1
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Jacobson JM, Felber BK, Chen H, Pavlakis GN, Mullins JI, De Rosa SC, Kuritzkes DR, Tomaras GD, Kinslow J, Bao Y, Olefsky M, Rosati M, Bear J, Heptinstall JR, Zhang L, Sawant S, Hannaman D, Laird GM, Cyktor JC, Heath SL, Collier AC, Koletar SL, Taiwo BO, Tebas P, Wohl DA, Belaunzaran-Zamudio PF, McElrath MJ, Landay AL. The immunogenicity of an HIV-1 Gag conserved element DNA vaccine in people with HIV and receiving antiretroviral therapy. AIDS 2024; 38:963-973. [PMID: 38051788 PMCID: PMC11062837 DOI: 10.1097/qad.0000000000003804] [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] [Indexed: 12/07/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The primary objective of the study was to assess the immunogenicity of an HIV-1 Gag conserved element DNA vaccine (p24CE DNA) in people with HIV (PWH) receiving suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART). DESIGN AIDS Clinical Trials Group A5369 was a phase I/IIa, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of PWH receiving ART with plasma HIV-1 RNA less than 50 copies/ml, current CD4 + T-cell counts greater than 500 cells/μl, and nadir CD4 + T-cell counts greater than 350 cells/μl. METHODS The study enrolled 45 participants randomized 2 : 1 : 1 to receive p24CE DNA vaccine at weeks 0 and 4, followed by p24CE DNA admixed with full-length p55 Gag DNA vaccine at weeks 12 and 24 (arm A); full-length p55 Gag DNA vaccine at weeks 0, 4, 12, and 24 (arm B); or placebo at weeks 0, 4, 12, and 24 (arm C). The active and placebo vaccines were administered by intramuscular electroporation. RESULTS There was a modest, but significantly greater increase in the number of conserved elements recognized by CD4 + and/or CD8 + T cells in arm A compared with arm C ( P = 0.014). The percentage of participants with an increased number of conserved elements recognized by T cells was also highest in arm A (8/18, 44.4%) vs. arm C (0/10, 0.0%) ( P = 0.025). There were no significant differences between treatment groups in the change in magnitude of responses to total conserved elements. CONCLUSION A DNA-delivered HIV-1 Gag conserved element vaccine boosted by a combination of this vaccine with a full-length p55 Gag DNA vaccine induced a new conserved element-directed cellular immune response in approximately half the treated PWH on ART.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey M Jacobson
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH
| | - Barbara K Felber
- Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD
| | - Huichao Chen
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA
| | - George N Pavlakis
- Human Retrovirus Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD
| | - James I Mullins
- Departments of Microbiology, Medicine, and Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
| | - Stephen C De Rosa
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA
| | - Daniel R Kuritzkes
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Georgia D Tomaras
- Duke Center for Human Systems Immunology, Departments of Surgery, Immunology, Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Durham, NC
| | - Jennifer Kinslow
- Department of Internal Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL
| | - Yajing Bao
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA
| | | | - Margherita Rosati
- Human Retrovirus Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD
| | - Jenifer Bear
- Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD
| | - Jack R Heptinstall
- Duke Center for Human Systems Immunology, Departments of Surgery, Immunology, Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Durham, NC
| | - Lu Zhang
- Duke Center for Human Systems Immunology, Departments of Surgery, Immunology, Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Durham, NC
| | - Sheetal Sawant
- Duke Center for Human Systems Immunology, Departments of Surgery, Immunology, Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Durham, NC
| | | | | | - Joshua C Cyktor
- Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Sonya L Heath
- Division of Infectious Disease, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
| | - Ann C Collier
- Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
| | - Susan L Koletar
- Division of Infectious Diseases, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
| | - Babafemi O Taiwo
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
| | - Pablo Tebas
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - David A Wohl
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, The University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Pablo F Belaunzaran-Zamudio
- Contractor, Division of AIDS, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - M Juliana McElrath
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA
| | - Alan L Landay
- Department of Internal Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL
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2
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Bhattacharyya S, Crain CR, Goldberg B, Gaiha GD. Features of functional and dysfunctional CD8+ T cells to guide HIV vaccine development. Curr Opin HIV AIDS 2023; 18:257-263. [PMID: 37535040 PMCID: PMC10503300 DOI: 10.1097/coh.0000000000000812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW CD8+ T cell responses are a key component of the host immune response to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) but vary significantly across individuals with distinct clinical outcomes. These differences help inform the qualitative features of HIV-specific CD8+ T cells that we should aim to induce by vaccination. RECENT FINDINGS We review previous and more recent findings on the features of dysfunctional and functional CD8+ T cell responses that develop in individuals with uncontrolled and controlled HIV infection, with particular emphasis on proliferation, cytotoxic effector function, epitope specificity, and responses in lymph nodes. We also discuss the implications of these findings for both prophylactic and therapeutic T cell vaccine development within the context of T cell vaccine trials. SUMMARY The induction of HIV specific CD8+ T cell responses is an important goal of ongoing vaccine efforts. Emerging data on the key features of CD8+ T cell responses that distinguish individuals who spontaneously control from those with progressive disease continues to provide key guidance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaown Bhattacharyya
- Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
| | - Charles R Crain
- Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
| | - Benjamin Goldberg
- Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
| | - Gaurav D Gaiha
- Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
- Division of Gastroenterology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
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3
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Dross S, Venkataraman R, Patel S, Huang ML, Bollard CM, Rosati M, Pavlakis GN, Felber BK, Bar KJ, Shaw GM, Jerome KR, Mullins JI, Kiem HP, Fuller DH, Peterson CW. Efficient ex vivo expansion of conserved element vaccine-specific CD8+ T-cells from SHIV-infected, ART-suppressed nonhuman primates. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1188018. [PMID: 37207227 PMCID: PMC10189133 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1188018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023] Open
Abstract
HIV-specific T cells are necessary for control of HIV-1 replication but are largely insufficient for viral clearance. This is due in part to these cells' recognition of immunodominant but variable regions of the virus, which facilitates viral escape via mutations that do not incur viral fitness costs. HIV-specific T cells targeting conserved viral elements are associated with viral control but are relatively infrequent in people living with HIV (PLWH). The goal of this study was to increase the number of these cells via an ex vivo cell manufacturing approach derived from our clinically-validated HIV-specific expanded T-cell (HXTC) process. Using a nonhuman primate (NHP) model of HIV infection, we sought to determine i) the feasibility of manufacturing ex vivo-expanded virus-specific T cells targeting viral conserved elements (CE, CE-XTCs), ii) the in vivo safety of these products, and iii) the impact of simian/human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) challenge on their expansion, activity, and function. NHP CE-XTCs expanded up to 10-fold following co-culture with the combination of primary dendritic cells (DCs), PHA blasts pulsed with CE peptides, irradiated GM-K562 feeder cells, and autologous T cells from CE-vaccinated NHP. The resulting CE-XTC products contained high frequencies of CE-specific, polyfunctional T cells. However, consistent with prior studies with human HXTC and these cells' predominant CD8+ effector phenotype, we did not observe significant differences in CE-XTC persistence or SHIV acquisition in two CE-XTC-infused NHP compared to two control NHP. These data support the safety and feasibility of our approach and underscore the need for continued development of CE-XTC and similar cell-based strategies to redirect and increase the potency of cellular virus-specific adaptive immune responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Dross
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
- Washington National Primate Research Center, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Rasika Venkataraman
- Division of Clinical Research, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Shabnum Patel
- Center for Cancer and Immunology Research, Children’s National Hospital and Department of Pediatrics, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Meei-Li Huang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Catherine M. Bollard
- Center for Cancer and Immunology Research, Children’s National Hospital and Department of Pediatrics, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Margherita Rosati
- Human Retrovirus Section, Vaccine Branch, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD, United States
| | - George N. Pavlakis
- Human Retrovirus Section, Vaccine Branch, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD, United States
| | - Barbara K. Felber
- Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, Vaccine Branch, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD, United States
| | - Katharine J. Bar
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - George M. Shaw
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Keith R. Jerome
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
- Division of Vaccine and Infectious Diseases, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - James I. Mullins
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
- Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Hans-Peter Kiem
- Washington National Primate Research Center, Seattle, WA, United States
- Division of Clinical Research, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, United States
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Deborah Heydenburg Fuller
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
- Washington National Primate Research Center, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Christopher W. Peterson
- Division of Clinical Research, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, United States
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
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4
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Brander C, Hartigan-O'Connor D. HIV T-cell immunogen design and delivery. Curr Opin HIV AIDS 2022; 17:333-337. [PMID: 36165078 PMCID: PMC9530002 DOI: 10.1097/coh.0000000000000765] [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] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF THE REVIEW Not all T-cell responses against HIV are created equally and responses of certain epitope specificities have been associated with superior control of infection. These insights have spurred the development of a wide range of immunogen sequences, each with particular advantages and limitations. RECENT FINDINGS We review some of the most advanced designs that have reached or are close to reaching human clinical trials, with a special focus on T-cell immunogen developed for therapeutic use. We also touch upon the importance of how immunogens are delivered and point out the lamentable fact that there is essentially no alignment between different designs and vaccine regimens, which is a major hindrance to accelerated advances in the field. SUMMARY The design of an immunogen able to induce T-cell responses of adequate specificity and functionality is subject of a wide range of preclinical and clinical studies. Few designs have shown promise to date, but emerging data highlight the critical contribution of specificity to effective antiviral activity in vivo .
