MHC Class I-restricted Epitopes Research Articles

Interplay between proteasome function and inflammatory responses in e-cig vapor condensate-challenged lung epithelial cells.

Exposure to cigarettes and other nicotine-based products results in persistent inflammation in the lung. In recent years, electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) have become extremely popular among adults and youth alike. E-cigarette vapor-induced oxidative stress promotes protein breakdown, DNA damage and cell death, culminating in a variety of respiratory diseases. The proteasome, a multi-catalytic protease, superintends protein degradation within the cell. When cells are stimulated with inflammatory cytokines such as IFN-γ and TNF-α, the constitutive catalytic proteasome subunits are replaced by the inducible subunits-low-molecular mass polypeptide (LMP)2 (β1i), multi-catalytic endopeptidase complex-like (MECL)1 (β2i), and LMP7 (β5i), which are required for the production of certain MHC class I-restricted T-cell epitopes. In this study, we used human alveolar epithelial cells (A549) and exposed them to filtered air or (1%) tobacco-flavored (TF) electronic cigarette vapor condensate(ECVC) ± nicotine (6mg/ml) (TF-ECVC ± N) for 24h. We observed an increase in the levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α, and inducible proteasome subunits (LMP7/PSMB8, LMP2/PSMB9, MECL1/PSMB10), and a reduced expression of constitutive proteasome subunits (β1/PSMB6 and β2/PSMB7) in challenged A549 cells. Interestingly, knockdown of the inducible proteasome subunit LMP7 reversed ECVC-induced expression of NADPH oxidase and immunoproteasome subunits in A549 cells. In addition, pre-exposure to an LMP7 inhibitor (ONX-0914) abrogated the mRNA expression of several NOX subunits and rescued the excessive production/release of inflammatory cytokines/chemokines (IL-6, IL-8, CCL2, and CCL5) in ECVC-challenged cells. Our findings suggest an important role of LMP7 in regulating the expression of inflammatory mediators during ECVC exposure. Overall, our results provide evidence for proteasome-dependent ROS-mediated inflammation in ECVC-challenged cells.

B Cells Drive MHC Class I-Restricted CD4 T Cells to Induce Spontaneous Central Nervous System Autoimmunity.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory, demyelinating CNS disease believed to be mediated by CD4 T cells specific for CNS self-antigens. CD8 T cells are also implicated in MS but their function is not well understood. MS lesions are heterogeneous and may reflect variation in the contribution of different types of lymphocytes. Understanding how lymphocytes with different effector functions contribute to MS is essential to develop effective therapies. We investigated how T cells expressing an MHC class I-restricted transgenic TCR specific for myelin basic protein (MBP) contribute to CNS autoimmunity using the mouse model of MS, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Virus infection triggered cytotoxic TCR-transgenic CD8 T cells to initiate acute experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in an IFN-γ- and perforin-dependent manner. Unexpectedly, spontaneous CNS autoimmunity developed in the TCR-transgenic mice that was accelerated by IFN-γ-deficiency. Spontaneous disease was associated with CD4 T cells that develop via endogenous TCR rearrangements but retain specificity for the MHC class I-restricted MBP epitope. The CD4 T cells produced TNF-α without other inflammatory cytokines and caused lesions with striking similarity to active MS lesions. Surprisingly, B cells were the predominant cell type that cross-presented MBP, and their depletion halted disease progression. This work provides a new model of spontaneous CNS autoimmunity with unique similarities to MS that is mediated by T cells with a distinct effector phenotype.

Dominant Antiviral CD8+ T Cell Responses Empower Prophylactic Antibody-Eliciting Vaccines Against Cytomegalovirus.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is an ubiquitous herpesvirus that can cause serious morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised or immune-immature individuals. A vaccine that induces immunity to CMV in these target populations is therefore highly needed. Previous attempts to generate efficacious CMV vaccines primarily focused on the induction of humoral immunity by eliciting neutralizing antibodies. Current insights encourage that a protective immune response to HCMV might benefit from the induction of virus-specific T cells. Whether addition of antiviral T cell responses enhances the protection by antibody-eliciting vaccines is however unclear. Here, we assessed this query in mouse CMV (MCMV) infection models by developing synthetic vaccines with humoral immunity potential, and deliberately adding antiviral CD8+ T cells. To induce antibodies against MCMV, we developed a DNA vaccine encoding either full-length, membrane bound glycoprotein B (gB) or a secreted variant lacking the transmembrane and intracellular domain (secreted (s)gB). Intradermal immunization with an increasing dose schedule of sgB and booster immunization provided robust viral-specific IgG responses and viral control. Combined vaccination of the sgB DNA vaccine with synthetic long peptides (SLP)-vaccines encoding MHC class I-restricted CMV epitopes, which elicit exclusively CD8+ T cell responses, significantly enhanced antiviral immunity. Thus, the combination of antibody and CD8+ T cell-eliciting vaccines provides a collaborative improvement of humoral and cellular immunity enabling enhanced protection against CMV.

B cells promote CD8 Tcell primary and memory responses to subunit vaccines.

SUMMARYThe relationship between B cells and CD4 T cells has been carefully studied, revealing a collaborative effort in which B cells promote the activation, differentiation, and expansion of CD4 T cells while the so-called “helper” cells provide signals to B cells, influencing their class switching and fate. Interactions between B cells and CD8 T cells are not as well studied, although CD8 T cells exhibit an accelerated contraction after certain infections in B-cell-deficient mice. Here, we find that B cells significantly enhance primary CD8 T cell responses after vaccination. Moreover, memory CD8 numbers and function are impaired in B-cell-deficient animals, leading to increased susceptibility to bacterial challenge. We also show that interleukin-27 production by B cells contributes to their impact on primary, but not memory, CD8 responses. Better understanding of the interactions between CD8 T cells and B cells may aid in the design of more effective future vaccine strategies.

Identification of Novel HLA-Restricted PRAME Peptides to Facilitate “Off-the-shelf” Tumor-Associated Antigen-specific T-cells

Background & Aim Preferentially expressed antigen in melanoma (PRAME) is a cancer-testis antigen that is overexpressed in many human malignancies while poorly expressed or absent in healthy tissues, making it a good target for anticancer immunotherapy. Studies have shown that autologous multi tumor-associated antigen (TAA)-specific T-cells can safely induce disease stabilization or maintain durable remissions in patients with relapsed or refractory solid tumors and leukemias/lymphomas expressing PRAME antigen. “Off-the-shelf” third-party T-cell products derived from healthy donors is a potential, readily available alternative to autologous TAA T cell products. Development of an effective “off the shelf” adoptive T-cell therapy however depends on the identification of PRAME antigens recognized by the TAA-T cell product. Hence, our goal was to identify specific HLA-restricted PRAME peptide epitopes which have not been studied extensively. We hypothesized that both TAA-T would recognize a broad number of PRAME epitopes that would be both CD4+ and CD8+ restricted. Methods, Results & Conclusion Peptide libraries of 15mer peptides overlapping by 11 amino acids spanning the entire sequence of PRAME protein were designed to identify HLA class I and class II-restricted epitopes. T cell response to pools of peptide libraries and responses to single PRAME peptides were evaluated by IFN-γ ELISpot assay. HLA-restriction of these peptides was determined by intracellular cytokine staining, measuring IFN-γ and TNF-α release. We further determined the minimal 9-mer epitope recognized by HLA I restricted cell lines. Finally, the restricted HLA allele was tested using autologous and partially HLA-matched 9-mer peptide-pulsed PHA blasts. We successfully generated PRAME-specific T-cell products from PBMCs derived from 12 healthy donors. Ex-vivo expanded T-cells were polyclonal consisting of both CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells. We identified five novel and two previously described MHC class I-restricted PRAME epitopes. Within two previously described epitopes, recognition was restricted by same HLA-allele in all but one case. We also characterized 12 15-mer peptide sequences confirmed as CD4-restricted epitopes. Our findings demonstrate that TAA T-cells derived from healthy donors recognize a broad number of CD4+ and CD8+ HLA-restricted PRAME epitopes which will be critical for the clinical translation in the donor-specific as well as the “off-the-shelf” setting.

