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Gao Y, Barton JP. A binary trait model reveals the fitness effects of HIV-1 escape from T cell responses. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.03.583183. [PMID: 38464239 PMCID: PMC10925374 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.03.583183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
Natural selection often acts on multiple traits simultaneously. For example, the virus HIV-1 faces pressure to evade host immunity while also preserving replicative fitness. While past work has studied selection during HIV-1 evolution, as in other examples where selection acts on multiple traits, it is challenging to quantitatively separate different contributions to fitness. This task is made more difficult because a single mutation can affect both immune escape and replication. Here, we develop an evolutionary model that disentangles the effects of escaping CD8+T cell-mediated immunity, which we model as a binary trait, from other contributions to fitness. After validation in simulations, we applied this model to study within-host HIV-1 evolution in a clinical data set. We observed strong selection for immune escape, sometimes greatly exceeding past estimates, especially early in infection. Conservative estimates suggest that roughly half of HIV-1 fitness gains during the first months to years of infection can be attributed to T cell escape. Our approach is not limited to HIV-1 or viruses, and could be adapted to study the evolution of quantitative traits in other contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yirui Gao
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Riverside, USA
| | - John P. Barton
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Riverside, USA
- Department of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh, USA
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2
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Shimagaki KS, Lynch RM, Barton JP. Parallel HIV-1 evolutionary dynamics in humans and rhesus macaques who develop broadly neutralizing antibodies. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.07.12.603090. [PMID: 39071321 PMCID: PMC11275900 DOI: 10.1101/2024.07.12.603090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/30/2024]
Abstract
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 exhibits remarkable genetic diversity. For this reason, an effective HIV-1 vaccine must elicit antibodies that can neutralize many variants of the virus. While broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) have been isolated from HIV-1 infected individuals, a general understanding of the virus-antibody coevolutionary processes that lead to their development remains incomplete. We performed a quantitative study of HIV-1 evolution in two individuals who developed bnAbs. We observed strong selection early in infection for mutations affecting HIV-1 envelope glycosylation and escape from autologous strain-specific antibodies, followed by weaker selection for bnAb resistance later in infection. To confirm our findings, we analyzed data from rhesus macaques infected with viruses derived from the same two individuals. We inferred remarkably similar fitness effects of HIV-1 mutations in humans and macaques. Moreover, we observed a striking pattern of rapid HIV-1 evolution, consistent in both humans and macaques, that precedes the development of bnAbs. Our work highlights strong parallels between infection in rhesus macaques and humans, and it reveals a quantitative evolutionary signature of bnAb development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai S. Shimagaki
- Department of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh, USA
| | - Rebecca M. Lynch
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, USA
| | - John P. Barton
- Department of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh, USA
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3
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Viney M, Cheynel L. Gut immune responses and evolution of the gut microbiome-a hypothesis. DISCOVERY IMMUNOLOGY 2023; 2:kyad025. [PMID: 38567055 PMCID: PMC10917216 DOI: 10.1093/discim/kyad025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Revised: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
The gut microbiome is an assemblage of microbes that have profound effects on their hosts. The composition of the microbiome is affected by bottom-up, among-taxa interactions and by top-down, host effects, which includes the host immune response. While the high-level composition of the microbiome is generally stable over time, component strains and genotypes will constantly be evolving, with both bottom-up and top-down effects acting as selection pressures, driving microbial evolution. Secretory IgA is a major feature of the gut's adaptive immune response, and a substantial proportion of gut bacteria are coated with IgA, though the effect of this on bacteria is unclear. Here we hypothesize that IgA binding to gut bacteria is a selection pressure that will drive the evolution of IgA-bound bacteria, so that they will have a different evolutionary trajectory than those bacteria not bound by IgA. We know very little about the microbiome of wild animals and even less about their gut immune responses, but it must be a priority to investigate this hypothesis to understand if and how host immune responses contribute to microbiome evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Viney
- Department of Evolution, Ecology & Behaviour, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Louise Cheynel
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, ENTPE, UMR 5023 LEHNA, Villeurbanne, France
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4
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Reid MC, Mittler JE, Murphy JT, Stansfield SE, Goodreau SM, Abernethy N, Herbeck JT. Evolution of HIV virulence in response to disease-modifying vaccines: A modeling study. Vaccine 2023; 41:6461-6469. [PMID: 37714749 PMCID: PMC10721209 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.08.071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/17/2023]
Abstract
Pathogens face a tradeoff with respect to virulence; while more virulent strains often have higher per-contact transmission rates, they are also more likely to kill their hosts earlier. Because virulence is a heritable trait, there is concern that a disease-modifying vaccine, which reduces the disease severity of an infected vaccinee without changing the underlying pathogen genotype, may result in the evolution of higher pathogen virulence. We explored the potential for such virulence evolution with a disease-modifying HIV-1 vaccine in an agent-based stochastic epidemic model of HIV in United States men who have sex with men (MSM). In the model, vaccinated agents received no protection against infection, but experienced lower viral loads and slower disease progression. We compared the genotypic set point viral load (SPVL), a measure of HIV virulence, in populations given vaccines that varied in the degree of SPVL reduction they induce. Sensitivity analyses were conducted under varying vaccine coverage scenarios. With continual vaccination rollout under ideal circumstances of 90 % coverage over thirty years, the genotypic SPVL of vaccinated individuals evolved to become greater than the genotypic SPVL of unvaccinated individuals. This virulence evolution in turn diminished the public health benefit of the vaccine, and in some scenarios resulted in an accelerated epidemic. These findings demonstrate the complexity of viral evolution and have important implications for the design and development of HIV vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Molly C Reid
- Department of Epidemiology, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Magnuson Health Sciences Center, Room F-262, Seattle, WA 98195, United States.
| | - John E Mittler
- Department of Microbiology, 750 Republican St., Building F, Seattle, WA 98109, United States
| | - James T Murphy
- Washington State Department of Ecology, P.O. Box 47600, Olympia, WA 98504, United States
| | - Sarah E Stansfield
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Steven M Goodreau
- Department of Epidemiology, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Magnuson Health Sciences Center, Room F-262, Seattle, WA 98195, United States; Department of Anthropology, Box 353100, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, United States
| | - Neil Abernethy
- Department of Biomedical Informatics and Medical Education, University of Washington, Box 358047, Seattle, WA 98195, United States; Department of Health Systems and Population Health, 1959 NE Pacific St, Magnuson Health Sciences Center, Room H-680, Seattle, WA 98195-7660, United States
| | - Joshua T Herbeck
- Department of Global Health, Hans Rosling Center, 3980 15th Ave NE, UW Box #351620, Seattle, WA 98195, United States
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5
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Gupta S, Nerli S, Kutti Kandy S, Mersky GL, Sgourakis NG. HLA3DB: comprehensive annotation of peptide/HLA complexes enables blind structure prediction of T cell epitopes. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6349. [PMID: 37816745 PMCID: PMC10564892 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42163-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The class I proteins of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC-I) display epitopic peptides derived from endogenous proteins on the cell surface for immune surveillance. Accurate modeling of peptides bound to the human MHC, HLA, has been mired by conformational diversity of the central peptide residues, which are critical for recognition by T cell receptors. Here, analysis of X-ray crystal structures within our curated database (HLA3DB) shows that pHLA complexes encompassing multiple HLA allotypes present a discrete set of peptide backbone conformations. Leveraging these backbones, we employ a regression model trained on terms of a physically relevant energy function to develop a comparative modeling approach for nonamer pHLA structures named RepPred. Our method outperforms the top pHLA modeling approach by up to 19% in structural accuracy, and consistently predicts blind targets not included in our training set. Insights from our work may be applied towards predicting antigen immunogenicity, and receptor cross-reactivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sagar Gupta
- Center for Computational and Genomic Medicine, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- College of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Santrupti Nerli
- Center for Computational and Genomic Medicine, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Sreeja Kutti Kandy
- Center for Computational and Genomic Medicine, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Glenn L Mersky
- Center for Computational and Genomic Medicine, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Nikolaos G Sgourakis
- Center for Computational and Genomic Medicine, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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Gupta S, Nerli S, Kandy SK, Mersky GL, Sgourakis NG. HLA3DB: comprehensive annotation of peptide/HLA complexes enables blind structure prediction of T cell epitopes. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.03.20.533510. [PMID: 36993660 PMCID: PMC10055217 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.20.533510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/31/2023]
Abstract
The class I proteins of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC-I) display epitopic peptides derived from endogenous proteins on the cell surface for immune surveillance. Accurate modeling of peptide/HLA (pHLA, the human MHC) structures has been mired by conformational diversity of the central peptide residues, which are critical for recognition by T cell receptors. Here, analysis of X-ray crystal structures within a curated database (HLA3DB) shows that pHLA complexes encompassing multiple HLA allotypes present a discrete set of peptide backbone conformations. Leveraging these representative backbones, we employ a regression model trained on terms of a physically relevant energy function to develop a comparative modeling approach for nonamer peptide/HLA structures named RepPred. Our method outperforms the top pHLA modeling approach by up to 19% in terms of structural accuracy, and consistently predicts blind targets not included in our training set. Insights from our work provide a framework for linking conformational diversity with antigen immunogenicity and receptor cross-reactivity.