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Brander
- Irsicaixa - AIDS Research Institute, Badalona
- Universitat de Vic-Universitat Central de Catalunya (UVic-UCC), Vic
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Dennis Hartigan-O'Connor
- California National Primate Research Center
- Department in Medical Microbiology and Immunology
- Division of Experimental Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
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5
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Valentin A, Bergamaschi C, Rosati M, Angel M, Burns R, Agarwal M, Gergen J, Petsch B, Oostvogels L, Loeliger E, Chew KW, Deeks SG, Mullins JI, Pavlakis GN, Felber BK. Comparative immunogenicity of an mRNA/LNP and a DNA vaccine targeting HIV gag conserved elements in macaques. Front Immunol 2022; 13:945706. [PMID: 35935984 PMCID: PMC9355630 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.945706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Immunogenicity of HIV-1 mRNA vaccine regimens was analyzed in a non-human primate animal model. Rhesus macaques immunized with mRNA in lipid nanoparticle (mRNA/LNP) formulation expressing HIV-1 Gag and Gag conserved regions (CE) as immunogens developed robust, durable antibody responses but low adaptive T-cell responses. Augmentation of the dose resulted in modest increases in vaccine-induced cellular immunity, with no difference in humoral responses. The gag mRNA/lipid nanoparticle (LNP) vaccine provided suboptimal priming of T cell responses for a heterologous DNA booster vaccination regimen. In contrast, a single immunization with gag mRNA/LNP efficiently boosted both humoral and cellular responses in macaques previously primed by a gag DNA-based vaccine. These anamnestic cellular responses were mediated by activated CD8+ T cells with a phenotype of differentiated T-bet+ cytotoxic memory T lymphocytes. The heterologous prime/boost regimens combining DNA and mRNA/LNP vaccine modalities maximized vaccine-induced cellular and humoral immune responses. Analysis of cytokine responses revealed a transient systemic signature characterized by the release of type I interferon, IL-15 and IFN-related chemokines. The pro-inflammatory status induced by the mRNA/LNP vaccine was also characterized by IL-23 and IL-6, concomitant with the release of IL-17 family of cytokines. Overall, the strong boost of cellular and humoral immunity induced by the mRNA/LNP vaccine suggests that it could be useful as a prophylactic vaccine in heterologous prime/boost modality and in immune therapeutic interventions against HIV infection or other chronic human diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Valentin
- Human Retrovirus Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD, United States
| | - Cristina Bergamaschi
- Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD, United States
| | - Margherita Rosati
- Human Retrovirus Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD, United States
| | - Matthew Angel
- Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cncer Institute, Bethesda, MD, United States
- Center for Cancer Research Collaborative Bioinformatics Resource, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD, United States
| | - Robert Burns
- Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD, United States
| | - Mahesh Agarwal
- Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD, United States
| | | | | | | | | | - Kara W. Chew
- Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Steven G. Deeks
- Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - James I. Mullins
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
- Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - George N. Pavlakis
- Human Retrovirus Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD, United States
| | - Barbara K. Felber
- Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD, United States
- *Correspondence: Barbara K. Felber,
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6
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Kaseke C, Tano-Menka R, Senjobe F, Gaiha GD. The Emerging Role for CTL Epitope Specificity in HIV Cure Efforts. J Infect Dis 2021; 223:32-37. [PMID: 33586771 PMCID: PMC7883022 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiaa333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The development of an effective human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cure is a critical global health priority. A major obstacle to this effort is the establishment of a latent reservoir of HIV infected cells, which necessitates lifelong therapy, causing both logistical and adherence burdens for infected individuals. However, in a subset of these individuals, cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) can durably suppress viral outgrowth in the absence of therapy, providing a path towards a viable HIV cure. In this review, we discuss the emerging role that CTLs have in HIV cure efforts, with particular emphasis on epitope specificity. Recent studies have demonstrated that successful in vivo containment of the virus is rooted in the specific targeting of fitness-constrained, mutation-resistant regions of the HIV proteome. We highlight these new insights, providing context with previous observations in HIV and other models of viral control, and delineate their translation into a therapeutic vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clarety Kaseke
- Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Rhoda Tano-Menka
- Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Fernando Senjobe
- Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.,Virology Program, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Gaurav D Gaiha
- Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.,Gastrointestinal Unit, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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7
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Lee E, Sandgren K, Duette G, Stylianou VV, Khanna R, Eden JS, Blyth E, Gottlieb D, Cunningham AL, Palmer S. Identification of SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid and Spike T-Cell Epitopes for Assessing T-Cell Immunity. J Virol 2021; 95:e02002-20. [PMID: 33443088 PMCID: PMC8579755 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.02002-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Developing optimal T-cell response assays to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is critical for measuring the duration of immunity to this disease and assessing the efficacy of vaccine candidates. These assays need to target conserved regions of SARS-CoV-2 global variants and avoid cross-reactivity to seasonal human coronaviruses. To contribute to this effort, we employed an in silico immunoinformatics analysis pipeline to identify immunogenic peptides resulting from conserved and highly networked regions with topological importance from the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid and spike proteins. A total of 57 highly networked T-cell epitopes that are conserved across geographic viral variants were identified from these viral proteins, with a binding potential to diverse HLA alleles and 80 to 100% global population coverage. Importantly, 18 of these T-cell epitope derived peptides had limited homology to seasonal human coronaviruses making them promising candidates for SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell immunity assays. Moreover, two of the NC-derived peptides elicited effector/polyfunctional responses of CD8+ T cells derived from SARS-CoV-2 convalescent patients.IMPORTANCE The development of specific and validated immunologic tools is critical for understanding the level and duration of the cellular response induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection and/or vaccines against this novel coronavirus disease. To contribute to this effort, we employed an immunoinformatics analysis pipeline to define 57 SARS-CoV-2 immunogenic peptides within topologically important regions of the nucleocapsid (NC) and spike (S) proteins that will be effective for detecting cellular immune responses in 80 to 100% of the global population. Our immunoinformatics analysis revealed that 18 of these peptides had limited homology to circulating seasonal human coronaviruses and therefore are promising candidates for distinguishing SARS-CoV-2-specific immune responses from pre-existing coronavirus immunity. Importantly, CD8+ T cells derived from SARS-CoV-2 survivors exhibited polyfunctional effector responses to two novel NC-derived peptides identified as HLA-binders. These studies provide a proof of concept that our immunoinformatics analysis pipeline identifies novel immunogens which can elicit polyfunctional SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eunok Lee
- Centre for Virus Research, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Kerrie Sandgren
- Centre for Virus Research, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Gabriel Duette
- Centre for Virus Research, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Vicki V Stylianou
- Centre for Virus Research, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Rajiv Khanna
- Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - John-Sebastian Eden
- Centre for Virus Research, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
- Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, School of Life and Environmental Sciences and School of Medical Sciences, The University of Sydney, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Emily Blyth
- Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
- Centre for Cancer Research, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- BMT and Cell Therapies Program, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
| | - David Gottlieb
- Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
- Centre for Cancer Research, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- BMT and Cell Therapies Program, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Anthony L Cunningham
- Centre for Virus Research, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Sarah Palmer
- Centre for Virus Research, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
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8
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Ojwach DBA, Madlala P, Gordon M, Ndung'u T, Mann JK. Vulnerable targets in HIV-1 Pol for attenuation-based vaccine design. Virology 2021; 554:1-8. [PMID: 33316731 PMCID: PMC7931244 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2020.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2020] [Revised: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 12/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Identification of viral immune escape mutations that compromise HIV's ability to replicate may aid rational attenuation-based vaccine design. Previously we reported amino acids associated with altered viral replication capacity (RC) from a sequence-function analysis of 487 patient-derived RT-integrase sequences. In this study, site-directed mutagenesis experiments were performed to validate the effect of these mutations on RC. Viral reverse transcripts were measured by quantitative PCR and structural modelling was performed to gain further insight into the effect of reverse transcriptase (RT) mutations on reverse transcription. RT-integrase variants in or flanking cytotoxic T cell epitopes in the RT palm (158S), RT thumb (241I and 257V) and integrase catalytic core domain (124N) were confirmed to significantly reduce RC. RT mutants showed a delayed initiation of viral DNA synthesis. Structural models provide insight into how these attenuating RT mutations may affect amino acid interactions in the helix clamp, primer grip and catalytic site regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Doty B A Ojwach
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Paradise Madlala
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Michelle Gordon
- KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP), Department of Laboratory Medicine & Medical Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Thumbi Ndung'u
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa; Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA; Africa Health Research Institute, Durban, South Africa; Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin, Germany; Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London, UK
| | - Jaclyn K Mann
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
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9
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Olvera A, Noguera-Julian M, Kilpelainen A, Romero-Martín L, Prado JG, Brander C. SARS-CoV-2 Consensus-Sequence and Matching Overlapping Peptides Design for COVID19 Immune Studies and Vaccine Development. Vaccines (Basel) 2020; 8:E444. [PMID: 32781672 PMCID: PMC7565482 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines8030444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2020] [Revised: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 07/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Synthetic antigens based on consensus sequences that represent circulating viral isolates are sensitive, time saving and cost-effective tools for in vitro immune monitoring and to guide immunogen design. When based on a representative sequence database, such consensus sequences can effectively be used to test immune responses in exposed and infected individuals at the population level. To accelerate immune studies in SARS-CoV-2 infection, we here describe a SARS-CoV-2 2020 consensus sequence (CoV-2-cons) which is based on more than 1700 viral genome entries in NCBI and encompasses all described SARS-CoV-2 open reading frames (ORF), including recently described frame-shifted and length variant ORF. Based on these sequences, we created curated overlapping peptide (OLP) lists containing between 1500 to 3000 peptides of 15 and 18 amino acids in length, overlapping by 10 or 11 residues, as ideal tools for the assessment of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell immunity. In addition, CoV-2-cons sequence entropy values are presented along with variant sequences to provide increased coverage of the most variable sections of the viral genome. The identification of conserved protein fragments across the coronavirus family and the corresponding OLP facilitate the identification of T cells potentially cross-reactive with related viruses. This new CoV-2-cons sequence, together with the peptides sets, should provide the basis for SARS-CoV-2 antigen synthesis to facilitate comparability between ex-vivo immune analyses and help to accelerate research on SARS-CoV-2 immunity and vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex Olvera
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute-HIVACAT, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, 08916 Badalona, Spain; (A.O.); (M.N.-J.); (A.K.); (L.R.-M.)
- Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Universitat de Vic-Central de Catalunya (UVic-UCC), 08500 Vic, Spain
| | - Marc Noguera-Julian
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute-HIVACAT, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, 08916 Badalona, Spain; (A.O.); (M.N.-J.); (A.K.); (L.R.-M.)
- Faculty of Medicine, Universitat de Vic-Central de Catalunya (UVic-UCC), 08500 Vic, Spain
| | - Athina Kilpelainen
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute-HIVACAT, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, 08916 Badalona, Spain; (A.O.); (M.N.-J.); (A.K.); (L.R.-M.)
| | - Luis Romero-Martín
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute-HIVACAT, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, 08916 Badalona, Spain; (A.O.); (M.N.-J.); (A.K.); (L.R.-M.)
| | - Julia G. Prado
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute-HIVACAT, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, 08916 Badalona, Spain; (A.O.); (M.N.-J.); (A.K.); (L.R.-M.)
- Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), 08196 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Christian Brander
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute-HIVACAT, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, 08916 Badalona, Spain; (A.O.); (M.N.-J.); (A.K.); (L.R.-M.)
- Faculty of Medicine, Universitat de Vic-Central de Catalunya (UVic-UCC), 08500 Vic, Spain
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), 08010 Barcelona, Spain
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10
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Abstract
HIV infection can be effectively treated by lifelong administration of combination antiretroviral therapy, but an effective vaccine will likely be required to end the HIV epidemic. Although the majority of current vaccine strategies focus on the induction of neutralizing antibodies, there is substantial evidence that cellular immunity mediated by CD8+ T cells can sustain long-term disease-free and transmission-free HIV control and may be harnessed to induce both therapeutic and preventive antiviral effects. In this Review, we discuss the increasing evidence derived from individuals who spontaneously control infection without antiretroviral therapy as well as preclinical immunization studies that provide a clear rationale for renewed efforts to develop a CD8+ T cell-based HIV vaccine in conjunction with B cell vaccine efforts. Further, we outline the remaining challenges in translating these findings into viable HIV prevention, treatment and cure strategies. Recently, antibody-mediated control of HIV infection has received considerable attention. Here, the authors discuss the importance of CD8+ T cells in HIV infection and suggest that efforts to develop vaccines that target these cells in conjunction with B cells should be renewed.
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11
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Mann JK, Rajkoomar E, Jin SW, Mkhize Q, Baiyegunhi O, Mbona P, Brockman MA, Ndung'u T. Consequences of HLA-associated mutations in HIV-1 subtype C Nef on HLA-I downregulation ability. J Med Virol 2020; 92:1182-1190. [PMID: 31944317 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.25676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2019] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Identification of CD8+ T lymphocyte (CTL) escape mutations that compromise the pathogenic functions of the Nef protein may be relevant for an HIV-1 attenuation-based vaccine. Previously, HLA-associated mutations 102H, 105R, 108D, and 199Y were individually statistically associated with decreased Nef-mediated HLA-I downregulation ability in a cohort of 298 HIV-1 subtype C infected individuals. In the present study, these mutations were introduced by site-directed mutagenesis into different patient-derived Nef sequence backgrounds of high similarity to the consensus C Nef sequence, and their ability to downregulate HLA-I was measured by flow cytometry in a CEM-derived T cell line. A substantial negative effect of 199Y on HLA-I downregulation and Nef expression was observed, while 102H and 105R displayed negative effects on HLA-I downregulation ability and Nef expression to a lesser extent. The total magnitude of CTL responses in individuals harboring the 199Y mutation was lower than those without the mutation, although this was not statistically significant. Overall, a modest positive relationship between Nef-mediated HLA-I downregulation ability and total magnitude of CTL responses was observed, suggesting that there is a higher requirement for HLA-I downregulation with increased CTL pressure. These results highlight a region of Nef that could be targeted by vaccine-induced CTL to reduce HLA-I downregulation and maximize CTL efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaclyn K Mann
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Erasha Rajkoomar
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Steven W Jin
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Qiniso Mkhize
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | | | - Pholisiwe Mbona
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Mark A Brockman
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Burnaby, BC, Canada.,Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.,British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Thumbi Ndung'u
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.,Africa Health Research Institute, Durban, South Africa.,Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard University, Cambridge, Maryland.,Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin, Germany.,Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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12
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Boucau J, Le Gall S. Antigen processing and presentation in HIV infection. Mol Immunol 2019; 113:67-74. [PMID: 29636181 PMCID: PMC6174111 DOI: 10.1016/j.molimm.2018.03.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2017] [Revised: 01/09/2018] [Accepted: 03/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The presentation of virus-derived peptides by MHC molecules constitutes the earliest signals for immune recognition by T cells. In HIV infection, immune responses elicited during infection do not enable to clear infection and correlates of immune protection are not well defined. Here we review features of antigen processing and presentation specific to HIV, analyze how HIV has adapted to the antigen processing machinery and discuss how advances in biochemical and computational protein degradation analyses and in immunopeptidome definition may help identify targets for efficient immune clearance and vaccine immunogen design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Boucau
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02139, United States
| | - Sylvie Le Gall
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02139, United States.
