title: Human dendritic cells are activated by chimeric human papillomavirus type-16 virus-like particles and induce epitope-specific human T cell responses in vitro.
abstract: Human papillomavirus (HPV)-derived chimeric virus-like particles (VLPs) are the leading candidate vaccine for the treatment or prevention of cervical cancer in humans. Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most potent inducers of immune responses and here we show for the first time evidence for binding of chimeric HPV-16 VLPs to human peripheral blood-derived DCS: Incubation of immature human DCs with VLPs for 48 h induced a significant up-regulation of the CD80 and CD83 molecules as well as secretion of IL-12. Confocal microscopy analysis revealed that cell surface-bound chimeric VLPs were taken up by DCS: Moreover, DCs loaded with chimeric HPV-16 L1L2-E7 VLPs induced an HLA-*0201-restricted human T cell response in vitro specific for E7-derived peptides. These results clearly demonstrate that immature human DCs are fully activated by chimeric HPV-16 VLPs and subsequently are capable of inducing endogenously processed epitope-specific human T cell responses in vitro. Overall, these findings could explain the high immunogenicity and efficiency of VLPs as vaccines.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Immunology Program, Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL 60153, USA.
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Rudolf
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Fausch
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Da Silva
authors.forename: W M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Kast
mesh_terms: D017951:Antigen Presentation / Q000235:genetics; D002213:Capsid / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D036022:Capsid Proteins; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology*; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D018664:Interleukin-12 / Q000378:metabolism; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000276:immunology; D009000:Monocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology; D009856:Oncogene Proteins, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D027383:Papillomaviridae / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D050725:Papillomavirus E7 Proteins; D010449:Peptide Mapping; D011485:Protein Binding / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000276:immunology; D014771:Virion / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D036022:Capsid Proteins; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte; C063316:L2 protein, Human papillomavirus type 16; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D009856:Oncogene Proteins, Viral; D050725:Papillomavirus E7 Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; C059731:oncogene protein E7, Human papillomavirus type 16; D018664:Interleukin-12