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Lübke M, Spalt S, Kowalewski DJ, Zimmermann C, Bauersfeld L, Nelde A, Bichmann L, Marcu A, Peper JK, Kohlbacher O, Walz JS, Le-Trilling VTK, Hengel H, Rammensee HG, Stevanović S, Halenius A. Identification of HCMV-derived T cell epitopes in seropositive individuals through viral deletion models. J Exp Med 2020; 217:e20191164. [PMID: 31869419 PMCID: PMC7062530 DOI: 10.1084/jem.20191164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2019] [Revised: 10/24/2019] [Accepted: 11/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
In healthy individuals, immune control of persistent human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection is effectively mediated by virus-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. However, identifying the repertoire of T cell specificities for HCMV is hampered by the immense protein coding capacity of this betaherpesvirus. Here, we present a novel approach that employs HCMV deletion mutant viruses lacking HLA class I immunoevasins and allows direct identification of naturally presented HCMV-derived HLA ligands by mass spectrometry. We identified 368 unique HCMV-derived HLA class I ligands representing an unexpectedly broad panel of 123 HCMV antigens. Functional characterization revealed memory T cell responses in seropositive individuals for a substantial proportion (28%) of these novel peptides. Multiple HCMV-directed specificities in the memory T cell pool of single individuals indicate that physiologic anti-HCMV T cell responses are directed against a broad range of antigens. Thus, the unbiased identification of naturally presented viral epitopes enabled a comprehensive and systematic assessment of the physiological repertoire of anti-HCMV T cell specificities in seropositive individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maren Lübke
- Department of Immunology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Stefanie Spalt
- Department of Immunology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium, Partner Site Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Daniel J. Kowalewski
- Department of Immunology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Cosima Zimmermann
- Institute of Virology, Medical Center University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Liane Bauersfeld
- Institute of Virology, Medical Center University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Annika Nelde
- Department of Immunology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Leon Bichmann
- Department of Immunology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Applied Bioinformatics, Center for Bioinformatics and Department of Computer Science, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Ana Marcu
- Department of Immunology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Janet Kerstin Peper
- Department of Immunology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Oliver Kohlbacher
- Applied Bioinformatics, Center for Bioinformatics and Department of Computer Science, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Quantitative Biology Center, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Biomolecular Interactions, Max-Planck-Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen, Germany
- Institute for Translational Bioinformatics, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Juliane S. Walz
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | | | - Hartmut Hengel
- Institute of Virology, Medical Center University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Hans-Georg Rammensee
- Department of Immunology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium, Partner Site Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Stefan Stevanović
- Department of Immunology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium, Partner Site Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Anne Halenius
- Institute of Virology, Medical Center University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
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Tang K, Cheng L, Zhang C, Zhang Y, Zheng X, Zhang Y, Zhuang R, Jin B, Zhang F, Ma Y. Novel Identified HLA-A*0201-Restricted Hantaan Virus Glycoprotein Cytotoxic T-Cell Epitopes Could Effectively Induce Protective Responses in HLA-A2.1/K b Transgenic Mice May Associate with the Severity of Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome. Front Immunol 2017; 8:1797. [PMID: 29312318 PMCID: PMC5732971 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.01797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2017] [Accepted: 11/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Hantaan virus (HTNV) infections can cause severe hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in humans, which is associated with high fatality rates. Cytotoxic T cell (CTL) responses contribute to virus elimination; however, to date, HLA class I allele-restricted HTNV glycoprotein (GP) epitopes recognized by CTLs have not been reported, limiting our understanding of CTL responses against HTNV infection in humans. In this study, 34 HTNV GP nine-mer epitopes that may bind to HLA-A*0201 molecules were predicted using the BIMAS and SYFPEITHI database. Seven of the epitopes were demonstrated to bind to HLA-A*0201 molecules with high affinity via the T2 cell binding assay and were successfully used to synthesize peptide/HLA-A*0201 tetramers. The