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13
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) has enabled tremendous progress in suppressing HIV replication in infected patients. However, ART alone cannot eradicate HIV and its latent, persisting reservoirs. Novel approaches are needed to eradicate the virus or achieve functional cure in the absence of ART. RECENT FINDINGS Adoptive T-cell therapies were initially tested in HIV-infected individuals with limited efficiency. Benefiting from new and improved methodologies, an increasing array of CAR T-cell therapies has been successfully developed in the cancer immunotherapy field, demonstrating promising new avenues that could be applied to HIV. Numerous studies have characterized various HIV-specific CAR constructs, types of cytolytic effector cells, and CAR-expressing cells' trafficking to the reservoir compartments, warranting further in-vivo efforts. Notably, the ability of CAR cells to persist and function in low-antigen environments in vivo, that is, in ART-suppressed patients, remains unclear. SUMMARY Despite promising results in preclinical studies, only a handful of clinical trials have been initiated worldwide. Several obstacles remain prior to successful application of HIV-specific CAR T-cell therapies in patients. In this review, we survey the current state of the field, and address paths towards realizing the goal of an efficacious HIV CAR T-cell product.
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14
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Gaiha GD, Rossin EJ, Urbach J, Landeros C, Collins DR, Nwonu C, Muzhingi I, Anahtar MN, Waring OM, Piechocka-Trocha A, Waring M, Worrall DP, Ghebremichael MS, Newman RM, Power KA, Allen TM, Chodosh J, Walker BD. Structural topology defines protective CD8 + T cell epitopes in the HIV proteome. Science 2019; 364:480-484. [PMID: 31048489 PMCID: PMC6855781 DOI: 10.1126/science.aav5095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2018] [Accepted: 03/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Mutationally constrained epitopes of variable pathogens represent promising targets for vaccine design but are not reliably identified by sequence conservation. In this study, we employed structure-based network analysis, which applies network theory to HIV protein structure data to quantitate the topological importance of individual amino acid residues. Mutation of residues at important network positions disproportionately impaired viral replication and occurred with high frequency in epitopes presented by protective human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I alleles. Moreover, CD8+ T cell targeting of highly networked epitopes distinguished individuals who naturally control HIV, even in the absence of protective HLA alleles. This approach thereby provides a mechanistic basis for immune control and a means to identify CD8+ T cell epitopes of topological importance for rational immunogen design, including a T cell-based HIV vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaurav D Gaiha
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Gastrointestinal Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Elizabeth J Rossin
- The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Jonathan Urbach
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | | | - David R Collins
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA
| | - Chioma Nwonu
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Itai Muzhingi
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Melis N Anahtar
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Olivia M Waring
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Alicja Piechocka-Trocha
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA
| | - Michael Waring
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA
| | - Daniel P Worrall
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | | | - Ruchi M Newman
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Karen A Power
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Todd M Allen
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - James Chodosh
- Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Bruce D Walker
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
- The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA
- Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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15
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Perdiguero B, Raman SC, Sánchez-Corzo C, Sorzano COS, Valverde JR, Esteban M, Gómez CE. Potent HIV-1-Specific CD8 T Cell Responses Induced in Mice after Priming with a Multiepitopic DNA-TMEP and Boosting with the HIV Vaccine MVA-B. Viruses 2018; 10:v10080424. [PMID: 30104537 PMCID: PMC6116222 DOI: 10.3390/v10080424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2018] [Revised: 08/09/2018] [Accepted: 08/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
An effective vaccine against Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) still remains the best solution to provide a sustainable control and/or eradication of the virus. We have previously generated the HIV-1 vaccine modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA)-B, which exhibited good immunogenicity profile in phase I prophylactic and therapeutic clinical trials, but was unable to prevent viral rebound after antiretroviral (ART) removal. To potentiate the immunogenicity of MVA-B, here we described the design and immune responses elicited in mice by a new T cell multi-epitopic B (TMEP-B) immunogen, vectored by DNA, when administered in homologous or heterologous prime/boost regimens in combination with MVA-B. The TMEP-B protein contained conserved regions from Gag, Pol, and Nef proteins including multiple CD4 and CD8 T cell epitopes functionally associated with HIV control. Heterologous DNA-TMEP/MVA-B regimen induced higher HIV-1-specific CD8 T cell responses with broader epitope recognition and higher polyfunctional profile than the homologous DNA-TMEP/DNA-TMEP or the heterologous DNA-GPN/MVA-B combinations. Moreover, higher HIV-1-specific CD4 and Tfh immune responses were also detected using this regimen. After MVA-B boost, the magnitude of the anti-VACV CD8 T cell response was significantly compromised in DNA-TMEP-primed animals. Our results revealed the immunological potential of DNA-TMEP prime/MVA-B boost regimen and supported the application of these combined vectors in 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.
| | - Suresh C Raman
- 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.
| | - José Ramón Valverde
- Scientific Computing Service, 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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16
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Hu X, Lu Z, Valentin A, Rosati M, Broderick KE, Sardesai NY, Marx PA, Mullins JI, Pavlakis GN, Felber BK. Gag and env conserved element CE DNA vaccines elicit broad cytotoxic T cell responses targeting subdominant epitopes of HIV and SIV Able to recognize virus-infected cells in macaques. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2018; 14:2163-2177. [PMID: 29939820 PMCID: PMC6183272 DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2018.1489949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
HIV sequence diversity and the propensity of eliciting immunodominant responses targeting inessential variable regions are hurdles in the development of an effective AIDS vaccine. We developed a DNA vaccine comprising conserved elements (CE) of SIV p27Gag and HIV-1 Env and found that priming vaccination with CE DNA is critical to efficiently overcome the dominance imposed by Gag and Env variable regions. Here, we show that DNA vaccinated macaques receiving the CE prime/CE+full-length DNA co-delivery booster vaccine regimens developed broad, potent and durable cytotoxic T cell responses targeting conserved protein segments of SIV Gag and HIV Env. Gag CE-specific T cells showed robust anamnestic responses upon infection with SIVmac239 which led to the identification of CE-specific cytotoxic lymphocytes able to recognize epitopes covering distinct CE on the surface of SIV infected cells in vivo. Though not controlling infection overall, we found an inverse correlation between Gag CE-specific CD8+ T cell responses and peak viremia. The T cell responses induced by the HIV Env CE immunogen were recalled in some animals upon SIV infection, leading to the identification of two cross-reactive epitopes between HIV and SIV Env based in sequence homology. These data demonstrate that a vaccine combining Gag and Env CE DNA subverted the normal immunodominance patterns, eliciting immune responses that included subdominant, highly conserved epitopes. These vaccine regimens augment cytotoxic T cell responses to highly conserved epitopes in the viral proteome and maximize response breadth. The vaccine-induced CE-specific T cells were expanded upon SIV infection, indicating that the predicted CE epitopes incorporated in the DNA vaccine are processed and exposed by infected cells in their natural context within the viral proteome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xintao Hu
- a Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick , Frederick , MD , USA
| | - Zhongyan Lu
- a Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick , Frederick , MD , USA
| | - Antonio Valentin
- b Human Retrovirus Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research , National Cancer Institute at Frederick , Frederick, Frederick , MD , USA
| | - Margherita Rosati
- b Human Retrovirus Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research , National Cancer Institute at Frederick , Frederick, Frederick , MD , USA
| | | | | | - Preston A Marx
- d Tulane National Primate Research Center and Department of Tropical Medicine, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine , Tulane University , New Orleans , LA , USA
| | - James I Mullins
- e Departments of Microbiology, Medicine and Laboratory Medicine , University of Washington , Seattle , WA , USA
| | - George N Pavlakis
- b Human Retrovirus Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research , National Cancer Institute at Frederick , Frederick, Frederick , MD , USA
| | - Barbara K Felber
- a Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick , Frederick , MD , USA
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17
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Hu X, Valentin A, Cai Y, Dayton F, Rosati M, Ramírez-Salazar EG, Kulkarni V, Broderick KE, Sardesai NY, Wyatt LS, Earl PL, Moss B, Mullins JI, Pavlakis GN, Felber BK. DNA Vaccine-Induced Long-Lasting Cytotoxic T Cells Targeting Conserved Elements of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Gag Are Boosted Upon DNA or Recombinant Modified Vaccinia Ankara Vaccination. Hum Gene Ther 2018; 29:1029-1043. [PMID: 29869530 PMCID: PMC6152849 DOI: 10.1089/hum.2018.065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
DNA-based vaccines able to induce efficient cytotoxic T-cell responses targeting conserved elements (CE) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Gag have been developed. These CE were selected by stringent conservation, the ability to induce T-cell responses with broad human leukocyte antigen coverage, and the association between recognition of CE epitopes and viral control in HIV-infected individuals. Based on homology to HIV, a simian immunodeficiency virus p27gag CE DNA vaccine has also been developed. This study reports on the durability of the CE-specific T-cell responses induced by HIV and simian immunodeficiency virus CE DNA-based prime/boost vaccine regimens in rhesus macaques, and shows that the initially primed CE-specific T-cell responses were efficiently boosted by a single CE DNA vaccination after the long rest period (up to 2 years). In another cohort of animals, the study shows that a single inoculation with non-replicating recombinant Modified Vaccinia Ankara (rMVA62B) also potently boosted CE-specific responses after around 1.5 years of rest. Both CE DNA and rMVA62B booster vaccinations increased the magnitude and cytotoxicity of the CE-specific responses while maintaining the breadth of CE recognition. Env produced by rMVA62B did not negatively interfere with the recall of the Gag CE responses. rMVA62B could be beneficial to further boosting the immune response to Gag in humans. Vaccine regimens that employ CE DNA as a priming immunogen hold promise for application in HIV prevention and therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xintao Hu
- 1 Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland
| | - Antonio Valentin
- 2 Human Retrovirus Section, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland
| | - Yanhui Cai
- 1 Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland
| | - Frances Dayton
- 1 Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland
| | - Margherita Rosati
- 2 Human Retrovirus Section, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland
| | | | - Viraj Kulkarni
- 1 Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland
| | | | | | - Linda S Wyatt
- 4 Laboratory of Viral Diseases, NIAID, Bethesda, Maryland
| | | | - Bernard Moss
- 4 Laboratory of Viral Diseases, NIAID, Bethesda, Maryland
| | | | - George N Pavlakis
- 2 Human Retrovirus Section, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland
| | - Barbara K Felber
- 1 Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland
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18
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19
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Effects of Mutations on Replicative Fitness and Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I Binding Affinity Are Among the Determinants Underlying Cytotoxic-T-Lymphocyte Escape of HIV-1 Gag Epitopes. mBio 2017; 8:mBio.01050-17. [PMID: 29184023 PMCID: PMC5705913 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01050-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Certain “protective” major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) alleles, such as B*57 and B*27, are associated with long-term control of HIV-1 in vivo mediated by the CD8+ cytotoxic-T-lymphocyte (CTL) response. However, the mechanism of such superior protection is not fully understood. Here we combined high-throughput fitness profiling of mutations in HIV-1 Gag, in silico prediction of MHC-peptide binding affinity, and analysis of intraperson virus evolution to systematically compare differences with respect to CTL escape mutations between epitopes targeted by protective MHC-I alleles and those targeted by nonprotective MHC-I alleles. We observed that the effects of mutations on both viral replication and MHC-I binding affinity are among the determinants of CTL escape. Mutations in Gag epitopes presented by protective MHC-I alleles are associated with significantly higher fitness cost and lower reductions in binding affinity with respect to MHC-I. A linear regression model accounting for the effect of mutations on both viral replicative capacity and MHC-I binding can explain the protective efficacy of MHC-I alleles. Finally, we found a consistent pattern in the evolution of Gag epitopes in long-term nonprogressors versus progressors. Overall, our results suggest that certain protective MHC-I alleles allow superior control of HIV-1 by targeting epitopes where mutations typically incur high fitness costs and small reductions in MHC-I binding affinity. Understanding the mechanism of viral control achieved in long-term nonprogressors with protective HLA alleles provides insights for developing functional cure of HIV infection. Through the characterization of CTL escape mutations in infected persons, previous researchers hypothesized that protective alleles target epitopes where escape mutations significantly reduce viral replicative capacity. However, these studies were usually limited to a few mutations observed in vivo. Here we utilized our recently developed high-throughput fitness profiling method to quantitatively measure the fitness of mutations across the entirety of HIV-1 Gag. The data enabled us to integrate the results with in silico prediction of MHC-peptide binding affinity and analysis of intraperson virus evolution to systematically determine the differences in CTL escape mutations between epitopes targeted by protective HLA alleles and those targeted by nonprotective HLA alleles. We observed that the effects of Gag epitope mutations on HIV replicative fitness and MHC-I binding affinity are among the major determinants of CTL escape.