Harnessing neoantigen specific CD4 T cells for cancer immunotherapy.

The goal of precision immunotherapy is to direct a patient's T cell response against the immunogenic mutations expressed on their tumors. Most immunotherapy approaches to-date have focused on MHC class I-restricted peptide epitopes by which cytotoxic CD8+ T lymphocytes (CTL) can directly recognize tumor cells. This strategy largely overlooks the critical role of MHC class II-restricted CD4+ T cells as both positive regulators of CTL and other effector cell types, and as direct effectors of antitumor immunity. In this review, we will discuss the role of neoantigen specific CD4+ T cells in cancer immunotherapy and how existing treatment modalities may be leveraged to engage this important T cell subset.

Myelin-specific CD8+ T cells exacerbate brain inflammation in CNS autoimmunity.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory, demyelinating disease of the CNS. Although CD4+ T cells are implicated in MS pathogenesis and have been the main focus of MS research using the animal model experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), substantial evidence from patients with MS points to a role for CD8+ T cells in disease pathogenesis. We previously showed that an MHC class I-restricted epitope of myelin basic protein (MBP) is presented in the CNS during CD4+ T cell-initiated EAE. Here, we investigated whether naive MBP-specific CD8+ T cells recruited to the CNS during CD4+ T cell-initiated EAE engaged in determinant spreading and influenced disease. We found that the MBP-specific CD8+ T cells exacerbated brain but not spinal cord inflammation. We show that a higher frequency of monocytes and monocyte-derived cells presented the MHC class I-restricted MBP ligand in the brain compared with the spinal cord. Infiltration of MBP-specific CD8+ T cells enhanced ROS production in the brain only in these cell types and only when the MBP-specific CD8+ T cells expressed Fas ligand (FasL). These results suggest that myelin-specific CD8+ T cells may contribute to disease pathogenesis via a FasL-dependent mechanism that preferentially promotes lesion formation in the brain.

Novel epitope derived from Plasmodium berghei liver-stage antigen induces a subset of protective CD8 T cells against sporozoite challenge

Abstract CD8 T cells specific for Plasmodium liver stage antigens (LS Ags) are considered key effectors in protective immunity induced by immunization with radiation-attenuated sporozoites (RAS). Sporozoite (spz)-stage epitopes that induce protective CD8 T cells have previously been identified, however, fine specificities of LS Ags-induced protective CD8 T cells remain unknown. Using transcriptome data based on LS forms of Plasmodium falciparum parasites, we identified several orthologue Plasmodium berghei (Pb) LS Ags that, as plasmid DNA vaccines delivered by Gene Gun immunization, significantly reduce liver parasite burden (LPB). Using algorithms that predict binding of peptides to H-2b alleles, we designed ~600 8–9 mer peptides derived from protective Pb LS Ags and screened them utilizing caged MHC class I-tetramer technology. Spleen cells from C57Bl/6 mice immunized thrice with Pb RAS and challenged with infectious spz were tested for binding to the conditional tetramers. We identified an H-2Kb-restricted 9-mer peptide, Kb-17, derived from the novel protective Pb LS Ag, MIF4G-like protein, that formed MHC class I-tetramer specifically binding CD8 T cells; the Kb-17 peptide also recalled IFN-γ responses in splenocytes and liver mononuclear cells at different time points after RAS immunization/challenge. The Kb-17 epitope, delivered as a minigene expressed in adenovirus 5, expanded Kb-17 specific CD8 T cells expressing effector memory phenotype and significantly reduced Pb LPB after infectious spz challenge. Identification of protective MHC class I-restricted epitopes on LS Ags as well as establishing a role for LS Ags-specific CD8 T cells in protection are crucial elements for vaccine development against malaria.

Identification of a Novel CD8 T Cell Epitope Derived from Plasmodium berghei Protective Liver-Stage Antigen.

