Laurie Huston

Healthy Human Subjects Have CD4+ T Cells Directed against H5N1 Influenza Virus

It is commonly perceived that the human immune system is naive to the newly emerged H5N1 virus. In contrast, most adults have been exposed to influenza A H1N1 and H3N2 viruses through vaccination or infection. Adults born before 1968 have likely been exposed to H2N2 viruses. We hypothesized that CD4+ T cells generated in response to H1N1, H3N2, and H2N2 influenza A viruses also recognize H5N1 epitopes. Tetramer-guided epitope mapping and Ag-specific class II tetramers were used to identify H5N1-specific T cell epitopes and detect H5N1-specific T cell responses. Fifteen of 15 healthy subjects tested had robust CD4+ T cell responses against matrix protein, nucleoprotein, and neuraminidase of the influenza A/Viet Nam/1203/2004 (H5N1) virus. These results are not surprising, because the matrix protein and nucleoprotein of influenza A viruses are conserved while the neuraminidase of the H5N1 virus is of the same subtype as that of the circulating H1N1 influenza strain. However, H5N1 hemagglutinin-reactive CD4+ T cells were also detected in 14 of 14 subjects examined despite the fact that hemagglutinin is less conserved. Most were cross-reactive to H1, H2, or H3 hemagglutinin epitopes. H5N1-reactive T cells were also detected ex vivo, exhibited a memory phenotype, and were capable of secreting IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-5, and IL-13. These data demonstrate the presence of H5N1 cross-reactive T cells in healthy Caucasian subjects, implying that exposure to influenza A H1N1, H3N2, or H2N2 viruses through either vaccination or infection may provide partial immunity to the H5N1 virus.

CD4+ T cells from type 1 diabetic and healthy subjects exhibit different thresholds of activation to a naturally processed proinsulin epitope.

Recent studies suggest that insulin is a primary autoantigen for type 1 diabetes. Several studies have identified preproinsulin (PPI) 76-90 as an immunodominant CD4+ T cell epitope. We developed a class II tetramer reagent using a modified PPI peptide with a lysine to serine substitution at position 88 (PPI 78-90(88S)) that has high binding affinity to DRA1*0101/DRB1*0401 (DR0401). Using this tetramer, positive responses were observed from both DR0401 healthy and type 1 diabetic subjects when T cells were stimulated with the PPI 78-90(88S) peptide. Seventy percent of these T cells proliferated in response to both the wild type PPI 76-90 and PPI 78-90(88S) peptides. However, when T cells were stimulated with wild type peptide and assayed with DR0401/PPI 78-90(88S), positive responses were only detected in the diabetic group but not in healthy subjects. When highly purified CD4+CD25-CD45RA+ T cells were stimulated with PPI 78-90(88S) peptide in the absence of antigen-presenting cells, T cells from the diabetic group were able to respond to peptide stimulation, while T cells from healthy subjects were not. These data suggest that T cells from type 1 diabetic subjects have a lower threshold of activation in response to PPI peptide stimulation as compared to healthy subjects.

The Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed Vaccine Generates Protective Antigen (PA)-Specific CD4+ T Cells with a Phenotype Distinct from That of Naïve PA T Cells

ABSTRACT Cellular immune responses against protective antigen (PA) of Bacillus anthracis in subjects that received the anthrax vaccine adsorbed (AVA) vaccine were examined. Multiple CD4+ T-cell epitopes within PA were identified by using tetramer-guided epitope mapping. PA-reactive CD4+ T cells with a CD45RA− phenotype were also detected by direct ex vivo staining of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) with PA-specific tetramers. Surprisingly, PA-specific T cells were also detected in PBMC of nonvaccinees after a single cycle of in vitro PA stimulation. However, PA-reactive CD4+ T cells in nonvaccinees occurred at lower frequencies than those in vaccinees. The majority of PA-reactive T cells from nonvaccinees were CD45RA+ and exhibited a Th0/Th1 cytokine profile. In contrast, phenotyping and cytokine profile analyses of PA-reactive CD4+ T cells from vaccinees indicated that vaccination leads to commitment of PA-reactive T cells to a Th2 lineage, including generation of PA-specific, pre-Th2 central memory T cells. These results demonstrate that the current AVA vaccine is effective in skewing the development of PA CD4+ T cells to the Th2 lineage. The data also demonstrated the feasibility of using class II tetramers to analyze CD4+ cell responses and lineage development after vaccination.