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20
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Evaluation of the immunogenicity and impact on the latent HIV-1 reservoir of a conserved region vaccine, MVA.HIVconsv, in antiretroviral therapy-treated subjects. J Int AIDS Soc 2017; 20:21171. [PMID: 28537062 PMCID: PMC5515041 DOI: 10.7448/ias.20.1.21171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Vaccines may be key components of a curative strategy for HIV-1. We investigated whether a novel immunogen, HIVconsv, designed to re-direct T cell responses to conserved viral epitopes, could impact the HIV-1 reservoir in chronic antiretroviral therapy (ART)-treated subjects when delivered by modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA). Methods: Nineteen virologically suppressed individuals were randomized to receive vaccinations with MVA.HIVconsv (5.5 × 107 plaque-forming units, pfu, n = 8; 2.2 × 108 pfu, n = 7) or placebo (n = 4) at 0, 4 and 12 weeks. Magnitude, breadth and antiviral function of vaccine-induced T cells, cell-associated HIV-1 DNA in circulating CD4+ T cells and residual viremia in plasma were measured before and after vaccination. Results: 90% of subjects completed the vaccine regimen; there were no serious vaccine-related adverse events. The magnitude of HIVconsv-specific IFN-γ-secreting T cells was not significantly boosted in vaccinees when compared with placebos in ex vivo Elispot assays, due to greater than expected variation in HIV-specific T cell responses in the latter during the observation period. Ex vivo CD8+ T cell viral inhibitory capacity was modest but significantly increased post-vaccination with MVA.HIVconsv at the higher dose (p = 0.004) and was positively correlated with the frequency of HIVconsv-specific CD8+ CD107+ IFN-α± T cells (r = 0.57, p = 0.01). Total HIV-1 DNA and residual viral load did not change significantly from baseline in any group. Conclusions: Homologous prime-boost vaccination with MVA.HIVconsv was safe in HIV-positive ART-treated subjects but showed modest immunogenicity and did not significantly change the size of the viral reservoir. MVA.HIVconsv may be more effective when used in a heterologous prime-boost vaccination regimen and when combined with a latency-reversing agent. Clinical Trials Registration NCT01024842
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21
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Hu X, Valentin A, Rosati M, Manocheewa S, Alicea C, Chowdhury B, Bear J, Broderick KE, Sardesai NY, Gall SL, Mullins JI, Pavlakis GN, Felber BK. HIV Env conserved element DNA vaccine alters immunodominance in macaques. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2017; 13:2859-2871. [PMID: 28678607 PMCID: PMC5718827 DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2017.1339852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Sequence diversity and immunodominance are major obstacles in the design of an effective vaccine against HIV. HIV Env is a highly-glycosylated protein composed of ‘conserved’ and ‘variable’ regions. The latter contains immunodominant epitopes that are frequently targeted by the immune system resulting in the generation of immune escape variants. This work describes 12 regions in HIV Env that are highly conserved throughout the known HIV M Group sequences (Env CE), and are poorly immunogenic in macaques vaccinated with full-length Env expressing DNA vaccines. Two versions of plasmids encoding the 12 Env CE were generated, differing by 0–5 AA per CE to maximize the inclusion of commonly detected variants. In contrast to the full-length env DNA vaccine, vaccination of macaques with a combination of these 2 Env CE DNA induced robust, durable cellular immune responses with a significant fraction of CD8+ T cells with cytotoxic phenotype (Granzyme B+ and CD107a+). Although inefficient in generating primary responses to the CE, boosting of the Env CE DNA primed macaques with the intact env DNA vaccine potently augmented pre-existing immunity, increasing magnitude, breadth and cytotoxicity of the cellular responses. Fine mapping showed that 7 of the 12 CE elicited T cell responses. Env CE DNA also induced humoral responses able to recognize the full-length Env. Env CE plasmids are therefore capable of inducing durable responses to highly conserved regions of Env that are frequently absent after Env vaccination or immunologically subdominant. These modified antigens are candidates for use as prophylactic and therapeutic HIV vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xintao Hu
- a Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick , Frederick , MD , USA
| | - Antonio Valentin
- b Human Retrovirus Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick , Frederick , MD , USA
| | - Margherita Rosati
- b Human Retrovirus Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick , Frederick , MD , USA
| | - Siriphan Manocheewa
- c Departments of Microbiology , University of Washington , Seattle , WA , USA
| | - Candido Alicea
- a Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick , Frederick , MD , USA
| | - Bhabadeb Chowdhury
- b Human Retrovirus Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick , Frederick , MD , USA
| | - Jenifer Bear
- a Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick , Frederick , MD , USA
| | | | | | - Sylvie Le Gall
- e Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School , Cambridge , MA , USA
| | - James I Mullins
- c Departments of Microbiology , University of Washington , Seattle , WA , USA.,f Departments of Medicine , University of Washington , Seattle , WA , USA.,g Departments of Global Health , University of Washington , Seattle , WA , USA.,h Departments of Laboratory Medicine , University of Washington , Seattle , WA , USA
| | - George N Pavlakis
- b Human Retrovirus Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick , Frederick , MD , USA
| | - Barbara K Felber
- a Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick , Frederick , MD , USA
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22
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Arcia D, Acevedo-Sáenz L, Rugeles MT, Velilla PA. Role of CD8 + T Cells in the Selection of HIV-1 Immune Escape Mutations. Viral Immunol 2016; 30:3-12. [PMID: 27805477 DOI: 10.1089/vim.2016.0095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) infection represents one of the biggest public health problems worldwide. The immune response, mainly the effector mechanisms mediated by CD8+ T cells, induces the selection of mutations that allows the virus to escape the immune control. These mutations are generally selected within CD8+ T cell epitopes restricted to human leukocyte antigen class I (HLA-I), leading to a decrease in the presentation and recognition of the epitope, decreasing the activation of CD8+ T cells. However, these mutations may also affect cellular processing of the peptide or recognition by the T cell receptor. Escape mutations often carry a negative impact in viral fitness that is partially or totally compensated by the selection of compensatory mutations. The selection of either escape mutations or compensatory mutations may negatively affect the course of the infection. In addition, these mutations are a major barrier for the development of new therapeutic strategies focused on the induction of specific CD8+ T cell responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Arcia
- Grupo Inmunovirología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia UdeA , Medellín, Colombia
| | - Liliana Acevedo-Sáenz
- Grupo Inmunovirología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia UdeA , Medellín, Colombia
| | - María Teresa Rugeles
- Grupo Inmunovirología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia UdeA , Medellín, Colombia
| | - Paula A Velilla
- Grupo Inmunovirología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia UdeA , Medellín, Colombia
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23
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Hu X, Valentin A, Dayton F, Kulkarni V, Alicea C, Rosati M, Chowdhury B, Gautam R, Broderick KE, Sardesai NY, Martin MA, Mullins JI, Pavlakis GN, Felber BK. DNA Prime-Boost Vaccine Regimen To Increase Breadth, Magnitude, and Cytotoxicity of the Cellular Immune Responses to Subdominant Gag Epitopes of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus and HIV. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2016; 197:3999-4013. [PMID: 27733554 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1600697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2016] [Accepted: 09/12/2016] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
HIV sequence diversity and the propensity of eliciting immunodominant responses targeting variable regions of the HIV proteome are hurdles in the development of an effective AIDS vaccine. An HIV-derived conserved element (CE) p24gag plasmid DNA (pDNA) vaccine is able to redirect immunodominant responses to otherwise subdominant and often more vulnerable viral targets. By homology to the HIV immunogen, seven CE were identified in SIV p27Gag Analysis of 31 rhesus macaques vaccinated with full-length SIV gag pDNA showed inefficient induction (58% response rate) of cellular responses targeting these CE. In contrast, all 14 macaques immunized with SIV p27CE pDNA developed robust T cell responses recognizing CE. Vaccination with p27CE pDNA was also critical for the efficient induction and increased the frequency of Ag-specific T cells with cytotoxic potential (granzyme B+ CD107a+) targeting subdominant CE epitopes, compared with the responses elicited by the p57gag pDNA vaccine. Following p27CE pDNA priming, two booster regimens, gag pDNA or codelivery of p27CE+gag pDNA, significantly increased the levels of CE-specific T cells. However, the CE+gag pDNA booster vaccination elicited significantly broader CE epitope recognition, and thus, a more profound alteration of the immunodominance hierarchy. Vaccination with HIV molecules showed that CE+gag pDNA booster regimen further expanded the breadth of HIV CE responses. Hence, SIV/HIV vaccine regimens comprising CE pDNA prime and CE+gag pDNA booster vaccination significantly increased cytotoxic T cell responses to subdominant highly conserved Gag epitopes and maximized response breadth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xintao Hu
- Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD 21702
| | - Antonio Valentin
- Human Retrovirus Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD 21702
| | - Frances Dayton
- Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD 21702
| | - Viraj Kulkarni
- Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD 21702
| | - Candido Alicea
- Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD 21702
| | - Margherita Rosati
- Human Retrovirus Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD 21702
| | - Bhabadeb Chowdhury
- Human Retrovirus Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD 21702
| | - Rajeev Gautam
- Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | | | | | - Malcolm A Martin
- Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - James I Mullins
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195.,Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195.,Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195; and.,Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
| | - George N Pavlakis
- Human Retrovirus Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD 21702;
| | - Barbara K Felber
- Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD 21702;
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24
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Sadewasser A, Saenger S, Paki K, Schwecke T, Wolff T. Disruption of Src homology 3-binding motif within non-structural protein 1 of influenza B virus unexpectedly enhances viral replication in human cells. J Gen Virol 2016; 97:2856-2867. [PMID: 27654951 DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.000604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The influenza virus non-structural protein 1 (NS1) is a multifunctional virulence factor that plays a crucial role during infection by blocking the innate antiviral immune response of infected cells. In contrast to the well-studied NS1 protein of influenza A virus, knowledge about structure and functions of the influenza B virus homologue B/NS1, which shares less than 25 % sequence identity, is still limited. Here, we report on a reverse genetic analysis to study the role of a highly conserved class II Src homology 3 domain-binding motif matching the consensus PxxPx(K/R) that we identified at positions 122-127 of the B/NS1 protein. Surprisingly, glycine substitutions in the Src homology 3 domain-binding motif increased virus replication up to three orders of magnitude in human lung cells. Enhanced mutant virus propagation was accompanied by increased gene expression and apoptosis induction linking this motif to the control of programmed cell death. A MS-based interactome study revealed that the glycine substitutions facilitate binding of B/NS1 to heat shock protein 90-beta (HSP90β). Moreover, recruitment of the viral polymerase basic protein 2 to the B/NS1-HSP90β complex was observed. Pharmacological inhibition of HSP90 reduced mutant virus propagation suggesting that the mutation-induced involvement of HSP90β enhanced viral replication. This study not only functionally characterizes a conserved motif within the B/NS1 protein, but also illustrates a rare example in which mutation of a highly conserved sequence within a viral protein does not result in high fitness costs, but rather increases viral replication via recruitment of a host factor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Sadewasser
- Unit 17, Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses, Robert Koch Institute, Seestr. 10, Berlin 13353, Germany
| | - Sandra Saenger
- Unit 17, Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses, Robert Koch Institute, Seestr. 10, Berlin 13353, Germany
| | - Katharina Paki
- Unit 17, Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses, Robert Koch Institute, Seestr. 10, Berlin 13353, Germany
| | - Torsten Schwecke
- ZBS 6 - Proteomics and Spectroscopy, Robert Koch Institute, Seestr. 10, Berlin 13353, Germany
| | - Thorsten Wolff
- Unit 17, Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses, Robert Koch Institute, Seestr. 10, Berlin 13353, Germany
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25
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Margolis DM, Garcia JV, Hazuda DJ, Haynes BF. Latency reversal and viral clearance to cure HIV-1. Science 2016; 353:aaf6517. [PMID: 27463679 DOI: 10.1126/science.aaf6517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 172] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Research toward a cure for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection has joined prevention and treatment efforts in the global public health agenda. A major approach to HIV eradication envisions antiretroviral suppression, paired with targeted therapies to enforce the expression of viral antigen from quiescent HIV-1 genomes, and immunotherapies to clear latent infection. These strategies are targeted to lead to viral eradication--a cure for AIDS. Paired testing of latency reversal and clearance strategies has begun, but additional obstacles to HIV eradication may emerge. Nevertheless, there is reason for optimism that advances in long-acting antiretroviral therapy and HIV prevention strategies will contribute to efforts in HIV cure research and that the implementation of these efforts will synergize to markedly blunt the effect of the HIV pandemic on society.
