title: Human T-cell leukemia virus type-I (HTLV-I)-specific T-cell responses detected using three-divided glutathione-S-transferase (GST)-Tax fusion proteins.
abstract: Insufficient T-cell response to human T-cell leukemia virus type-I (HTLV-I) is a potential risk factor in adult T-cell leukemia (ATL). We established an assay system for detecting HTLV-I-specific T-cell response by using recombinant glutathione-S-transferase (GST) proteins fused with HTLV-I Tax protein that was divided into three portions, Tax-A, -B, and -C, corresponding to the N-terminal, central and C-terminal regions, respectively. When splenocytes from rats immunized with plasmids encoding Tax cDNA were incubated with these recombinant proteins, strong interferon gamma (IFN-gamma-producing responses occurred against GST-Tax proteins but not against control GST proteins. No such Tax-specific responses were observed in splenocytes from naive rats. Cocktails of oligopeptides corresponding to the Tax-A, -B, and -C regions also induced IFN-gamma-producing responses when incubated with splenocytes from immunized rats, but required higher amounts of antigens and there were a shorter periods of sustained T-cell responses than with GST-Tax protein-based assay. Although splenocytes from immunized rats predominantly reacted against GST-Tax-B protein, they failed to react with peptide cocktails corresponding to the Tax-B region, likely because the major epitope was interrupted in the initially prepared series of peptides. Using a newly prepared peptide series we found that splenocytes predominantly reacted with a peptide located in the Tax-B region that overlaps with a previously identified cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) epitope of this rat strain. Using this system, we examined peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from an ATL patient who underwent complete remission following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). PBMC from this patient produced a significant Tax-specific T-cell response predominantly against GST-Tax-A protein. This is consistent with the previous finding that this patient exhibited a strong HLA-A2-restricted CTL response to Tax 11-19 epitope, which is located in the Tax-A region. This study provides a diagnostic tool, useful for monitoring HTLV-I-specific T-cell immunity in patients and for surveying HTLV-I-carriers to identify an immunological group at high risk for ATL development, regardless of their human leukocyte antigen (HLA) types. It is also useful for predicting the location of T-cell epitopes, which may be applicable in future vaccine strategies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunotherapeutics, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Medical Research Division, 1-5-45 Yushima, Tokyo 113-8519, Japan.
authors.forename: Kiyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kurihara
authors.forename: Yukiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.forename: Ayako
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Takamori
authors.forename: Nanae
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Harashima
authors.forename: Misato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Noji
authors.forename: Takao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Masuda
authors.forename: Atae
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Utsunomiya
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Okamura
authors.forename: Mari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kannagi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D002460:Cell Line; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D016356:Gene Products, tax / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000235:genetics*; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000378:metabolism; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology*; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology; D019444:Vaccines, DNA / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte; D016356:Gene Products, tax; D009842:Oligopeptides; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D019444:Vaccines, DNA; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D005982:Glutathione Transferase