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7
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Li Y, Barton JP. Estimating linkage disequilibrium and selection from allele frequency trajectories. Genetics 2023; 223:iyac189. [PMID: 36610715 PMCID: PMC9991507 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyac189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Genetic sequences collected over time provide an exciting opportunity to study natural selection. In such studies, it is important to account for linkage disequilibrium to accurately measure selection and to distinguish between selection and other effects that can cause changes in allele frequencies, such as genetic hitchhiking or clonal interference. However, most high-throughput sequencing methods cannot directly measure linkage due to short-read lengths. Here we develop a simple method to estimate linkage disequilibrium from time-series allele frequencies. This reconstructed linkage information can then be combined with other inference methods to infer the fitness effects of individual mutations. Simulations show that our approach reliably outperforms inference that ignores linkage disequilibrium and, with sufficient sampling, performs similarly to inference using the true linkage information. We also introduce two regularization methods derived from random matrix theory that help to preserve its performance under limited sampling effects. Overall, our method enables the use of linkage-aware inference methods even for data sets where only allele frequency time series are available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunxiao Li
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
| | - John P Barton
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
- Department of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
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8
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Balasubramaniam M, Davids BO, Bryer A, Xu C, Thapa S, Shi J, Aiken C, Pandhare J, Perilla JR, Dash C. HIV-1 mutants that escape the cytotoxic T-lymphocytes are defective in viral DNA integration. PNAS NEXUS 2022; 1:pgac064. [PMID: 35719891 PMCID: PMC9198661 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
HIV-1 replication is durably controlled without antiretroviral therapy (ART) in certain infected individuals called elite controllers (ECs). These individuals express specific human leukocyte antigens (HLA) that tag HIV-infected cells for elimination by presenting viral epitopes to CD8+ cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL). In HIV-infected individuals expressing HLA-B27, CTLs primarily target the viral capsid protein (CA)-derived KK10 epitope. While selection of CA mutation R264K helps HIV-1 escape this potent CTL response, the accompanying fitness cost severely diminishes virus infectivity. Interestingly, selection of a compensatory CA mutation S173A restores HIV-1 replication. However, the molecular mechanism(s) underlying HIV-1 escape from this ART-free virus control by CTLs is not fully understood. Here, we report that the R264K mutation-associated infectivity defect arises primarily from impaired HIV-1 DNA integration, which is restored by the S173A mutation. Unexpectedly, the integration defect of the R264K variant was also restored upon depletion of the host cyclophilin A. These findings reveal a nuclear crosstalk between CA and HIV-1 integration as well as identify a previously unknown role of cyclophilin A in viral DNA integration. Finally, our study identifies a novel immune escape mechanism of an HIV-1 variant escaping a CA-directed CTL response.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Benem-Orom Davids
- The Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN - 37208, USA
| | - Alex Bryer
- Department of Chemistry, University of Delaware, Newark, DE - 19716, USA
| | - Chaoyi Xu
- Department of Chemistry, University of Delaware, Newark, DE - 19716, USA
| | - Santosh Thapa
- The Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN - 37208, USA
| | - Jiong Shi
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN - 37232, USA
| | - Christopher Aiken
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN - 37232, USA
| | - Jui Pandhare
- The Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN - 37208, USA
| | - Juan R Perilla
- Department of Chemistry, University of Delaware, Newark, DE - 19716, USA
| | - Chandravanu Dash
- The Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN - 37208, USA
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9
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Habermann D, Kharimzadeh H, Walker A, Li Y, Yang R, Kaiser R, Brumme ZL, Timm J, Roggendorf M, Hoffmann D. HAMdetector: A Bayesian regression model that integrates information to detect HLA-associated mutations. Bioinformatics 2022; 38:2428-2436. [PMID: 35238330 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btac134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2021] [Revised: 11/21/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION A key process in anti-viral adaptive immunity is that the Human Leukocyte Antigen system (HLA) presents epitopes as Major Histocompatibility Complex I (MHC I) protein-peptide complexes on cell surfaces and in this way alerts CD8+ cytotoxic T-Lymphocytes (CTLs). This pathway exerts strong selection pressure on viruses, favoring viral mutants that escape recognition by the HLA/CTL system. Naturally, such immune escape mutations often emerge in highly variable viruses, e.g. HIV or HBV, as HLA-associated mutations (HAMs), specific to the hosts MHC I proteins. The reliable identification of HAMs is not only important for understanding viral genomes and their evolution, but it also impacts the development of broadly effective anti-viral treatments and vaccines against variable viruses. By their very nature, HAMs are amenable to detection by statistical methods in paired sequence/HLA data. However, HLA alleles are very polymorphic in the human host population which makes the available data relatively sparse and noisy. Under these circumstances, one way to optimize HAM detection is to integrate all relevant information in a coherent model. Bayesian inference offers a principled approach to achieve this. RESULTS We present a new Bayesian regression model for the detection of HAMs that integrates a sparsity-inducing prior, epitope predictions, and phylogenetic bias assessment, and that yields easily interpretable quantitative information on HAM candidates. The model predicts experimentally confirmed HAMs as having high posterior probabilities, and it performs well in comparison to state-of-the-art models for several data sets from individuals infected with HBV, HDV, and HIV. AVAILABILITY The source code of this software is available at https://github.com/HAMdetector/Escape.jl under a permissive MIT license. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Habermann
- Bioinformatics and Computational Biophysics, Faculty of Biology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, 45117, Germany
| | - Hadi Kharimzadeh
- Division of Clinical Pharmacology, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Andreas Walker
- Institute of Virology, Medical Faculty, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf, 40225, Germany
| | - Yang Li
- AIDS and HIV Research Group, State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology,Chinese Academy of Science, Wuhan, P. R. China
| | - Rongge Yang
- AIDS and HIV Research Group, State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology,Chinese Academy of Science, Wuhan, P. R. China
| | - Rolf Kaiser
- Institute of Virology, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, 50935, Germany
| | - Zabrina L Brumme
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada.,British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Jörg Timm
- Institute of Virology, Medical Faculty, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf, 40225, Germany
| | - Michael Roggendorf
- Institute of Virology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich/Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany
| | - Daniel Hoffmann
- Bioinformatics and Computational Biophysics, Faculty of Biology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, 45117, Germany.,Center of Medical Biotechnology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.,Center for Computational Sciences and Simulation, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
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10
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Evolution during primary HIV infection does not require adaptive immune selection. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:2109172119. [PMID: 35145025 PMCID: PMC8851487 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2109172119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Modern HIV research depends crucially on both viral sequencing and population measurements. To directly link mechanistic biological processes and evolutionary dynamics during HIV infection, we developed multiple within-host phylodynamic models of HIV primary infection for comparative validation against viral load and evolutionary dynamics data. The optimal model of primary infection required no positive selection, suggesting that the host adaptive immune system reduces viral load but surprisingly does not drive observed viral evolution. Rather, the fitness (infectivity) of mutant variants is drawn from an exponential distribution in which most variants are slightly less infectious than their parents (nearly neutral evolution). This distribution was not largely different from either in vivo fitness distributions recorded beyond primary infection or in vitro distributions that are observed without adaptive immunity, suggesting the intrinsic viral fitness distribution may drive evolution. Simulated phylogenetic trees also agree with independent data and illuminate how phylogenetic inference must consider viral and immune-cell population dynamics to gain accurate mechanistic insights.
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11
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Adaptive Immune Responses, Immune Escape and Immune-Mediated Pathogenesis during HDV Infection. Viruses 2022; 14:v14020198. [PMID: 35215790 PMCID: PMC8880046 DOI: 10.3390/v14020198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Revised: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The hepatitis delta virus (HDV) is the smallest known human virus, yet it causes great harm to patients co-infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV). As a satellite virus of HBV, HDV requires the surface antigen of HBV (HBsAg) for sufficient viral packaging and spread. The special circumstance of co-infection, albeit only one partner depends on the other, raises many virological, immunological, and pathophysiological questions. In the last years, breakthroughs were made in understanding the adaptive immune response, in particular, virus-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, in self-limited versus persistent HBV/HDV co-infection. Indeed, the mechanisms of CD8+ T cell failure in persistent HBV/HDV co-infection include viral escape and T cell exhaustion, and mimic those in other persistent human viral infections, such as hepatitis C virus (HCV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and HBV mono-infection. However, compared to these larger viruses, the small HDV has perfectly adapted to evade recognition by CD8+ T cells restricted by common human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I alleles. Furthermore, accelerated progression towards liver cirrhosis in persistent HBV/HDV co-infection was attributed to an increased immune-mediated pathology, either caused by innate pathways initiated by the interferon (IFN) system or triggered by misguided and dysfunctional T cells. These new insights into HDV-specific adaptive immunity will be discussed in this review and put into context with known well-described aspects in HBV, HCV, and HIV infections.
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12
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Reduction of CD8 T cell functionality but not inhibitory capacity by integrase inhibitors. J Virol 2022; 96:e0173021. [PMID: 35019724 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01730-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Although HIV-specific CD8 T cells are effective in controlling HIV-infection, they fail to clear infection even in the presence of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and cure strategies such as "shock-and-kill". Little is known how ART is contributing to HIV-specific CD8 T cell function and the ability to clear HIV infection. Therefore, we first assessed the cytokine polyfunctionality and proliferation of CD8 T cells from ART-treated HIV+ individuals directly ex vivo and observed a decline in the multifunctional response as well as proliferation indices of these cells in individuals treated with integrase inhibitor (INSTI) based ART regimens compared to both protease inhibitor (PI) and non-nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) based regimens. We next co-cultured CD8 T cells with different drugs individually and were able to observe reduced functional properties with significantly decreased ability of CD8 T cells to express IFNγ, MIP1β and TNFα only after treatment with INSTI-based regimens. Furthermore, previously activated and INSTI-treated CD8 T cells demonstrated reduced capacity to express perforin and granzyme B compared to PI and NNRTI treated cells. Unexpectedly, CD8 T cells treated with dolutegravir showed a similar killing ability 7 dpi compared to emtricitabine or rilpivirine treated cells. We next used a live cell imaging assay to determine the migratory capacity of CD8 T cells. Only INSTI-treated cells showed less migratory activity after SDF-1α stimulation compared to NRTI regimens. Our data show that the choice of ART can have a significant impact on CD8 T cell effector functions, but the importance for potential eradication attempts is unknown. Importance Integrase Strand Transfer Inhibitors (INSTI) are recommended by national and international guidelines as a key component of ART in the treatment of HIV-infected patients. In particular, their efficacy, tolerability and low drug-drug interaction profile have made them to the preferred choice as part of the first-line regimen in treatment-naïve individuals. Here, we demonstrate that the choice of ART can have a significant impact on function and metabolism of CD8 T cells. In summary, our study provides first evidence on a significant, negative impact on CD8 T cell effector functions in the presence of two INSTIs, dolutegravir and elvitegravir, which may contribute to the limited success of eradicating HIV-infected cells through "shock-and-kill" strategies. Although our findings are coherent with recent studies highlighting a possible role of dolutegravir in weight gain, further investigations are necessary to fully understand the impact of INSTI-based regimens on the health of the individual during antiretroviral therapy.
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13
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Currenti J, Law BM, Qin K, John M, Pilkinton MA, Bansal A, Leary S, Ram R, Chopra A, Gangula R, Yue L, Warren C, Barnett L, Alves E, McDonnell WJ, Sooda A, Heath SL, Mallal S, Goepfert P, Kalams SA, Gaudieri S. Cross-Reactivity to Mutated Viral Immune Targets Can Influence CD8 + T Cell Functionality: An Alternative Viral Adaptation Strategy. Front Immunol 2021; 12:746986. [PMID: 34764960 PMCID: PMC8577586 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.746986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2021] [Accepted: 10/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Loss of T cell immunogenicity due to mutations in virally encoded epitopes is a well-described adaptation strategy to limit host anti-viral immunity. Another described, but less understood, adaptation strategy involves the selection of mutations within epitopes that retain immune recognition, suggesting a benefit for the virus despite continued immune pressure (termed non-classical adaptation). To understand this adaptation strategy, we utilized a single cell transcriptomic approach to identify features of the HIV-specific CD8+ T cell responses targeting non-adapted (NAE) and adapted (AE) forms of epitopes containing a non-classical adaptation. T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire and transcriptome were obtained from antigen-specific CD8+ T cells of chronic (n=7) and acute (n=4) HIV-infected subjects identified by either HLA class I tetramers or upregulation of activation markers following peptide stimulation. CD8+ T cells were predominantly dual tetramer+, confirming a large proportion of cross-reactive TCR clonotypes capable of recognizing the NAE and AE form. However, single-reactive CD8+ T cells were identified in acute HIV-infected subjects only, providing the potential for the selection of T cell clones over time. The transcriptomic profile of CD8+ T cells was dependent on the autologous virus: subjects whose virus encoded the NAE form of the epitope (and who transitioned to the AE form at a later timepoint) exhibited an 'effective' immune response, as indicated by expression of transcripts associated with polyfunctionality, cytotoxicity and apoptosis (largely driven by the genes GZMB, IFNɣ, CCL3, CCL4 and CCL5). These data suggest that viral adaptation at a single amino acid residue can provide an alternative strategy for viral survival by modulating the transcriptome of CD8+ T cells and potentially selecting for less effective T cell clones from the acute to chronic phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Currenti
