Studies on the cross-clade and cross-species conservation of HIV-1 Gag-specific CD8 and CD4 T cell responses elicited by a clade B DNA/MVA vaccine in macaques.
Here, we evaluate the T cell responses raised by our HIV-1 clade B DNA/MVA vaccine for recognition of a HIV-1 circulating recombinant form (CRF) AG Gag sequence (CRF-02). The cross-clade activity for the AG sequence was better conserved for CD8 than CD4 T cells. CD8 T cells exhibited 75% conservation for height and 83% conservation for breadth, whereas CD4 responses exhibited 45% conservation for height and 50% conservation for breadth. Five CD8 epitopes and 8 CD4 epitopes were mapped. Three of the 5 CD8 epitopes and 2 of the 8 CD4 epitopes were conserved across multiple HIV-1 clades. Impressively, all of the CD8 epitopes and half of the CD4 epitopes have been reported for human infections. Our results demonstrate that the clade B DNA/MVA HIV vaccine elicits T cell responses against epitopes that are conserved in multiple clades and recognized by humans and macaques.
Amara
Rama Rao
RR
Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. rama@rmy.emory.edu
Sharma
Sunita
S
Patel
Milloni
M
Smith
James M
JM
Chennareddi
Lakshmi
L
Herndon
James G
JG
Robinson
Harriet L
HL
D016915:AIDS Vaccines / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D018604:Epitope Mapping; D000939:Epitopes / Q000235:genetics; D015683:Gene Products, gag / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D015488:HIV Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013045:Species Specificity; D019444:Vaccines, DNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology
D016915:AIDS Vaccines; D000939:Epitopes; D015683:Gene Products, gag; D015488:HIV Antigens; D019444:Vaccines, DNA