title: Identification of HLA-A*3101-restricted cytotoxic T-lymphocyte response to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in patients with chronic HIV-1 infection.
abstract: Virus-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses are critical in the control of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infections. As several HIV-1 CTL epitopes restricted to many HLA types are already known, we aimed at identifying the CTL epitopes restricted by HLA-A*3101 in an effort to expand the epitope repertoire available for the development of potential T cell-mediated therapeutic measures and protective vaccines. Scanning of HIV-1 clade B SF2 strain proteins for the presence of peptides containing HLA-A*3101-binding motifs revealed 88 nine- to 11-mer peptides that had been synthesized and assayed for binding to HLA-A*3101 molecules. Peptides with medium to high HLA-binding affinity were tested for their ability to stimulate a CTL response in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from selected HIV-1-infected patients. Two of these binding peptides, Env769-779 (RLRDLLLIAAR) and Nef192-200 (KLAFHHMAR), induced peptide-specific CTLs in PBMCs from at least two of five HIV-1-seropositive individuals. CTL clones specific for the two peptides killed HLA-A*3101-expressing target cells infected with HIV-1 recombinant vaccinia virus, indicating that these peptides were naturally processed HLA-A*3101-restricted CTL epitopes. Identification of T-cell epitopes on HIV-1 proteins will increase our understanding of the role of CD8+ T cells in HIV-1 infections and assist in the design of new protective strategies.
authors.affiliation: Division of Viral Immunology, Center for AIDS Research, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Borghan
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oka
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takiguchi
mesh_terms: D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D015686:Gene Products, env / Q000276:immunology; D015693:Gene Products, nef / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology*; D015234:HLA-A Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010455:Peptides / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D054311:nef Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus
chemical_list: D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte; D015686:Gene Products, env; D015693:Gene Products, nef; D015234:HLA-A Antigens; C506273:HLA-A*31:01 antigen; D010455:Peptides; D054311:nef Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus