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Pressley KR, Schwegman L, Montes De Oca Arena M, Chase Huizar C, Zamvil SS, Forsthuber TG. HLA-transgenic mouse models to study autoimmune central nervous system diseases. Autoimmunity 2024; 57:2387414. [PMID: 39167553 DOI: 10.1080/08916934.2024.2387414] [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: 03/31/2024] [Revised: 07/20/2024] [Accepted: 07/27/2024] [Indexed: 08/23/2024]
Abstract
It is known that certain human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes are associated with autoimmune central nervous system (CNS) diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), but their exact role in disease susceptibility and etiopathogenesis remains unclear. The best studied HLA-associated autoimmune CNS disease is MS, and thus will be the primary focus of this review. Other HLA-associated autoimmune CNS diseases, such as autoimmune encephalitis and neuromyelitis optica will be discussed. The lack of animal models to accurately capture the complex human autoimmune response remains a major challenge. HLA transgenic (tg) mice provide researchers with powerful tools to investigate the underlying mechanisms promoting susceptibility and progression of HLA-associated autoimmune CNS diseases, as well as for elucidating the myelin epitopes potentially targeted by T cells in autoimmune disease patients. We will discuss the potential role(s) of autoimmune disease-associated HLA alleles in autoimmune CNS diseases and highlight information provided by studies using HLA tg mice to investigate the underlying pathological mechanisms and opportunities to use these models for development of novel therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle R Pressley
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Lance Schwegman
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Maria Montes De Oca Arena
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, University of Texas Health at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Carol Chase Huizar
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Scott S Zamvil
- Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Program in Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Thomas G Forsthuber
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
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2
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Marrer-Berger E, Nicastri A, Augustin A, Kramar V, Liao H, Hanisch LJ, Carpy A, Weinzierl T, Durr E, Schaub N, Nudischer R, Ortiz-Franyuti D, Breous-Nystrom E, Stucki J, Hobi N, Raggi G, Cabon L, Lezan E, Umaña P, Woodhouse I, Bujotzek A, Klein C, Ternette N. The physiological interactome of TCR-like antibody therapeutics in human tissues. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3271. [PMID: 38627373 PMCID: PMC11021511 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47062-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Selective binding of TCR-like antibodies that target a single tumour-specific peptide antigen presented by human leukocyte antigens (HLA) is the absolute prerequisite for their therapeutic suitability and patient safety. To date, selectivity assessment has been limited to peptide library screening and predictive modeling. We developed an experimental platform to de novo identify interactomes of TCR-like antibodies directly in human tissues using mass spectrometry. As proof of concept, we confirm the target epitope of a MAGE-A4-specific TCR-like antibody. We further determine cross-reactive peptide sequences for ESK1, a TCR-like antibody with known off-target activity, in human liver tissue. We confirm off-target-induced T cell activation and ESK1-mediated liver spheroid killing. Off-target sequences feature an amino acid motif that allows a structural groove-coordination mimicking that of the target peptide, therefore allowing the interaction with the engager molecule. We conclude that our strategy offers an accurate, scalable route for evaluating the non-clinical safety profile of TCR-like antibody therapeutics prior to first-in-human clinical application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Estelle Marrer-Berger
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, 4070, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Annalisa Nicastri
- The Jenner Institute, Old Road Campus Research Building, Oxford, OX37DQ, UK
- Centre for Immuno-Oncology, Old Road Campus Research Building, Oxford, OX37DQ, UK
| | - Angelique Augustin
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, 4070, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Vesna Kramar
- Roche Innovation Center Zürich, 8952, Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - Hanqing Liao
- The Jenner Institute, Old Road Campus Research Building, Oxford, OX37DQ, UK
- Centre for Immuno-Oncology, Old Road Campus Research Building, Oxford, OX37DQ, UK
| | | | - Alejandro Carpy
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Munich, 82377, Penzberg, Germany
| | - Tina Weinzierl
- Roche Innovation Center Zürich, 8952, Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - Evelyne Durr
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, 4070, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Nathalie Schaub
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, 4070, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Ramona Nudischer
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, 4070, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Daniela Ortiz-Franyuti
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, 4070, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Ekaterina Breous-Nystrom
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, 4070, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Janick Stucki
- Alveolix AG, Swiss Organs-on-Chip Innovation, 3010, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Nina Hobi
- Alveolix AG, Swiss Organs-on-Chip Innovation, 3010, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Giulia Raggi
- Alveolix AG, Swiss Organs-on-Chip Innovation, 3010, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Lauriane Cabon
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, 4070, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Emmanuelle Lezan
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, 4070, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Pablo Umaña
- Roche Innovation Center Zürich, 8952, Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - Isaac Woodhouse
- The Jenner Institute, Old Road Campus Research Building, Oxford, OX37DQ, UK
- Centre for Immuno-Oncology, Old Road Campus Research Building, Oxford, OX37DQ, UK
| | - Alexander Bujotzek
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Munich, 82377, Penzberg, Germany
| | - Christian Klein
- Roche Innovation Center Zürich, 8952, Schlieren, Switzerland.
| | - Nicola Ternette
- The Jenner Institute, Old Road Campus Research Building, Oxford, OX37DQ, UK.
- Centre for Immuno-Oncology, Old Road Campus Research Building, Oxford, OX37DQ, UK.
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Utrecht, 3584, CH, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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3
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Bassan A, Steigerwalt R, Keller D, Beilke L, Bradley PM, Bringezu F, Brock WJ, Burns-Naas LA, Chambers J, Cross K, Dorato M, Elespuru R, Fuhrer D, Hall F, Hartke J, Jahnke GD, Kluxen FM, McDuffie E, Schmidt F, Valentin JP, Woolley D, Zane D, Myatt GJ. Developing a pragmatic consensus procedure supporting the ICH S1B(R1) weight of evidence carcinogenicity assessment. FRONTIERS IN TOXICOLOGY 2024; 6:1370045. [PMID: 38646442 PMCID: PMC11027748 DOI: 10.3389/ftox.2024.1370045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2024] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/23/2024] Open
Abstract
The ICH S1B carcinogenicity global testing guideline has been recently revised with a novel addendum that describes a comprehensive integrated Weight of Evidence (WoE) approach to determine the need for a 2-year rat carcinogenicity study. In the present work, experts from different organizations have joined efforts to standardize as much as possible a procedural framework for the integration of evidence associated with the different ICH S1B(R1) WoE criteria. The framework uses a pragmatic consensus procedure for carcinogenicity hazard assessment to facilitate transparent, consistent, and documented decision-making and it discusses best-practices both for the organization of studies and presentation of data in a format suitable for regulatory review. First, it is acknowledged that the six WoE factors described in the addendum form an integrated network of evidence within a holistic assessment framework that is used synergistically to analyze and explain safety signals. Second, the proposed standardized procedure builds upon different considerations related to the primary sources of evidence, mechanistic analysis, alternative methodologies and novel investigative approaches, metabolites, and reliability of the data and other acquired information. Each of the six WoE factors is described highlighting how they can contribute evidence for the overall WoE assessment. A suggested reporting format to summarize the cross-integration of evidence from the different WoE factors is also presented. This work also notes that even if a 2-year rat study is ultimately required, creating a WoE assessment is valuable in understanding the specific factors and levels of human carcinogenic risk better than have been identified previously with the 2-year rat bioassay alone.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Douglas Keller
- Independent Consultant, Kennett Square, PA, United States
| | - Lisa Beilke
- Toxicology Solutions, Inc., Marana, AZ, United States
| | | | - Frank Bringezu
- Chemical and Preclinical Safety, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - William J. Brock
- Brock Scientific Consulting, LLC, Hilton Head, SC, United States
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Douglas Fuhrer
- BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc., New Haven, CT, United States
| | | | - Jim Hartke
- Gilead Sciences, Inc., Foster City, CA, United States
| | | | | | - Eric McDuffie
- Neurocrine Bioscience, Inc., San Diego, CA, United States
| | | | | | | | - Doris Zane
- Gilead Sciences, Inc., Foster City, CA, United States
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4
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Traut CC, Jones JL, Sanders RA, Clark LR, Hamill MM, Stavrakis G, Sop J, Beckey TP, Keller SC, Gilliams EA, Cochran WV, Laeyendecker O, Manabe YC, Mostafa HH, Thomas DL, Hansoti B, Gebo KA, Blankson JN. Orthopoxvirus-Specific T-Cell Responses in Convalescent Mpox Patients. J Infect Dis 2024; 229:54-58. [PMID: 37380166 PMCID: PMC10786252 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiad245] [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: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 06/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Orthopoxvirus-specific T-cell responses were analyzed in 10 patients who had recovered from Mpox including 7 people with human immunodeficiency virus (PWH). Eight participants had detectable virus-specific T-cell responses, including a PWH who was not on antiretroviral therapy and a PWH on immunosuppressive therapy. These 2 participants had robust polyfunctional CD4+ T-cell responses to peptides from the 121L vaccinia virus (VACV) protein. T-cells from 4 of 5 HLA-A2-positive participants targeted at least 1 previously described HLA-A2-restricted VACV epitope, including an epitope targeted in 2 participants. These results advance our understanding of immunity in convalescent Mpox patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline C Traut
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Joyce L Jones
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Renata A Sanders
- Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Laura R Clark
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Matthew M Hamill
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Georgia Stavrakis
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Joel Sop
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Tyler P Beckey
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Sara C Keller
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | | | - Willa V Cochran
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Oliver Laeyendecker
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Yukari C Manabe
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Heba H Mostafa