- School of Human Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
| | - Becker M.P. Law
- School of Human Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
| | - Kai Qin
- Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States
| | - Mina John
- Institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, Australia
- Department of Clinical Immunology, Royal Perth Hospital, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Mark A. Pilkinton
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Anju Bansal
- Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States
| | - Shay Leary
- Institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, Australia
| | - Ramesh Ram
- Institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, Australia
| | - Abha Chopra
- Institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, Australia
| | - Rama Gangula
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Ling Yue
- Emory Vaccine Center at Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Christian Warren
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Louise Barnett
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Eric Alves
- School of Human Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
| | - Wyatt J. McDonnell
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Anuradha Sooda
- Institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, Australia
| | - Sonya L. Heath
- Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States
| | - Simon Mallal
- Institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, Australia
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Paul Goepfert
- Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States
| | - Spyros A. Kalams
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Silvana Gaudieri
- School of Human Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
- Institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, Australia
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States
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14
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Collins DR, Urbach JM, Racenet ZJ, Arshad U, Power KA, Newman RM, Mylvaganam GH, Ly NL, Lian X, Rull A, Rassadkina Y, Yanez AG, Peluso MJ, Deeks SG, Vidal F, Lichterfeld M, Yu XG, Gaiha GD, Allen TM, Walker BD. Functional impairment of HIV-specific CD8 + T cells precedes aborted spontaneous control of viremia. Immunity 2021; 54:2372-2384.e7. [PMID: 34496223 PMCID: PMC8516715 DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2021.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Spontaneous control of HIV infection has been repeatedly linked to antiviral CD8+ T cells but is not always permanent. To address mechanisms of durable and aborted control of viremia, we evaluated immunologic and virologic parameters longitudinally among 34 HIV-infected subjects with differential outcomes. Despite sustained recognition of autologous virus, HIV-specific proliferative and cytolytic T cell effector functions became selectively and intrinsically impaired prior to aborted control. Longitudinal transcriptomic profiling of functionally impaired HIV-specific CD8+ T cells revealed altered expression of genes related to activation, cytokine-mediated signaling, and cell cycle regulation, including increased expression of the antiproliferative transcription factor KLF2 but not of genes associated with canonical exhaustion. Lymphoid HIV-specific CD8+ T cells also exhibited poor functionality during aborted control relative to durable control. Our results identify selective functional impairment of HIV-specific CD8+ T cells as prognostic of impending aborted HIV control, with implications for clinical monitoring and immunotherapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- David R Collins
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, USA
| | | | | | - Umar Arshad
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Karen A Power
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Ruchi M Newman
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Geetha H Mylvaganam
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, USA
| | - Ngoc L Ly
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Xiaodong Lian
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA; Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Anna Rull
- Joan XXIII University Hospital, Pere Virgili Institute (IISPV), Rovira i Virgili University, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Yelizaveta Rassadkina
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA; Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Adrienne G Yanez
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, USA
| | - Michael J Peluso
- Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Steven G Deeks
- Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Francesc Vidal
- Joan XXIII University Hospital, Pere Virgili Institute (IISPV), Rovira i Virgili University, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Mathias Lichterfeld
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA; Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Xu G Yu
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA; Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Gaurav D Gaiha
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA; Division of Gastroenterology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Todd M Allen
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Bruce D Walker
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, USA; Institute for Medical Engineering and Sciences and Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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15
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Lewitus E, Sanders-Buell E, Bose M, O'Sullivan AM, Poltavee K, Li Y, Bai H, Mdluli T, Donofrio G, Slike B, Zhao H, Wong K, Chen L, Miller S, Lee J, Ahani B, Lepore S, Muhammad S, Grande R, Tran U, Dussupt V, Mendez-Rivera L, Nitayaphan S, Kaewkungwal J, Pitisuttithum P, Rerks-Ngarm S, O'Connell RJ, Janes H, Gilbert PB, Gramzinski R, Vasan S, Robb ML, Michael NL, Krebs SJ, Herbeck JT, Edlefsen PT, Mullins JI, Kim JH, Tovanabutra S, Rolland M. RV144 vaccine imprinting constrained HIV-1 evolution following breakthrough infection. Virus Evol 2021; 7:veab057. [PMID: 34532060 PMCID: PMC8438874 DOI: 10.1093/ve/veab057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2021] [Revised: 05/26/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The scale of the HIV-1 epidemic underscores the need for a vaccine. The multitude of circulating HIV-1 strains together with HIV-1’s high evolvability hints that HIV-1 could adapt to a future vaccine. Here, we wanted to investigate the effect of vaccination on the evolution of the virus post-breakthrough infection. We analyzed 2,635 HIV-1 env sequences sampled up to a year post-diagnosis from 110 vaccine and placebo participants who became infected in the RV144 vaccine efficacy trial. We showed that the Env signature sites that were previously identified to distinguish vaccine and placebo participants were maintained over time. In addition, fewer sites were under diversifying selection in the vaccine group than in the placebo group. These results indicate that HIV-1 would possibly adapt to a vaccine upon its roll-out.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Lewitus
- US Military HIV Research Program, WRAIR, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | | | - Meera Bose
- US Military HIV Research Program, WRAIR, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | | | - Kultida Poltavee
- US Military HIV Research Program, WRAIR, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Yifan Li
- US Military HIV Research Program, WRAIR, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Hongjun Bai
- US Military HIV Research Program, WRAIR, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Thembi Mdluli
- US Military HIV Research Program, WRAIR, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Gina Donofrio
- US Military HIV Research Program, WRAIR, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Bonnie Slike
- US Military HIV Research Program, WRAIR, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Hong Zhao
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Kim Wong
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Lennie Chen
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Shana Miller
- US Military HIV Research Program, WRAIR, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Jenica Lee
- US Military HIV Research Program, WRAIR, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Bahar Ahani
- US Military HIV Research Program, WRAIR, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Steven Lepore
- US Military HIV Research Program, WRAIR, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Sevan Muhammad
- US Military HIV Research Program, WRAIR, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Rebecca Grande
- US Military HIV Research Program, WRAIR, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Ursula Tran
- US Military HIV Research Program, WRAIR, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Vincent Dussupt
- US Military HIV Research Program, WRAIR, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | | | - Sorachai Nitayaphan
- US Army Medical Directorate of the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Jaranit Kaewkungwal
- US Army Medical Directorate of the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangkok, Thailand
| | | | | | - Robert J O'Connell
- US Army Medical Directorate of the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Holly Janes
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Peter B Gilbert
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Robert Gramzinski
- US Military HIV Research Program, WRAIR, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Sandhya Vasan
- US Military HIV Research Program, WRAIR, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Merlin L Robb
- US Military HIV Research Program, WRAIR, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Nelson L Michael
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, WRAIR, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Shelly J Krebs
- US Military HIV Research Program, WRAIR, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Joshua T Herbeck
- Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Paul T Edlefsen
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - James I Mullins
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Jerome H Kim
- US Military HIV Research Program, WRAIR, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | | | - Morgane Rolland
- US Military HIV Research Program, WRAIR, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
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16
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Zhang H, Deng S, Ren L, Zheng P, Hu X, Jin T, Tan X. Profiling CD8 + T cell epitopes of COVID-19 convalescents reveals reduced cellular immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 variants. Cell Rep 2021; 36:109708. [PMID: 34506741 PMCID: PMC8390359 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Revised: 07/28/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Cellular immunity is important in determining the disease severity of COVID-19 patients. However, current understanding of SARS-CoV-2 epitopes mediating cellular immunity is limited. Here we apply T-Scan, a recently developed method, to identify CD8+ T cell epitopes from COVID-19 patients of four major HLA-A alleles. Several identified epitopes are conserved across human coronaviruses, which might mediate pre-existing cellular immunity to SARS-CoV-2. In addition, we identify and validate four epitopes that were mutated in the newly circulating variants, including the Delta variant. The mutations significantly reduce T cell responses to the epitope peptides in convalescent and vaccinated samples. We further determine the crystal structure of HLA-A∗02:01/HLA-A∗24:02 in complex with the epitope KIA_S/NYN_S, respectively, which reveals the importance of K417 and L452 of the spike protein for binding to HLA. Our data suggest that evading cellular immunity might contribute to the increased transmissibility and disease severity associated with the new SARS-CoV-2 variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hang Zhang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, MOE Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry & Chemical Biology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Shasha Deng
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, CAS Key Laboratory of Innate Immunity and Chronic Disease, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China
| | - Liting Ren
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, MOE Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry & Chemical Biology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Peiyi Zheng
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, CAS Key Laboratory of Innate Immunity and Chronic Disease, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China
| | - Xiaowen Hu
- Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230001, China
| | - Tengchuan Jin
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, CAS Key Laboratory of Innate Immunity and Chronic Disease, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China; Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230001, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.
| | - Xu Tan
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, MOE Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry & Chemical Biology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Beijing 100084, China.
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17
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T cell immune discriminants of HIV reservoir size in a pediatric cohort of perinatally infected individuals. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009533. [PMID: 33901266 PMCID: PMC8112655 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2020] [Revised: 05/11/2021] [Accepted: 04/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The size of the latent HIV reservoir is associated with the timing of therapeutic interventions and overall health of the immune system. Here, we demonstrate that T cell phenotypic signatures associate with viral reservoir size in a cohort of HIV vertically infected children and young adults under durable viral control, and who initiated anti-retroviral therapy (ART) <2 years old. Flow cytometry was used to measure expression of immune activation (IA), immune checkpoint (ICP) markers, and intracellular cytokine production after stimulation with GAG peptides in CD4 and CD8 T cells from cross-sectional peripheral blood samples. We also evaluated the expression of 96 genes in sort-purified total CD4 and CD8 T cells along with HIV-specific CD4 and CD8 T cells using a multiplexed RT-PCR approach. As a measure of HIV reservoir, total HIV-DNA quantification by real-time PCR was performed. Poisson regression modeling for predicting reservoir size using phenotypic markers revealed a signature that featured frequencies of PD-1+CD4 T cells, TIGIT+CD4 T cells and HIV-specific (CD40L+) CD4 T cells as important predictors and it also shows that time of ART initiation strongly affects their association with HIV-DNA. Further, gene expression analysis showed that the frequencies of PD-1+CD4 T cells associated with a CD4 T cell molecular profile skewed toward an exhausted Th1 profile. Our data provide a link between immune checkpoint molecules and HIV persistence in a pediatric cohort as has been demonstrated in adults. Frequencies of PD-1+ and TIGIT+CD4 T cells along with the frequency of HIV-specific CD4 T cells could be associated with the mechanism of viral persistence and may provide insight into potential targets for therapeutic intervention. Low HIV reservoir size is associated with positive outcomes of therapeutic approaches and better immune function. Here, we identified a 9-marker T cell immune signature based on phenotypic flow cytometry data that associated with total HIV DNA measurements in a pediatric cohort of 34 perinatally infected participants with sustained viral control. Notably, frequencies of PD-1+ CD4 T cells and TIGIT+ CD4 T cells were positively correlated and HIV-specific (CD40L+) CD4 T cells were negatively correlated with HIV DNA, and were impacted by time of ART initiation. Gene expression analysis by multiplex RT-PCR showed that the frequencies of PD-1+ CD4 T cells associated with an exhausted Th1 molecular profile in CD4 T cells. This signature could inform future therapeutic studies and provide mechanistic insight on HIV persistence in perinatally infected HIV.
