HIV-1 gag-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes defined with recombinant vaccinia virus and synthetic peptides

Current candidate vaccines fail to protect primates against challenge with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the presence of antibody responses; this underlines the importance of studying cell-mediated immunity to HIV and identifying specific epitopes that stimulate cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). Using a recombinant vaccinia virus to express the gag protein of HIV-1 we found HLA class-I-restricted gag-specific CTL in thirteen out of fifteen healthy HIV seropositive patients. We then used short synthetic peptides in the lysis assay to screen for gag CTL epitopes. In one patient we have identified a peptide in p24 that is recognized by CTL in association with HLA-B27. This peptide, and further peptide sequences defined by these methods, could be incorporated in vaccines designed to induce cell-mediated immunity against HIV.     

T细胞功能学与结构免疫学结合方法鉴定HLA-A2限制性的细胞毒性T淋巴细胞表位富集区

 T细胞表位在抗病毒的T细胞免疫中发挥核心作用,目前已在多种病原微生物的蛋白序列上发现存在T细胞表位的聚集现象。本文建立了一套功能学与结构学结合的策略鉴定病原体上细胞毒性T细胞(Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte,CTL)表位富集区的方法,并以严重急性呼吸道综合征(SARS)相关冠状病毒(SARS-CoV)的M蛋白为例,成功地鉴定了一个HLA-A2限制性的表位富集区。首先通过生物信息学的方法预测并合成M蛋白跨膜区的HLA-A2潜在结合多肽,通过体外复性实验和T2细胞结合实验验证多肽与HLA-A2的结合力;然后在HLA-A2.1/Kb转基因小鼠中检测这些多肽的免疫原性;最后通过X射线衍射技术,成功解析了其中一条多肽与HLA-A^*0201的复合物结构,其结构显示该多肽具有典型的HLA-A^*0201表位的结构特点,但却呈现出与以往鉴定多肽不同的构象和锚定残基。本文对于理解机体对SARS-CoV等病原体产生的T细胞免疫反应,以及为更广泛的人群设计T细胞疫苗具有重要意义。     

基于改进的人工神经网络方法预测CTL表位

为简化细胞病毒T细胞(cytotoxicity T lymphocytek, CTL)表位鉴定方法,应用改进的人工神经网络方法定量研究了短肽与MHC(major histocompatibility complex)分子结合亲合力的关系,并建立了CTL表位的预测模型,得到了预测模型最优性能参数.用此模型对短肽与HLA-A*0201分子结合的805个预测样本进行了预测,预测准确度达到73.8%.对来自黑色素MAGE-2的短肽与MHC分子的结合亲合力也进行了预测,结果较好.     

Anti-HLA-A2 antibody-enhancement of peptide association with HLA-A2 as detected by cytotoxic T lymphocytes

Most cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) not only recognize epitopes of viral or other foreign proteins in association with class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules, but also recognize target cells sensitized with short synthetic peptides representing the epitopes. There is increasing evidence that these synthetic peptides associate with the class I molecule both at the cell surface and intracellularly. We have now investigated the effect of a monoclonal antibody specific for HLA-A2 and HLA-B17 (B57/58) molecules (antibody MA2.1)3 on the sensitization of target cells with peptide for lysis by HLA-A2-restricted CTL. Previously, anti-HLA class I monoclonal antibodies have been shown to inhibit the recognition of target cells, infected with influenza A virus, by virus-specific CTL. We find, however, that target cells treated with MA2.1 antibody can be sensitized with peptide for CTL lysis much more rapidly than untreated cells, or at greater than 100-fold lower peptide concentration than that required for sensitization of untreated cells. This implies that the antibody, which is believed to bind to one side of the peptide-binding groove, directly affects the binding of peptide to the HLA-A2 molecule at the cell surface.     

Direct binding of influenza peptides to class I HLA molecules

Activation of T lymphocytes requires the intracellular fragmentation of foreign antigens and their presentation by class I or class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) glycoproteins. The direct binding of peptides to class II molecules has been demonstrated using equilibrium dialysis, gel filtration and fluorescence energy transfer at planar membranes, and its specificity compared to that of T-cell activation. In contrast, direct binding of peptides to class I molecules has been difficult to detect; although peptide sensitization experiments and the crystallographic structure of HLA-A2 (ref. 9) persuasively argue for its occurrence and importance. Here we describe a gel filtration assay from which we derive direct evidence for selective binding of an influenza matrix peptide to HLA-A2 and for binding of an influenza nucleoprotein peptide to HLA-B37. These two peptides have previously been shown to act respectively as targets for certain HLA-A2 or HLA-B37 restricted influenza-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). In addition we demonstrate binding to some, but not all, HLA allospecificities that cannot present these peptides to CTL. We estimate that less than 0.3% of the HLA molecules present in any given purified preparation were able to bind the added peptides.     

