Infection of HLA-DR1 transgenic mice with a human isolate of influenza a virus (H1N1) primes a diverse CD4 T-cell repertoire that includes CD4 T cells with heterosubtypic cross-reactivity to avian (H5N1) influenza virus.
The specificity of the CD4 T-cell immune response to influenza virus is influenced by the genetic complexity of the virus and periodic encounters with variant subtypes and strains. In order to understand what controls CD4 T-cell reactivity to influenza virus proteins and how the influenza virus-specific memory compartment is shaped over time, it is first necessary to understand the diversity of the primary CD4 T-cell response. In the study reported here, we have used an unbiased approach to evaluate the peptide specificity of CD4 T cells elicited after live influenza virus infection. We have focused on four viral proteins that have distinct intracellular distributions in infected cells, hemagglutinin (HA), neuraminidase (NA), nucleoprotein, and the NS1 protein, which is expressed in infected cells but excluded from virion particles. Our studies revealed an extensive diversity of influenza virus-specific CD4 T cells that includes T cells for each viral protein and for the unexpected immunogenicity of the NS1 protein. Due to the recent concern about pandemic avian influenza virus and because CD4 T cells specific for HA and NA may be particularly useful for promoting the production of neutralizing antibody to influenza virus, we have also evaluated the ability of HA- and NA-specific CD4 T cells elicited by a circulating H1N1 strain to cross-react with related sequences found in an avian H5N1 virus and find substantial cross-reactivity, suggesting that seasonal vaccines may help promote protection against avian influenza virus.
Richards
Katherine A
KA
David H. Smith Center for Vaccine Biology and Immunology, Aab Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642, USA.
Chaves
Francisco A
FA
Sant
Andrea J
AJ
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D002460:Cell Line; D003429:Cross Reactions; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte / Q000276:immunology; D015798:HLA-DR1 Antigen / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D053118:Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype / Q000276:immunology*; D053124:Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009976:Orthomyxoviridae Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins / Q000276:immunology
D000956:Antigens, Viral; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte; D015798:HLA-DR1 Antigen; C085820:INS1 protein, influenza virus; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins