (hTRIM5α) could contribute to viral control. The hTRIM5α sensitivity of viruses from both HLA-B*57-positive (HLA-B*57(+)) and HLA-B*27(+) patients who spontaneously controlled viral replication, but not viruses from viremic patients expressing these alleles, was significantly greater than that of viruses from patients not expressing these protective HLA-B alleles. Overall, a significant negative correlation between hTRIM5α sensitivity and viral load was observed. In HLA-B*57(+) patients, the T242N mutation in the HLA-B*57-restricted TW10 CD8(+) T lymphocyte (CTL) epitope was strongly associated with hTRIM5α sensitivity. In HLA-B*27(+) controllers, hTRIM5α sensitivity was associated with a significant reduction in emergence of key CTL mutations. In several patients, viral evolution to avoid hTRIM5α sensitivity was observed but could be associated with reduced viral replicative capacity. Thus, in individuals expressing protective HLA-B alleles, the combined pressures exerted by CTL, hTRIM5α, and capsid structural constraints can prevent viral escape both by impeding the selection of necessary resistance/compensatory mutations and forcing the selection of escape mutations that increase hTRIM5α sensitivity or impair viral replicative capacity.
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Natural killer cells in HIV controller patients express an activated effector phenotype and do not up-regulate NKp44 on IL-2 stimulation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013; 110:11970-5. [PMID: 23818644 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1302090110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Control of HIV replication in elite controller (EC) and long-term nonprogressor (LTNP) patients has been associated with efficient CD8(+)cytotoxic T-lymphocyte function. However, innate immunity may play a role in HIV control. We studied the expression of natural cytotoxicity receptors (NKp46, NKp30, and NKp44) and their induction over a short time frame (2-4 d) on activation of natural killer (NK) cells in 31 HIV controller patients (15 ECs, 16 LTNPs). In EC/LTNP, induction of NKp46 expression was normal but short (2 d), and NKp30 was induced to lower levels vs. healthy donors. Notably, in antiretroviral-treated aviremic progressor patients (TAPPs), no induction of NKp46 or NKp30 expression occurred. More importantly, EC/LTNP failed to induce expression of NKp44, a receptor efficiently induced in activated NK cells in TAPPs. The specific lack of NKp44 expression resulted in sharply decreased capability of killing target cells by NKp44, whereas TAPPs had conserved NKp44-mediated lysis. Importantly, conserved NK cell responses, accompanied by a selective defect in the NKp44-activating pathway, may result in lack of killing of uninfected CD4(+)NKp44Ligand(+) cells when induced by HIVgp41 peptide-S3, representing a relevant mechanism of CD4(+) depletion. In addition, peripheral NK cells from EC/LTNP had increased NKG2D expression, significant HLA-DR up-regulation, and a mature (NKG2A-CD57(+)killer cell Ig-like receptor(+)CD85j(+)) phenotype, with cytolytic function also against immature dendritic cells. Thus, NK cells in EC/LTNP can maintain substantially unchanged functional capabilities, whereas the lack of NKp44 induction may be related to CD4 maintenance, representing a hallmark of these patients.
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Park MS, Park SY, Miller KR, Collins EJ, Lee HY. Accurate structure prediction of peptide-MHC complexes for identifying highly immunogenic antigens. Mol Immunol 2013; 56:81-90. [PMID: 23688437 DOI: 10.1016/j.molimm.2013.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2013] [Revised: 04/09/2013] [Accepted: 04/15/2013] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Designing an optimal HIV-1 vaccine faces the challenge of identifying antigens that induce a broad immune capacity. One factor to control the breadth of T cell responses is the surface morphology of a peptide-MHC complex. Here, we present an in silico protocol for predicting peptide-MHC structure. A robust signature of a conformational transition was identified during all-atom molecular dynamics, which results in a model with high accuracy. A large test set was used in constructing our protocol and we went another step further using a blind test with a wild-type peptide and two highly immunogenic mutants, which predicted substantial conformational changes in both mutants. The center residues at position five of the analogs were configured to be accessible to solvent, forming a prominent surface, while the residue of the wild-type peptide was to point laterally toward the side of the binding cleft. We then experimentally determined the structures of the blind test set, using high resolution of X-ray crystallography, which verified predicted conformational changes. Our observation strongly supports a positive association of the surface morphology of a peptide-MHC complex to its immunogenicity. Our study offers the prospect of enhancing immunogenicity of vaccines by identifying MHC binding immunogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min-Sun Park
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, NY 14642, USA
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Smith SA, Wood C, West JT. HIV-1 Env C2-V4 diversification in a slow-progressor infant reveals a flat but rugged fitness landscape. PLoS One 2013; 8:e63094. [PMID: 23638182 PMCID: PMC3639246 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0063094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2013] [Accepted: 03/28/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) fitness has been associated with virus entry, a process mediated by the envelope glycoprotein (Env). We previously described Env genetic diversification in a Zambian, subtype C infected, slow-progressor child (1157i) in parallel with an evolving neutralizing antibody response. Because of the role the Variable-3 loop (V3) plays in transmission, cell tropism, neutralization sensitivity, and fitness, longitudinally isolated 1157i C2-V4 alleles were cloned into HIV-1NL4-3-eGFP and -DsRed2 infectious molecular clones. The fluorescent reporters allowed for dual-infection competitions between all patient-derived C2-V4 chimeras to quantify the effect of V3 diversification and selection on fitness. 'Winners' and 'losers' were readily discriminated among the C2-V4 alleles. Exceptional sensitivity for detection of subtle fitness differences was revealed through analysis of two alleles differing in a single synonymous amino acid. However, when the outcomes of N = 33 competitions were averaged for each chimera, the aggregate analysis showed that despite increasing diversification and divergence with time, natural selection of C2-V4 sequences in this individual did not appear to be producing a 'survival of the fittest' evolutionary pattern. Rather, we detected a relatively flat fitness landscape consistent with mutational robustness. Fitness outcomes were then correlated with individual components of the entry process. Env incorporation into particles correlated best with fitness, suggesting a role for Env avidity, as opposed to receptor/coreceptor affinity, in defining fitness. Nevertheless, biochemical analyses did not identify any step in HIV-1 entry as a dominant determinant of fitness. Our results lead us to conclude that multiple aspects of entry contribute to maintaining adequate HIV-1 fitness, and there is no surrogate analysis for determining fitness. The capacity for subtle polymorphisms in Env to nevertheless significantly impact viral fitness suggests fitness is best defined by head-to-head competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- S. Abigail Smith
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States of America
| | - Charles Wood
- Nebraska Center for Virology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, United States of America
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, United States of America
| | - John T. West
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States of America
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