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18
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Aghabi YO, Yasin A, Kennedy JI, Davies SP, Butler AE, Stamataki Z. Targeting Enclysis in Liver Autoimmunity, Transplantation, Viral Infection and Cancer. Front Immunol 2021; 12:662134. [PMID: 33953725 PMCID: PMC8089374 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.662134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Persistent liver inflammation can lead to cirrhosis, which associates with significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. There are no curative treatments beyond transplantation, followed by long-term immunosuppression. The global burden of end stage liver disease has been increasing and there is a shortage of donor organs, therefore new therapies are desperately needed. Harnessing the power of the immune system has shown promise in certain autoimmunity and cancer settings. In the context of the liver, regulatory T cell (Treg) therapies are in development. The hypothesis is that these specialized lymphocytes that dampen inflammation may reduce liver injury in patients with chronic, progressive diseases, and promote transplant tolerance. Various strategies including intrinsic and extracorporeal expansion of Treg cells, aim to increase their abundance to suppress immune responses. We recently discovered that hepatocytes engulf and delete Treg cells by enclysis. Herein, we propose that inhibition of enclysis may potentiate existing regulatory T cell therapeutic approaches in patients with autoimmune liver diseases and in patients receiving a transplant. Moreover, in settings where the abundance of Treg cells could hinder beneficial immunity, such us in chronic viral infection or liver cancer, enhancement of enclysis could result in transient, localized reduction of Treg cell numbers and tip the balance towards antiviral and anti-tumor immunity. We describe enclysis as is a natural process of liver immune regulation that lends itself to therapeutic targeting, particularly in combination with current Treg cell approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Zania Stamataki
- College of Medical and Dental Sciences, Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
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19
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Hendricks CM, Cordeiro T, Gomes AP, Stevenson M. The Interplay of HIV-1 and Macrophages in Viral Persistence. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:646447. [PMID: 33897659 PMCID: PMC8058371 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.646447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
HIV-1 has evolved mechanisms to evade host cell immune responses and persist for lifelong infection. Latent cellular reservoirs are responsible for this persistence of HIV-1 despite the powerful effects of highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAART) to control circulating viral load. While cellular reservoirs have been extensively studied, much of these studies have focused on peripheral blood and resting memory CD4+ T cells containing latent HIV-1 provirus; however, efforts to eradicate cellular reservoirs have been stunted by reservoirs found in tissues compartments that are not easily accessible. These tissues contain resting memory CD4+ T cells and tissue resident macrophages, another latent cellular reservoir to HIV-1. Tissue resident macrophages have been associated with HIV-1 infection since the 1980s, and evidence has continued to grow regarding their role in HIV-1 persistence. Specific biological characteristics play a vital role as to why macrophages are latent cellular reservoirs for HIV-1, and in vitro and in vivo studies exhibit how macrophages contribute to viral persistence in individuals and animals on antiretroviral therapies. In this review, we characterize the role and evolutionary advantages of macrophage reservoirs to HIV-1 and their contribution to HIV-1 persistence. In acknowledging the interplay of HIV-1 and macrophages in the host, we identify reasons why current strategies are incapable of eliminating HIV-1 reservoirs and why efforts must focus on eradicating reservoirs to find a future functional cure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chynna M Hendricks
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Thaissa Cordeiro
- Department of Medicine, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Ana Paula Gomes
- Department of Medicine, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Mario Stevenson
- Department of Medicine, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States
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20
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Sohail MS, Louie RHY, McKay MR, Barton JP. MPL resolves genetic linkage in fitness inference from complex evolutionary histories. Nat Biotechnol 2021; 39:472-479. [PMID: 33257862 PMCID: PMC8044047 DOI: 10.1038/s41587-020-0737-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2019] [Accepted: 10/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Genetic linkage causes the fate of new mutations in a population to be contingent on the genetic background on which they appear. This makes it challenging to identify how individual mutations affect fitness. To overcome this challenge, we developed marginal path likelihood (MPL), a method to infer selection from evolutionary histories that resolves genetic linkage. Validation on real and simulated data sets shows that MPL is fast and accurate, outperforming existing inference approaches. We found that resolving linkage is crucial for accurately quantifying selection in complex evolving populations, which we demonstrate through a quantitative analysis of intrahost HIV-1 evolution using multiple patient data sets. Linkage effects generated by variants that sweep rapidly through the population are particularly strong, extending far across the genome. Taken together, our results argue for the importance of resolving linkage in studies of natural selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Saqib Sohail
- Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
| | - Raymond H Y Louie
- Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
- Institute for Advanced Study, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
- The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Matthew R McKay
- Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China.
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China.
| | - John P Barton
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
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21
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In chronic infection, HIV gag-specific CD4+ T cell receptor diversity is higher than CD8+ T cell receptor diversity and is associated with less HIV quasispecies diversity. J Virol 2021; 95:JVI.02380-20. [PMID: 33536169 PMCID: PMC8103689 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.02380-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Cellular immune responses to Gag correlate with improved HIV viral control. The full extent of cellular immune responses comprise both the number of epitopes recognized by CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, as well as the diversity of the T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire directed against each epitope. The optimal diversity of the responsive TCR repertoire is unclear. Therefore, we evaluated the TCR diversity of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells responding to HIV-1 Gag to determine if TCR diversity correlates with clinical or virologic metrics. Previous studies of TCR repertoires have been limited primarily to CD8+ T cell responses directed against a small number of well-characterized T cell epitopes restricted by specific human leucocyte antigens. We stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 21chronic HIV-infected individuals overnight with a pool of HIV-1 Gag peptides, followed by sorting of activated CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and TCR deep sequencing. We found Gag-reactive CD8+ T cells to be more oligoclonal, with a few dominant TCRs comprising the bulk of the repertoire, compared to the highly diverse TCR repertoires of Gag-reactive CD4+ T cells. HIV viral sequencing of the same donors revealed that high CD4+ T cell TCR diversity was strongly associated with lower HIV Gag genetic diversity. We conclude that the TCR repertoire of Gag-reactive CD4+ T helper cells display substantial diversity without a clearly dominant circulating TCR clonotype, in contrast to a hierarchy of dominant TCR clonotypes in the Gag-reactive CD8+ T cells, and may serve to limit HIV diversity during chronic infection.IMPORTANCE Human T cells recognize portions of viral proteins bound to host molecules (human leucocyte antigens) on the surface of infected cells. T cells recognize these foreign proteins through their T cell receptors (TCRs), which are formed by the assortment of several available V, D and J genes to create millions of combinations of unique TCRs. We measured the diversity of T cells responding to the HIV Gag protein. We found the CD8+ T cell response is primarily made up of a few dominant unique TCRs whereas the CD4+ T cell subset has a much more diverse repertoire of TCRs. We also found there was less change in the virus sequences in subjects with more diverse TCR repertoires. HIV has a high mutation rate, which allows it to evade the immune response. Our findings describe the characteristics of a virus-specific T cell response that may allow it to limit viral evolution.
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22
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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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23
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Netherby-Winslow CS, Ayers KN, Lukacher AE. Balancing Inflammation and Central Nervous System Homeostasis: T Cell Receptor Signaling in Antiviral Brain T RM Formation and Function. Front Immunol 2021; 11:624144. [PMID: 33584727 PMCID: PMC7873445 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.624144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Accepted: 12/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Tissue-resident memory (TRM) CD8 T cells provide early frontline defense against regional pathogen reencounter. CD8 TRM are predominantly parked in nonlymphoid tissues and do not circulate. In addition to this anatomic difference, TRM are transcriptionally and phenotypically distinct from central-memory T cells (TCM) and effector-memory T cells (TEM). Moreover, TRM differ phenotypically, functionally, and transcriptionally across barrier tissues (e.g., gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract, urogenital tract, and skin) and in non-barrier organs (e.g., brain, liver, kidney). In the brain, TRM are governed by a contextual milieu that balances TRM activation and preservation of essential post-mitotic neurons. Factors contributing to the development and maintenance of brain TRM, of which T cell receptor (TCR) signal strength and duration is a central determinant, vary depending on the infectious agent and modulation of TCR signaling by inhibitory markers that quell potentially pathogenic inflammation. This review will explore our current understanding of the context-dependent factors that drive the acquisition of brain (b)TRM phenotype and function, and discuss the contribution of TRM to promoting protective immune responses in situ while maintaining tissue homeostasis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Katelyn N Ayers
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, United States
| | - Aron E Lukacher
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, United States
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24
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Hakim JMC, Yang Z. Predicted Structural Variability of Mycobacterium tuberculosis PPE18 Protein With Immunological Implications Among Clinical Strains. Front Microbiol 2021; 11:595312. [PMID: 33488541 PMCID: PMC7819968 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.595312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2020] [Accepted: 11/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent advancements in vaccinology have led to the development of the M72/AS01E subunit vaccine, of which the major component is the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) PPE18 protein. Previous studies have demonstrated the genetic variability of the gene encoding PPE18 protein and the resulting peptide changes in diverse clinical strains of MTB; however, none have modeled the structural changes resulting from these peptide changes and their immunological implications. In this study, we investigated the structural predictions of 29 variant PPE18 proteins previously reported. We found evidence that PPE18 is at least a two-domain protein, with a highly conserved first domain and a largely variable second domain that has different coevolutionary clusters. Further, we investigated putative epitope sites in the clinical variants of PPE18 using prediction software. We found a negative relationship between T-cell epitope number and residue variability, while B-cell epitope likelihood was positively correlated with residue variability. Moreover, we found far more residues in the second domain predicted to be B-cell epitopes compared with the first domain. These results suggest an important functional role of the first domain and a role in immune evasion for the second, which extends our knowledge base of the basic biology of the PPE18 protein and indicates the need for further study into non-traditional immunological responses to TB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jill M C Hakim
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Zhenhua Yang
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
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25
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Akahoshi T, Gatanaga H, Kuse N, Chikata T, Koyanagi M, Ishizuka N, Brumme CJ, Murakoshi H, Brumme ZL, Oka S, Takiguchi M. T-cell responses to sequentially emerging viral escape mutants shape long-term HIV-1 population dynamics. PLoS Pathog 2020; 16:e1009177. [PMID: 33370400 PMCID: PMC7833229 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2020] [Revised: 01/25/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
HIV-1 strains harboring immune escape mutations can persist in circulation, but the impact of selection by multiple HLA alleles on population HIV-1 dynamics remains unclear. In Japan, HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase codon 135 (RT135) is under strong immune pressure by HLA-B*51:01-restricted and HLA-B*52:01-restricted T cells that target a key epitope in this region (TI8; spanning RT codons 128-135). Major population-level shifts have occurred at HIV-1 RT135 during the Japanese epidemic, which first affected hemophiliacs (via imported contaminated blood products) and subsequently non-hemophiliacs (via domestic transmission). Specifically, threonine accumulated at RT135 (RT135T) in hemophiliac and non-hemophiliac HLA-B*51:01+ individuals diagnosed before 1997, but since then RT135T has markedly declined while RT135L has increased among non-hemophiliac individuals. We demonstrated that RT135V selection by HLA-B*52:01-restricted TI8-specific T-cells led to the creation of a new HLA-C*12:02-restricted epitope TN9-8V. We further showed that TN9-8V-specific HLA-C*12:02-restricted T cells selected RT135L while TN9-8T-specific HLA-C*12:02-restricted T cells suppressed replication of the RT135T variant. Thus, population-level accumulation of the RT135L mutation over time in Japan can be explained by initial targeting of the TI8 epitope by HLA-B*52:01-restricted T-cells, followed by targeting of the resulting escape mutant by HLA-C*12:02-restricted T-cells. We further demonstrate that this phenomenon is particular to Japan, where the HLA-B*52:01-C*12:02 haplotype is common: RT135L did not accumulate over a 15-year longitudinal analysis of HIV sequences in British Columbia, Canada, where this haplotype is rare. Together, our observations reveal that T-cell responses to sequentially emerging viral escape mutants can shape long-term HIV-1 population dynamics in a host population-specific manner.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hiroyuki Gatanaga
- Division of International Collaboration Research, Joint Research Center for Human Retrovirus Infection, Kumamoto University, Tokyo, Japan
- AIDS Clinical Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Nozomi Kuse
- Center for AIDS Research, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
- Division of International Collaboration Research, Joint Research Center for Human Retrovirus Infection, Kumamoto University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Takayuki Chikata
- Center for AIDS Research, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
- Division of International Collaboration Research, Joint Research Center for Human Retrovirus Infection, Kumamoto University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Madoka Koyanagi
- Center for AIDS Research, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
| | | | - Chanson J. Brumme
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, Canada
- Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Hayato Murakoshi
- Center for AIDS Research, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
- Division of International Collaboration Research, Joint Research Center for Human Retrovirus Infection, Kumamoto University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Zabrina L. Brumme
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, Canada
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
| | - Shinichi Oka
- Division of International Collaboration Research, Joint Research Center for Human Retrovirus Infection, Kumamoto University, Tokyo, Japan
- AIDS Clinical Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masafumi Takiguchi
- Center for AIDS Research, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
- Division of International Collaboration Research, Joint Research Center for Human Retrovirus Infection, Kumamoto University, Tokyo, Japan
- * E-mail:
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26
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Warren JA, Zhou S, Xu Y, Moeser MJ, MacMillan DR, Council O, Kirchherr J, Sung JM, Roan NR, Adimora AA, Joseph S, Kuruc JD, Gay CL, Margolis DM, Archin N, Brumme ZL, Swanstrom R, Goonetilleke N. The HIV-1 latent reservoir is largely sensitive to circulating T cells. eLife 2020; 9:57246. [PMID: 33021198 PMCID: PMC7593086 DOI: 10.7554/elife.57246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2020] [Accepted: 09/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
HIV-1-specific CD8+ T cells are an important component of HIV-1 curative strategies. Viral variants in the HIV-1 reservoir may limit the capacity of T cells to detect and clear virus-infected cells. We investigated the patterns of T cell escape variants in the replication-competent reservoir of 25 persons living with HIV-1 (PLWH) durably suppressed on antiretroviral therapy (ART). We identified all reactive T cell epitopes in the HIV-1 proteome for each participant and sequenced HIV-1 outgrowth viruses from resting CD4+ T cells. All non-synonymous mutations in reactive T cell epitopes were tested for their effect on the size of the T cell response, with a≥50% loss defined as an escape mutation. The majority (68%) of T cell epitopes harbored no detectable escape mutations. These findings suggest that circulating T cells in PLWH on ART could contribute to control of rebound and could be targeted for boosting in curative strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna A Warren
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States
| | - Shuntai Zhou
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States.,UNC Center For AIDS Research, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States
| | - Yinyan Xu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States
| | - Matthew J Moeser
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States.,UNC Center For AIDS Research, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States
| | | | - Olivia Council
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States.,Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States
| | - Jennifer Kirchherr
- Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States
| | - Julia M Sung
- Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States.,UNC HIV Cure Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States
| | - Nadia R Roan
- Department of Urology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, United States.,Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology, San Francisco, United States
| | - Adaora A Adimora
- Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States
| | - Sarah Joseph
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States.,UNC HIV Cure Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States
| | - JoAnn D Kuruc
- Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States.,UNC HIV Cure Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States
| | - Cynthia L Gay
- Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States.,UNC HIV Cure Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States
| | - David M Margolis
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States.,UNC Center For AIDS Research, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States.,Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States.,UNC HIV Cure Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States
| | - Nancie Archin
- Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States.,UNC HIV Cure Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States
| | - Zabrina L Brumme
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, Canada.,Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
| | - Ronald Swanstrom
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States.,Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States.,UNC Center For AIDS Research, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States.,UNC HIV Cure Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States
| | - Nilu Goonetilleke
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States.,Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States.,UNC HIV Cure Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States
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27
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Gibson KM, Steiner MC, Rentia U, Bendall ML, Pérez-Losada M, Crandall KA. Validation of Variant Assembly Using HAPHPIPE with Next-Generation Sequence Data from Viruses. Viruses 2020; 12:E758. [PMID: 32674515 PMCID: PMC7412389 DOI: 10.3390/v12070758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Revised: 07/03/2020] [Accepted: 07/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Next-generation sequencing (NGS) offers a powerful opportunity to identify low-abundance, intra-host viral sequence variants, yet the focus of many bioinformatic tools on consensus sequence construction has precluded a thorough analysis of intra-host diversity. To take full advantage of the resolution of NGS data, we developed HAplotype PHylodynamics PIPEline (HAPHPIPE), an open-source tool for the de novo and reference-based assembly of viral NGS data, with both consensus sequence assembly and a focus on the quantification of intra-host variation through haplotype reconstruction. We validate and compare the consensus sequence assembly methods of HAPHPIPE to those of two alternative software packages, HyDRA and Geneious, using simulated HIV and empirical HIV, HCV, and SARS-CoV-2 datasets. Our validation methods included read mapping, genetic distance, and genetic diversity metrics. In simulated NGS data, HAPHPIPE generated pol consensus sequences significantly closer to the true consensus sequence than those produced by HyDRA and Geneious and performed comparably to Geneious for HIV gp120 sequences. Furthermore, using empirical data from multiple viruses, we demonstrate that HAPHPIPE can analyze larger sequence datasets due to its greater computational speed. Therefore, we contend that HAPHPIPE provides a more user-friendly platform for users with and without bioinformatics experience to implement current best practices for viral NGS assembly than other currently available options.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keylie M. Gibson
- Computational Biology Institute, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA; (M.C.S.); (U.R.); (M.L.B.); (M.P.-L.); (K.A.C.)