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - David L Thomas
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Bhakti Hansoti
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Kelly A Gebo
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Joel N Blankson
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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5
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Carter B, Huang P, Liu G, Liang Y, Lin PJC, Peng BH, McKay LGA, Dimitrakakis A, Hsu J, Tat V, Saenkham-Huntsinger P, Chen J, Kaseke C, Gaiha GD, Xu Q, Griffiths A, Tam YK, Tseng CTK, Gifford DK. A pan-variant mRNA-LNP T cell vaccine protects HLA transgenic mice from mortality after infection with SARS-CoV-2 Beta. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1135815. [PMID: 36969239 PMCID: PMC10033589 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1135815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Licensed COVID-19 vaccines ameliorate viral infection by inducing production of neutralizing antibodies that bind the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein and inhibit viral cellular entry. However, the clinical effectiveness of these vaccines is transitory as viral variants escape antibody neutralization. Effective vaccines that solely rely upon a T cell response to combat SARS-CoV-2 infection could be transformational because they can utilize highly conserved short pan-variant peptide epitopes, but a mRNA-LNP T cell vaccine has not been shown to provide effective anti-SARS-CoV-2 prophylaxis. Here we show a mRNA-LNP vaccine (MIT-T-COVID) based on highly conserved short peptide epitopes activates CD8+ and CD4+ T cell responses that attenuate morbidity and prevent mortality in HLA-A*02:01 transgenic mice infected with SARS-CoV-2 Beta (B.1.351). We found CD8+ T cells in mice immunized with MIT-T-COVID vaccine significantly increased from 1.1% to 24.0% of total pulmonary nucleated cells prior to and at 7 days post infection (dpi), respectively, indicating dynamic recruitment of circulating specific T cells into the infected lungs. Mice immunized with MIT-T-COVID had 2.8 (2 dpi) and 3.3 (7 dpi) times more lung infiltrating CD8+ T cells than unimmunized mice. Mice immunized with MIT-T-COVID had 17.4 times more lung infiltrating CD4+ T cells than unimmunized mice (7 dpi). The undetectable specific antibody response in MIT-T-COVID-immunized mice demonstrates specific T cell responses alone can effectively attenuate the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our results suggest further study is merited for pan-variant T cell vaccines, including for individuals that cannot produce neutralizing antibodies or to help mitigate Long COVID.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon Carter
- Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Pinghan Huang
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, United States
| | - Ge Liu
- Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Yuejin Liang
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, United States
| | | | - Bi-Hung Peng
- Department of Neuroscience, Cell Biology, and Anatomy, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, United States
| | - Lindsay G. A. McKay
- National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, Department of Microbiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Alexander Dimitrakakis
- Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Jason Hsu
- Department of Neuroscience, Cell Biology, and Anatomy, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, United States
| | - Vivian Tat
- Department of Pathology, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, United States
| | - Panatda Saenkham-Huntsinger
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, United States
| | - Jinjin Chen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA, United States
| | - Clarety Kaseke
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Gaurav D. Gaiha
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Division of Gastroenterology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Qiaobing Xu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA, United States
| | - Anthony Griffiths
- National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, Department of Microbiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
| | | | - Chien-Te K. Tseng
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, Cell Biology, and Anatomy, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, United States
- Department of Pathology, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, United States
- *Correspondence: Chien-Te K. Tseng, ; David K. Gifford,
| | - David K. Gifford
- Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- *Correspondence: Chien-Te K. Tseng, ; David K. Gifford,
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6
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Lam AK, Roshan R, Miley W, Labo N, Zhen J, Kurland AP, Cheng C, Huang H, Teng PL, Harelson C, Gong D, Tam YK, Radu CG, Epeldegui M, Johnson JR, Zhou ZH, Whitby D, Wu TT. Immunization of Mice with Virus-Like Vesicles of Kaposi Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Reveals a Role for Antibodies Targeting ORF4 in Activating Complement-Mediated Neutralization. J Virol 2023; 97:e0160022. [PMID: 36757205 PMCID: PMC9972917 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01600-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Infection by Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) can cause severe consequences, such as cancers and lymphoproliferative diseases. Whole inactivated viruses (WIV) with chemically destroyed genetic materials have been used as antigens in several licensed vaccines. During KSHV productive replication, virus-like vesicles (VLVs) that lack capsids and viral genomes are generated along with virions. Here, we investigated the immunogenicity of KSHV VLVs produced from a viral mutant that was defective in capsid formation and DNA packaging. Mice immunized with adjuvanted VLVs generated KSHV-specific T cell and antibody responses. Neutralization of KSHV infection by the VLV immune serum was low but was markedly enhanced in the presence of the complement system. Complement-enhanced neutralization and complement deposition on KSHV-infected cells was dependent on antibodies targeting viral open reading frame 4 (ORF4). However, limited complement-mediated enhancement was detected in the sera of a small cohort of KSHV-infected humans which contained few neutralizing antibodies. Therefore, vaccination that induces antibody effector functions can potentially improve infection-induced humoral immunity. Overall, our study highlights a potential benefit of engaging complement-mediated antibody functions in future KSHV vaccine development. IMPORTANCE KSHV is a virus that can lead to cancer after infection. A vaccine that prevents KSHV infection or transmission would be helpful in preventing the development of these cancers. We investigated KSHV VLV as an immunogen for vaccination. We determined that antibodies targeting the viral protein ORF4 induced by VLV immunization could engage the complement system and neutralize viral infection. However, ORF4-specific antibodies were seldom detected in the sera of KSHV-infected humans. Moreover, these human sera did not potently trigger complement-mediated neutralization, indicating an improvement that immunization can confer. Our study suggests a new antibody-mediated mechanism to control KSHV infection and underscores the benefit of activating the complement system in a future KSHV vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex K. Lam
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Romin Roshan
- AIDS and Cancer Virus Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Wendell Miley
- AIDS and Cancer Virus Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Nazzarena Labo
- AIDS and Cancer Virus Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - James Zhen
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Andrew P. Kurland
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Celine Cheng
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Haigen Huang
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Pu-Lin Teng
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Claire Harelson
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Danyang Gong
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Ying K. Tam
- Acuitas Therapeutics, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Caius G. Radu
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Marta Epeldegui
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Jeffrey R. Johnson
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Z. Hong Zhou
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Denise Whitby
- AIDS and Cancer Virus Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Ting-Ting Wu
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
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7
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Suryadevara N, Kumar A, Ye X, Rogers M, Williams JV, Wilson JT, Karijolich J, Joyce S. A molecular signature of lung-resident CD8 + T cells elicited by subunit vaccination. Sci Rep 2022; 12:19101. [PMID: 36351985 PMCID: PMC9645351 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-21620-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Natural infection as well as vaccination with live or attenuated viruses elicit tissue resident, CD8+ memory T cell (Trm) response. Trm cells so elicited act quickly upon reencounter with the priming agent to protect the host. These Trm cells express a unique molecular signature driven by the master regulators-Runx3 and Hobit. We previously reported that intranasal instillation of a subunit vaccine in a prime boost vaccination regimen installed quick-acting, CD8+ Trm cells in the lungs that protected against lethal vaccinia virus challenge. It remains unexplored whether CD8+ Trm responses so elicited are driven by a similar molecular signature as those elicited by microbes in a real infection or by live, attenuated pathogens in conventional vaccination. We found that distinct molecular signatures distinguished subunit vaccine-elicited lung interstitial CD8+ Trm cells from subunit vaccine-elicited CD8+ effector memory and splenic memory T cells. Nonetheless, the transcriptome signature of subunit vaccine elicited CD8+ Trm resembled those elicited by virus infection or vaccination. Clues to the basis of tissue residence and function of vaccine specific CD8+ Trm cells were found in transcripts that code for chemokines and chemokine receptors, purinergic receptors, and adhesins when compared to CD8+ effector and splenic memory T cells. Our findings inform the utility of protein-based subunit vaccination for installing CD8+ Trm cells in the lungs to protect against respiratory infectious diseases that plague humankind.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naveenchandra Suryadevara
- grid.418356.d0000 0004 0478 7015Department of Veterans Affairs, Tennessee Valley Healthcare Center, Nashville, TN 37212 USA ,grid.412807.80000 0004 1936 9916Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232 USA
| | - Amrendra Kumar
- grid.418356.d0000 0004 0478 7015Department of Veterans Affairs, Tennessee Valley Healthcare Center, Nashville, TN 37212 USA ,grid.412807.80000 0004 1936 9916Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232 USA
| | - Xiang Ye
- grid.412807.80000 0004 1936 9916Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232 USA
| | - Meredith Rogers
- grid.412807.80000 0004 1936 9916Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232 USA ,grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Department of Paediatrics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15224 USA
| | - John V. Williams
- grid.412807.80000 0004 1936 9916Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232 USA ,grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Department of Paediatrics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15224 USA ,Institute for Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation in Children (i4Kids), Pittsburgh, PA 15224 USA
| | - John T. Wilson
- grid.152326.10000 0001 2264 7217Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37212 USA
| | - John Karijolich
- grid.412807.80000 0004 1936 9916Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232 USA
| | - Sebastian Joyce
- Department of Veterans Affairs, Tennessee Valley Healthcare Center, Nashville, TN, 37212, USA. .,Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA.