We recently identified novel Plasmodium berghei (Pb) liver stage (LS) genes that as DNA vaccines significantly reduce Pb LS parasite burden (LPB) in C57Bl/6 (B6) mice through a mechanism mediated, in part, by CD8 T cells. In this study, we sought to determine fine antigen (Ag) specificities of CD8 T cells that target LS malaria parasites. Guided by algorithms for predicting MHC class I-restricted epitopes, we ranked sequences of 32 Pb LS Ags and selected ~400 peptides restricted by mouse H-2Kb and H-2Db alleles for analysis in the high-throughput method of caged MHC class I-tetramer technology. We identified a 9-mer H-2Kb restricted CD8 T cell epitope, Kb-17, which specifically recognized and activated CD8 T cell responses in B6 mice immunized with Pb radiation-attenuated sporozoites (RAS) and challenged with infectious sporozoites (spz). The Kb-17 peptide is derived from the recently described novel protective Pb LS Ag, PBANKA_1031000 (MIF4G-like protein). Notably, immunization with the Kb-17 epitope delivered in the form of a minigene in the adenovirus serotype 5 vector reduced LPB in mice infected with spz. On the basis of our results, Kb-17 peptide was available for CD8 T cell activation and recall following immunization with Pb RAS and challenge with infectious spz. The identification of a novel MHC class I-restricted epitope from the protective Pb LS Ag, MIF4G-like protein, is crucial for advancing our understanding of immune responses to Plasmodium and by extension, toward vaccine development against malaria.

Regulatory T Cell Effect on CD8+ T Cell Responses to Human Herpesvirus 8 Infection and Development of Kaposi's Sarcoma.

We assessed CD8+ T cell reactivity to human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8; Kaposi's sarcoma [KS]-associated herpesvirus) and the role of CD4+CD25hiFoxP3+ regulatory T cells (Treg) in HHV-8- and HIV-coinfected participants of the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study who did or did not develop KS. There were similarly low CD8+ T cell interferon-γ responses to MHC class I-restricted epitopes of HHV-8 lytic and latent proteins over 5.7 years before KS in participants who developed KS compared to those who did not. T cell reactivity to HHV-8 antigens was low relative to responses to a combination of cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus and influenza A virus (CEF) peptide epitopes, and dominant HIV peptide epitopes. There was no change in %Treg in the HHV-8- and HIV-coinfected participants who did not develop KS, whereas there was a significant increase in %Treg in HHV-8- and HIV-coinfected participants who developed KS beginning 1.8 years before development of KS. Removal of Treg enhanced HHV-8-specific T cell responses in HHV-8- and HIV-coinfected participants who did or did not develop KS, with a similar pattern observed in response to CEF and HIV peptides. Thus, long-term, low levels of anti-HHV-8 CD8+ T cell reactivity were present in both HHV-8- and HIV-coinfected men who did and did not develop KS. This was related to moderately enhanced Treg function.

Crystal structure of a polypeptide's C-terminus in complex with the regulatory domain of ER aminopeptidase 1.

Endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 1 (ERAP1) is involved in the final processing of peptide precursors to generate the N-termini of MHC class I-restricted epitopes. ERAP1 thus influences immunodominance and cytotoxic immune responses by controlling the peptide repertoire available for cell surface presentation by MHC molecules. To enable this critical role in antigen processing, ERAP1 trims peptides by a unique molecular ruler mechanism that turns on/off hydrolysis activity in a peptide-length and -sequence dependent manner. Thus unlike other aminopeptidases, ERAP1 could recognize both the N- and C-termini of peptides in order to read the substrate's length. To exemplify and validate this molecular ruler mechanism, we have carried out crystallographic studies on molecular recognition of antigenic peptide's C-terminus by ERAP1. In this report, we have determined a 2.8Å-resolution crystal structure of an intermolecular complex between the ERAP1 regulatory domain and a natural epitope's C-terminus displayed in a fusion protein. It reveals the structural details of peptide's C-termini recognition by ERAP1. ERAP1 uses specificity pockets on the regulatory domain to bind the peptide's carboxyl end and side chain of the C-terminal anchoring residue. At the same time, flexibility in length and sequence at the middle of peptides is accommodated by a kink with minimal interactions with ERAP1.