| | - Margaret C. Steiner
- Computational Biology Institute, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA; (M.C.S.); (U.R.); (M.L.B.); (M.P.-L.); (K.A.C.)
| | - Uzma Rentia
- Computational Biology Institute, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA; (M.C.S.); (U.R.); (M.L.B.); (M.P.-L.); (K.A.C.)
| | - Matthew L. Bendall
- Computational Biology Institute, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA; (M.C.S.); (U.R.); (M.L.B.); (M.P.-L.); (K.A.C.)
| | - Marcos Pérez-Losada
- Computational Biology Institute, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA; (M.C.S.); (U.R.); (M.L.B.); (M.P.-L.); (K.A.C.)
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
- CIBIO-InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, 4169-007 Vairão, Portugal
| | - Keith A. Crandall
- Computational Biology Institute, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA; (M.C.S.); (U.R.); (M.L.B.); (M.P.-L.); (K.A.C.)
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
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28
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Ahmed SF, Quadeer AA, Morales-Jimenez D, McKay MR. Sub-dominant principal components inform new vaccine targets for HIV Gag. Bioinformatics 2020; 35:3884-3889. [PMID: 31250884 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btz524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2018] [Revised: 06/18/2019] [Accepted: 06/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION Patterns of mutational correlations, learnt from patient-derived sequences of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) proteins, are informative of biochemically linked networks of interacting sites that may enable viral escape from the host immune system. Accurate identification of these networks is important for rationally designing vaccines which can effectively block immune escape pathways. Previous computational methods have partly identified such networks by examining the principal components (PCs) of the mutational correlation matrix of HIV Gag proteins. However, driven by a conservative approach, these methods analyze the few dominant (strongest) PCs, potentially missing information embedded within the sub-dominant (relatively weaker) ones that may be important for vaccine design. RESULTS By using sequence data for HIV Gag, complemented by model-based simulations, we revealed that certain networks of interacting sites that appear important for vaccine design purposes are not accurately reflected by the dominant PCs. Rather, these networks are encoded jointly by both dominant and sub-dominant PCs. By incorporating information from the sub-dominant PCs, we identified a network of interacting sites of HIV Gag that associated very strongly with viral control. Based on this network, we propose several new candidates for a potent T-cell-based HIV vaccine. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION Accession numbers of all sequences used and the source code scripts for all analysis and figures reported in this work are available online at https://github.com/faraz107/HIV-Gag-Immunogens. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
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Affiliation(s)
- Syed Faraz Ahmed
- Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
| | - Ahmed A Quadeer
- Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
| | - David Morales-Jimenez
- Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - Matthew R McKay
- Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China.,Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
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29
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Xu Y, Trumble IM, Warren JA, Clutton G, Abad-Fernandez M, Kirchnerr J, Adimora AA, Deeks SG, Margolis DM, Kuruc JD, Gay CL, Archin NM, Mollan KR, Hudgens M, Goonetilleke N. HIV-Specific T Cell Responses Are Highly Stable on Antiretroviral Therapy. Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev 2019; 15:9-17. [PMID: 31534983 PMCID: PMC6745511 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtm.2019.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2019] [Accepted: 07/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
HIV infection induces a robust T cell response that is sustained by high viremia, but falls following the onset of antiretroviral therapy (ART). Relatively little has been reported on the subsequent stability of the HIV-specific T cell response in individuals on durable therapy. Such data are critical for powering clinical trials testing T cell-based immunotherapies. In a cross-sectional study, HIV-specific T cell responses were detectable by ex vivo interferon (IFN)-γ ELISpot (average ∼1,100 spot-forming units [SFUs]/106 peripheral blood mononuclear cells) in persons living with HIV (PLWH; n = 34), despite median durable ART suppression of 5.0 years. No substantial association was detected between the summed HIV-specific T cell response and the size of the replication-competent HIV reservoir. T cell responses were next measured in participants sampled weekly, monthly, or yearly. HIV-specific T cell responses were highly stable over the time periods examined; within-individual variation ranged from 16% coefficient of variation (CV) for weekly to 27% CV for yearly sampling. These data were used to generate power calculations for future immunotherapy studies. The stability of the HIV-specific T cell response in suppressed PLWH will enable powered studies of small sizes (e.g., n = 6-12), facilitating rapid and iterative testing for T cell-based immunotherapies against HIV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinyan Xu
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Ilana M. Trumble
- Department of Biostatistics, UNC Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27516, USA
| | - Joanna A. Warren
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Genevieve Clutton
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Maria Abad-Fernandez
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Jennifer Kirchnerr
- School of Medicine and UNC HIV Cure Center, UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Adaora A. Adimora
- School of Medicine and UNC HIV Cure Center, UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Steven G. Deeks
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - David M. Margolis
- School of Medicine and UNC HIV Cure Center, UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - JoAnn D. Kuruc
- School of Medicine and UNC HIV Cure Center, UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Cynthia L. Gay
- School of Medicine and UNC HIV Cure Center, UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Nancie M. Archin
- School of Medicine and UNC HIV Cure Center, UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Katie R. Mollan
- Department of Epidemiology, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
- Lineberger Comprehensive Care Center, UNC Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Michael Hudgens
- Department of Biostatistics, UNC Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27516, USA
| | - Nilu Goonetilleke
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
- School of Medicine and UNC HIV Cure Center, UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
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30
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Boppana S, Sterrett S, Files J, Qin K, Fiore-Gartland A, Cohen KW, De Rosa SC, Bansal A, Goepfert PA. HLA-I Associated Adaptation Dampens CD8 T-Cell Responses in HIV Ad5-Vectored Vaccine Recipients. J Infect Dis 2019; 220:1620-1628. [PMID: 31301135 PMCID: PMC6782105 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiz368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2019] [Accepted: 07/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
HLA-I-associated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) adaptation is known to negatively affect disease progression and CD8 T-cell responses. We aimed to assess how HLA-I-associated adaptation affects HIV vaccine-induced CD8 T-cell responses in 2 past vaccine efficacy trials. We found that vaccine-encoded adapted epitopes were less immunogenic than vaccine-encoded nonadapted epitopes, and adapted epitope-specific responses were less polyfunctional than nonadapted epitope-specific responses. Along those lines, vaccine recipients with higher HLA-I adaptation to the Gag vaccine insert mounted less polyfunctional CD8 T-cell responses at the protein level. Breadth of response, which correlated with viral control in recipients who became infected, is also dampened by HLA-I adaptation. These findings suggest that HLA-I-associated adaptation is an important consideration for strategies aiming to induce robust CD8 T-cell responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sushma Boppana
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham
| | - Sarah Sterrett
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham
| | - Jacob Files
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham
| | - Kai Qin
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham
| | - Andrew Fiore-Gartland
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington
| | - Kristen W Cohen
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington
| | - Stephen C De Rosa
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington
| | - Anju Bansal
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham
| | - Paul A Goepfert
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham
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31
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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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32
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Huang SH, McCann CD, Mota TM, Wang C, Lipkin SM, Jones RB. Have Cells Harboring the HIV Reservoir Been Immunoedited? Front Immunol 2019; 10:1842. [PMID: 31447850 PMCID: PMC6691121 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.01842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2019] [Accepted: 07/22/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Immunoediting is an important concept in oncology, delineating the mechanisms through which tumors are selected for resistance to immune-mediated elimination. The recent emergence of immunotherapies, such as checkpoint inhibitors, as pillars of cancer therapy has intensified interest in immunoediting as a constraint limiting the efficacy of these approaches. Immunoediting manifests at a number of levels for different cancers, for example through the establishment of immunosuppressive microenvironments within solid tumors. Of particular interest to the current review, selection also occurs at the cellular level; and recent studies have revealed novel mechanisms by which tumor cells acquire intrinsic resistance to immune recognition and elimination. While the selection of escape mutations in viral epitopes by HIV-specific T cells, which is a hallmark of chronic HIV infection, can be considered a form of immunoediting, few studies have considered the possibility that HIV-infected cells themselves may parallel tumors in having differential intrinsic susceptibilities to immune-mediated elimination. Such selection, on the level of an infected cell, may not play a significant role in untreated HIV, where infection is propagated by high levels of cell-free virus produced by cells that quickly succumb to viral cytopathicity. However, it may play an unappreciated role in individuals treated with effective antiretroviral therapy where viral replication is abrogated. In this context, an "HIV reservoir" persists, comprising long-lived infected cells which undergo extensive and dynamic clonal expansion. The ability of these cells to persist in infected individuals has generally been attributed to viral latency, thought to render them invisible to immune recognition, and/or to their compartmentalization in anatomical sites that are poorly accessible to immune effectors. Recent data from ex vivo studies have led us to propose that reservoir-harboring cells may additionally have been selected for intrinsic resistance to CD8+ T cells, limiting their elimination even in the context of antigen expression. Here, we draw on knowledge from tumor immunoediting to discuss potential mechanisms by which clones of HIV reservoir-harboring cells may resist elimination by CD8+ T cells. The establishment of such parallels may provide a premise for testing therapeutics designed to sensitize tumor cells to immune-mediated elimination as novel approaches aimed at curing HIV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Szu-Han Huang
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States
| | - Chase D. McCann
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States