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8
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Quach HQ, Ovsyannikova IG, Poland GA, Kennedy RB. Evaluating immunogenicity of pathogen-derived T-cell epitopes to design a peptide-based smallpox vaccine. Sci Rep 2022; 12:15401. [PMID: 36100624 PMCID: PMC9470075 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-19679-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [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: 04/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the eradication in 1980, developing safe and effective smallpox vaccines remains an active area of research due to the recent outbreaks and the public health concern that smallpox viruses could be used as bioterrorism weapons. Identifying immunogenic peptides (epitopes) would create a foundation for the development of a robust peptide-based vaccine. We previously identified a library of naturally-processed, human leukocyte antigen class I-presented vaccinia-derived peptides from infected B cells. In the current study, we evaluated the immunogenicity of these T-cell peptides in both transgenic mouse models and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. A vaccine based on four selected peptides provided 100% protection against a lethal viral challenge. In addition, responses from memory T cells remained unchanged up to five months. Our results validate a practical approach for identifying and verifying immunogenic peptides for vaccine development and highlight the potential of peptide-based vaccines for various infectious diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huy Quang Quach
- Mayo Clinic Vaccine Research Group, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA
| | | | - Gregory A Poland
- Mayo Clinic Vaccine Research Group, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA
| | - Richard B Kennedy
- Mayo Clinic Vaccine Research Group, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.
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9
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Development of a T Cell-Based COVID-19 Vaccine Using a Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine Viral Vector. Vaccines (Basel) 2022; 10:vaccines10071142. [PMID: 35891306 PMCID: PMC9318028 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10071142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Revised: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic emerged in 2020 and has caused an unprecedented burden to all countries in the world. SARS-CoV-2 continues to circulate and antigenically evolve, enabling multiple reinfections. To address the issue of the virus antigenic variability, T cell-based vaccines are being developed, which are directed to more conserved viral epitopes. We used live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) virus vector to generate recombinant influenza viruses expressing various T-cell epitopes of SARS-CoV-2 from either neuraminidase (NA) or non-structural (NS1) genes, via the P2A self-cleavage site. Intranasal immunization of human leukocyte antigen-A*0201 (HLA-A2.1) transgenic mice with these recombinant viruses did not result in significant SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell responses, due to the immunodominance of NP366 influenza T-cell epitope. However, side-by-side stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of COVID-19 convalescents with recombinant viruses and LAIV vector demonstrated activation of memory T cells in samples stimulated with LAIV/SARS-CoV-2, but not LAIV alone. Hamsters immunized with a selected LAIV/SARS-CoV-2 prototype were protected against challenge with influenza virus and a high dose of SARS-CoV-2 of Wuhan and Delta lineages, which was confirmed by reduced weight loss, milder clinical symptoms and less pronounced histopathological signs of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the lungs, compared to LAIV- and mock-immunized animals. Overall, LAIV is a promising platform for the development of a bivalent vaccine against influenza and SARS-CoV-2.
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10
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Implementation of Adenovirus-Mediated Pulmonary Expression of Human ACE2 in HLA Transgenic Mice Enables Establishment of a COVID-19 Murine Model for Assessment of Immune Responses to SARS-CoV-2 Infection. Pathogens 2021; 10:pathogens10080940. [PMID: 34451403 PMCID: PMC8398702 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10080940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2021] [Revised: 07/18/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
HLA transgenic mice are instrumental for evaluation of human-specific immune responses to viral infection. Mice do not develop COVID-19 upon infection with SARS-CoV-2 due to the strict tropism of the virus to the human ACE2 receptor. The aim of the current study was the implementation of an adenovirus-mediated infection protocol for human ACE2 expression in HLA transgenic mice. Transient pulmonary expression of the human ACE2 receptor in these mice results in their sensitisation to SARS-CoV-2 infection, consequently providing a valuable animal model for COVID-19. Infection results in a transient loss in body weight starting 3 days post-infection, reaching 20–30% loss of weight at day 7 and full recovery at days 11–13 post-infection. The evolution of the disease revealed high reproducibility and very low variability among individual mice. The method was implemented in two different strains of HLA immunized mice. Infected animals developed strong protective humoral and cellular immune responses specific to the viral spike-protein, strictly depending on the adenovirus-mediated human ACE2 expression. Convalescent animals were protected against a subsequent re-infection with SARS-CoV-2, demonstrating that the model may be applied for assessment of efficacy of anti-viral immune responses.
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11
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Gejman RS, Jones HF, Klatt MG, Chang AY, Oh CY, Chandran SS, Korontsvit T, Zakahleva V, Dao T, Klebanoff CA, Scheinberg DA. Identification of the Targets of T-cell Receptor Therapeutic Agents and Cells by Use of a High-Throughput Genetic Platform. Cancer Immunol Res 2020; 8:672-684. [PMID: 32184297 PMCID: PMC7310334 DOI: 10.1158/2326-6066.cir-19-0745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2019] [Revised: 11/28/2019] [Accepted: 03/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
T-cell receptor (TCR)-based therapeutic cells and agents have emerged as a new class of effective cancer therapies. These therapies work on cells that express intracellular cancer-associated proteins by targeting peptides displayed on MHC receptors. However, cross-reactivities of these agents to off-target cells and tissues have resulted in serious, sometimes fatal, adverse events. We have developed a high-throughput genetic platform (termed "PresentER") that encodes MHC-I peptide minigenes for functional immunologic assays and determines the reactivities of TCR-like therapeutic agents against large libraries of MHC-I ligands. In this article, we demonstrated that PresentER could be used to identify the on-and-off targets of T cells and TCR-mimic (TCRm) antibodies using in vitro coculture assays or binding assays. We found dozens of MHC-I ligands that were cross-reactive with two TCRm antibodies and two native TCRs and that were not easily predictable by other methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ron S Gejman
- Molecular Pharmacology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
- Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Rockefeller University, Weill Cornell Medical College), New York, New York
- Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York
| | - Heather F Jones
- Molecular Pharmacology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
- Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York
| | - Martin G Klatt
- Molecular Pharmacology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
| | - Aaron Y Chang
- Molecular Pharmacology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
- Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York
| | - Claire Y Oh
- Molecular Pharmacology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
- Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York
| | - Smita S Chandran
- Center for Cell Engineering and Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
- Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
| | - Tatiana Korontsvit
- Molecular Pharmacology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
| | - Viktoriya Zakahleva
- Molecular Pharmacology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
| | - Tao Dao
- Molecular Pharmacology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
| | - Christopher A Klebanoff
- Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York
- Center for Cell Engineering and Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
- Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
| | - David A Scheinberg
- Molecular Pharmacology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
- Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York
- Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
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12
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Saylor K, Gillam F, Lohneis T, Zhang C. Designs of Antigen Structure and Composition for Improved Protein-Based Vaccine Efficacy. Front Immunol 2020; 11:283. [PMID: 32153587 PMCID: PMC7050619 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.00283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2019] [Accepted: 02/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Today, vaccinologists have come to understand that the hallmark of any protective immune response is the antigen. However, it is not the whole antigen that dictates the immune response, but rather the various parts comprising the whole that are capable of influencing immunogenicity. Protein-based antigens hold particular importance within this structural approach to understanding immunity because, though different molecules can serve as antigens, only proteins are capable of inducing both cellular and humoral immunity. This fact, coupled with the versatility and customizability of proteins when considering vaccine design applications, makes protein-based vaccines (PBVs) one of today's most promising technologies for artificially inducing immunity. In this review, we follow the development of PBV technologies through time and discuss the antigen-specific receptors that are most critical to any immune response: pattern recognition receptors, B cell receptors, and T cell receptors. Knowledge of these receptors and their ligands has become exceptionally valuable in the field of vaccinology, where today it is possible to make drastic modifications to PBV structure, from primary to quaternary, in order to promote recognition of target epitopes, potentiate vaccine immunogenicity, and prevent antigen-associated complications. Additionally, these modifications have made it possible to control immune responses by modulating stability and targeting PBV to key immune cells. Consequently, careful consideration should be given to protein structure when designing PBVs in the future in order to potentiate PBV efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle Saylor
- Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United States
| | - Frank Gillam
- Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United States
- Locus Biosciences, Morrisville, NC, United States
| | - Taylor Lohneis
- Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United States
- BioPharmaceutical Technology Department, GlaxoSmithKline, Rockville, MD, United States
| | - Chenming Zhang
- Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United States
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13
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Wolf K, Hether T, Gilchuk P, Kumar A, Rajeh A, Schiebout C, Maybruck J, Buller RM, Ahn TH, Joyce S, DiPaolo RJ. Identifying and Tracking Low-Frequency Virus-Specific TCR Clonotypes Using High-Throughput Sequencing. Cell Rep 2019; 25:2369-2378.e4. [PMID: 30485806 PMCID: PMC7770954 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2018] [Revised: 09/18/2018] [Accepted: 10/31/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Tracking antigen-specific T cell responses over time within individuals is difficult because of lack of knowledge of antigen-specific TCR sequences, limitations in sample size, and assay sensitivities. We hypothesized that analyses of high-throughput sequencing of TCR clonotypes could provide functional readouts of individuals' immunological histories. Using high-throughput TCR sequencing, we develop a database of TCRβ sequences from large cohorts of mice before (naive) and after smallpox vaccination. We computationally identify 315 vaccine-associated TCR sequences (VATS) that are used to train a diagnostic classifier that distinguishes naive from vaccinated samples in mice up to 9 months post-vaccination with >99% accuracy. We determine that the VATS library contains virus-responsive TCRs by in vitro expansion assays and virus-specific tetramer sorting. These data outline a platform for advancing our capabilities to identify pathogen-specific TCR sequences, which can be used to identify and quantitate low-frequency pathogen-specific TCR sequences in circulation over time with exceptional sensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle Wolf
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO 63104, USA
| | - Tyler Hether
- Adaptive Biotechnologies, Seattle, WA 98102, USA
| | - Pavlo Gilchuk
- Department of Veterans Affairs, Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Nashville, TN 37212, USA; Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Amrendra Kumar
- Department of Veterans Affairs, Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Nashville, TN 37212, USA; Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Ahmad Rajeh
- Program in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO 63104, USA
| | - Courtney Schiebout
- Program in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO 63104, USA
| | - Julie Maybruck
- Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, DC 20535, USA
| | - R Mark Buller
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO 63104, USA
| | - Tae-Hyuk Ahn
- Department of Computer Science, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO 63104, USA; Program in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO 63104, USA
| | - Sebastian Joyce
- Department of Veterans Affairs, Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Nashville, TN 37212, USA; Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Richard J DiPaolo
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO 63104, USA.
