title: Identification of cross-clade CTL epitopes in HIV-1 clade A/E-infected individuals by using the clade B overlapping peptides.
abstract: Identification of cross-clade T cell epitopes is one of key factors for the development of a widely applicable AIDS vaccine. We here investigated cross-clade CD8(+) T cell responses between clade B and A/E viruses in chronically HIV-1 clade A/E-infected Japanese individuals. CD8(+) T cell responses to 11-mer overlapping peptides derived from Nef, Gag, and Pol clade B consensus sequences were at a similar level to those to the same peptides found in clade B-infected individuals. Fifteen cross-clade CTL epitopes were identified from 13 regions where the frequency of responders was high in the clade A/E-infected individuals. The sequences of 6 epitopes were conserved between the clade B and clade A/E viruses whereas 9 epitopes had different amino acid sequences between the 2 viruses. CD8(+) T cells specific for the 6 conserved epitopes recognized cells infected with the clade A/E virus, whereas those for 8 diverse epitopes recognized both the clade A/E virus-infected and clade B-infected cells. All of the cross-clade CD8(+) T cells specific for conserved and diverse epitopes were detected in chronically HIV-1 clade A/E-infected individuals. These results show that in addition to conserved regions polymorphic ones across the clades can be targets for cross-clade CTLs.
authors: Center for AIDS Research, Kumamoto University, 2-2-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto, Japan; AIDS Clinical Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, 1-21-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors: Koji
authors: K
authors: Watanabe
authors: Hayato
authors: H
authors: Murakoshi
authors: Yoshiko
authors: Y
authors: Tamura
authors: Madoka
authors: M
authors: Koyanagi
authors: Takayuki
authors: T
authors: Chikata
authors: Hiroyuki
authors: H
authors: Gatanaga
authors: Shinichi
authors: S
authors: Oka
authors: Masafumi
authors: M
authors: Takiguchi
mesh_terms: D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D003429:Cross Reactions; D018604:Epitope Mapping; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte / Q000276:immunology*; D005838:Genotype; D015488:HIV Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte; D015488:HIV Antigens
keywords: CTL; Cross-clade; Epitope; HIV; HLA