- Program in Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York, NY, United States
| | - Talia M. Mota
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States
| | - Chao Wang
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States
| | - Steven M. Lipkin
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States
| | - R. Brad Jones
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States
- Program in Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York, NY, United States
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Balasubramaniam M, Pandhare J, Dash C. Immune Control of HIV. JOURNAL OF LIFE SCIENCES (WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CALIF.) 2019; 1:4-37. [PMID: 31468033 PMCID: PMC6714987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection of the immune cells expressing the cluster of differentiation 4 cell surface glycoprotein (CD4+ cells) causes progressive decline of the immune system and leads to the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The ongoing global HIV/AIDS pandemic has already claimed over 35 million lives. Even after 37 years into the epidemic, neither a cure is available for the 37 million people living with HIV (PLHIV) nor is a vaccine discovered to avert the millions of new HIV infections that continue to occur each year. If left untreated, HIV infection typically progresses to AIDS and, ultimately, causes death in a majority of PLHIV. The recommended combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) suppresses virus replication and viremia, prevents or delays progression to AIDS, reduces transmission rates, and lowers HIV-associated mortality and morbidity. However, because cART does not eliminate HIV, and an enduring pool of infected resting memory CD4+ T cells (latent HIV reservoir) is established early on, any interruption to cART leads to a relapse of viremia and disease progression. Hence, strict adherence to a life-long cART regimen is mandatory for managing HIV infection in PLHIV. The HIV-1-specific cytotoxic T cells expressing the CD8 glycoprotein (CD8+ CTL) limit the virus replication in vivo by recognizing the viral antigens presented by human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules on the infected cell surface and killing those cells. Nevertheless, CTLs fail to durably control HIV-1 replication and disease progression in the absence of cART. Intriguingly, <1% of cART-naive HIV-infected individuals called elite controllers/HIV controllers (HCs) exhibit the core features that define a HIV-1 "functional cure" outcome in the absence of cART: durable viral suppression to below the limit of detection, long-term non-progression to AIDS, and absence of viral transmission. Robust HIV-1-specific CTL responses and prevalence of protective HLA alleles associated with enduring HIV-1 control have been linked to the HC phenotype. An understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the CTL-mediated suppression of HIV-1 replication and disease progression in HCs carrying specific protective HLA alleles may yield promising insights towards advancing the research on HIV cure and prophylactic HIV vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muthukumar Balasubramaniam
- Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN – 37208. USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Cancer Biology, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN – 37208. USA
| | - Jui Pandhare
- Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN – 37208. USA
- School of Graduate Studies and Research, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN – 37208. USA
| | - Chandravanu Dash
- Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN – 37208. USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Cancer Biology, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN – 37208. USA
- School of Graduate Studies and Research, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN – 37208. USA
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Lai A, Simonetti FR, Brindicci G, Bergna A, Di Giambenedetto S, Sterrantino G, Mussini C, Menzo S, Bagnarelli P, Zazzi M, Angarano G, Galli M, Monno L, Balotta C. Local Epidemics Gone Viral: Evolution and Diffusion of the Italian HIV-1 Recombinant Form CRF60_BC. Front Microbiol 2019; 10:769. [PMID: 31031735 PMCID: PMC6474184 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.00769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2018] [Accepted: 03/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 in Italy is becoming increasingly complex, mainly due to the spread of non-B subtypes and the emergence of new recombinant forms. We previously characterized the outbreak of the first Italian circulating recombinant form (CRF60_BC), occurring among young MSM living in Apulia between the years 2009 and 2011. Here we show a 5-year follow-up surveillance to trace the evolution of CRF60_BC and to investigate its further spread in Italy. We collected additional sequences and clinical data from patients harboring CRF60_BC, enrolled at the Infectious Diseases Clinic of the University of Bari. In addition to the 24 previously identified sequences, we retrieved 27 CRF60_BC sequences from patients residing in Apulia, whose epidemiological and clinical features did not differ from those of the initial outbreak, i.e., the Italian origin, young age at HIV diagnosis (median: 24 years; range: 18–37), MSM risk factor (23/25, 92%) and recent infection (from 2008 to 2017). Sequence analysis revealed a growing overall nucleotide diversity, with few nucleotide changes that were fixed over time. Twenty-seven additional sequences were detected across Italy, spanning multiple distant regions. Using a BLAST search, we also identified a CRF60_BC sequence isolated in United Kingdom in 2013. Three patients harbored a unique second generation recombinant form in which CRF60_BC was one of the parental strains. Our data show that CRF60_BC gained epidemic importance, spreading among young MSM in multiple Italian regions and increasing its population size in few years, as the number of sequences identified so far has triplicated since our first report. The observed further divergence of CRF60_BC is likely due to evolutionary bottlenecks and host adaptation during transmission chains. Of note, we detected three second-generation recombinants, further supporting a widespread circulation of CRF60_BC and the increasing complexity of the HIV-1 epidemic in Italy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessia Lai
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences L. Sacco, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Gaetano Brindicci
- Clinic of Infectious Diseases, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Annalisa Bergna
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences L. Sacco, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Gaetana Sterrantino
- Division of Tropical and Infectious Diseases, Careggi Hospital, Florence, Italy
| | - Cristina Mussini
- Clinic of Infectious Diseases, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Stefano Menzo
- Unit of Virology, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria 'Ospedali Riuniti', Torrette, Italy
| | - Patrizia Bagnarelli
- Unit of Virology, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria 'Ospedali Riuniti', Torrette, Italy
| | - Maurizio Zazzi
- Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | | | - Massimo Galli
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences L. Sacco, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Laura Monno
- Clinic of Infectious Diseases, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Claudia Balotta
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences L. Sacco, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
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High polymorphism rates in well-known T cell epitopes restricted by protective HLA alleles during HIV infection are associated with rapid disease progression in early-infected MSM in China. Med Microbiol Immunol 2019; 208:239-251. [PMID: 30848362 DOI: 10.1007/s00430-019-00585-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2018] [Accepted: 02/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
T cell epitopes restricted by several protective HLA alleles, such as B*57, B*5801, B*27, B*51 and B*13, have been very well defined over the past two decades. We investigated 32 well-known T cell epitopes restricted by protective HLA molecules among 54 Chinese men who have sex with men (MSM) at the early stage of HIV-1 infection. Subjects in our cohort carrying protective HLA types did not exhibit slow CD4 T cell count decline (P = 0.489) or low viral load set points (P = 0.500). Variations occurred in 96.88% (31/32) of the known wild-type epitopes (rate 1.85-100%), and the variation rates of the strains of two CRF01_AE lineages were significantly higher than those of non-CRF01_AE strains (76.82% vs. 48.96%, P = 0.004; 71.27% vs. 8.96%, P = 0.025). Subjects infected with CRF01_AE exhibited relatively rapid disease progression (P = 0.035). Therefore, the lack of wild-type protective T cell epitopes restricted by classic protective HLA alleles in CRF01_AE HIV-1 strains may be one of the reasons why rapid disease progression is observed in Chinese MSM with HIV-1 infection.
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Spector C, Mele AR, Wigdahl B, Nonnemacher MR. Genetic variation and function of the HIV-1 Tat protein. Med Microbiol Immunol 2019; 208:131-169. [PMID: 30834965 DOI: 10.1007/s00430-019-00583-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2018] [Accepted: 02/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) encodes a transactivator of transcription (Tat) protein, which has several functions that promote viral replication, pathogenesis, and disease. Amino acid variation within Tat has been observed to alter the functional properties of Tat and, depending on the HIV-1 subtype, may produce Tat phenotypes differing from viruses' representative of each subtype and commonly used in in vivo and in vitro experimentation. The molecular properties of Tat allow for distinctive functional activities to be determined such as the subcellular localization and other intracellular and extracellular functional aspects of this important viral protein influenced by variation within the Tat sequence. Once Tat has been transported into the nucleus and becomes engaged in transactivation of the long terminal repeat (LTR), various Tat variants may differ in their capacity to activate viral transcription. Post-translational modification patterns based on these amino acid variations may alter interactions between Tat and host factors, which may positively or negatively affect this process. In addition, the ability of HIV-1 to utilize or not utilize the transactivation response (TAR) element within the LTR, based on genetic variation and cellular phenotype, adds a layer of complexity to the processes that govern Tat-mediated proviral DNA-driven transcription and replication. In contrast, cytoplasmic or extracellular localization of Tat may cause pathogenic effects in the form of altered cell activation, apoptosis, or neurotoxicity. Tat variants have been shown to differentially induce these processes, which may have implications for long-term HIV-1-infected patient care in the antiretroviral therapy era. Future studies concerning genetic variation of Tat with respect to function should focus on variants derived from HIV-1-infected individuals to efficiently guide Tat-targeted therapies and elucidate mechanisms of pathogenesis within the global patient population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cassandra Spector
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Drexel University College of Medicine, 245 N 15th St, Philadelphia, PA, 19102, USA
- Center for Molecular Virology and Translational Neuroscience, Institute for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Disease, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Anthony R Mele
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Drexel University College of Medicine, 245 N 15th St, Philadelphia, PA, 19102, USA
- Center for Molecular Virology and Translational Neuroscience, Institute for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Disease, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Brian Wigdahl
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Drexel University College of Medicine, 245 N 15th St, Philadelphia, PA, 19102, USA
- Center for Molecular Virology and Translational Neuroscience, Institute for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Disease, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Michael R Nonnemacher
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Drexel University College of Medicine, 245 N 15th St, Philadelphia, PA, 19102, USA.
