Identification of subregions of Bordetella pertussis filamentous hemagglutinin that stimulate human T-cell responses.
Filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA), a 220-kDa protein that mediates the adhesion of Bordetella pertussis to eukaryotic cells, is a component of acellular vaccines against whooping cough. To identify the subregions of FHA that are immunogenic for T cells, 16 human T-cell clones were raised against purified FHA and tested for the recognition of recombinant and proteolytic fragments. The clones were found to map either in the carboxy-terminal or the amino-terminal part of the FHA molecule, but none of them recognized the central region, which contains a sequence that is homologous to that of the eukaryotic protein fibronectin. These data suggest that subregions of FHA that do not contain sequences that are potentially cross-reactive with self proteins may be sufficient to induce an immune response against the whole protein.
Di Tommaso
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Sclavo Research Center, Siena, Italy.
Domenighini
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M
Bugnoli
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M
Tagliabue
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A
Rappuoli
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R
De Magistris
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MT
D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D003429:Cross Reactions / Q000276:immunology; D000939:Epitopes / Q000276:immunology*; D006388:Hemagglutinins / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000276:immunology; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000276:immunology; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D010566:Virulence Factors, Bordetella
D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; D000939:Epitopes; D006388:Hemagglutinins; D009842:Oligopeptides; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D010566:Virulence Factors, Bordetella; C065273:filamentous hemagglutinin adhesin, Bordetella pertussis