Reassessing the role of HLA-DRB3 T cell responses: Evidence for significant expression and complementary antigen presentation

In humans, several HLA‐DRB loci (DRB1/3/4/5) encode diverse β‐chains that pair with α‐chains to form DR molecules on the surface of APC. While DRB1 and DRB5 have been extensively studied, the role of DRB3/4 products of DR52/DR53 haplotypes has been largely neglected. To clarify the relative expression of DRB3, we quantified DRB3 mRNA levels in comparison with DRB1 mRNA from the same haplotype in both B cells and monocytes, observing quantitatively significant DRB3 synthesis. In CD19+ cells, DRB1*03/11/13 was 3.5‐fold more abundant than DRB3, but in CD14+ this difference was only two‐fold. Monocytes also had lower overall levels of DR mRNA compared with B cells, which was confirmed by cell surface staining of DRB1 and DRB3. To evaluate the functional role of DRB3, tetramer‐guided epitope mapping was used to detect T cells against tetanus toxin and several influenza antigens presented by DRB3*0101/0202 or DRB1*03/11/13. None of the epitopes discovered were shared among any of the DR molecules. Quantitative assessment of DRB3‐tetanus toxin specific T cells revealed that they are present at similar frequencies as those observed for DRB1. These results suggest that DRB3 plays a significant role in antigen presentation with different epitopic preferences to DRB1. Therefore, DRB3, like DRB5, serves to extend and complement the peptide repertoire of DRB1 in antigen presentation.

Definition of the peptide binding motif within DRB1*1401 restricted epitopes by peptide competition and structural modeling

This study identified the peptide-binding motif of HLA-DRA/DRB1*1401 (DR1401). First, peptides containing DR1401 restricted epitopes were identified using tetramer-guided epitope mapping. Among these, an influenza B peptide was selected for the motif study. After confirming the binding register for this peptide using a set of arginine substitutions, binding affinities were determined for 33 peptides derived from this influenza B sequence with single amino acid substitutions. The DR1401 peptide-binding motif was deduced from the relative binding affinities of these peptides and confirmed by structural modeling. Pocket 1 demonstrated a preference for aliphatic anchor residues and methionine. Pocket 4 accommodated methionine and aliphatic residues, but also allowed some polar and charged amino acids. Pocket 6 preferred basic residues but also allowed some polar and aliphatic amino acids. Pocket 9 preferred aliphatic and aromatic amino acids and tolerated some polar residues but excluded all charged residues. Together these preferences define a distinct set of peptides that can be presented by DR1401. The resulting motif was used to verify T cell epitopes within the novel antigenic peptides identified by tetramer-guided epitope mapping and within peptides from published reports that contain putative DR1401 epitopes.

H5N1 strain-specific Hemagglutinin CD4+ T cell epitopes restricted by HLA DR4

CD4+ T cells play a pivotal role in the viral immunity, and as such identification of unique strain-specific HLA class II restricted epitopes is essential for monitoring cellular strain-specific viral immunity. Using Tetramer-Guided Epitope Mapping technique, we identified HLA-DR0401 restricted HA epitopes that are strain-specific to H5N1 virion. Two immunodominant epitopes H5HA(441-460) and H5HA(57-76) were identified from in vitro stimulated human PBMC. Both epitopes elicit strong cellular immune responses when HLA-DR0401 transgenic mice are immunized with H5N1 subvirion indicating in vivo naturally processed immunodominant epitopes. The H5HA(57-76) epitope is unique for the H5N1 strain but conserved among all H5N1 clades recommended for vaccine development by World Health Organization. The unique H5HA(57-76) response was uncommon in unexposed individuals and only observed in the naïve T cell subset. Thus, H5N1 strain-specific H5HA(57-76) immunogenic epitope represents a unique marker for monitoring the efficacy of vaccination or as a candidate vaccine peptide.

Searching immunodominant epitopes prior to epidemic: HLA class II-restricted SARS-CoV spike protein epitopes in unexposed individuals

Abstract Identification of dominant T cell epitopes within newly emerging and re-emerging infectious organisms is valuable in understanding pathogenic immune responses and potential vaccine designs. However, difficulties in obtaining samples from patients or convalescent subjects have hampered research in this direction. We demonstrated a strategy, tetramer-guided epitope mapping, that specific CD4+ T cell epitopes can be identified by using PBMC from subjects that have not been exposed to the infectious organism. Sixteen HLA-DR0401- and 14 HLA-DR0701-restricted epitopes within spike protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (SARS-CoV) were identified. Among these, spike protein residues 159–171, 166–178, 449–461 and 1083–1097 were identified to contain naturally processed immunodominant epitopes based on strong in vitro T cell responses of PBMC (as assayed by tetramer staining) to intact spike protein stimulation. These immunodominant epitopes were confirmed in vivo in HLA-DR0401 transgenic mice by immunizing with spike protein. Furthermore, the epitope-specific T cells from naive donors secreted IFN-γ and IL-13 upon re-stimulation with corresponding tetramers. Our study demonstrates a strategy to determine potential immunodominant epitopes for emerging infectious pathogens prior to their epidemic circulation.