- Center for Molecular Virology and Translational Neuroscience, Institute for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Disease, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
- Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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Martins MA, Gonzalez-Nieto L, Shin YC, Domingues A, Gutman MJ, Maxwell HS, Magnani DM, Ricciardi MJ, Pedreño-Lopez N, Bailey VK, Altman JD, Parks CL, Allison DB, Ejima K, Rakasz EG, Capuano S, Desrosiers RC, Lifson JD, Watkins DI. The Frequency of Vaccine-Induced T-Cell Responses Does Not Predict the Rate of Acquisition after Repeated Intrarectal SIVmac239 Challenges in Mamu-B*08+ Rhesus Macaques. J Virol 2019; 93:e01626-18. [PMID: 30541854 PMCID: PMC6384082 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01626-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2018] [Accepted: 12/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Approximately 50% of rhesus macaques (RMs) expressing the major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) allele Mamu-B*08 spontaneously control chronic-phase viremia after infection with the pathogenic simian immunodeficiency virus mac239 (SIVmac239) clone. CD8+ T-cell responses in these animals are focused on immunodominant Mamu-B*08-restricted SIV epitopes in Vif and Nef, and prophylactic vaccination with these epitopes increases the incidence of elite control in SIVmac239-infected Mamu-B*08-positive (Mamu-B*08+ ) RMs. Here we evaluated if robust vaccine-elicited CD8+ T-cell responses against Vif and Nef can prevent systemic infection in Mamu-B*08+ RMs following mucosal SIV challenges. Ten Mamu-B*08+ RMs were vaccinated with a heterologous prime/boost/boost regimen encoding Vif and Nef, while six sham-vaccinated MHC-I-matched RMs served as the controls for this experiment. Vaccine-induced CD8+ T cells against Mamu-B*08-restricted SIV epitopes reached high frequencies in blood but were present at lower levels in lymph node and gut biopsy specimens. Following repeated intrarectal challenges with SIVmac239, all control RMs became infected by the sixth SIV exposure. By comparison, four vaccinees were still uninfected after six challenges, and three of them remained aviremic after 3 or 4 additional challenges. The rate of SIV acquisition in the vaccinees was numerically lower (albeit not statistically significantly) than that in the controls. However, peak viremia was significantly reduced in infected vaccinees compared to control animals. We found no T-cell markers that distinguished vaccinees that acquired SIV infection from those that did not. Additional studies will be needed to validate these findings and determine if cellular immunity can be harnessed to prevent the establishment of productive immunodeficiency virus infection.IMPORTANCE It is generally accepted that the antiviral effects of vaccine-induced classical CD8+ T-cell responses against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are limited to partial reductions in viremia after the establishment of productive infection. Here we show that rhesus macaques (RMs) vaccinated with Vif and Nef acquired simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection at a lower (albeit not statistically significant) rate than control RMs following repeated intrarectal challenges with a pathogenic SIV clone. All animals in the present experiment expressed the elite control-associated major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) molecule Mamu-B*08 that binds immunodominant epitopes in Vif and Nef. Though preliminary, these results provide tantalizing evidence that the protective efficacy of vaccine-elicited CD8+ T cells may be greater than previously thought. Future studies should examine if vaccine-induced cellular immunity can prevent systemic viral replication in RMs that do not express MHC-I alleles associated with elite control of SIV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Young C Shin
- Department of Pathology, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Aline Domingues
- Department of Pathology, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Martin J Gutman
- Department of Pathology, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Helen S Maxwell
- Department of Pathology, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Diogo M Magnani
- Department of Pathology, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
| | | | | | - Varian K Bailey
- Department of Pathology, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - John D Altman
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Christopher L Parks
- International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, AIDS Vaccine Design and Development Laboratory, Brooklyn, New York, USA
| | - David B Allison
- School of Public Health, Indiana University-Bloomington, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
| | - Keisuke Ejima
- School of Public Health, Indiana University-Bloomington, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
| | - Eva G Rakasz
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Saverio Capuano
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | | | - Jeffrey D Lifson
- AIDS and Cancer Virus Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - David I Watkins
- Department of Pathology, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
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38
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Abdel-Hakeem MS. Viruses Teaching Immunology: Role of LCMV Model and Human Viral Infections in Immunological Discoveries. Viruses 2019; 11:E106. [PMID: 30691215 PMCID: PMC6410308 DOI: 10.3390/v11020106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2019] [Revised: 01/24/2019] [Accepted: 01/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Virology has played an essential role in deciphering many immunological phenomena, thus shaping our current understanding of the immune system. Animal models of viral infection and human viral infections were both important tools for immunological discoveries. This review discusses two immunological breakthroughs originally identified with the help of the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) model; immunological restriction by major histocompatibility complex and immunotherapy using checkpoint blockade. In addition, we discuss related discoveries such as development of tetramers, viral escape mutation, and the phenomenon of T-cell exhaustion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed S Abdel-Hakeem
- Penn Institute for Immunology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Kasr El-Aini, Cairo 11562, Egypt.
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39
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Lunar MM, Židovec Lepej S, Poljak M. Sequence ambiguity determined from routine pol sequencing is a reliable tool for real-time surveillance of HIV incidence trends. INFECTION GENETICS AND EVOLUTION 2019; 69:146-152. [PMID: 30682549 DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2019.01.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2018] [Revised: 01/09/2019] [Accepted: 01/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Identifying individuals recently infected with HIV has been of great significance for close monitoring of HIV epidemic dynamics. Low HIV sequence ambiguity (SA) has been described as a promising marker of recent infection in previous studies. This study explores the utility of SA defined as a proportion of ambiguous nucleotides detected in baseline pol sequences as a tool for routine real-time surveillance of HIV incidence trends at a national level. A total of 353 partial HIV-1 pol sequences obtained from persons diagnosed with HIV infection in Slovenia from 2000 to 2012 were studied, and SA was reported as a percentage of ambiguous base calls. Patients were characterized as recently infected by examining anti-HIV serological patterns and/or using commercial HIV-1 incidence assays (BED and/or LAg-Avidity assay). A mean SA of 0.29%, 0.14%, and 0.19% was observed for infections classified as recent by BED, LAg, or anti-HIV serological results, respectively. Welch's t-test showed a significant difference in the SA of recent versus long-standing infections (p < 0.001). CD4+ T-cell counts ≤250 cells/mm3 significantly correlated with higher SA (p < 0.001), whereas the homo/bisexual transmission route significantly correlated with lower SA (p = 0.005). When the LAg-assay was used as an indicator of recent infection, a receiver operating characteristic curve with the largest area under the curve (0.896) was observed for SA (sensitivity and specificity of 79%), indicating the best correlation of the data. A reliable estimation of the trends of HIV incident infection could be inferred from measuring SA irrespective of the cutoff used; however, in Slovenia it seems that lower cutoffs are more appropriate. Our data suggest that SA could be used as a real-time surveillance tool for close monitoring of HIV incidence trends, especially in countries where baseline HIV resistance genotyping is performed routinely, rendering this approach cost-effective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maja M Lunar
- Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Zaloška 4, Ljubljana 1105, Slovenia
| | - Snježana Židovec Lepej
- Dr. Fran Mihaljevič University Hospital for Infectious Diseases, Mirogojska 8, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
| | - Mario Poljak
- Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Zaloška 4, Ljubljana 1105, Slovenia.
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40
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Borzooee F, Joris KD, Grant MD, Larijani M. APOBEC3G Regulation of the Evolutionary Race Between Adaptive Immunity and Viral Immune Escape Is Deeply Imprinted in the HIV Genome. Front Immunol 2019; 9:3032. [PMID: 30687306 PMCID: PMC6338068 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.03032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2018] [Accepted: 12/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
APOBEC3G (A3G) is a host enzyme that mutates the genomes of retroviruses like HIV. Since A3G is expressed pre-infection, it has classically been considered an agent of innate immunity. We and others previously showed that the impact of A3G-induced mutations on the HIV genome extends to adaptive immunity also, by generating cytotoxic T cell (CTL) escape mutations. Accordingly, HIV genomic sequences encoding CTL epitopes often contain A3G-mutable “hotspot” sequence motifs, presumably to channel A3G action toward CTL escape. Here, we studied the depths and consequences of this apparent viral genome co-evolution with A3G. We identified all potential CTL epitopes in Gag, Pol, Env, and Nef restricted to several HLA class I alleles. We simulated A3G-induced mutations within CTL epitope-encoding sequences, and flanking regions. From the immune recognition perspective, we analyzed how A3G-driven mutations are predicted to impact CTL-epitope generation through modulating proteasomal processing and HLA class I binding. We found that A3G mutations were most often predicted to result in diminishing/abolishing HLA-binding affinity of peptide epitopes. From the viral genome evolution perspective, we evaluated enrichment of A3G hotspots at sequences encoding CTL epitopes and included control sequences in which the HIV genome was randomly shuffled. We found that sequences encoding immunogenic epitopes exhibited a selective enrichment of A3G hotspots, which were strongly biased to translate to non-synonymous amino acid substitutions. When superimposed on the known mutational gradient across the entire length of the HIV genome, we observed a gradient of A3G hotspot enrichment, and an HLA-specific pattern of the potential of A3G hotspots to lead to CTL escape mutations. These data illuminate the depths and extent of the co-evolution of the viral genome to subvert the host mutator A3G.
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Affiliation(s)
- Faezeh Borzooee
- Immunology and Infectious Diseases Program, Division of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, Canada
| | - Krista D Joris
- Immunology and Infectious Diseases Program, Division of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, Canada
| | - Michael D Grant
- Immunology and Infectious Diseases Program, Division of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, Canada
| | - Mani Larijani
- Immunology and Infectious Diseases Program, Division of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, Canada
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41
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Alteri C, Fabeni L, Scutari R, Berno G, Di Carlo D, Gori C, Bertoli A, Vergori A, Mastrorosa I, Bellagamba R, Mussini C, Colafigli M, Montella F, Pennica A, Mastroianni CM, Girardi E, Andreoni M, Antinori A, Svicher V, Ceccherini-Silberstein F, Perno CF, Santoro MM. Genetic divergence of HIV-1 B subtype in Italy over the years 2003-2016 and impact on CTL escape prevalence. Sci Rep 2018; 8:15739. [PMID: 30356083 PMCID: PMC6200748 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-34058-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2018] [Accepted: 10/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
HIV-1 is characterized by high genetic variability, with implications for spread, and immune-escape selection. Here, the genetic modification of HIV-1 B subtype over time was evaluated on 3,328 pol and 1,152 V3 sequences belonging to B subtype and collected from individuals diagnosed in Italy between 2003 and 2016. Sequences were analyzed for genetic-distance from consensus-B (Tajima-Nei), non-synonymous and synonymous rates (dN and dS), CTL escapes, and intra-host evolution over four time-spans (2003–2006, 2007–2009, 2010–2012, 2013–2016). Genetic-distance increased over time for both pol and V3 sequences (P < 0.0001 and 0.0003). Similar results were obtained for dN and dS. Entropy-value significantly increased at 16 pol and two V3 amino acid positions. Seven of them were CTL escape positions (protease: 71; reverse-transcriptase: 35, 162, 177, 202, 207, 211). Sequences with ≥3 CTL escapes increased from 36.1% in 2003–2006 to 54.0% in 2013–2016 (P < 0.0001), and showed better intra-host adaptation than those containing ≤2 CTL escapes (intra-host evolution: 3.0 × 10−3 [2.9 × 10−3–3.1 × 10−3] vs. 4.3 × 10−3 [4.0 × 10−3–5.0 × 10−3], P[LRT] < 0.0001[21.09]). These data provide evidence of still ongoing modifications, involving CTL escape mutations, in circulating HIV-1 B subtype in Italy. These modifications might affect the process of HIV-1 adaptation to the host, as suggested by the slow intra-host evolution characterizing viruses with a high number of CTL escapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Alteri
- Department of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, 00133, Italy.