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Affiliation(s)
- David M Margolis
- University of North Carolina HIV Cure Center, Department of Medicine, and Center for AIDS Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
| | - J Victor Garcia
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Daria J Hazuda
- Merck Research Laboratories, White Horse Junction, PA, USA
| | - Barton F Haynes
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Department of Medicine, and Department of Immunology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
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26
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Khwaja A, Galilee M, Marx A, Alian A. Structure of FIV capsid C-terminal domain demonstrates lentiviral evasion of genetic fragility by coevolved substitutions. Sci Rep 2016; 6:24957. [PMID: 27102180 PMCID: PMC4840305 DOI: 10.1038/srep24957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2015] [Accepted: 04/08/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Viruses use a strategy of high mutational rates to adapt to environmental and therapeutic pressures, circumventing the deleterious effects of random single-point mutations by coevolved compensatory mutations, which restore protein fold, function or interactions damaged by initial ones. This mechanism has been identified as contributing to drug resistance in the HIV-1 Gag polyprotein and especially its capsid proteolytic product, which forms the viral capsid core and plays multifaceted roles in the viral life cycle. Here, we determined the X-ray crystal structure of C-terminal domain of the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) capsid and through interspecies analysis elucidate the structural basis of co-evolutionarily and spatially correlated substitutions in capsid sequences, which when otherwise uncoupled and individually substituted into HIV-1 capsid impair virion assembly and infectivity. The ability to circumvent the deleterious effects of single amino acid substitutions by cooperative secondary substitutions allows mutational flexibility that may afford viruses an important survival advantage. The potential of such interspecies structural analysis for preempting viral resistance by identifying such alternative but functionally equivalent patterns is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aya Khwaja
- Faculty of Biology, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 320003, Israel
| | - Meytal Galilee
- Faculty of Biology, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 320003, Israel
| | - Ailie Marx
- Faculty of Biology, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 320003, Israel
| | - Akram Alian
- Faculty of Biology, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 320003, Israel
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27
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Ondondo B, Murakoshi H, Clutton G, Abdul-Jawad S, Wee EGT, Gatanaga H, Oka S, McMichael AJ, Takiguchi M, Korber B, Hanke T. Novel Conserved-region T-cell Mosaic Vaccine With High Global HIV-1 Coverage Is Recognized by Protective Responses in Untreated Infection. Mol Ther 2016; 24:832-42. [PMID: 26743582 PMCID: PMC4886941 DOI: 10.1038/mt.2016.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2015] [Accepted: 12/31/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
An effective human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccine is the best solution for halting the acquired immune deficiency syndrome epidemic. Here, we describe the design and preclinical immunogenicity of T-cell vaccine expressing novel immunogens tHIVconsvX, vectored by DNA, simian (chimpanzee) adenovirus, and poxvirus modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA), a combination highly immunogenic in humans. The tHIVconsvX immunogens combine the three leading strategies for elicitation of effective CD8(+) T cells: use of regions of HIV-1 proteins functionally conserved across all M group viruses (to make HIV-1 escape costly on viral fitness), inclusion of bivalent complementary mosaic immunogens (to maximize global epitope matching and breadth of responses, and block common escape paths), and inclusion of epitopes known to be associated with low viral load in infected untreated people (to induce field-proven protective responses). tHIVconsvX was highly immunogenic in two strains of mice. Furthermore, the magnitude and breadth of CD8(+) T-cell responses to tHIVconsvX-derived peptides in treatment-naive HIV-1(+) patients significantly correlated with high CD4(+) T-cell count and low viral load. Overall, the tHIVconsvX design, combining the mosaic and conserved-region approaches, provides an indisputably better coverage of global HIV-1 variants than previous T-cell vaccines. These immunogens delivered in a highly immunogenic framework of adenovirus prime and MVA boost are ready for clinical development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatrice Ondondo
- The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford, UK
| | | | - Genevieve Clutton
- The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford, UK
- Current address: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | | | - Edmund G-T Wee
- The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford, UK
| | - Hiroyuki Gatanaga
- Center for AIDS Research, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
- AIDS Clinical Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shinichi Oka
- Center for AIDS Research, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
- AIDS Clinical Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | | | - Masafumi Takiguchi
- Center for AIDS Research, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
- International Research Center for Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
| | - Bette Korber
- Los Alamo National Laboratory, Theoretical Biology and Biophysics, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA
- The New Mexico Consortium, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA
| | - Tomáš Hanke
- The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford, UK
- International Research Center for Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
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28
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Composite Sequence-Structure Stability Models as Screening Tools for Identifying Vulnerable Targets for HIV Drug and Vaccine Development. Viruses 2015; 7:5718-35. [PMID: 26556362 PMCID: PMC4664974 DOI: 10.3390/v7112901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2015] [Revised: 10/19/2015] [Accepted: 10/23/2015] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Rapid evolution and high sequence diversity enable Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) populations to acquire mutations to escape antiretroviral drugs and host immune responses, and thus are major obstacles for the control of the pandemic. One strategy to overcome this problem is to focus drugs and vaccines on regions of the viral genome in which mutations are likely to cripple function through destabilization of viral proteins. Studies relying on sequence conservation alone have had only limited success in determining critically important regions. We tested the ability of two structure-based computational models to assign sites in the HIV-1 capsid protein (CA) that would be refractory to mutational change. The destabilizing mutations predicted by these models were rarely found in a database of 5811 HIV-1 CA coding sequences, with none being present at a frequency greater than 2%. Furthermore, 90% of variants with the low predicted stability (from a set of 184 CA variants whose replication fitness or infectivity has been studied in vitro) had aberrant capsid structures and reduced viral infectivity. Based on the predicted stability, we identified 45 CA sites prone to destabilizing mutations. More than half of these sites are targets of one or more known CA inhibitors. The CA regions enriched with these sites also overlap with peptides shown to induce cellular immune responses associated with lower viral loads in infected individuals. Lastly, a joint scoring metric that takes into account both sequence conservation and protein structure stability performed better at identifying deleterious mutations than sequence conservation or structure stability information alone. The computational sequence-structure stability approach proposed here might therefore be useful for identifying immutable sites in a protein for experimental validation as potential targets for drug and vaccine development.
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29
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Conditional Immune Escape during Chronic Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Infection. J Virol 2015; 90:545-52. [PMID: 26491171 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.02587-15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2015] [Accepted: 10/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED Anti-HIV CD8 T cells included in therapeutic treatments will need to target epitopes that do not accumulate escape mutations. Identifying the epitopes that do not accumulate variants but retain immunogenicity depends on both host major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genetics and the likelihood for an epitope to tolerate variation. We previously found that immune escape during acute SIV infection is conditional; the accumulation of mutations in T cell epitopes is limited, and the rate of accumulation depends on the number of epitopes being targeted. We have now tested the hypothesis that conditional immune escape extends into chronic SIV infection and that epitopes with a preserved wild-type sequence have the potential to elicit epitope-specific CD8 T cells. We deep sequenced simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) from Mauritian cynomolgus macaques (MCMs) that were homozygous and heterozygous for the M3 MHC haplotype and had been infected with SIV for about 1 year. When interrogating variation within individual epitopes restricted by M3 MHC alleles, we found three categories of epitopes, which we called categories A, B, and C. Category B epitopes readily accumulated variants in M3-homozygous MCMs, but this was less common in M3-heterozygous MCMs. We then determined that chronic CD8 T cells specific for these epitopes were more likely preserved in the M3-heterozygous MCMs than M3-homozygous MCMs. We provide evidence that epitopes known to escape from chronic CD8 T cell responses in animals that are homozygous for a set of MHC alleles are preserved and retain immunogenicity in a host that is heterozygous for the same MHC alleles. IMPORTANCE Anti-HIV CD8 T cells that are part of therapeutic treatments will need to target epitopes that do not accumulate escape mutations. Defining these epitope sequences is a necessary precursor to designing approaches that enhance the functionality of CD8 T cells with the potential to control virus replication during chronic infection or after reactivation of latent virus. Using MHC-homozygous and -heterozygous Mauritian cynomolgus macaques, we have now obtained evidence that epitopes known to escape from chronic CD8 T cell responses in animals that are MHC homozygous are preserved and retain immunogenicity in a host that is heterozygous for the same MHC alleles. Importantly, our findings support the conditional immune escape hypothesis, such that the potential to present a greater number of CD8 T cell epitopes within a single animal can delay immune escape in targeted epitopes. As a result, certain epitope sequences can retain immunogenicity into chronic infection.
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30
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Walsh SR, Moodie Z, Fiore-Gartland AJ, Morgan C, Wilck MB, Hammer SM, Buchbinder SP, Kalams SA, Goepfert PA, Mulligan MJ, Keefer MC, Baden LR, Swann EM, Grant S, Ahmed H, Li F, Hertz T, Self SG, Friedrich D, Frahm N, Liao HX, Montefiori DC, Tomaras GD, McElrath MJ, Hural J, Graham BS, Jin X. Vaccination With Heterologous HIV-1 Envelope Sequences and Heterologous Adenovirus Vectors Increases T-Cell Responses to Conserved Regions: HVTN 083. J Infect Dis 2015; 213:541-50. [PMID: 26475930 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiv496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2015] [Accepted: 10/09/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Increasing the breadth of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccine-elicited immune responses or targeting conserved regions may improve coverage of circulating strains. HIV Vaccine Trials Network 083 tested whether cellular immune responses with these features are induced by prime-boost strategies, using heterologous vectors, heterologous inserts, or a combination of both. METHODS A total of 180 participants were randomly assigned to receive combinations of adenovirus vectors (Ad5 or Ad35) and HIV-1 envelope (Env) gene inserts (clade A or B) in a prime-boost regimen. RESULTS T-cell responses to heterologous and homologous insert regimens targeted a similar number of epitopes (ratio of means, 1.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], .6-1.6; P = .91), but heterologous insert regimens induced significantly more epitopes that were shared between EnvA and EnvB than homologous insert regimens (ratio of means, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.2-5.7; P = .01). Participants in the heterologous versus homologous insert groups had T-cell responses that targeted epitopes with greater evolutionary conservation (mean entropy [±SD], 0.32 ± 0.1 bits; P = .003), and epitopes recognized by responders provided higher coverage (49%; P = .035). Heterologous vector regimens had higher numbers of total, EnvA, and EnvB epitopes than homologous vector regimens (P = .02, .044, and .045, respectively). CONCLUSIONS These data demonstrate that vaccination with heterologous insert prime boosting increased T-cell responses to shared epitopes, while heterologous vector prime boosting increased the number of T-cell epitopes recognized. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION NCT01095224.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen R Walsh
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Zoe Moodie
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
| | | | - Cecilia Morgan
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
| | - Marissa B Wilck
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | | | | | - Spyros A Kalams
- Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee
| | | | | | | | - Lindsey R Baden
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | | | - Shannon Grant
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
| | - Hasan Ahmed
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
| | - Fusheng Li
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
| | - Tomer Hertz
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
| | - Steven G Self
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
| | - David Friedrich
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
| | - Nicole Frahm
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle
| | - Hua-Xin Liao
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
| | | | - Georgia D Tomaras
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
| | - M Juliana McElrath
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle Departments of Medicine and Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle
| | - John Hural
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
| | - Barney S Graham
- Dale and Betty Bumpers Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Xia Jin
- University of Rochester, New York
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31
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Fitness-Balanced Escape Determines Resolution of Dynamic Founder Virus Escape Processes in HIV-1 Infection. J Virol 2015. [PMID: 26223634 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01876-15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED To understand the interplay between host cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses and the mechanisms by which HIV-1 evades them, we studied viral evolutionary patterns associated with host CTL responses in six linked transmission pairs. HIV-1 sequences corresponding to full-length p17 and p24 gag were generated by 454 pyrosequencing for all pairs near the time of transmission, and seroconverting partners were followed for a median of 847 days postinfection. T-cell responses were screened by gamma interferon/interleukin-2 (IFN-γ/IL-2) FluoroSpot using autologous peptide sets reflecting any Gag variant present in at least 5% of sequence reads in the individual's viral population. While we found little evidence for the occurrence of CTL reversions, CTL escape processes were found to be highly dynamic, with multiple epitope variants emerging simultaneously. We found a correlation between epitope entropy and the number of epitope variants per response (r = 0.43; P = 0.05). In cases in which multiple escape mutations developed within a targeted epitope, a variant with no fitness cost became fixed in the viral population. When multiple mutations within an epitope achieved fitness-balanced escape, these escape mutants were each maintained in the viral population. Additional mutations found to confer escape but undetected in viral populations incurred high fitness costs, suggesting that functional constraints limit the available sites tolerable to escape mutations. These results further our understanding of the impact of CTL escape and reversion from the founder virus in HIV infection and contribute to the identification of immunogenic Gag regions most vulnerable to a targeted T-cell attack. IMPORTANCE Rapid diversification of the viral population is a hallmark of HIV-1 infection, and understanding the selective forces driving the emergence of viral variants can provide critical insight into the interplay between host immune responses and viral evolution. We used deep sequencing to comprehensively follow viral evolution over time in six linked HIV transmission pairs. We then mapped T-cell responses to explore if mutations arose due to adaption to the host and found that escape processes were often highly dynamic, with multiple mutations arising within targeted epitopes. When we explored the impact of these mutations on replicative capacity, we found that dynamic escape processes only resolve with the selection of mutations that conferred escape with no fitness cost to the virus. These results provide further understanding of the complicated viral-host interactions that occur during early HIV-1 infection and may help inform the design of future vaccine immunogens.
