Persistent memory CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses in recovered severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patients to SARS coronavirus M antigen.
The membrane (M) protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is a major glycoprotein with multiple biological functions. In this study, we found that memory T cells against M protein were persistent in recovered SARS patients by detecting gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) production using ELISA and ELISpot assays. Flow cytometric analysis showed that both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were involved in cellular responses to SARS-CoV M antigen. Furthermore, memory CD8+ T cells displayed an effector memory cell phenotype expressing CD45RO- CCR7- CD62L-. In contrast, the majority of IFN-gamma+ CD4+ T cells were central memory cells with the expression of CD45RO+ CCR7+ CD62L-. The epitope screening from 30 synthetic overlapping peptides that cover the entire SARS-CoV M protein identified four human T-cell immunodominant peptides, p21-44, p65-91, p117-140 and p200-220. All four immunodominant peptides could elicit cellular immunity with a predominance of CD8+ T-cell response. This data may have important implication for developing SARS vaccines.
Yang
Litao
L
Department of Immunology, Zhongshan Medical School, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510089, China.
Peng
Hui
H
Department of Immunology, Zhongshan Medical School, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510089, China.
Zhu
Zhaoling
Z
Department of Immunology, Zhongshan Medical School, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510089, China.
Li
Gang
G
Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510630, China.
Huang
Zitong
Z
Second Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510120, China.
Zhao
Zhixin
Z
Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510630, China.
Koup
Richard A
RA
Vaccine Research Center, NIAID/NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Bailer
Robert T
RT
Vaccine Research Center, NIAID/NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Wu
Changyou
C
Department of Immunology, Zhongshan Medical School, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510089, China.
D000328:Adult; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology*; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D045473:Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / Q000276:immunology*; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000276:immunology*; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins / Q000276:immunology*
D000956:Antigens, Viral; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins; D007371:Interferon-gamma