| | - Lavinia Fabeni
- Department of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, 00133, Italy
| | - Rossana Scutari
- Department of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, 00133, Italy
| | - Giulia Berno
- National Institute for Infectious Diseases L. Spallanzani, IRCCS, Rome, 00161, Italy
| | - Domenico Di Carlo
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences "L. Sacco", University of Milan, Pediatric Clinical Research Center "Romeo and Enrica Invernizzi", Milan, 20133, Italy
| | - Caterina Gori
- National Institute for Infectious Diseases L. Spallanzani, IRCCS, Rome, 00161, Italy
| | - Ada Bertoli
- Department of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, 00133, Italy
| | - Alessandra Vergori
- National Institute for Infectious Diseases L. Spallanzani, IRCCS, Rome, 00161, Italy
| | - Ilaria Mastrorosa
- National Institute for Infectious Diseases L. Spallanzani, IRCCS, Rome, 00161, Italy
| | - Rita Bellagamba
- National Institute for Infectious Diseases L. Spallanzani, IRCCS, Rome, 00161, Italy
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Enrico Girardi
- National Institute for Infectious Diseases L. Spallanzani, IRCCS, Rome, 00161, Italy
| | | | - Andrea Antinori
- National Institute for Infectious Diseases L. Spallanzani, IRCCS, Rome, 00161, Italy
| | - Valentina Svicher
- Department of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, 00133, Italy
| | | | - Carlo Federico Perno
- National Institute for Infectious Diseases L. Spallanzani, IRCCS, Rome, 00161, Italy.,Department of Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, 20122, Italy
| | - Maria Mercedes Santoro
- Department of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, 00133, Italy
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Snell LM, MacLeod BL, Law JC, Osokine I, Elsaesser HJ, Hezaveh K, Dickson RJ, Gavin MA, Guidos CJ, McGaha TL, Brooks DG. CD8 + T Cell Priming in Established Chronic Viral Infection Preferentially Directs Differentiation of Memory-like Cells for Sustained Immunity. Immunity 2018; 49:678-694.e5. [PMID: 30314757 DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2018.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2017] [Revised: 06/13/2018] [Accepted: 08/01/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
CD8+ T cell exhaustion impedes control of chronic viral infection; yet how new T cell responses are mounted during chronic infection is unclear. Unlike T cells primed at the onset of infection that rapidly differentiate into effectors and exhaust, we demonstrate that virus-specific CD8+ T cells primed after establishment of chronic LCMV infection preferentially generate memory-like transcription factor TCF1+ cells that were transcriptionally and proteomically distinct, less exhausted, and more responsive to immunotherapy. Mechanistically, adaptations of antigen-presenting cells and diminished T cell signaling intensity promoted differentiation of the memory-like subset at the expense of rapid effector cell differentiation, which was now highly dependent on IL-21-mediated CD4+ T cell help for its functional generation. Chronic viral infection similarly redirected de novo differentiation of tumor-specific CD8+ T cells, ultimately preventing cancer control. Thus, targeting these T cell stimulatory pathways could enable strategies to control chronic infection, tumors, and enhance immunotherapeutic efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura M Snell
- Princess Margaret Cancer Center, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, M5G 2M9 Canada
| | - Bethany L MacLeod
- Princess Margaret Cancer Center, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, M5G 2M9 Canada
| | - Jaclyn C Law
- Princess Margaret Cancer Center, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, M5G 2M9 Canada; Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8 Canada
| | - Ivan Osokine
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095 USA
| | - Heidi J Elsaesser
- Princess Margaret Cancer Center, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, M5G 2M9 Canada
| | - Kebria Hezaveh
- Princess Margaret Cancer Center, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, M5G 2M9 Canada
| | - Russell J Dickson
- Princess Margaret Cancer Center, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, M5G 2M9 Canada
| | - Marc A Gavin
- Translational Research Program, Benaroya Research Institute, Seattle, WA, 98101 USA
| | - Cynthia J Guidos
- Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8 Canada; Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4 Canada
| | - Tracy L McGaha
- Princess Margaret Cancer Center, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, M5G 2M9 Canada; Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8 Canada
| | - David G Brooks
- Princess Margaret Cancer Center, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, M5G 2M9 Canada; Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8 Canada.
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43
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Hill AL, Rosenbloom DIS, Nowak MA, Siliciano RF. Insight into treatment of HIV infection from viral dynamics models. Immunol Rev 2018; 285:9-25. [PMID: 30129208 PMCID: PMC6155466 DOI: 10.1111/imr.12698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
The odds of living a long and healthy life with HIV infection have dramatically improved with the advent of combination antiretroviral therapy. Along with the early development and clinical trials of these drugs, and new field of research emerged called viral dynamics, which uses mathematical models to interpret and predict the time-course of viral levels during infection and how they are altered by treatment. In this review, we summarize the contributions that virus dynamics models have made to understanding the pathophysiology of infection and to designing effective therapies. This includes studies of the multiphasic decay of viral load when antiretroviral therapy is given, the evolution of drug resistance, the long-term persistence latently infected cells, and the rebound of viremia when drugs are stopped. We additionally discuss new work applying viral dynamics models to new classes of investigational treatment for HIV, including latency-reversing agents and immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison L. Hill
- Program for Evolutionary DynamicsHarvard UniversityCambridgeMassachusetts
| | - Daniel I. S. Rosenbloom
- Department of PharmacokineticsPharmacodynamics, & Drug MetabolismMerck Research LaboratoriesKenilworthNew Jersey
| | - Martin A. Nowak
- Program for Evolutionary DynamicsHarvard UniversityCambridgeMassachusetts
| | - Robert F. Siliciano
- Department of MedicineJohns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMaryland
- Howard Hughes Medical InstituteBaltimoreMaryland
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44
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To accelerate the Zika beat: Candidate design for RNA interference-based therapy. Virus Res 2018; 255:133-140. [DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2018.07.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2018] [Revised: 06/11/2018] [Accepted: 07/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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45
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Theys K, Feder AF, Gelbart M, Hartl M, Stern A, Pennings PS. Within-patient mutation frequencies reveal fitness costs of CpG dinucleotides and drastic amino acid changes in HIV. PLoS Genet 2018; 14:e1007420. [PMID: 29953449 PMCID: PMC6023119 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1007420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2018] [Accepted: 04/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
HIV has a high mutation rate, which contributes to its ability to evolve quickly. However, we know little about the fitness costs of individual HIV mutations in vivo, their distribution and the different factors shaping the viral fitness landscape. We calculated the mean frequency of transition mutations at 870 sites of the pol gene in 160 patients, allowing us to determine the cost of these mutations. As expected, we found high costs for non-synonymous and nonsense mutations as compared to synonymous mutations. In addition, we found that non-synonymous mutations that lead to drastic amino acid changes are twice as costly as those that do not and mutations that create new CpG dinucleotides are also twice as costly as those that do not. We also found that G→A and C→T mutations are more costly than A→G mutations. We anticipate that our new in vivo frequency-based approach will provide insights into the fitness landscape and evolvability of not only HIV, but a variety of microbes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristof Theys
- Clinical and Epidemiological Virology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Rega Institute for Medical Research, KU Leuven, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Alison F. Feder
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Maoz Gelbart
- School of Molecular Cell Biology and Biotechnology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Marion Hartl
- Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Adi Stern
- School of Molecular Cell Biology and Biotechnology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Pleuni S. Pennings
- Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, United States of America
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46
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Maintenance of AP-2-Dependent Functional Activities of Nef Restricts Pathways of Immune Escape from CD8 T Lymphocyte Responses. J Virol 2018; 92:JVI.01822-17. [PMID: 29237831 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01822-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2017] [Accepted: 12/02/2017] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Nef-specific CD8+ T lymphocytes (CD8TL) are linked to extraordinary control of primate lentiviral replication, but the mechanisms underlying their efficacy remain largely unknown. The immunodominant, Mamu-B*017:01+-restricted Nef195-203MW9 epitope in SIVmac239 partially overlaps a sorting motif important for interactions with host AP-2 proteins and, hence, downmodulation of several host proteins, including Tetherin (CD317/BST-2), CD28, CD4, SERINC3, and SERINC5. We reasoned that CD8TL-driven evolution in this epitope might compromise Nef's ability to modulate these important molecules. Here, we used deep sequencing of SIV from nine B*017:01+ macaques throughout infection with SIVmac239 to characterize the patterns of viral escape in this epitope and then assayed the impacts of these variants on Nef-mediated modulation of multiple host molecules. Acute variation in multiple Nef195-203MW9 residues significantly compromised Nef's ability to downregulate surface Tetherin, CD4, and CD28 and reduced its ability to prevent SERINC5-mediated reduction in viral infectivity but did not impact downregulation of CD3 or major histocompatibility complex class I, suggesting the selective disruption of immunomodulatory pathways involving Nef AP-2 interactions. Together, our data illuminate a pattern of viral escape dictated by a selective balance to maintain AP-2-mediated downregulation while evading epitope-specific CD8TL responses. These data could shed light on mechanisms of both CD8TL-driven viral control generally and on Mamu-B*017:01-mediated viral control specifically.IMPORTANCE A rare subset of humans infected with HIV-1 and macaques infected with SIV can control the virus without aid of antiviral medications. A common feature of these individuals is the ability to mount unusually effective CD8 T lymphocyte responses against the virus. One of the most formidable aspects of HIV is its ability to evolve to evade immune responses, particularly CD8 T lymphocytes. We show that macaques that target a specific peptide in the SIV Nef protein are capable of better control of the virus and that, as the virus evolves to escape this response, it does so at a cost to specific functions performed by the Nef protein. Our results help show how the virus can be controlled by an immune response, which could help in designing effective vaccines.
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Louie RHY, Kaczorowski KJ, Barton JP, Chakraborty AK, McKay MR. Fitness landscape of the human immunodeficiency virus envelope protein that is targeted by antibodies. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:E564-E573. [PMID: 29311326 PMCID: PMC5789945 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1717765115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
HIV is a highly mutable virus, and over 30 years after its discovery, a vaccine or cure is still not available. The isolation of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) from HIV-infected patients has led to renewed hope for a prophylactic vaccine capable of combating the scourge of HIV. A major challenge is the design of immunogens and vaccination protocols that can elicit bnAbs that target regions of the virus's spike proteins where the likelihood of mutational escape is low due to the high fitness cost of mutations. Related challenges include the choice of combinations of bnAbs for therapy. An accurate representation of viral fitness as a function of its protein sequences (a fitness landscape), with explicit accounting of the effects of coupling between mutations, could help address these challenges. We describe a computational approach that has allowed us to infer a fitness landscape for gp160, the HIV polyprotein that comprises the viral spike that is targeted by antibodies. We validate the inferred landscape through comparisons with experimental fitness measurements, and various other metrics. We show that an effective antibody that prevents immune escape must selectively bind to high escape cost residues that are surrounded by those where mutations incur a low fitness cost, motivating future applications of our landscape for immunogen design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raymond H Y Louie
- Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong
- Institute for Advanced Study, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Kevin J Kaczorowski
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
- Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
| | - John P Barton
- Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
- Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
- Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139
| | - Arup K Chakraborty
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139;
- Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
- Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
- Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
| | - Matthew R McKay
- Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong;
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong
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Weaker HLA Footprints on HIV in the Unique and Highly Genetically Admixed Host Population of Mexico. J Virol 2018; 92:JVI.01128-17. [PMID: 29093100 PMCID: PMC5752930 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01128-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2017] [Accepted: 10/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
HIV circumvents HLA class I-restricted CD8+ T-cell responses through selection of escape mutations that leave characteristic mutational “footprints,” also known as HLA-associated polymorphisms (HAPs), on HIV sequences at the population level. While many HLA footprints are universal across HIV subtypes and human populations, others can be region specific as a result of the unique immunogenetic background of each host population. Using a published probabilistic phylogenetically informed model, we compared HAPs in HIV Gag and Pol (PR-RT) in 1,612 subtype B-infected, antiretroviral treatment-naive individuals from Mexico and 1,641 individuals from Canada/United States. A total of 252 HLA class I allele subtypes were represented, including 140 observed in both cohorts, 67 unique to Mexico, and 45 unique to Canada/United States. At the predefined statistical threshold of a q value of <0.2, 358 HAPs (201 in Gag, 157 in PR-RT) were identified in Mexico, while 905 (534 in Gag and 371 in PR-RT) were identified in Canada/United States. HAPs identified in Mexico included both canonical HLA-associated escape pathways and novel associations, in particular with HLA alleles enriched in Amerindian and mestizo populations. Remarkably, HLA footprints on HIV in Mexico were not only fewer but also, on average, significantly weaker than those in Canada/United States, although some exceptions were noted. Moreover, exploratory analyses suggested that the weaker HLA footprint on HIV in Mexico may be due, at least in part, to weaker and/or less reproducible HLA-mediated immune pressures on HIV in this population. The implications of these differences for natural and vaccine-induced anti-HIV immunity merit further investigation. IMPORTANCE HLA footprints on HIV identify viral regions under intense and consistent pressure by HLA-restricted immune responses and the common mutational pathways that HIV uses to evade them. In particular, HLA footprints can identify novel immunogenic regions and/or epitopes targeted by understudied HLA alleles; moreover, comparative analyses across immunogenetically distinct populations can illuminate the extent to which HIV immunogenic regions and escape pathways are shared versus population-specific pathways, information which can in turn inform the design of universal or geographically tailored HIV vaccines. We compared HLA-associated footprints on HIV in two immunogenetically distinct North American populations, those of Mexico and Canada/United States. We identify both shared and population-specific pathways of HIV adaptation but also make the surprising observation that HLA footprints on HIV in Mexico overall are fewer and weaker than those in Canada/United States, raising the possibility that HLA-restricted antiviral immune responses in Mexico are weaker, and/or escape pathways somewhat less consistent, than those in other populations.
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50
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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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