A nucleoprotein peptide of influenza A virus stimulates assembly of HLA-B27 class I heavy chains and beta 2-microglobulin translated in vitro

Most cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) recognize epitopes of foreign viral proteins in association with class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. Viral proteins synthesized in the cytoplasm require intracellular fragmentation and exposure to the class I antigens for the development of CTL responses. Although indirect evidence for binding of peptides to class I antigens has accumulated, direct binding has only been shown recently. The formation of complexes between peptide and class I antigen may occur in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and peptides have been shown to induce assembly of the class I complex. We have translated the messenger RNAs encoding HLA-B27 (subtype 2705) and beta 2-microglobulin in a rabbit reticulocyte lysate supplemented with human microsomal membranes (to mimic ER membranes), in the absence and presence of a peptide derived from the nucleoprotein (residues 384-394) of influenza A virus. This peptide induces CTL activity against target cells expressing the HLA-B27 antigen. Here we report direct evidence that the nucleoprotein peptide promotes assembly of the HLA-B27 heavy chain and beta 2-microglobulin, and that this can occur in the ER immediately after synthesis of the two proteins.     

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes recognize a fragment of influenza virus matrix protein in association with HLA-A2

Both human and murine cytotoxic T cells (CTL) elicited in response to infection with influenza A viruses have been shown to be specific for internal viral proteins, such as the matrix and nucleoprotein. Individual CTL epitopes have been identified in the nucleoprotein by successfully substituting short synthetic peptides for the intact virus in the preparation of target cells in cytotoxicity assays. The defined peptide epitopes have each been recognized by CTL in association with individual class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins, H-2Db, H-2Kk, H-2Kd (Taylor, P. et al., unpublished data) and HLA-B37. A logical strategy to investigate the molecular details of the interaction between antigen and MHC class I proteins would be to define an epitope recognized by the MHC class I molecule HLA-A2. This is because the amino-acid sequence is known, several variants of A2 have been characterized and the protein has been purified and crystallized. Here we describe a peptide derived from the influenza matrix protein that is recognized by human CTL in association with the HLA-A2 molecule.     

Peptide selection by MHC class I molecules.

Synthetic peptides have been used to sensitize target cells and thereby screen for epitopes recognized by T cells. Most epitopes of cytotoxic T lymphocytes can be mimicked by synthetic peptides of 12-15 amino acids. Although in specific cases, truncations of peptides improves sensitization of target cells, no optimum length for binding to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules has been defined. We have now analysed synthetic peptide captured by empty MHC class I molecules of the mutant cell line RMA-S. We found that class I molecules preferentially bound short peptides (nine amino acids) and selectively bound these peptides even when they were a minor component in a mixture of longer peptides. These results may help to explain the difference in size restriction of T-cell epitopes between experiments with synthetic peptides and those with naturally processed peptides.     

Isolation and analysis of naturally processed viral peptides as recognized by cytotoxic T cells.

Virus-infected cells can be eliminated by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), which recognize virus-derived peptides bound to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules on the cell surface. Until now, this notion has relied on overwhelming but indirect evidence, as the existence of naturally processed viral peptides has not been previously reported. Here we show that such peptides can be extracted from virus-infected cells by acid elution. Both the naturally processed H-2-Db-restricted and H-2-Kd-restricted peptides from influenza nucleoprotein are smaller than the corresponding synthetic peptides, which have first been used to determine the respective CTL epitopes. As with minor histocompatibility antigens, occurrence of viral peptides seems to be heavily dependent on MHC class I molecules, because infected H-2d cells do not contain the H-2-Db-restricted peptide, and infected H-2b cells do not contain the H-2-Kd-restricted peptide. Our data provide direct experimental proof for the above notion on MHC-associated viral peptides on virus-infected cells.     

Cytolytic T-lymphocyte response to isolated class I H-2 proteins and influenza peptides

T cells recognize antigenic peptides in the context of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins. Peptide binding to class II MHC proteins, and T-cell recognition of these complexes at the functional level has been demonstrated. Although considerable evidence suggests that class I-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) recognize class I-peptide complexes, this has not yet been directly demonstrated. Chen and Parham have recently detected a low level of direct binding of radiolabelled influenza peptides to class I HLA proteins, but the relevance of this binding to T-cell recognition remains uncertain. We report here that purified class I proteins pulsed with influenza peptides can trigger antigen-specific, TCR-mediated degranulation by CTL. Effective pulsing depends on both peptide concentration and time, and can occur within 60 minutes. These results provide strong support for the formation of an antigenic complex that is recognized by CTL in which peptide antigens are bound to isolated class I proteins.     

Precise prediction of a dominant class I MHC-restricted epitope of Listeria monocytogenes.

Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive bacterium which grows in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells and can cause severe disease in immunocompromised individuals. In murine systems CD8+ T lymphocytes have been shown to be important effectors of acquired protective immunity against L. monocytogenes. Class I MHC-restricted CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), which lyse J774 macrophage-like targets infected with L. monocytogenes, are induced following in vivo injection of live organisms. Natural peptide epitopes derived from L. monocytogenes can be acid-extracted from heavily infected BALB/c spleens and detected by CTL. A CTL clone, B9, derived from a (BALB/c x C57BL/6)F1 (H-2dxb) mouse, recognizes one of these natural epitopes in an H-2Kd-restricted fashion. B9 also recognizes P815 (H-2d) mastocytoma cells transfected with the listeriolysin gene. To identify the region of the listeriolysin recognized by CTL we used the H-2Kd peptide-binding motif described by Rammensee and colleagues to synthesize 11 nonamer peptides. One of these peptides, listeriolysin 91-99, was recognized very efficiently by B9. This represents the first identified class I MHC-restricted epitope of bacteria and demonstrates the utility of the allele-specific motif for predicting CTL epitopes.     

Foreign peptides displayed on the major coat protein of filamentous bacteriophage

The genome of filamentous bacteriophage can be engineered to display foreign peptides on the surface of the major coat protein. This display system offers an effective approach to researching the immunological recognition of protein. Studies show that this system has several advantages: 1) the specificity of the immune response; 2) the ability to recruit helper T cells; 3) needs no external adjuvants; 4) the structural mimicry of peptide epitopes. These suggest that this technology could be developed into a simple and inexpensive means to produce new biological reagents and vaccines. The development of this technology and the main property of filamentous bacteriophage are introduced in this paper. Some novel results about foreign peptides display using the main coat protein of filamentous bacteriophage are also summarized.     

Predominant naturally processed peptides bound to HLA-DR1 are derived from MHC-related molecules and are heterogeneous in size.

Peptides bound to class I molecules are 8-10 amino acids long, and possess a binding motif representative of peptides that bind to a given class I allele. In the only published study of naturally processed peptides bound to class II molecules (mouse I-Ab and I-Eb), these peptides were longer (13-17 amino acids) and had heterogenous carboxy terminals but precise amino-terminal truncations. Here we report the characterization of acid-eluted peptides bound to HLA-DR1 by high-performance liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry and microsequencing analyses. The relative molecular masses of the peptides varied between 1,602 and 2,996 (13-25 residues), the most abundant individual M(r) values being between 1,700 and 1,800, corresponding to an average peptide length of 15 residues. Complete sequence data were obtained for twenty peptides derived from five epitopes, of which all but one were from self proteins. These peptides represented sets nested at both the N- and C-terminal ends. Binding experiments confirmed that all of the isolated peptides had high affinity for the groove of DR1. Alignment of the peptides bound to HLA-DR1 and the sequences of 35 known HLA-DR1-binding peptides revealed a putative motif. Although peptides bound to class II molecules may have some related features (due to the nonpolymorphic HLA-DR alpha-chain), accounting for degenerate binding to different alleles, particular amino acids in the HLA-DR beta-chains presumably define allelic specificity of peptide binding.     

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes recognize influenza haemagglutinin that lacks a signal sequence

A surprising feature of most cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) responding to influenza infection is that they recognize the unglycosylated (non-transmembrane) proteins of the virus, including the nucleoprotein. Recognition of cells that express nucleoprotein by CTL does not depend on a definite signal sequence within the protein, and the epitopes recognized can be defined with short synthetic peptides in vitro. Haemagglutinin (HA), the major transmembrane protein of the virus, is recognized by a minor population of CTL from infected mice. We have deleted the sequence coding for the N-terminal signal peptide from a complementary DNA encoding HA of the H1 subtype. The signal-deleted HA is detected with antibodies as a short-lived, unglycosylated, intracellular protein. However, CTL raised to the complete molecule recognize cells expressing the signal-deleted HA and vice versa. These results cast doubts on the assumption that CTL recognize the HA molecule only after its insertion into the plasma membrane.     

Non-responsiveness to a foot-and-mouth disease virus peptide overcome by addition of foreign helper T-cell determinants

Study of the immune response to synthetic antigens has shown that uncoupled peptides can realize their potential as vaccines only if they contain domains that react with helper T-cell receptors and Ia antigens in addition to antibody binding sites. Here we consider whether genetically restricted non-responsiveness to an uncoupled peptide could be overcome by synthesizing a peptide with an additional helper T-cell epitope from a different protein. We demonstrate that H-2d mice, which are non-responders to the 141-160 VP1 peptide of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), can be converted into responders by immunization with peptides containing the FMDV sequence with defined 'foreign' helper T-cell determinants from ovalbumin or sperm whale myoglobin. Furthermore, the virus-neutralizing activity of the antibody raised against peptide was dependent on the determinant used. Thus, FMDV peptides with the added sequences 323-339 from ovalbumin and 132-148 from sperm-whale myoglobin elicited a high degree of neutralizing activity in B10.D2 mice. The sera from mice which received the peptide with the added sequence 105-121 from sperm whale myoglobin did not neutralize the virus, although they had high levels of anti-141-160 FMDV peptide activity. Our data indicate that the T-cell help given by the 'foreign' epitopes is B-cell clone specific. These results are likely to have important implications for the design of peptide vaccines.     