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14
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Alves da Costa T, Lang J, Torres RM, Pelanda R. The development of human immune system mice and their use to study tolerance and autoimmunity. J Transl Autoimmun 2019; 2:100021. [PMID: 32743507 PMCID: PMC7388352 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtauto.2019.100021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2019] [Accepted: 11/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Autoimmune diseases evolve from complex interactions between the immune system and self-antigens and involve several genetic attributes, environmental triggers and diverse cell types. Research using experimental mouse models has contributed key knowledge on the mechanisms that underlie these diseases in humans, but differences between the mouse and human immune systems can and, at times, do undermine the translational significance of these findings. The use of human immune system (HIS) mice enables the utility of mouse models with greater relevance for human diseases. As the name conveys, these mice are reconstituted with mature human immune cells transferred directly from peripheral blood or via transplantation of human hematopoietic stem cells that nucleate the generation of a complex human immune system. The function of the human immune system in HIS mice has improved over the years with the stepwise development of better models. HIS mice exhibit key benefits of the murine animal model, such as small size, robust and rapid reproduction and ease of experimental manipulation. Importantly, HIS mice also provide an applicable in vivo setting that permit the investigation of the physiological and pathological functions of the human immune system and its response to novel treatments. With the gaining popularity of HIS mice in the last decade, the potential of this model has been exploited for research in basic science, infectious diseases, cancer, and autoimmunity. In this review we focus on the use of HIS mice in autoimmune studies to stimulate further development of these valuable models. Human immune system (HIS) mice bear components of the human immune system. HIS mice engraft with human blood or hematopoietic stem cells, and sometimes thymus. HIS mice are used to investigate development and function of the human immune system. Immunological tolerance and autoimmune responses can be studied in HIS mice. HIS models of autoimmunity vary in complexity and in ability to represent disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thiago Alves da Costa
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA
| | - Julie Lang
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA
| | - Raul M. Torres
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA
- Department of Biomedical Research, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO, 80206, USA
| | - Roberta Pelanda
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA
- Department of Biomedical Research, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO, 80206, USA
- Corresponding author. University of Colorado School of Medicine, 12800 East 19th Avenue Mail Stop 8333, Aurora, CO, 80045-2508, USA.
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15
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El Bissati K, Zhou Y, Paulillo SM, Raman SK, Karch CP, Roberts CW, Lanar DE, Reed S, Fox C, Carter D, Alexander J, Sette A, Sidney J, Lorenzi H, Begeman IJ, Burkhard P, McLeod R. Protein nanovaccine confers robust immunity against Toxoplasma. NPJ Vaccines 2017; 2:24. [PMID: 29263879 PMCID: PMC5627305 DOI: 10.1038/s41541-017-0024-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2016] [Revised: 06/20/2017] [Accepted: 06/21/2017] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
We designed and produced a self-assembling protein nanoparticle. This self-assembling protein nanoparticle contains five CD8+ HLA-A03-11 supertypes-restricted epitopes from antigens expressed during Toxoplasma gondii's lifecycle, the universal CD4+ T cell epitope PADRE, and flagellin as a scaffold and TLR5 agonist. These CD8+ T cell epitopes were separated by N/KAAA spacers and optimized for proteasomal cleavage. Self-assembling protein nanoparticle adjuvanted with TLR4 ligand-emulsion GLA-SE were evaluated for their efficacy in inducing IFN-γ responses and protection of HLA-A*1101 transgenic mice against T. gondii. Immunization, using self-assembling protein nanoparticle-GLA-SE, activated CD8+ T cells to produce IFN-γ. Self-assembling protein nanoparticle-GLA-SE also protected HLA-A*1101 transgenic mice against subsequent challenge with Type II parasites. Hence, combining CD8+ T cell-eliciting peptides and PADRE into a multi-epitope protein that forms a nanoparticle, administered with GLA-SE, leads to efficient presentation by major histocompatibility complex Class I and II molecules. Furthermore, these results suggest that activation of TLR4 and TLR5 could be useful for development of vaccines that elicit T cells to prevent toxoplasmosis in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamal El Bissati
- Departments of OVS, The University of Chicago, 5841S Maryland Ave, Chicago, IL 60637 USA
| | - Ying Zhou
- Departments of OVS, The University of Chicago, 5841S Maryland Ave, Chicago, IL 60637 USA
| | | | | | - Christopher P. Karch
- Institute of Materials Science and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, 97 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, CT 06269 USA
| | - Craig W. Roberts
- Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G4 0RE UK
| | - David E. Lanar
- Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20910 USA
| | - Steve Reed
- Infectious Diseases Research Institute, 1616 Eastlake Ave E #400, Seattle, WA 98102 USA
| | - Chris Fox
- Infectious Diseases Research Institute, 1616 Eastlake Ave E #400, Seattle, WA 98102 USA
| | - Darrick Carter
- Infectious Diseases Research Institute, 1616 Eastlake Ave E #400, Seattle, WA 98102 USA
| | - Jeff Alexander
- PaxVax, 3985-A Sorrento Valley Blvd, San Diego, CA 92121 USA
| | - Alessandro Sette
- La Jolla Institute of Allergy and Immunology, 9420 Athena Cir, La Jolla, CA 92037 USA
| | - John Sidney
- La Jolla Institute of Allergy and Immunology, 9420 Athena Cir, La Jolla, CA 92037 USA
| | - Hernan Lorenzi
- J. Craig Venter Institute, 9714 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20850 USA
| | - Ian J. Begeman
- Departments of OVS, The University of Chicago, 5841S Maryland Ave, Chicago, IL 60637 USA
| | - Peter Burkhard
- Alpha-O Peptides AG, Lörracherstrasse 50, 4125 Riehen, Switzerland
- Institute of Materials Science and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, 97 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, CT 06269 USA
| | - Rima McLeod
- Departments of OVS, The University of Chicago, 5841S Maryland Ave, Chicago, IL 60637 USA
- Pediatrics (Infectious Diseases), The University of Chicago, 5841S Maryland Ave, Chicago, IL 60637 USA
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16
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Athanasiou E, Agallou M, Tastsoglou S, Kammona O, Hatzigeorgiou A, Kiparissides C, Karagouni E. A Poly(Lactic- co-Glycolic) Acid Nanovaccine Based on Chimeric Peptides from Different Leishmania infantum Proteins Induces Dendritic Cells Maturation and Promotes Peptide-Specific IFNγ-Producing CD8 + T Cells Essential for the Protection against Experimental Visceral Leishmaniasis. Front Immunol 2017; 8:684. [PMID: 28659922 PMCID: PMC5468442 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.00684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2017] [Accepted: 05/26/2017] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Visceral leishmaniasis, caused by Leishmania (L.) donovani and L. infantum protozoan parasites, can provoke overwhelming and protracted epidemics, with high case-fatality rates. An effective vaccine against the disease must rely on the generation of a strong and long-lasting T cell immunity, mediated by CD4+ TH1 and CD8+ T cells. Multi-epitope peptide-based vaccine development is manifesting as the new era of vaccination strategies against Leishmania infection. In this study, we designed chimeric peptides containing HLA-restricted epitopes from three immunogenic L. infantum proteins (cysteine peptidase A, histone H1, and kinetoplastid membrane protein 11), in order to be encapsulated in poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid nanoparticles with or without the adjuvant monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA) or surface modification with an octapeptide targeting the tumor necrosis factor receptor II. We aimed to construct differentially functionalized peptide-based nanovaccine candidates and investigate their capacity to stimulate the immunomodulatory properties of dendritic cells (DCs), which are critical regulators of adaptive immunity generated upon vaccination. According to our results, DCs stimulation with the peptide-based nanovaccine candidates with MPLA incorporation or surface modification induced an enhanced maturation profile with prominent IL-12 production, promoting allogeneic T cell proliferation and intracellular production of IFNγ by CD4+ and CD8+ T cell subsets. In addition, DCs stimulated with the peptide-based nanovaccine candidate with MPLA incorporation exhibited a robust transcriptional activation, characterized by upregulated genes indicative of vaccine-driven DCs differentiation toward type 1 phenotype. Immunization of HLA A2.1 transgenic mice with this peptide-based nanovaccine candidate induced peptide-specific IFNγ-producing CD8+ T cells and conferred significant protection against L. infantum infection. Concluding, our findings supported that encapsulation of more than one chimeric multi-epitope peptides from different immunogenic L. infantum proteins in a proper biocompatible delivery system with the right adjuvant is considered as an improved promising approach for the development of a vaccine against VL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evita Athanasiou
- Laboratory of Cellular Immunology, Department of Microbiology, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Athens, Greece
| | - Maria Agallou
- Laboratory of Cellular Immunology, Department of Microbiology, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Athens, Greece
| | | | - Olga Kammona
- Laboratory of Polymer Reaction Engineering, Chemical Process and Energy Resources Institute, Centre for Research and Technology-Hellas, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | | | - Costas Kiparissides
- Laboratory of Polymer Reaction Engineering, Chemical Process and Energy Resources Institute, Centre for Research and Technology-Hellas, Thessaloniki, Greece.,Laboratory of Chemical Engineering B, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Evdokia Karagouni
- Laboratory of Cellular Immunology, Department of Microbiology, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Athens, Greece
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17
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Immuno-informatics based approaches to identify CD8+ T cell epitopes within the Leishmania donovani 3-ectonucleotidase in cured visceral leishmaniasis subjects. Microbes Infect 2017; 19:358-369. [DOI: 10.1016/j.micinf.2017.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2016] [Revised: 03/10/2017] [Accepted: 03/24/2017] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
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18