Suppression of inducible CD4 regulatory cells by MHC class I-restricted human tumor epitope specific TCR engineered multifunctional CD4 T cells

Regulatory T cells (Treg) can interfere with the generation and function of anti-tumor immune effectors. Accordingly, ways that could block Treg function would be useful in cancer immunotherapy. We have previously shown that incorporation of CD4+CD25-ve T cells in an in vitro cytolytic T lymphocyte (CTL) generation assay leads to generation of induced regulatory T cells (iTregs), and that these iTreg block the generation of productive CTL response (Chattopadhyay et al., 2006). We here show that human CD4 T cells engineered to express MHC class I-restricted human melanoma associated epitope, MART-127–35, specific T cell receptor (TCR), that can simultaneously exhibit helper as well as cytolytic effector functions (Chhabra et al., 2008, Ray et al., 2010), can interfere with the generation of inducible Treg, block iTreg-mediated suppression, and allow the activation and expansion of MART-127–35 specific CTL responses, in vitro. We also show that mitigation of Treg generation by TCR engineered CD4 T cells is not mediated by a soluble factor and may involve “licensing/conditioning” of the dendritic cells (DC). Our data offer novel insights on the biology of MHC class I restricted TCReng CD4 T cells and have translational implications.

Myelin-specific CD8+ T cells exacerbate CNS autoimmunity

Abstract Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, inflammatory, demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS). Although the pathogenic pathways of MS are not fully understood, myelin-specific T cells are hypothesized to initiate disease. Myelin-specific CD4+ T cells have been the main focus of MS research and animal models of MS have relied exclusively on the activity of CD4+ T cells. However, a substantial body of data from MS patients indicate that CD8+ T cells are also involved in MS pathogenesis. We hypothesized that recruitment of myelin-specific CD8+ T cells to the site of inflammation initiated by CD4+ T cells could influence disease. To test our hypothesis, we use a mouse model of MS, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in which adoptive transfer of CD4+ T cells specific for myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) induces CNS autoimmunity. To determine the influence of CD8+ T cells, we introduce CD8+ T cells from a TCR-transgenic mouse model expressing a TCR specific for a MHC class I-restricted epitope of myelin basic protein (MBP) into the periphery of mice just after disease induction. We found that the recruitment of the MBP-specific but not control CD8+ T cells exacerbated CD4+ T cell-initiated EAE. Furthermore, recruitment of MBP-specific CD8+ T cells increases the number of MOG-specific CD4+ T cells within the CNS at peak disease. Interestingly, mice that received MBP-specific CD8+ T cells exhibited an increase in symptoms associated with brain inflammation. These data suggest that the interplay between CD4+ and CD8+ T cells specific for two different myelin proteins is critical for determining the manifestation of CNS autoimmune disease.

The Combined Deficiency of Immunoproteasome Subunits Affects Both the Magnitude and Quality of Pathogen- and Genetic Vaccination-Induced CD8+ T Cell Responses to the Human Protozoan Parasite Trypanosoma cruzi.

The β1i, β2i and β5i immunoproteasome subunits have an important role in defining the repertoire of MHC class I-restricted epitopes. However, the impact of combined deficiency of the three immunoproteasome subunits in the development of protective immunity to intracellular pathogens has not been investigated. Here, we demonstrate that immunoproteasomes play a key role in host resistance and genetic vaccination-induced protection against the human pathogen Trypanosoma cruzi (the causative agent of Chagas disease), immunity to which is dependent on CD8+ T cells and IFN-γ (the classical immunoproteasome inducer). We observed that infection with T. cruzi triggers the transcription of immunoproteasome genes, both in mice and humans. Importantly, genetically vaccinated or T. cruzi-infected β1i, β2i and β5i triple knockout (TKO) mice presented significantly lower frequencies and numbers of splenic CD8+ effector T cells (CD8+CD44highCD62Llow) specific for the previously characterized immunodominant (VNHRFTLV) H-2Kb-restricted T. cruzi epitope. Not only the quantity, but also the quality of parasite-specific CD8+ T cell responses was altered in TKO mice. Hence, the frequency of double-positive (IFN-γ+/TNF+) or single-positive (IFN-γ+) cells specific for the H-2Kb-restricted immunodominant as well as subdominant T. cruzi epitopes were higher in WT mice, whereas TNF single-positive cells prevailed among CD8+ T cells from TKO mice. Contrasting with their WT counterparts, TKO animals were also lethally susceptible to T. cruzi challenge, even after an otherwise protective vaccination with DNA and adenoviral vectors. We conclude that the immunoproteasome subunits are key determinants in host resistance to T. cruzi infection by influencing both the magnitude and quality of CD8+ T cell responses.