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32
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Shytaj IL, Savarino A. Cell-mediated anti-Gag immunity in pharmacologically induced functional cure of simian AIDS: a 'bottleneck effect'? J Med Primatol 2015; 44:227-40. [PMID: 26058990 DOI: 10.1111/jmp.12176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/11/2015] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Administration of antiretroviral therapy and two experimental drugs, auranofin and buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), was previously shown to be followed by drug-free control of chronic SIVmac251 infection, decreased immune activation and increased cell-mediated anti-Gag responses. METHODS Phylogeny was analysed with Phylogeny.fr. Entropy was calculated with the specific tool of the HIV Sequence Database. The capsid Gag structure was computed using SPDBV. The bottleneck effect was simulated through an appropriate online tool. RESULTS The region of Gag predominantly targeted during control of SIVmac251 infection is highly conserved in primate lentiviruses and plays an important role in capsid architecture. Computer-aided simulations support the view that the preferential development of immune responses against this region is derived from a 'bottleneck effect' after restriction, by auranofin and BSO, of the activated lymphocyte pool. CONCLUSIONS Restriction of immune activation through auranofin/BSO may result in stochastic selection of cell clones targeting conserved epitopes leading to a functional cure-like condition.
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Manocheewa S, Lanxon-Cookson EC, Liu Y, Swain JV, McClure J, Rao U, Maust B, Deng W, Sunshine JE, Kim M, Rolland M, Mullins JI. Pairwise growth competition assay for determining the replication fitness of human immunodeficiency viruses. J Vis Exp 2015:e52610. [PMID: 25993602 PMCID: PMC4542137 DOI: 10.3791/52610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In vitro fitness assays are essential tools for determining viral replication fitness for viruses such as HIV-1. Various measurements have been used to extrapolate viral replication fitness, ranging from the number of viral particles per infectious unit, growth rate in cell culture, and relative fitness derived from multiple-cycle growth competition assays. Growth competition assays provide a particularly sensitive measurement of fitness since the viruses are competing for cellular targets under identical growth conditions. There are several experimental factors to consider when conducting growth competition assays, including the multiplicity of infection (MOI), sampling times, and viral detection and fitness calculation methods. Each factor can affect the end result and hence must be considered carefully during the experimental design. The protocol presented here includes steps from constructing a new recombinant HIV-1 clone to performing growth competition assays and analyzing the experimental results. This protocol utilizes experimental parameter values previously shown to yield consistent and robust results. Alternatives are discussed, as some parameters need to be adjusted according to the cell type and viruses being studied. The protocol contains two alternative viral detection methods to provide flexibility as the availability of instruments, reagents and expertise varies between laboratories.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Yi Liu
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington
| | | | - Jan McClure
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington
| | - Ushnal Rao
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington
| | - Brandon Maust
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington
| | - Wenjie Deng
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington
| | | | - Moon Kim
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington
| | - Morgane Rolland
- U.S Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research; Henry M. Jackson Foundation
| | - James I Mullins
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington; Departments of Medicine and Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington;
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Hancock G, Yang H, Yorke E, Wainwright E, Bourne V, Frisbee A, Payne TL, Berrong M, Ferrari G, Chopera D, Hanke T, Mothe B, Brander C, McElrath MJ, McMichael A, Goonetilleke N, Tomaras GD, Frahm N, Dorrell L. Identification of effective subdominant anti-HIV-1 CD8+ T cells within entire post-infection and post-vaccination immune responses. PLoS Pathog 2015; 11:e1004658. [PMID: 25723536 PMCID: PMC4344337 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1004658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2014] [Accepted: 01/05/2015] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Defining the components of an HIV immunogen that could induce effective CD8+ T cell responses is critical to vaccine development. We addressed this question by investigating the viral targets of CD8+ T cells that potently inhibit HIV replication in vitro, as this is highly predictive of virus control in vivo. We observed broad and potent ex vivo CD8+ T cell-mediated viral inhibitory activity against a panel of HIV isolates among viremic controllers (VC, viral loads <5000 copies/ml), in contrast to unselected HIV-infected HIV Vaccine trials Network (HVTN) participants. Viral inhibition of clade-matched HIV isolates was strongly correlated with the frequency of CD8+ T cells targeting vulnerable regions within Gag, Pol, Nef and Vif that had been identified in an independent study of nearly 1000 chronically infected individuals. These vulnerable and so-called “beneficial” regions were of low entropy overall, yet several were not predicted by stringent conservation algorithms. Consistent with this, stronger inhibition of clade-matched than mismatched viruses was observed in the majority of subjects, indicating better targeting of clade-specific than conserved epitopes. The magnitude of CD8+ T cell responses to beneficial regions, together with viral entropy and HLA class I genotype, explained up to 59% of the variation in viral inhibitory activity, with magnitude of the T cell response making the strongest unique contribution. However, beneficial regions were infrequently targeted by CD8+ T cells elicited by vaccines encoding full-length HIV proteins, when the latter were administered to healthy volunteers and HIV-positive ART-treated subjects, suggesting that immunodominance hierarchies undermine effective anti-HIV CD8+ T cell responses. Taken together, our data support HIV immunogen design that is based on systematic selection of empirically defined vulnerable regions within the viral proteome, with exclusion of immunodominant decoy epitopes that are irrelevant for HIV control. Attempts to develop an HIV vaccine that elicits potent cell-mediated immunity have so far been unsuccessful. This is due in part to the use of immunogens that appear to recapitulate responses induced naturally by HIV that are, at best, partially effective. We previously showed that the capacity of CD8+ T cells from patients to block HIV replication in culture is strongly correlated with HIV control in vivo, therefore, we investigated the virological determinants of potent CD8+ T cell inhibitory activity. We observed that CD8+ T cells from patients with naturally low plasma viral loads (viremic controllers) were better able to inhibit the replication of diverse HIV strains in vitro than CD8+ T cells from HIV-noncontroller patients. Importantly, we also found that the potency of the antiviral activity in the latter group was strongly correlated with recognition of selected regions across the viral proteome that are critical to viral fitness. Vaccines that encode full-length viral proteins rarely elicited responses to these vulnerable regions. Taken together, our results provide insight into the characteristics of effective cell-mediated immune responses against HIV and how these may inform the design of better immunogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gemma Hancock
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Oxford NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Hongbing Yang
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Oxford NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | | | - Emma Wainwright
- Department of Sexual Health, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, Reading, United Kingdom
| | - Victoria Bourne
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Alyse Frisbee
- Departments of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Surgery, Immunology, and Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Tamika L. Payne
- Departments of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Surgery, Immunology, and Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Mark Berrong
- Departments of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Surgery, Immunology, and Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Guido Ferrari
- Departments of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Surgery, Immunology, and Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Denis Chopera
- Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine & Division of Medical Virology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Tomas Hanke
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Beatriz Mothe
- Irsicaixa AIDS Research Institute—HIVACAT, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Spain
| | - Christian Brander
- Irsicaixa AIDS Research Institute—HIVACAT, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Spain
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
| | - M. Juliana McElrath
- Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Andrew McMichael
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Nilu Goonetilleke
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Georgia D. Tomaras
- Departments of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Surgery, Immunology, and Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Nicole Frahm
- Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Lucy Dorrell
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Oxford NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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Mothe B, Hu X, Llano A, Rosati M, Olvera A, Kulkarni V, Valentin A, Alicea C, Pilkington GR, Sardesai NY, Rocafort M, Crespo M, Carrillo J, Marco A, Mullins JI, Dorrell L, Hanke T, Clotet B, Pavlakis GN, Felber BK, Brander C. A human immune data-informed vaccine concept elicits strong and broad T-cell specificities associated with HIV-1 control in mice and macaques. J Transl Med 2015; 13:60. [PMID: 25879820 PMCID: PMC4336696 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-015-0392-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2014] [Accepted: 01/13/2015] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background None of the HIV T-cell vaccine candidates that have reached advanced clinical testing have been able to induce protective T cell immunity. A major reason for these failures may have been suboptimal T cell immunogen designs. Methods To overcome this problem, we used a novel immunogen design approach that is based on functional T cell response data from more than 1,000 HIV-1 clade B and C infected individuals and which aims to direct the T cell response to the most vulnerable sites of HIV-1. Results Our approach identified 16 regions in Gag, Pol, Vif and Nef that were relatively conserved and predominantly targeted by individuals with reduced viral loads. These regions formed the basis of the HIVACAT T-cell Immunogen (HTI) sequence which is 529 amino acids in length, includes more than 50 optimally defined CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell epitopes restricted by a wide range of HLA class I and II molecules and covers viral sites where mutations led to a dramatic reduction in viral replicative fitness. In both, C57BL/6 mice and Indian rhesus macaques immunized with an HTI-expressing DNA plasmid (DNA.HTI) induced broad and balanced T-cell responses to several segments within Gag, Pol, and Vif. DNA.HTI induced robust CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses that were increased by a booster vaccination using modified virus Ankara (MVA.HTI), expanding the DNA.HTI induced response to up to 3.2% IFN-γ T-cells in macaques. HTI-specific T cells showed a central and effector memory phenotype with a significant fraction of the IFN-γ+ CD8+ T cells being Granzyme B+ and able to degranulate (CD107a+). Conclusions These data demonstrate the immunogenicity of a novel HIV-1 T cell vaccine concept that induced broadly balanced responses to vulnerable sites of HIV-1 while avoiding the induction of responses to potential decoy targets that may divert effective T-cell responses towards variable and less protective viral determinants. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12967-015-0392-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatriz Mothe
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute - HIVACAT, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Crta Canyet s/n., 08916, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain. .,'Lluita contra la Sida' Foundation, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain. .,Universitat de Vic-Universitat Central de Catalunya (UVic-UCC), Vic, Spain.
| | - Xintao Hu
- Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, National Cancer Institute-Frederick, Frederick, MD, USA.
| | - Anuska Llano
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute - HIVACAT, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Crta Canyet s/n., 08916, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Margherita Rosati
- Human Retrovirus Section, National Cancer Institute-Frederick, Frederick, MD, USA.
| | - Alex Olvera
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute - HIVACAT, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Crta Canyet s/n., 08916, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Viraj Kulkarni
- Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, National Cancer Institute-Frederick, Frederick, MD, USA.
| | - Antonio Valentin
- Human Retrovirus Section, National Cancer Institute-Frederick, Frederick, MD, USA.
| | - Candido Alicea
- Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, National Cancer Institute-Frederick, Frederick, MD, USA.
| | - Guy R Pilkington
- Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, National Cancer Institute-Frederick, Frederick, MD, USA.
| | | | - Muntsa Rocafort
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute - HIVACAT, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Crta Canyet s/n., 08916, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Manel Crespo
- HIV Unit, Hospital de la Vall d'Hebrón, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Jorge Carrillo
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute - HIVACAT, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Crta Canyet s/n., 08916, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain.
| | | | | | - Lucy Dorrell
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, The John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK.
| | - Tomáš Hanke
- The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
| | - Bonaventura Clotet
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute - HIVACAT, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Crta Canyet s/n., 08916, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain. .,'Lluita contra la Sida' Foundation, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain. .,Universitat de Vic-Universitat Central de Catalunya (UVic-UCC), Vic, Spain. .,Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - George N Pavlakis
- Human Retrovirus Section, National Cancer Institute-Frederick, Frederick, MD, USA.
| | - Barbara K Felber
- Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, National Cancer Institute-Frederick, Frederick, MD, USA.
| | - Christian Brander
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute - HIVACAT, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Crta Canyet s/n., 08916, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain. .,Universitat de Vic-Universitat Central de Catalunya (UVic-UCC), Vic, Spain. .,Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. .,Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain.