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Rastall DPW, Alyaquob FS, O’Connell P, Pepelyayeva Y, Peters D, Godbehere-Roosa S, Pereira-Hicks C, Aldhamen YA, Amalfitano A. Mice expressing human ERAP1 variants associated with ankylosing spondylitis have altered T-cell repertoires and NK cell functions, as well as increased in utero and perinatal mortality. Int Immunol 2017; 29:277-289. [PMID: 28814066 PMCID: PMC5890900 DOI: 10.1093/intimm/dxx035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2017] [Accepted: 07/08/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Specific variants of endoplasmic reticulum-associated aminopeptidase 1 (ERAP1) identified by genome-wide association study modify the risk for developing ankylosing spondylitis. We previously confirmed that disease-associated ERAP1 variants have altered enzymatic abilities that can impact upon the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines from cells expressing the same ERAP1 variants. To determine if these ERAP1 variants also impacted immune responses in vivo, we generated two strains of transgenic mice expressing human ERAP1 genes containing non-synonymous single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with an increased (ERAP1-High) or decreased (ERAP1-Low) risk for developing autoimmune disease. After vaccination with foreign antigens, ERAP1-High mice generated unique populations of antigen-specific T-cell clones. The expression of ERAP1-High also reduced MHC-I expression on the surface of multiple cell types, demonstrating a global impact on the MHC-I peptidome. ERAP1 variants also affected the innate immune system, because NK cells from murine ERAP1 (mERAP1) knockout mice and ERAP1-High/mERAP1-/- mice had decreased surface expression of the activating receptor NKG2D on their NK and T cells, and NK cells derived from mERAP1-/- mice or ERAP1-Low mice demonstrated more active NK cell killing than NK cells derived from wild-type or ERAP1-High mice. Finally, these studies were conducted in female mice, as all male ERAP1-High mice died in utero or shortly after birth, making ERAP1-High one of the only dominant lethal autosomal genes known in mammals. Together, these results present the first direct evidence that human disease-associated ERAP1 variants can greatly alter survival, as well as antigen presentation, T-cell repertoire and NK cell responses in vivo.
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MESH Headings
- Adaptive Immunity/genetics
- Aminopeptidases/genetics
- Animals
- Antigen Presentation
- Clone Cells
- Cytotoxicity, Immunologic/genetics
- Female
- Genetic Predisposition to Disease
- Histocompatibility Antigens Class I/genetics
- Histocompatibility Antigens Class I/metabolism
- Humans
- Immunity, Innate/genetics
- Killer Cells, Natural/physiology
- Lymphocyte Activation
- Male
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred C57BL
- Mice, Knockout
- Mice, Transgenic
- Minor Histocompatibility Antigens/genetics
- Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
- Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell/genetics
- Risk
- Spondylitis, Ankylosing/genetics
- T-Lymphocytes/physiology
- Transgenes/genetics
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Andrea Amalfitano
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics and
- Department of Pediatrics, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
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19
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Huang M, Zhang W, Guo J, Wei X, Phiwpan K, Zhang J, Zhou X. Improved Transgenic Mouse Model for Studying HLA Class I Antigen Presentation. Sci Rep 2016; 6:33612. [PMID: 27634283 PMCID: PMC5025652 DOI: 10.1038/srep33612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2016] [Accepted: 08/30/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
HLA class I (HLA-I) transgenic mice have proven to be useful models for studying human MHC-related immune responses over the last two decades. However, differences in the processing and presentation machinery between humans and mice may have profound effects on HLA-I restricted antigen presentation. In this study, we generated a novel human TAP-LMP (hTAP-LMP) gene cluster transgenic mouse model carrying an intact human TAP complex and two human immunoproteasome LMP subunits, PSMB8/PSMB9. By crossing the hTAP-LMP strain with different HLA-I transgenic mice, we found that the expression levels of human HLA-I molecules, especially the A3 supertype members (e.g., A11 and A33), were remarkably enhanced in corresponding HLA-I/hTAP-LMP transgenic mice. Moreover, we found that humanized processing and presentation machinery increased antigen presentation of HLA-A11-restricted epitopes and promoted the rapid reduction of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in HLA-A11/hTAP-LMP mice. Together, our study highlights that HLA-I/hTAP-LMP mice are an improved model for studying antigen presentation of HLA-I molecules and their related CTL responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Man Huang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, 100101, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Wei Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Jie Guo
- CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Xundong Wei
- CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, 100101, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Krung Phiwpan
- CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, 100101, China.,University of Phayao 19 Moo 2 Maeka, Muang Phayao district, Phayao, 56000, Thailand
| | - Jianhua Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Xuyu Zhou
- CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, 100101, China.,Savaid Medical School, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 101408, China
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Seyed N, Taheri T, Rafati S. Post-Genomics and Vaccine Improvement for Leishmania. Front Microbiol 2016; 7:467. [PMID: 27092123 PMCID: PMC4822237 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2016.00467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2015] [Accepted: 03/21/2016] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease that primarily affects Asia, Africa, South America, and the Mediterranean basin. Despite extensive efforts to develop an effective prophylactic vaccine, no promising vaccine is available yet. However, recent advancements in computational vaccinology on the one hand and genome sequencing approaches on the other have generated new hopes in vaccine development. Computational genome mining for new vaccine candidates is known as reverse vaccinology and is believed to further extend the current list of Leishmania vaccine candidates. Reverse vaccinology can also reduce the intrinsic risks associated with live attenuated vaccines. Individual epitopes arranged in tandem as polytopes are also a possible outcome of reverse genome mining. Here, we will briefly compare reverse vaccinology with conventional vaccinology in respect to Leishmania vaccine, and we will discuss how it influences the aforementioned topics. We will also introduce new in vivo models that will bridge the gap between human and laboratory animal models in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Negar Seyed
- Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur Institute of IranTehran, Iran
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Boelen L, O’Neill PK, Quigley KJ, Reynolds CJ, Maillere B, Robinson JH, Lertmemongkolchai G, Altmann DM, Boyton RJ, Asquith B. BIITE: A Tool to Determine HLA Class II Epitopes from T Cell ELISpot Data. PLoS Comput Biol 2016; 12:e1004796. [PMID: 26953935 PMCID: PMC4783075 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [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: 09/02/2015] [Accepted: 02/08/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Activation of CD4+ T cells requires the recognition of peptides that are presented by HLA class II molecules and can be assessed experimentally using the ELISpot assay. However, even given an individual's HLA class II genotype, identifying which class II molecule is responsible for a positive ELISpot response to a given peptide is not trivial. The two main difficulties are the number of HLA class II molecules that can potentially be formed in a single individual (3-14) and the lack of clear peptide binding motifs for class II molecules. Here, we present a Bayesian framework to interpret ELISpot data (BIITE: Bayesian Immunogenicity Inference Tool for ELISpot); specifically BIITE identifies which HLA-II:peptide combination(s) are immunogenic based on cohort ELISpot data. We apply BIITE to two ELISpot datasets and explore the expected performance using simulations. We show this method can reach high accuracies, depending on the cohort size and the success rate of the ELISpot assay within the cohort.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lies Boelen
- Section of Immunology, Wright-Fleming Institute, School of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Patrick K. O’Neill
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Kathryn J. Quigley
- Lung Immunology Group, Section of Infectious Diseases and Immunity, Hammersmith Hospital, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Catherine J. Reynolds
- Lung Immunology Group, Section of Infectious Diseases and Immunity, Hammersmith Hospital, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Bernard Maillere
- CEA-Saclay, Institute of Biology and Technologies, SIMOPRO, Labex LERMIT, Labex VRI, Gif Sur Yvette, France
| | - John H. Robinson
- Institute of Cellular Medicine, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Ganjana Lertmemongkolchai
- Centre for Research and Development of Medical Diagnostic Laboratories, Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand
| | - Daniel M. Altmann
- Lung Immunology Group, Section of Infectious Diseases and Immunity, Hammersmith Hospital, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Rosemary J. Boyton
- Lung Immunology Group, Section of Infectious Diseases and Immunity, Hammersmith Hospital, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, Sydney Street, London, United Kingdom
| | - Becca Asquith
- Section of Immunology, Wright-Fleming Institute, School of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
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Gilchuk P, Hill TM, Wilson JT, Joyce S. Discovering protective CD8 T cell epitopes--no single immunologic property predicts it! Curr Opin Immunol 2015; 34:43-51. [PMID: 25660347 PMCID: PMC5023008 DOI: 10.1016/j.coi.2015.01.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2014] [Revised: 01/19/2015] [Accepted: 01/19/2015] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Once a burgeoning field of study, over the past decade or so, T cell epitope discovery has lost some luster. The contributory factors perchance are the general notion that any newly discovered epitope will reveal very little about an immune response and that knowledge of epitopes are less critical for vaccine design. Despite these notions, the breadth and depth of T cell epitopes derived from clinically important microbial agents of human diseases largely remain ill defined. We review here a flurry of recent reports that have rebirthed the field. These reports reveal that epitope discovery is an essential step toward rational vaccine design and critical for monitoring vaccination efficacy. The new findings also indicate that neither immunogenicity nor immunodominance predict protective immunity. Hence, an immunogenic epitope is but a peptide unless proven protective against disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pavlo Gilchuk
- Veterans Administration Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37332, USA; Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37332, USA
| | - Timothy M Hill
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37332, USA
| | - John T Wilson
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, School of Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37332, USA
| | - Sebastian Joyce
- Veterans Administration Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37332, USA; Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37332, USA.