sFcγRⅡb蛋白结合肽的筛选与鉴定

FcγRⅡb是免疫球蛋白G受体( FcγR)中唯一的抑制型受体,在免疫反应的负性调节方面发挥重要作用.为了筛选sFcγRⅡb的蛋白结合肽,以重组sFcγRⅡb蛋白为靶分子,采用噬菌体肽库展示技术对sFcγRⅡb结合肽进行筛选.利用ELISA鉴定每轮洗脱噬菌体与sFcγRⅡb蛋白亲和力,经过4轮筛选,挑取40个噬菌体克隆进行序列测定,获得28种不同的12肽序列.经ELISA法鉴定噬菌体与sFcγRⅡb蛋白结合活性,得到sFcγRⅡb蛋白高特异性、高亲和力结合肽FHKMPWYMSMYY,为进一步研究FcγRⅡb的作用机制和探索结合肽的功能提供实验基础.     

利用噬菌体展示筛选结合水稻条叶枯病毒S蛋白的短肽

利用噬菌体展示技术在随机7肽库中筛选到结合水稻条叶枯病毒（rice stripe virus ,RSV）病害特异蛋白（stripe disease-specific protein,S蛋白）的6个短肽,并进行了序列测定,ELISA结果表明,6个短肽和S蛋白具有一定的亲和能力,筛选到的短肽对今后S蛋白功能分析、转基因抗RSV和水稻条叶枯病的诊断提供了条件。     

基于分子对接技术从虾夷扇贝中筛选抗SARS-CoV-2活性肽研究

为从食品原料中筛选具有抗2019新型冠状病毒(SARS-CoV-2)能力的生物活性肽段,选用虾夷扇贝肌球蛋白为目标序列,利用计算机对虾夷扇贝肌球蛋白进行模拟酶解,对酶解所得的肽段进行毒性和生物活性预测。选取活性评分超过0.5且无毒性的肽段,以SARS-CoV-S/ACE2复合蛋白和COVID-19 Mpro水解酶为靶标进行分子对接,鉴定其病毒抗性。结果表明:肽段CSNAIPEL可以与SARS-CoV-S/ACE2复合蛋白上的GLN42和GLU329两个关键氨基酸结合,LibDock Score为136.03;肽段LPIY不仅能与SARS-CoV-S/ACE2复合蛋白上的ASP38和TYR491氨基酸结合,还能够与COVID-19 Mpro上的THR24、THR25和THR26氨基酸结合,LibDock Score 分别为142.85和168.04;肽段QRPR与COVID-19 Mpro 水解酶晶体上的THR24、THR25和THR26氨基酸结合,LibDock Score为154.93。研究表明,肽段CSNAIPEL、LPIY和QRPR三者表现出较好的抗SARS-CoV-2能力。本研究旨在为抗新型冠状病毒功能食品的研发提供新的思路。     

抗HIV-1gp41合成多肽gp41-5单克隆抗体的制备及初步鉴定

制备抗HIV-1 gp41合成多肽gp41-5的单克隆抗体（mAb），为筛选抗HIV-1多肽及分析gp41的抗原表位提供有用工具。常规动物免疫、细胞融合、克隆化制备抗gp41-5多肽mAb，并用ELISA法对其特异性、抗原识别表位及相对亲和力等做了初步鉴定。获得了4株抗gp41-5多肽的mAb，这4株mAb均特异识别gp41-5多肽，但不与gp41的N36或C34多肽片段反应。得到的4株mAb能特异结合gp41核心结构的空间构象。     

HLA-A2限制性CTL表位肽定量构效关系研究

基于SCORE打分函数，运用定量构效关系的理论和方法研究了HLA—A2限制性CTL表位九肽结构与亲和性间的定量关系，并建立了SCORE得分与亲和性的定量关系模型，并用外部样本（5个HLA—A2限制性CTL表位九肽）作为预测集用于检验模型的预测能力．基于SCORE打分函数建立的定量模型具有较好的相关性（r=0，9165，RMS=0．38）和对外部样本的预测能力（rpred=0．9847，RMS=0．135）．基于SCORE打分函数，运用定量构效关系研究的理论和方法建立了HLA—A2限制性CTL表位亲和性的定量预测方法，为实验鉴定高亲和性HLA—A2限制性CTL表位提供了理论依据．