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Abstract
An effective human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccine is expected to have the greatest impact on HIV-1 spread and remains a global scientific priority. Only one candidate vaccine has significantly reduced HIV-1 acquisition, yet at a limited efficacy of 31%, and none have delayed disease progression in vaccinated individuals. Thus, the challenge remains to develop HIV-1 immunogens that will elicit protective immunity. A combination of two independent approaches - namely the elicitation of broadly neutralising antibodies (bNAb) to prevent or reduce acquisition of infection and stimulation of effective cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses to slow disease progression in breakthrough infections (recent evidence suggests that CTLs could also block HIV-1 from establishing persistent infection) - is the current ideal. The purpose of this review is to summarise strategies and progress in the design and testing of HIV-1 immunogens to elicit bNAb and protective CTL immune responses. Recent advances in mimicking the functional native envelope trimer structure and in designing structurally-stabilised bNAb epitope forms to drive development of germline precursors to mature bNAb are highlighted. Systematic or computational approaches to T cell immunogen design aimed at covering viral diversity, increasing the breadth of immune responses and/or reducing viable viral escape are discussed. We also discuss a recent novel vaccine vector approach shown to induce extremely broad and persistent T cell responses that could clear highly pathogenic simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) early after infection in the monkey model. While in vitro and animal model data are promising, Phase II and III human clinical trials are ultimately needed to determine the efficacy of immunogen design approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaclyn K Mann
- />HIV Pathogenesis Programme, University of KwaZulu-Natal, 719 Umbilo Road, Durban, 4001 South Africa
- />KwaZulu-Natal Research Institute for Tuberculosis and HIV, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 4001 South Africa
| | - Thumbi Ndung’u
- />HIV Pathogenesis Programme, University of KwaZulu-Natal, 719 Umbilo Road, Durban, 4001 South Africa
- />KwaZulu-Natal Research Institute for Tuberculosis and HIV, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 4001 South Africa
- />Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
- />Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Chariteplatz, D-10117 Berlin, Germany
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37
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Carlson JM, Le AQ, Shahid A, Brumme ZL. HIV-1 adaptation to HLA: a window into virus-host immune interactions. Trends Microbiol 2015; 23:212-24. [PMID: 25613992 DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2014.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2014] [Revised: 12/04/2014] [Accepted: 12/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
HIV-1 develops specific mutations within its genome that allow it to escape detection by human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I-restricted immune responses, notably those of CD8(+) cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). HLA thus represents a major force driving the evolution and diversification of HIV-1 within individuals and at the population level. Importantly, the study of HIV-1 adaptation to HLA also represents an opportunity to identify what qualities constitute an effective immune response, how the virus in turn adapts to these pressures, and how we may harness this information to design HIV-1 vaccines that stimulate effective cellular immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anh Q Le
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Aniqa Shahid
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Zabrina L Brumme
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada; British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
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38
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Al-Mawsawi LQ, Wu NC, Olson CA, Shi VC, Qi H, Zheng X, Wu TT, Sun R. High-throughput profiling of point mutations across the HIV-1 genome. Retrovirology 2014; 11:124. [PMID: 25522661 PMCID: PMC4300175 DOI: 10.1186/s12977-014-0124-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2014] [Accepted: 12/04/2014] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The HIV-1 pandemic is not the result of a static pathogen but a large genetically diverse and dynamic viral population. The virus is characterized by a highly mutable genome rendering efforts to design a universal vaccine a significant challenge and drives the emergence of drug resistant variants upon antiviral pressure. Gaining a comprehensive understanding of the mutational tolerance of each HIV-1 genomic position is therefore of critical importance. Results Here we combine high-density mutagenesis with the power of next-generation sequencing to gauge the replication capacity and therefore mutational tolerability of single point mutations across the entire HIV-1 genome. We were able to achieve the evaluation of point mutational effects on viral replicative capacity for 5,553 individual HIV-1 nucleotide positions – representing 57% of the viral genome. Replicative capacity was assessed at 3,943 nucleotide positions for a single alternate base change, 1,459 nucleotide positions for two alternate base changes, and 151 nucleotide positions for all three possible alternate base changes. This resulted in the study of how a total of 7,314 individual point mutations impact HIV-1 replication on a single experimental platform. We further utilize the dataset for a focused structural analysis on a capsid inhibitor binding pocket. Conclusion The approach presented here can be applied to any pathogen that can be genetically manipulated in a laboratory setting. Furthermore, the methodology can be utilized under externally applied selection conditions, such as drug or immune pressure, to identify genetic elements that contribute to drug or host interactions, and therefore mutational routes of pathogen resistance and escape. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12977-014-0124-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laith Q Al-Mawsawi
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA. .,AIDS Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
| | - Nicholas C Wu
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA. .,Molecular Biology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
| | - C Anders Olson
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
| | - Vivian Cai Shi
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
| | - Hangfei Qi
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
| | - Xiaojuan Zheng
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
| | - Ting-Ting Wu
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
| | - Ren Sun
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA. .,AIDS Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA. .,Molecular Biology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
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39
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Short conserved sequences of HIV-1 are highly immunogenic and shift immunodominance. J Virol 2014; 89:1195-204. [PMID: 25378501 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.02370-14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED Cellular immunity is pivotal in HIV-1 pathogenesis but is hampered by viral sequence diversity. An approach to minimize this diversity is to focus immunity on conserved proteome sequences; therefore, we selected four relatively conserved regions (Gag amino acids 148 to 214 and 250 to 335, Env amino acids 521 to 606, and Nef amino acids 106 to 148), each created in three mosaics, to provide better coverage of M-group HIV-1 sequences. A conserved-region vaccine (CRV) delivering genes for these four regions as equal mixtures of three mosaics each (each region at a separate injection site) was compared to a whole-protein vaccine (WPV) delivering equimolar amounts of genes for whole Gag, Env, and Nef as clade B consensus sequences (separate injection sites). Three rhesus macaques were vaccinated via three DNA primes and a recombinant adenovirus type 5 boost (weeks 0, 4, 8, and 24, respectively). Although CRV inserts were about one-fifth that of WPV, the CRV generated comparable-magnitude blood CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocyte responses against Gag, Env, and Nef. WPV responses preferentially targeted proteome areas outside the selected conserved regions in direct proportion to sequence lengths, indicating similar immunogenicities for the conserved regions and the outside regions. The CRV yielded a conserved-region targeting density that was approximately 5-fold higher than that of the WPV. A similar pattern was seen for bronchoalveolar lymphocytes, but with quadruple the magnitudes seen in blood. Overall, these findings demonstrate that the selected conserved regions are highly immunogenic and that anatomically isolated vaccinations with these regions focus immunodominance compared to the case for full-length protein vaccination. IMPORTANCE HIV-1 sequence diversity is a major barrier limiting the capability of cellular immunity to contain infection and the ability of vaccines to match circulating viral sequences. To date, vaccines tested in humans have delivered whole proteins or genes for whole proteins, and it is unclear whether including only conserved sequences would yield sufficient cellular immunogenicity. We tested a vaccine delivering genes for four small conserved HIV-1 regions compared to a control vaccine with genes for whole Gag, Env, and Nef. Although the conserved regions ranged from 43 to 86 amino acids and comprised less than one-fifth of the whole Gag/Env/Nef sequence, the vaccines elicited equivalent total magnitudes of both CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocyte responses. These data demonstrate the immunogenicity of these small conserved regions and the potential for a vaccine to steer immunodominance toward conserved epitopes.
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40
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Mechanisms of HIV protein degradation into epitopes: implications for vaccine design. Viruses 2014; 6:3271-92. [PMID: 25196483 PMCID: PMC4147695 DOI: 10.3390/v6083271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2014] [Revised: 08/06/2014] [Accepted: 08/11/2014] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The degradation of HIV-derived proteins into epitopes displayed by MHC-I or MHC-II are the first events leading to the priming of HIV-specific immune responses and to the recognition of infected cells. Despite a wealth of information about peptidases involved in protein degradation, our knowledge of epitope presentation during HIV infection remains limited. Here we review current data on HIV protein degradation linking epitope production and immunodominance, viral evolution and impaired epitope presentation. We propose that an in-depth understanding of HIV antigen processing and presentation in relevant primary cells could be exploited to identify signatures leading to efficient or inefficient epitope presentation in HIV proteomes, and to improve the design of immunogens eliciting immune responses efficiently recognizing all infected cells.
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Song H, Hora B, Bhattacharya T, Goonetilleke N, Liu MKP, Wiehe K, Li H, Iyer SS, McMichael AJ, Perelson AS, Gao F. Reversion and T cell escape mutations compensate the fitness loss of a CD8+ T cell escape mutant in their cognate transmitted/founder virus. PLoS One 2014; 9:e102734. [PMID: 25028937 PMCID: PMC4100905 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0102734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2014] [Accepted: 06/23/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Immune escape mutations that revert back to the consensus sequence frequently occur in newly HIV-1-infected individuals and have been thought to render the viruses more fit. However, their impact on viral fitness and their interaction with other immune escape mutations have not been evaluated in the background of their cognate transmitted/founder (T/F) viral genomes. To precisely determine the role of reversion mutations, we introduced reversion mutations alone or together with CD8+ T cell escape mutations in their unmodified cognate T/F viral genome and determined their impact on viral fitness in primary CD4+ T cells. Two reversion mutations, V247I and I64T, were identified in Gag and Tat, respectively, but neither had measurable effect on the fitness of their cognate T/F virus. The V247I and G248A mutations that were detected before and concurrently with the potent T cell escape mutation T242N, respectively, were selected by early T cell responses. The V247I or the G248A mutation alone partially restored the fitness loss caused by the T242N mutation. Together they could fully restore the fitness of the T242N mutant to the T/F level. These results demonstrate that the fitness loss caused by a T cell escape mutation could be compensated by preexisting or concurrent reversion and other T cell escape mutations. Our findings indicate that the overall viral fitness is modulated by the complex interplay among T cell escape, compensatory and reversion mutations to maintain the balance between immune escape and viral replication capacity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongshuo Song
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Bhavna Hora
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Tanmoy Bhattacharya
- Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States of America
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Nilu Goonetilleke
- Weatherall Institute of molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, United Kingdom
| | - Michael K. P. Liu
- Weatherall Institute of molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, United Kingdom
| | - Kevin Wiehe
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Hui Li
- Departments of Medicine and Microbiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Shilpa S. Iyer
- Departments of Medicine and Microbiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Andrew J. McMichael
- Weatherall Institute of molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, United Kingdom
| | - Alan S. Perelson
- Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Feng Gao
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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42
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Abstract
UNLABELLED Host and viral factors influence the HIV-1 infection course. Reduced Nef function has been observed in HIV-1 controllers during the chronic phase, but the kinetics and mechanisms of Nef attenuation in such individuals remain unclear. We examined plasma RNA-derived Nef clones from 10 recently infected individuals who subsequently suppressed viremia to less than 2,000 RNA copies/ml within 1 year postinfection (acute controllers) and 50 recently infected individuals who did not control viremia (acute progressors). Nef clones from acute controllers displayed a lesser ability to downregulate CD4 and HLA class I from the cell surface and a reduced ability to enhance virion infectivity compared to those from acute progressors (all P<0.01). HLA class I downregulation activity correlated inversely with days postinfection (Spearman's R=-0.85, P=0.004) and positively with baseline plasma viral load (Spearman's R=0.81, P=0.007) in acute controllers but not in acute progressors. Nef polymorphisms associated with functional changes over time were identified in follow-up samples from six controllers. For one such individual, mutational analyses indicated that four polymorphisms selected by HLA-A*31 and B*37 acted in combination to reduce Nef steady-state protein levels and HLA class I downregulation activity. Our results demonstrate that relative control of initial HIV-1 viremia is associated with Nef clones that display reduced function, which in turn may influence the course of HIV-1 infection. Transmission of impaired Nef sequences likely contributed in part to this observation; however, accumulation of HLA-associated polymorphisms in Nef that impair function also suggests that CD8+ T-cell pressures play a role in this phenomenon. IMPORTANCE Rare individuals can spontaneously control HIV-1 viremia in the absence of antiretroviral treatment. Understanding the host and viral factors that contribute to the controller phenotype may identify new strategies to design effective vaccines or therapeutics. The HIV-1 Nef protein enhances viral pathogenesis through multiple mechanisms. We examined the function of plasma HIV-1 RNA-derived Nef clones isolated from 10 recently infected individuals who subsequently controlled HIV viremia compared to the function of those from 50 individuals who failed to control viremia. Our results demonstrate that early Nef clones from HIV controllers displayed lower HLA class I and CD4 downregulation activity, as well as a reduced ability to enhance virion infectivity. The accumulation of HLA-associated polymorphisms in Nef during the first year postinfection was associated with impaired protein function in some controllers. This report highlights the potential for host immune responses to modulate HIV pathogenicity and disease outcome by targeting cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) epitopes in Nef.