The T210M Substitution in the HLA-a*02:01 gp100 Epitope Strongly Affects Overall Proteasomal Cleavage Site Usage and Antigen Processing

MHC class I-restricted epitopes, which carry a tumor-specific mutation resulting in improved MHC binding affinity, are preferred T cell receptor targets in innovative adoptive T cell therapies. However, T cell therapy requires efficient generation of the selected epitope. How such mutations may affect proteasome-mediated antigen processing has so far not been studied. Therefore, we analyzed by in vitro experiments the effect on antigen processing and recognition of a T210M exchange, which previously had been introduced into the melanoma gp100209-217 tumor epitope to improve the HLA-A*02:01 binding and its immunogenicity. A quantitative analysis of the main steps of antigen processing shows that the T210M exchange affects proteasomal cleavage site usage within the mutgp100201-230 polypeptide, leading to the generation of an unique set of cleavage products. The T210M substitution qualitatively affects the proteasome-catalyzed generation of spliced and non-spliced peptides predicted to bind HLA-A or -B complexes. The T210M substitution also induces an enhanced production of the mutgp100209-217 epitope and its N-terminally extended peptides. The T210M exchange revealed no effect on ERAP1-mediated N-terminal trimming of the precursor peptides. However, mutant N-terminally extended peptides exhibited significantly increased HLA-A*02:01 binding affinity and elicited CD8(+) T cell stimulation in vitro similar to the wtgp100209-217 epitope. Thus, our experiments demonstrate that amino acid exchanges within an epitope can result in the generation of an altered peptide pool with new antigenic peptides and in a wider CD8(+) T cell response also towards N-terminally extended versions of the minimal epitope.

Proteasomal Degradation of Proinsulin Requires Derlin-2, HRD1 and p97.

Patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) suffer from beta-cell destruction by CD8+ T-cells that have preproinsulin as an important target autoantigen. It is of great importance to understand the molecular mechanism underlying the processing of preproinsulin into these CD8+ T-cell epitopes. We therefore studied a pathway that may contribute to the production of these antigenic peptides: degradation of proinsulin via ER associated protein degradation (ERAD). Analysis of the MHC class I peptide ligandome confirmed the presentation of the most relevant MHC class I-restricted diabetogenic epitopes in our cells: the signal peptide-derived sequence A15-A25 and the insulin B-chain epitopes H29-A38 and H34-V42. We demonstrate that specific silencing of Derlin-2, p97 and HRD1 by shRNAs increases steady state levels of proinsulin. This indicates that these ERAD constituents are critically involved in proinsulin degradation and may therefore also play a role in subsequent antigen generation. These ERAD proteins therefore represent interesting targets for novel therapies aiming at the reduction and possibly also prevention of beta-cell directed auto-immune reactions in T1D.

Optimizing the efficacy of dual-costimulation cancer therapy by engaging tumor-unrelated CD4 T cell help (TUM2P.1009)