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Immunodominance changes as a function of the infecting dengue virus serotype and primary versus secondary infection. J Virol 2014; 88:11383-94. [PMID: 25056881 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01108-14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED Dengue virus (DENV) is the causative agent of dengue fever (DF). This disease can be caused by any of four DENV serotypes (DENV1 to -4) which share 67 to 75% sequence homology with one another. The effect of subsequent infections with different serotypes on the T cell repertoire is not fully understood. We utilized mice transgenic for human leukocyte antigens (HLA) lacking the alpha/beta interferon (IFN-α/β) receptor to study responses to heterologous DENV infection. First, we defined the primary T cell response to DENV3 in the context of a wide range of HLA molecules. The primary DENV3 immune response recognized epitopes derived from all 10 DENV proteins, with a significant fraction of the response specific for structural proteins. This is in contrast to primary DENV2 infection, in which structural proteins are a minor component of the response, suggesting differential antigen immunodominance as a function of the infecting serotype. We next investigated the effect of secondary heterologous DENV infection on the T cell repertoire. In the case of both DENV2/3 and DENV3/2 heterologous infections, recognition of conserved/cross-reactive epitopes was either constant or expanded compared to that in homologous infection. Furthermore, in heterologous infection, previous infection with a different serotype impaired the development of responses directed to serotype-specific but not conserved epitopes. Thus, a detrimental effect of previous heterotypic responses might not be due to dysfunctional and weakly cross-reactive epitopes dominating the response. Rather, responses to the original serotype might limit the magnitude of responses directed against epitopes that are either cross-reactive to or specific for the most recently infecting serotype. IMPORTANCE DENV transmission occurs in more than 100 countries and is an increasing public health problem in tropical and subtropical regions. At present, no effective antiviral therapy or licensed vaccine exists, and treatment is largely supportive in nature. Disease can be caused by any of the four DENV serotypes (DENV1 to -4), which share a high degree of sequence homology with one another. In this study, we have addressed the question of how the T cell repertoire changes as a function of infections with different serotypes and of subsequent heterologous secondary infections. This is of particular interest in the field of dengue viruses, in which secondary infections with different DENV serotypes increase the risk of severe disease. Our results on the evolution of the immune response after primary and secondary infections provide new insights into HLA-restricted T cell responses against DENV relevant for the design of a vaccine against DENV.
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Calis JJA, Maybeno M, Greenbaum JA, Weiskopf D, De Silva AD, Sette A, Keşmir C, Peters B. Properties of MHC class I presented peptides that enhance immunogenicity. PLoS Comput Biol 2013; 9:e1003266. [PMID: 24204222 PMCID: PMC3808449 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 542] [Impact Index Per Article: 49.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2012] [Accepted: 08/23/2013] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
T-cells have to recognize peptides presented on MHC molecules to be activated and elicit their effector functions. Several studies demonstrate that some peptides are more immunogenic than others and therefore more likely to be T-cell epitopes. We set out to determine which properties cause such differences in immunogenicity. To this end, we collected and analyzed a large set of data describing the immunogenicity of peptides presented on various MHC-I molecules. Two main conclusions could be drawn from this analysis: First, in line with previous observations, we showed that positions P4–6 of a presented peptide are more important for immunogenicity. Second, some amino acids, especially those with large and aromatic side chains, are associated with immunogenicity. This information was combined into a simple model that was used to demonstrate that immunogenicity is, to a certain extent, predictable. This model (made available at http://tools.iedb.org/immunogenicity/) was validated with data from two independent epitope discovery studies. Interestingly, with this model we could show that T-cells are equipped to better recognize viral than human (self) peptides. After the past successful elucidation of different steps in the MHC-I presentation pathway, the identification of variables that influence immunogenicity will be an important next step in the investigation of T-cell epitopes and our understanding of cellular immune responses. T-cells have to recognize peptides presented on MHC molecules to be activated and elicit their effector functions. Some peptide-MHC-I complexes (pMHCs) are better recognized by T-cells; we call such pMHCs more immunogenic. For other pMHCs, no recognizing T-cells seem to exist; we call such pMHCs non-immunogenic. We set out to determine which properties of pMHCs cause such differences in immunogenicity, by carefully collecting a large set of immunogenic and non-immunogenic pMHCs, and analysing the difference between these sets. Two important observations were made: First, in line with previous observations, we showed that positions P4–6 of a presented peptide are more important for immunogenicity. Second, some amino acids, especially those with large and aromatic side chains, seem to be better recognized by T-cells as they associate with immunogenicity. Next, this information was combined into a simple model to predict the immunogenicity of new pMHCs (this model is made available at http://tools.iedb.org/immunogenicity/). Interestingly, with this model we could show that T-cells are equipped to strongly recognize viral peptides. After the past successful elucidation of different steps in the MHC-I presentation pathway, the identification of variables that influence immunogenicity will be an important next step in the investigation of T-cell epitopes and our understanding of cellular immune responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorg J. A. Calis
- Theoretical Biology & Bioinformatics, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- * E-mail:
| | - Matt Maybeno
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Jason A. Greenbaum
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Daniela Weiskopf
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Aruna D. De Silva
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, California, United States of America
- Genetech Research Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka
| | - Alessandro Sette
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Can Keşmir
- Theoretical Biology & Bioinformatics, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Bjoern Peters
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, California, United States of America
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Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly heterogeneous disorder diagnosed based on the presence and severity of core abnormalities in social communication and repetitive behavior, yet several studies converge on immune dysregulation as a feature of ASD. Widespread alterations in immune molecules and responses are seen in the brains and periphery of ASD individuals, and early life immune disruptions are associated with ASD. This chapter discusses immune-related environmental and genetic risk factors for ASD, emphasizing population-wide studies and animal research that reveal potential mechanistic pathways involved in the development of ASD-related symptoms. It further reviews immunologic pathologies seen in ASD individuals and how such abnormalities can impact neurodevelopment and behavior. Finally, it evaluates emerging evidence for an immune contribution to the pathogenesis of ASD and a potential role for immunomodulatory effects in current treatments for ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elaine Y Hsiao
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA.
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McFarlane D, Wolf RF, McDaniel KA, White GL. The effect of season on inflammatory response in captive baboons. J Med Primatol 2012; 41:341-8. [PMID: 22905903 DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0684.2012.00560.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/10/2012] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Highly seasonal animals demonstrate predictable changes in immune function that coincide with changes in photoperiod. Little is known about the effect of season on immune response in baboons. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of season on inflammatory response in baboons. MATERIALS AND METHODS Peripheral blood mononuclear cell cytokine response following immune stimulation and serum markers of inflammation were assessed during each season in two groups of young male baboons: one housed under natural light and one in a controlled environment of 12 hours light:12 hours dark. RESULTS A seasonal immune rhythm was evident in both groups, with a greater TNF-α and IL-6 response to stimulation and serum CRP concentration in June and September compared with December. CONCLUSIONS Season is an important experimental confounder, and therefore, time of year should be controlled when designing studies and analyzing data from immune studies in baboons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dianne McFarlane
- Department of Physiological Sciences, Center of Veterinary Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA.
