title: Epitopes of the NS3 protein of hepatitis C virus: recognition in HLA-DR4 transgenic mice.
abstract: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects more than 180 million of the world's population and causes a persistent infection that over decades can result in cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Treatment is only partially effective and control is likely only with the development of effective vaccines. Currently, only chimpanzees can be infected with HCV and alternative animal and tissue culture models are badly needed. We have used mice transgenic for HLA-DR and human CD4 to analyse the specificity of murine responses to the HCV NS3 antigen in an effort to determine whether the epitopes recognized correspond to those recognized by human T cells. Indeed, determinants mapped in transgenic mice overlap with those in a patient exposed to HCV through infection. This result provides hope that such an animal model may be a useful tool with which to analyse particular aspects of immune responses to HCV in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Blood Research Institute, The Blood Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-2178, USA. ddeckels@bcsew.edu
authors.forename: David D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Eckels
authors.forename: Tonghua
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bian
authors.forename: Joan C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Gill
authors.forename: Grete
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sønderstrup
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte / Q000276:immunology*; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D015804:HLA-DR4 Antigen / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D059811:HLA-DRB1 Chains; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D006825:Hybridomas; D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D010455:Peptides / Q000276:immunology; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases; D043583:Nucleoside-Triphosphatase; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases; D000085242:Viral Proteases
chemical_list: D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D015804:HLA-DR4 Antigen; D059811:HLA-DRB1 Chains; D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes; D010455:Peptides; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins; C084422:NS3 protein, hepatitis C virus; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases; D043583:Nucleoside-Triphosphatase; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases; D000085242:Viral Proteases