Abstract Tumor escape following immune therapy can be caused by loss of specifically targeted MHC class I-restricted epitopes. It would thus be beneficial to develop therapies that engage multipronged anti-tumor responses. Agonist mAbs to the TNF/TNFR family costimulatory receptors CD134 plus CD137 (dual costimulation) not only elicits CD8+ CTL, but also cytotoxic CD4 Th1 cells that can directly target MHC-II+ tumors. Further, dual costimulated cytotoxic CD4 Th1 cells not only provide linked help to CD8 T cells responding to cross-presented antigen, but can also provide non-linked help that programs Th1/Tc1 functions in antigen-non-responding (bystander) T cells. Here we tested whether engagement of tumor-unrelated CD4 help augments dual costimulation-mediated control of established B16 melanoma that can be induced to express both MHC class I and II. Notably, engagement of tumor-unrelated CD4 T cells dramatically enhanced the ability of dual costimulation to control B16 tumor growth, this effect depended upon both CD8 and CD4 cells, and therapeutic efficacy correlated with increased tumor infiltration of GzmB-expressing effector CD8 and CD4 T cells with a concomitant decrease in Foxp3+CD4+ cells. Interestingly, the dual costimulated tumor-unrelated CD4 helper T cells themselves appear to require help from a CD134-responsive but presumably antigen-non-responding cell to attain their maximal function.

Single-Chain Expression and Crystallization of an Antigenic C-Terminus in Complex with the Regulatory Domain of ER Aminopeptidase 1

Human endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 1 (ERAP1) is one of two ER luminal aminopeptidases that participate in the final processing of peptide precursors and generates the N-termini of the MHC class I-restricted epitopes. In order to investigate the interactions of its binding site with substrate peptides, X-ray crystallographic analyses have been carried out to study structures of ERAP1 regulatory (ERAP1_R) domain in complex with antigenic peptides. Single-chain bimodular constructs with various antigenic peptides linked to the C-terminal end of ERAP1_R domain are designed to facilitate crystallization process of these complexes. These recombinant proteins have been purified and crystalized, and x-ray diffraction data of one crystal have been processed to a resolution of 2.8 . The crystal belongs to the space group P21, with unit cell parameters a =64.2, b = 66.8, c = 66.3 , β = 110.2°. A Refmac-refined omit map reveals a clear density for the antigenic peptide’s carboxylate-end that is in contact with the ERAP1 regulatory domain of neighboring molecule. Thus the single-chain bimodular constructs have provided an expedited approach to study sequence-specific interactions between the ERAP1 regulatory domain and antigen peptide’s C-terminal ends.

Depletion of regulatory T cells augments a vaccine-induced T effector cell response against the liver-stage of malaria but fails to increase memory.

Regulatory T cells (Treg) have been shown to restrict vaccine-induced T cell responses in different experimental models. In these studies CD4+CD25+ Treg were depleted using monoclonal antibodies against CD25, which might also interfere with CD25 on non-regulatory T cell populations and would have no effect on Foxp3+CD25− Treg. To obtain more insights in the specific function of Treg during vaccination we used mice that are transgenic for a bacterial artificial chromosome expressing a diphtheria toxin (DT) receptor-eGFP fusion protein under the control of the foxp3 gene locus (depletion of regulatory T cell mice; DEREG). As an experimental vaccine-carrier recombinant Bordetella adenylate cyclase toxoid fused with a MHC-class I-restricted epitope of the circumsporozoite protein (ACT-CSP) of Plasmodium berghei (Pb) was used. ACT-CSP was shown by us previously to introduce the CD8+ epitope of Pb-CSP into the MHC class I presentation pathway of professional antigen-presenting cells (APC). Using this system we demonstrate here that the number of CSP-specific T cells increases when Treg are depleted during prime but also during boost immunization. Importantly, despite this increase of T effector cells no difference in the number of antigen-specific memory cells was observed.

Defining immune engagement thresholds for in vivo control of virus-driven lymphoproliferation.

Persistent infections are subject to constant surveillance by CD8+ cytotoxic T cells (CTL). Their control should therefore depend on MHC class I-restricted epitope presentation. Many epitopes are described for γ-herpesviruses and form a basis for prospective immunotherapies and vaccines. However the quantitative requirements of in vivo immune control for epitope presentation and recognition remain poorly defined. We used Murid Herpesvirus-4 (MuHV-4) to determine for a latently expressed viral epitope how MHC class-I binding and CTL functional avidity impact on host colonization. Tracking MuHV-4 recombinants that differed only in epitope presentation, we found little latitude for sub-optimal MHC class I binding before immune control failed. By contrast, control remained effective across a wide range of T cell functional avidities. Thus, we could define critical engagement thresholds for the in vivo immune control of virus-driven B cell proliferation.