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Immunodominance: a pivotal principle in host response to viral infections. Clin Immunol 2012; 143:99-115. [PMID: 22391152 DOI: 10.1016/j.clim.2012.01.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2011] [Revised: 01/25/2012] [Accepted: 01/28/2012] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
We encounter pathogens on a daily basis and our immune system has evolved to mount an immune response following an infection. An interesting phenomenon that has evolved in response to clearing bacterial and viral infections is called immunodominance. Immunodominance refers to the phenomenon that, despite co-expression of multiple major histocompatibility complex class I alleles by host cells and the potential generation of hundreds of distinct antigenic peptides for recognition following an infection, a large portion of the anti-viral cytotoxic T lymphocyte population targets only some peptide/MHC class I complexes. Here we review the main factors contributing to immunodominance in relation to influenza A and HIV infection. Of special interest are the factors contributing to immunodominance in humans and rodents following influenza A infection. By critically reviewing these findings, we hope to improve understanding of the challenges facing the discovery of new factors enabling better anti-viral vaccine strategies in the future.
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Weiskopf D, Yauch LE, Angelo MA, John DV, Greenbaum JA, Sidney J, Kolla RV, De Silva AD, de Silva AM, Grey H, Peters B, Shresta S, Sette A. Insights into HLA-restricted T cell responses in a novel mouse model of dengue virus infection point toward new implications for vaccine design. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2011; 187:4268-79. [PMID: 21918184 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1101970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The frequency of dengue virus (DENV) infection has increased dramatically in the last few decades, and the lack of a vaccine has led to significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. To date, a convenient murine system to study human T cell responses to DENV has not been available. Mice transgenic for HLA are widely used to model human immune responses, and it has been shown that mouse-passaged DENV is able to replicate to significant levels in IFN-α/βR(-/-) mice. To cover a wide range of HLA phenotypes, we backcrossed IFN-α/βR(-/-) mice with HLA A*0201, A*0101, A*1101, B*0702, and DRB1*0101-transgenic mice. A DENV proteome-wide screen identified a total of 42 epitopes across all HLA-transgenic IFN-α/βR(-/-) strains tested. In contrast, only eight of these elicited responses in the corresponding IFN-α/βR(+/+) mice. We were able to identify T cell epitopes from 9 out of the 10 DENV proteins. However, the majority of responses were derived from the highly conserved nonstructural proteins NS3 and NS5. The relevance of this model is further demonstrated by the fact that most of the epitopes identified in our murine system are also recognized by PBMC from DENV-exposed human donors, and a dominance of HLA B*0702-restricted responses has been detected in both systems. Our results provide new insights into HLA-restricted T cell responses against DENV, and we describe in this study a novel murine model that allows the investigation of T cell-mediated immune mechanisms relevant to vaccine design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Weiskopf
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
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Human CD8⁺ and CD4⁺ T cell memory to lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection. J Virol 2011; 85:11770-80. [PMID: 21900169 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.05477-11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Although cellular immunity to acute lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection has been well characterized in experimental studies in mice, the T cell response to this virus in humans is incompletely understood. Thus, we analyzed the breadths, magnitudes, and differentiation phenotypes of memory LCMV-specific CD8(+) and CD4(+) T cells in three human donors displaying a variety of disease outcomes after accidental needle stick injury or exposure to LCMV. Although only a small cohort of donors was analyzed at a single time point postinfection, several interesting observations were made. First, we were able to detect LCMV-specific CD8(+) and CD4(+) T cell responses directly ex vivo at 4 to 8 years after exposure, demonstrating the longevity of T cell memory in humans. Second, unlike in murine models of LCMV infection, we found that the breadths of memory CD8(+) and CD4(+) T cell responses were not significantly different from one another. Third, it seemed that the overall CD8(+) T cell response was augmented with increasing severity of disease, while the LCMV-specific CD4(+) T cell response magnitude was highly variable between the three different donors. Next, we found that LCMV-specific CD8(+) T cells in the three donors analyzed seemed to undergo an effector memory differentiation program distinct from that of CD4(+) T cells. Finally, the levels of expression of memory, costimulatory, and inhibitory receptors on CD8(+) and CD4(+) T cell subsets, in some instances, correlated with disease outcome. These data demonstrate for the first time LCMV-specific CD8(+) and CD4(+) T cells in infected humans and begin to provide new insights into memory T cell responses following an acute virus infection.
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Reiser M, Wieland A, Plachter B, Mertens T, Greiner J, Schirmbeck R. The Immunodominant CD8 T Cell Response to the Human Cytomegalovirus Tegument Phosphoprotein pp65495–503Epitope Critically Depends on CD4 T Cell Help in Vaccinated HLA-A*0201 Transgenic Mice. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2011; 187:2172-80. [DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1002512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Söllner J, Heinzel A, Summer G, Fechete R, Stipkovits L, Szathmary S, Mayer B. Concept and application of a computational vaccinology workflow. Immunome Res 2010; 6 Suppl 2:S7. [PMID: 21067549 PMCID: PMC2981879 DOI: 10.1186/1745-7580-6-s2-s7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The last years have seen a renaissance of the vaccine area, driven by clinical needs in infectious diseases but also chronic diseases such as cancer and autoimmune disorders. Equally important are technological improvements involving nano-scale delivery platforms as well as third generation adjuvants. In parallel immunoinformatics routines have reached essential maturity for supporting central aspects in vaccinology going beyond prediction of antigenic determinants. On this basis computational vaccinology has emerged as a discipline aimed at ab-initio rational vaccine design.Here we present a computational workflow for implementing computational vaccinology covering aspects from vaccine target identification to functional characterization and epitope selection supported by a Systems Biology assessment of central aspects in host-pathogen interaction. We exemplify the procedures for Epstein Barr Virus (EBV), a clinically relevant pathogen causing chronic infection and suspected of triggering malignancies and autoimmune disorders. RESULTS We introduce pBone/pView as a computational workflow supporting design and execution of immunoinformatics workflow modules, additionally involving aspects of results visualization, knowledge sharing and re-use. Specific elements of the workflow involve identification of vaccine targets in the realm of a Systems Biology assessment of host-pathogen interaction for identifying functionally relevant targets, as well as various methodologies for delineating B- and T-cell epitopes with particular emphasis on broad coverage of viral isolates as well as MHC alleles.Applying the workflow on EBV specifically proposes sequences from the viral proteins LMP2, EBNA2 and BALF4 as vaccine targets holding specific B- and T-cell epitopes promising broad strain and allele coverage. CONCLUSION Based on advancements in the experimental assessment of genomes, transcriptomes and proteomes for both, pathogen and (human) host, the fundaments for rational design of vaccines have been laid out. In parallel, immunoinformatics modules have been designed and successfully applied for supporting specific aspects in vaccine design. Joining these advancements, further complemented by novel vaccine formulation and delivery aspects, have paved the way for implementing computational vaccinology for rational vaccine design tackling presently unmet vaccine challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes Söllner
- emergentec biodevelopment GmbH, Rathausstrasse 5/3, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Andreas Heinzel
- emergentec biodevelopment GmbH, Rathausstrasse 5/3, 1010 Vienna, Austria
- University of Applied Sciences, Softwarepark 11, 4232 Hagenberg, Austria
| | - Georg Summer
- University of Applied Sciences, Softwarepark 11, 4232 Hagenberg, Austria
| | - Raul Fechete
- emergentec biodevelopment GmbH, Rathausstrasse 5/3, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Susan Szathmary
- Galenbio Kft., Erdőszél köz 21, 1037 Budapest, Hungary and GalenBio, Inc., 5922 Farnsworth Ct, Carlsbad, CA 92008, USA
| | - Bernd Mayer
- emergentec biodevelopment GmbH, Rathausstrasse 5/3, 1010 Vienna, Austria
- Institute for Theoretical Chemistry, University of Vienna, Währinger Strasse 17, 1090 Vienna, Austria
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Bremel RD, Homan EJ. An integrated approach to epitope analysis II: A system for proteomic-scale prediction of immunological characteristics. Immunome Res 2010; 6:8. [PMID: 21044290 PMCID: PMC2991286 DOI: 10.1186/1745-7580-6-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2010] [Accepted: 11/02/2010] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Improving our understanding of the immune response is fundamental to developing strategies to combat a wide range of diseases. We describe an integrated epitope analysis system which is based on principal component analysis of sequences of amino acids, using a multilayer perceptron neural net to conduct QSAR regression predictions for peptide binding affinities to 35 MHC-I and 14 MHC-II alleles. Results The approach described allows rapid processing of single proteins, entire proteomes or subsets thereof, as well as multiple strains of the same organism. It enables consideration of the interface of diversity of both microorganisms and of host immunogenetics. Patterns of binding affinity are linked to topological features, such as extracellular or intramembrane location, and integrated into a graphical display which facilitates conceptual understanding of the interplay of B-cell and T-cell mediated immunity. Patterns which emerge from application of this approach include the correlations between peptides showing high affinity binding to MHC-I and to MHC-II, and also with predicted B-cell epitopes. These are characterized as coincident epitope groups (CEGs). Also evident are long range patterns across proteins which identify regions of high affinity binding for a permuted population of diverse and heterozygous HLA alleles, as well as subtle differences in reactions with MHCs of individual HLA alleles, which may be important in disease susceptibility, and in vaccine and clinical trial design. Comparisons are shown of predicted epitope mapping derived from application of the QSAR approach with experimentally derived epitope maps from a diverse multi-species dataset, from Staphylococcus aureus, and from vaccinia virus. Conclusions A desktop application with interactive graphic capability is shown to be a useful platform for development of prediction and visualization tools for epitope mapping at scales ranging from individual proteins to proteomes from multiple strains of an organism. The possible functional implications of the patterns of peptide epitopes observed are discussed, including their implications for B-cell and T-cell cooperation and cross presentation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert D Bremel
- 1ioGenetics LLC, 3591 Anderson Street, Madison, WI 53704, USA.