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Kopycinski J, Hayes P, Ashraf A, Cheeseman H, Lala F, Czyzewska-Khan J, Spentzou A, Gill DK, Keefer MC, Excler JL, Fast P, Cox J, Gilmour J. Broad HIV epitope specificity and viral inhibition induced by multigenic HIV-1 adenovirus subtype 35 vector vaccine in healthy uninfected adults. PLoS One 2014; 9:e90378. [PMID: 24609066 PMCID: PMC3946500 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0090378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2013] [Accepted: 01/29/2014] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
A correlation between in vivo and in vitro virus control mediated by CD8+ T-cell populations has been demonstrated by CD8 T-cell-mediated inhibition of HIV-1 and SIV replication in vitro in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from infected humans and non-human primates (NHPs), respectively. Here, the breadth and specificity of T-cell responses induced following vaccination with replication-defective adenovirus serotype 35 (Ad35) vectors containing a fusion protein of Gag, reverse transcriptase (RT), Integrase (Int) and Nef (Ad35-GRIN) and Env (Ad35-ENV), derived from HIV-1 subtype A isolates, was assessed in 25 individuals. The vaccine induced responses to a median of 4 epitopes per vaccinee. We correlated the CD8 responses to conserved vs. variable regions with the ability to inhibit a panel of 7 HIV-1 isolates representing multiple clades in a virus inhibition assay (VIA). The results indicate that targeting immunodominant responses to highly conserved regions of the HIV-1 proteome may result in an increased ability to inhibit multiple clades of HIV-1 in vitro. The data further validate the use of the VIA to screen and select future HIV vaccine candidates. Moreover, our data suggest that future T cell-focused vaccine design should aim to induce immunodominant responses to highly conserved regions of the virus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Kopycinski
- International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), Human Immunology Laboratory, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Peter Hayes
- International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), Human Immunology Laboratory, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ambreen Ashraf
- International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), Human Immunology Laboratory, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
| | - Hannah Cheeseman
- International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), Human Immunology Laboratory, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
| | - Francesco Lala
- International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), Human Immunology Laboratory, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
| | - Justyna Czyzewska-Khan
- International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), Human Immunology Laboratory, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
| | - Aggeliki Spentzou
- International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), Human Immunology Laboratory, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
| | - Dilbinder K. Gill
- International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), Human Immunology Laboratory, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
| | - Michael C. Keefer
- University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, United States of America
| | | | | | - Josephine Cox
- International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), Human Immunology Laboratory, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jill Gilmour
- International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), Human Immunology Laboratory, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
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Increased sequence coverage through combined targeting of variant and conserved epitopes correlates with control of HIV replication. J Virol 2013; 88:1354-65. [PMID: 24227851 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.02361-13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
A major challenge in the development of an HIV vaccine is that of contending with the extensive sequence variability found in circulating viruses. Induction of HIV-specific T-cell responses targeting conserved regions and induction of HIV-specific T-cell responses recognizing a high number of epitope variants have both been proposed as strategies to overcome this challenge. We addressed the ability of cytotoxic T lymphocytes from 30 untreated HIV-infected subjects with and without control of virus replication to recognize all clade B Gag sequence variants encoded by at least 5% of the sequences in the Los Alamos National Laboratory HIV database (1,300 peptides) using gamma interferon and interleukin-2 (IFN-γ/IL-2) FluoroSpot analysis. While targeting of conserved regions was similar in the two groups (P = 0.47), we found that subjects with control of virus replication demonstrated marginally lower recognition of Gag epitope variants than subjects with normal progression (P = 0.05). In viremic controllers and progressors, we found variant recognition to be associated with viral load (r = 0.62, P = 0.001). Interestingly, we show that increased overall sequence coverage, defined as the overall proportion of HIV database sequences targeted through the Gag-specific repertoire, is inversely associated with viral load (r = -0.38, P = 0.03). Furthermore, we found that sequence coverage, but not variant recognition, correlated with increased recognition of a panel of clade B HIV founder viruses (r = 0.50, P = 0.004). We propose sequence coverage by HIV Gag-specific immune responses as a possible correlate of protection that may contribute to control of virus replication. Additionally, sequence coverage serves as a valuable measure by which to evaluate the protective potential of future vaccination strategies.
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Adland E, Carlson JM, Paioni P, Kløverpris H, Shapiro R, Ogwu A, Riddell L, Luzzi G, Chen F, Balachandran T, Heckerman D, Stryhn A, Edwards A, Ndung’u T, Walker BD, Buus S, Goulder P, Matthews PC. Nef-specific CD8+ T cell responses contribute to HIV-1 immune control. PLoS One 2013; 8:e73117. [PMID: 24023819 PMCID: PMC3759414 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0073117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2013] [Accepted: 07/24/2013] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies in the SIV-macaque model of HIV infection suggest that Nef-specific CD8+ T-cell responses may mediate highly effective immune control of viraemia. In HIV infection Nef recognition dominates in acute infection, but in large cohort studies of chronically infected subjects, breadth of T cell responses to Nef has not been correlated with significant viraemic control. Improved disease outcomes have instead been associated with targeting Gag and, in some cases, Pol. However analyses of the breadth of Nef-specific T cell responses have been confounded by the extreme immunogenicity and multiple epitope overlap within the central regions of Nef, making discrimination of distinct responses impossible via IFN-gamma ELISPOT assays. Thus an alternative approach to assess Nef as an immune target is needed. Here, we show in a cohort of >700 individuals with chronic C-clade infection that >50% of HLA-B-selected polymorphisms within Nef are associated with a predicted fitness cost to the virus, and that HLA-B alleles that successfully drive selection within Nef are those linked with lower viral loads. Furthermore, the specific CD8+ T cell epitopes that are restricted by protective HLA Class I alleles correspond substantially to effective SIV-specific epitopes in Nef. Distinguishing such individual HIV-specific responses within Nef requires specific peptide-MHC I tetramers. Overall, these data suggest that CD8+ T cell targeting of certain specific Nef epitopes contributes to HIV suppression. These data suggest that a re-evaluation of the potential use of Nef in HIV T-cell vaccine candidates would be justified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Adland
- Department of Paediatrics, Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Jonathan M. Carlson
- Microsoft Research, eScience Group, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Paolo Paioni
- Department of Paediatrics, Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Henrik Kløverpris
- Department of Paediatrics, Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- KwaZulu-Natal Research Institute for Tuberculosis & HIV, K-RITH, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZuluNatal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Roger Shapiro
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership, Gaborone, Botswana
| | - Anthony Ogwu
- Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership, Gaborone, Botswana
| | - Lynn Riddell
- Department of Genitourinary Medicine, Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Trust,Northampton General Hospital, Northampton, United Kingdom
| | - Graz Luzzi
- Department of Genitourinary Medicine, Wycombe Hospital, High Wycombe, Bucks, United Kingdom
| | - Fabian Chen
- Department of Sexual Health, Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading, United Kingdom
| | - Thambiah Balachandran
- Department of Genitourinary Medicine, Luton and Dunstable Hospital, Luton, United Kingdom
| | - David Heckerman
- Microsoft Research, eScience Group, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Anette Stryhn
- Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anne Edwards
- The Oxford Department of Genitourinary Medicine, the Churchill Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Thumbi Ndung’u
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, the Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZuluNatal, Durban, South Africa
- Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Bruce D. Walker
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, the Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZuluNatal, Durban, South Africa
- Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Søren Buus
- Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Philip Goulder
- Department of Paediatrics, Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, the Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZuluNatal, Durban, South Africa
- Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Philippa C. Matthews
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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Lanxon-Cookson EC, Swain JV, Manocheewa S, Smith RA, Maust B, Kim M, Westfall D, Rolland M, Mullins JI. Factors affecting relative fitness measurements in pairwise competition assays of human immunodeficiency viruses. J Virol Methods 2013; 194:7-13. [PMID: 23933395 DOI: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2013.07.062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2013] [Revised: 07/30/2013] [Accepted: 07/31/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Cell culture growth competition assays of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) are used to estimate viral fitness and quantify the impact of mutations conferring drug resistance and immunological escape. A comprehensive study of growth competition assays was conducted and identified experimental parameters that can impact measurements of relative fitness including multiplicity of infection, viral input ratio, number, timing and interval of time points used to evaluate selective outgrowth, and the algorithm for calculating fitness values. An optimized protocol is developed here that is a multi-point growth competition assay that resolves reproducibly small differences in viral fitness. The optimized protocol uses an MOI of 0.005, a consistent ratio of mutant: parental viruses (70:30), and a multipoint [1+s 4,7] algorithm that uses data points within the logarithmic phase of viral growth for assessing fitness differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erinn C Lanxon-Cookson
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98105-8070, United States
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Abstract
Genetic robustness, or fragility, is defined as the ability, or lack thereof, of a biological entity to maintain function in the face of mutations. Viruses that replicate via RNA intermediates exhibit high mutation rates, and robustness should be particularly advantageous to them. The capsid (CA) domain of the HIV-1 Gag protein is under strong pressure to conserve functional roles in viral assembly, maturation, uncoating, and nuclear import. However, CA is also under strong immunological pressure to diversify. Therefore, it would be particularly advantageous for CA to evolve genetic robustness. To measure the genetic robustness of HIV-1 CA, we generated a library of single amino acid substitution mutants, encompassing almost half the residues in CA. Strikingly, we found HIV-1 CA to be the most genetically fragile protein that has been analyzed using such an approach, with 70% of mutations yielding replication-defective viruses. Although CA participates in several steps in HIV-1 replication, analysis of conditionally (temperature sensitive) and constitutively non-viable mutants revealed that the biological basis for its genetic fragility was primarily the need to coordinate the accurate and efficient assembly of mature virions. All mutations that exist in naturally occurring HIV-1 subtype B populations at a frequency >3%, and were also present in the mutant library, had fitness levels that were >40% of WT. However, a substantial fraction of mutations with high fitness did not occur in natural populations, suggesting another form of selection pressure limiting variation in vivo. Additionally, known protective CTL epitopes occurred preferentially in domains of the HIV-1 CA that were even more genetically fragile than HIV-1 CA as a whole. The extreme genetic fragility of HIV-1 CA may be one reason why cell-mediated immune responses to Gag correlate with better prognosis in HIV-1 infection, and suggests that CA is a good target for therapy and vaccination strategies. The HIV-1 capsid protein (CA) is absolutely essential for viral replication and there is, therefore, intense evolutionary pressure for HIV-1 CA to conserve its functions. However, HIV-1 CA is also a key target of the host immune response, which should provide evolutionary pressure to diversify CA sequence. Genetic robustness, or fragility, is defined as the ability, or lack thereof, of a biological entity to preserve function in the face of sequence changes. Thus, it should be advantageous to HIV-1 CA to evolve genetic robustness. Here, we present the results of extensive, random mutagenesis of single amino acids in CA that reveal an extreme genetic fragility. Although CA participates in several steps in HIV-1 replication, the biological basis for its genetic fragility was primarily the need to participate in the efficient and proper assembly of mature virion particles. The extreme genetic fragility of HIV-1 CA may be one reason why immune responses to it correlate with better prognosis in HIV-1 infection, and suggests that CA is a good target for therapy and vaccination strategies.
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Manocheewa S, Swain JV, Lanxon-Cookson E, Rolland M, Mullins JI. Fitness costs of mutations at the HIV-1 capsid hexamerization interface. PLoS One 2013; 8:e66065. [PMID: 23785468 PMCID: PMC3681919 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0066065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2013] [Accepted: 05/03/2013] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The recently available x-ray crystal structure of HIV-1 capsid hexamers has provided insight into the molecular interactions crucial for the virus's mature capsid formation. Amino acid changes at these interaction points are likely to have a strong impact on capsid functionality and, hence, viral infectivity and replication fitness. To test this hypothesis, we introduced the most frequently observed single amino acid substitution at 30 sites: 12 at the capsid hexamerization interface and 18 at non-interface sites. Mutations at the interface sites were more likely to be lethal (Fisher's exact test p = 0.027) and had greater negative impact on viral replication fitness (Wilcoxon rank sum test p = 0.040). Among the interface mutations studied, those located in the cluster of hydrophobic contacts at NTD-NTD interface and those that disrupted NTD-CTD inter-domain helix capping hydrogen bonds were the most detrimental, indicating that these interactions are particularly important for maintaining capsid structure and/or function. These functionally constrained sites provide potential targets for novel HIV drug development and vaccine immunogen design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siriphan Manocheewa
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - J. Victor Swain
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Erinn Lanxon-Cookson
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Morgane Rolland
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - James I. Mullins
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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