Proteome-wide analysis of Coxiella burnetii for conserved T-cell epitopes with presentation across multiple host species

Background

Coxiella burnetii is the Gram-negative bacterium responsible for Q fever in humans and coxiellosis in domesticated agricultural animals. Previous vaccination efforts with whole cell inactivated bacteria or surface isolated proteins confer protection but can produce a reactogenic immune responses. Thereby a protective vaccine that does not cause aberrant immune reactions is required. The critical role of T-cell immunity in control of C. burnetii has been made clear, since either CD8⁺ or CD4⁺ T cells can empower clearance. The purpose of this study was to identify C. burnetii proteins bearing epitopes that interact with major histocompatibility complexes (MHC) from multiple host species (human, mouse, and cattle).

Results

Of the annotated 1815 proteins from the Nine Mile Phase I (RSA 493) assembly, 402 proteins were removed from analysis due to a lack of inter-isolate conservation. An additional 391 proteins were eliminated from assessment to avoid potential autoimmune responses due to the presence of host homology. We analyzed the remaining 1022 proteins for their ability to produce peptides that bind MHCI or MHCII. MHCI and MHCII predicted epitopes were filtered and compared between species yielding 777 MHCI epitopes and 453 MHCII epitopes. These epitopes were further examined for presentation by both MHCI and MHCII, and for proteins that contained multiple epitopes. There were 31 epitopes that overlapped positionally between MHCI and MHCII across host species. Of these, there were 9 epitopes represented within proteins containing ≥ 5 total epitopes, where an additional 24 proteins were also epitope dense. In all, 55 proteins were found to contain high scoring T-cell epitopes. Besides the well-studied protein Com1, most identified proteins were novel when compared to previously studied vaccine candidates.

Conclusion

These data represent the first proteome-wide evaluation of C. burnetii peptide epitopes. Furthermore, the inclusion of human, mouse, and bovine data capture a range of hosts for this zoonotic pathogen plus an important model organism. This work provides new vaccine targets for future vaccination efforts and enhances opportunities for selecting multiple T-cell epitope types to include within a vaccine.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12859-021-04181-w.

An unexpected journey: lysine methylation across the proteome

The dynamic modification of histone proteins by lysine methylation has emerged over the last decade as a key regulator of chromatin functions. In contrast, our understanding of the biological roles for lysine methylation of non-histone proteins has progressed more slowly. Though recently it has attracted less attention, ε-methyl-lysine in non-histone proteins was first observed over 50 years ago. In that time, it has become clear that, like the case for histones, non-histone methylation represents a key and common signaling process within the cell. Recent work suggests that non-histone methylation occurs on hundreds of proteins found in both the nucleus and the cytoplasm, and with important biomedical implications. Technological advances that allow us to identify lysine methylation on a proteomic scale are opening new avenues in the non-histone methylation field, which is poised for dramatic growth. Here, we review historical and recent findings in non-histone lysine methylation signaling, highlight new methods that are expanding opportunities in the field, and discuss outstanding questions and future challenges about the role of this fundamental post-translational modification (PTM).