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Bugelski PJ, Volk A, Walker MR, Krayer JH, Martin P, Descotes J. Critical Review of Preclinical Approaches to Evaluate the Potential of Immunosuppressive Drugs to Influence Human Neoplasia. Int J Toxicol 2010; 29:435-66. [DOI: 10.1177/1091581810374654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Many immunosuppressive drugs are associated with an increased risk of B-cell lymphoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and Kaposi sarcoma. Thirteen immunosuppressive drugs have been tested in 2-year carcinogenicity studies (abatacept; azathioprine; busulfan; cyclophosphamide; cyclosporine; dexamethasone; everolimus; leflunomide; methotrexate; mycophenolate mofetil; prednisone; sirolimus; and tacrolimus) and in additional models including neonatal and genetically modified mice; chemical, viral, ultraviolet, and ionizing radiation co-carcinogenesis, and in models with transplanted tumor cells. The purpose of this review is to outline the mechanisms by which immunosuppressive drugs can influence neoplasia, to summarize the available preclinical data on the 13 drugs, and to critically review the performance of the models. A combination of primary tumor and metastasis assays conducted with transplanted cells may provide the highest value for hazard identification and can be applied on a case-by-case basis. However, for both small molecules and therapeutic proteins, determining the relative risk to patients from preclinical data remains problematic. Classifying immunosuppressive drugs based on their mechanism of action and hazard identification from preclinical studies and a prospective pharmacovigilance program to monitor carcinogenic risk may be a feasible way to manage patient safety during the clinical development program and postmarketing.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Amy Volk
- Biologics Toxicology, Centocor R&D, Radnor, PA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Jacques Descotes
- Centre Antipoison–Centre de Pharmacovigilance, Hôpital Edouard Herriot, Lyon, France
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Coverage of related pathogenic species by multivalent and cross-protective vaccine design: arenaviruses as a model system. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 2010; 74:157-70. [PMID: 20508245 DOI: 10.1128/mmbr.00045-09] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The arenaviruses are a family of negative-sense RNA viruses that cause severe human disease ranging from aseptic meningitis to hemorrhagic fever syndromes. There are currently no FDA-approved vaccines for the prevention of arenavirus disease, and therapeutic treatment is limited to the use of ribavirin and/or immune plasma for a subset of the pathogenic arenaviruses. The considerable genetic variability observed among the seven arenaviruses that are pathogenic for humans illustrates one of the major challenges for vaccine development today, namely, to overcome pathogen heterogeneity. Over the past 5 years, our group has tested several strategies to overcome pathogen heterogeneity, utilizing the pathogenic arenaviruses as a model system. Because T cells play a prominent role in protective immunity following arenavirus infection, we specifically focused on the development of human vaccines that would induce multivalent and cross-protective cell-mediated immune responses. To facilitate our vaccine development and testing, we conducted large-scale major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and class II epitope discovery on murine, nonhuman primate, and human backgrounds for each of the pathogenic arenaviruses, including the identification of protective HLA-restricted epitopes. Finally, using the murine model of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection, we studied the phenotypic characteristics associated with immunodominant and protective T cell epitopes. This review summarizes the findings from our studies and discusses their application to future vaccine design.
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A multivalent vaccination strategy for the prevention of Old World arenavirus infection in humans. J Virol 2010; 84:9947-56. [PMID: 20668086 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00672-10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Arenaviruses cause severe human disease ranging from aseptic meningitis following lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection to hemorrhagic fever syndromes following infection with Guanarito virus (GTOV), Junin virus (JUNV), Lassa virus (LASV), Machupo virus (MACV), Sabia virus (SABV), or Whitewater Arroyo virus (WWAV). Cellular immunity, chiefly the CD8(+) T-cell response, plays a critical role in providing protective immunity following infection with the Old World arenaviruses LASV and LCMV. In the current study, we evaluated whether HLA class I-restricted epitopes that are cross-reactive among pathogenic arenaviruses could be identified for the purpose of developing an epitope-based vaccination approach that would cross-protect against multiple arenaviruses. We were able to identify a panel of HLA-A*0201-restricted peptides derived from the same region of the glycoprotein precursor (GPC) of LASV (GPC spanning residues 441 to 449 [GPC(441-449)]), LCMV (GPC(447-455)), JUNV (GPC(429-437)), MACV (GPC(444-452)), GTOV (GPC(427-435)), and WWAV (GPC(428-436)) that displayed high-affinity binding to HLA-A*0201 and were recognized by CD8(+) T cells in a cross-reactive manner following LCMV infection or peptide immunization of HLA-A*0201 transgenic mice. Immunization of HLA-A*0201 mice with the Old World peptide LASV GPC(441-449) or LCMV GPC(447-455) induced high-avidity CD8(+) T-cell responses that were able to kill syngeneic target cells pulsed with either LASV GPC(441-449) or LCMV GPC(447-455) in vivo and provided significant protection against viral challenge with LCMV. Through this study, we have demonstrated that HLA class I-restricted, cross-reactive epitopes exist among diverse arenaviruses and that individual epitopes can be utilized as effective vaccine determinants for multiple pathogenic arenaviruses.
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Kotturi MF, Botten J, Sidney J, Bui HH, Giancola L, Maybeno M, Babin J, Oseroff C, Pasquetto V, Greenbaum JA, Peters B, Ting J, Do D, Vang L, Alexander J, Grey H, Buchmeier MJ, Sette A. A multivalent and cross-protective vaccine strategy against arenaviruses associated with human disease. PLoS Pathog 2009; 5:e1000695. [PMID: 20019801 PMCID: PMC2787016 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1000695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2009] [Accepted: 11/17/2009] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Arenaviruses are the causative pathogens of severe hemorrhagic fever and aseptic meningitis in humans, for which no licensed vaccines are currently available. Pathogen heterogeneity within the Arenaviridae family poses a significant challenge for vaccine development. The main hypothesis we tested in the present study was whether it is possible to design a universal vaccine strategy capable of inducing simultaneous HLA-restricted CD8+ T cell responses against 7 pathogenic arenaviruses (including the lymphocytic choriomeningitis, Lassa, Guanarito, Junin, Machupo, Sabia, and Whitewater Arroyo viruses), either through the identification of widely conserved epitopes, or by the identification of a collection of epitopes derived from multiple arenavirus species. By inoculating HLA transgenic mice with a panel of recombinant vaccinia viruses (rVACVs) expressing the different arenavirus proteins, we identified 10 HLA-A02 and 10 HLA-A03-restricted epitopes that are naturally processed in human antigen-presenting cells. For some of these epitopes we were able to demonstrate cross-reactive CD8+ T cell responses, further increasing the coverage afforded by the epitope set against each different arenavirus species. Importantly, we showed that immunization of HLA transgenic mice with an epitope cocktail generated simultaneous CD8+ T cell responses against all 7 arenaviruses, and protected mice against challenge with rVACVs expressing either Old or New World arenavirus glycoproteins. In conclusion, the set of identified epitopes allows broad, non-ethnically biased coverage of all 7 viral species targeted by our studies. Arenaviruses cause significant morbidity and mortality worldwide and are also regarded as a potential bioterrorist threat. CD8+ T cells restricted by class I MHC molecules clearly play a protective role in murine models of arenavirus infection, yet little is known about the epitopes recognized in the context of human class I MHC (HLA). Here, we defined 20 CD8+ T cell epitopes restricted by HLA class I molecules, derived from 7 different species of arenaviruses associated with human disease. To accomplish this task, we utilized epitope predictions, in vitro HLA binding assays, and HLA transgenic mice inoculated with recombinant vaccinia viruses (rVACV) expressing arenavirus antigens. Because our analysis targeted two of the most common HLA types worldwide, we project that the CD8+ T cell epitope set provides broad coverage against diverse ethnic groups within the human population. Furthermore, we show that immunization with a cocktail of these epitopes protects HLA transgenic mice from challenge with rVACV expressing antigens from different arenavirus species. Our findings suggest that a cell-mediated vaccine strategy might be able to protect against infection mediated by multiple arenavirus species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maya F. Kotturi
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Jason Botten
- Vermont Center for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, The University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont, United States of America
| | - John Sidney
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Huynh-Hoa Bui
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Lori Giancola
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Matt Maybeno
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Josie Babin
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Carla Oseroff
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Valerie Pasquetto
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Jason A. Greenbaum
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Bjoern Peters
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Joey Ting
- Departments of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry and Community and Environmental Medicine, University of California, Irvine, California, United States of America
| | - Danh Do
- Vermont Center for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, The University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont, United States of America
| | - Lo Vang
- Pharmexa-Epimmune, San Diego, California, United States of America
| | - Jeff Alexander
- Pharmexa-Epimmune, San Diego, California, United States of America
| | - Howard Grey
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Michael J. Buchmeier
- Departments of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry and Community and Environmental Medicine, University of California, Irvine, California, United States of America
| | - Alessandro Sette
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, California, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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