results of tetramer staining showed that the frequencies of each epitope-specific CTL were higher in patients with milder HFRS, which indicated that the epitopes may induce protective CTL responses after HTNV infection. IFN-γ-enzyme-linked immunospot analysis further confirmed the immunoreactivity of epitopes by eliciting epitope-specific IFN-γ-producing CTL responses. In an HTNV challenge trial, significant inhibition of HTNV replication characterized by lower levels of antigens and RNA loads was observed in major target organs (liver, spleen, and kidneys) of HLA-A2.1/Kb transgenic mice pre-vaccinated with nonapeptides VV9 (aa8–aa16, VMASLVWPV), SL9 (aa996–aa1004, SLTECPTFL) and LL9 (aa358–aa366, LIWTGMIDL). Importantly, LL9 exhibited the best ability to induce protective CTL responses and showed a prominent effect on the kidneys, potentially preventing kidney injury after HTNV infection. Taken together, our results highlight that HTNV GP-derived HLA-A*0201-restricted epitopes could elicit protective CTL responses against the virus, and that epitope LL9 functions as an immunodominant protective epitope that may advance the design of safe and effective CTL-based HTNV peptide vaccines for humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kang Tang
- Department of Immunology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Linfeng Cheng
- Department of Microbiology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Chunmei Zhang
- Department of Immunology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Yusi Zhang
- Department of Immunology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Xuyang Zheng
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Yun Zhang
- Department of Immunology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Ran Zhuang
- Department of Immunology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Boquan Jin
- Department of Immunology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Fanglin Zhang
- Department of Microbiology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Ying Ma
- Department of Immunology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
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Broadening CD4 + and CD8 + T Cell Responses against Hepatitis C Virus by Vaccination with NS3 Overlapping Peptide Panels in Cross-Priming Liposomes. J Virol 2017; 91:JVI.00130-17. [PMID: 28446674 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00130-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2017] [Accepted: 04/19/2017] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the introduction of effective drugs to treat patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, a vaccine would be the only means to substantially reduce the worldwide disease burden. An incomplete understanding of how HCV interacts with its human host and evades immune surveillance has hampered vaccine development. It is generally accepted that in infected individuals, a narrow repertoire of exhausted T cells is a hallmark of persistent infection, whereas broad, vigorous CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses are associated with control of acute hepatitis C. We employed a vaccine approach based on a mixture of peptides (pepmix) spanning the entire sequence of HCV nonstructural protein 3 (NS3) in cross-priming cationic liposomes (CAF09) to facilitate a versatile presentation of all possible T cell epitopes, regardless of the HLA background of the vaccine recipient. Here, we demonstrate that vaccination of mice with NS3 pepmix broadens the repertoire of epitope-specific T cells compared to the corresponding recombinant protein (rNS3). Moreover, vaccination with rNS3 induced only CD4+ T cells, whereas the NS3 pepmix induced a far more vigorous CD4+ T cell response and was as potent a CD8+ T cell inducer as an adenovirus-vectored vaccine expressing NS3. Importantly, the cellular responses are dominated by multifunctional T cells, such as gamma interferon-positive (IFN-γ+) tumor necrosis factor alpha-positive (TNF-α+) coproducers, and displayed cytotoxic capacity in mice. In conclusion, we present a novel vaccine approach against HCV, inducing a broadened T cell response targeting both immunodominant and potential subdominant epitopes, which may be key elements to counter T cell exhaustion and prevent chronicity.IMPORTANCE With at least 700,000 annual deaths, development of a vaccine against hepatitis C virus (HCV) has high priority, but the tremendous ability of the virus to dodge the human immune system poses great challenges. Furthermore, many chronic infections, including HCV infection, have a remarkable ability to drive initially strong CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses against dominant epitopes toward an exhausted, dysfunctional state. Thus, new and innovative vaccine approaches to control HCV should be evaluated. Here, we report on a novel peptide-based nanoparticle vaccine strategy (NS3 pepmix) aimed at generating T cell immunity against potential subdominant T cell epitopes that are not efficiently targeted by vaccination with full-length recombinant protein (rNS3) or infection with HCV. As proof of concept, we found that NS3 pepmix excels in broadening the repertoire of epitope-specific, multifunctional, and cytotoxic CD4+ and CD8+ T cells compared to vaccination with rNS3, which generated only CD4+ T cell responses.
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