scholarly journals Transmembrane Helices Are an Over-Presented and Evolutionarily Conserved Source of Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I and II Epitopes

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richèl J. C. Bilderbeek ◽  
Maksim V. Baranov ◽  
Geert van den Bogaart ◽  
Frans Bianchi

Cytolytic T cell responses are predicted to be biased towards membrane proteins. The peptide-binding grooves of most alleles of histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) are relatively hydrophobic, therefore peptide fragments derived from human transmembrane helices (TMHs) are predicted to be presented more often as would be expected based on their abundance in the proteome. However, the physiological reason of why membrane proteins might be over-presented is unclear. In this study, we show that the predicted over-presentation of TMH-derived peptides is general, as it is predicted for bacteria and viruses and for both MHC-I and MHC-II, and confirmed by re-analysis of epitope databases. Moreover, we show that TMHs are evolutionarily more conserved, because single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are present relatively less frequently in TMH-coding chromosomal regions compared to regions coding for extracellular and cytoplasmic protein regions. Thus, our findings suggest that both cytolytic and helper T cells are more tuned to respond to membrane proteins, because these are evolutionary more conserved. We speculate that TMHs are less prone to mutations that enable pathogens to evade T cell responses.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richel Bilderbeek ◽  
Maksim Baranov ◽  
Frans Bianchi ◽  
Geert van den Bogaart

Cytolytic T cell responses are predicted to be biased towards membrane proteins. The peptide-binding grooves of most haplotypes of histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) are relatively hydrophobic, therefor peptide fragments derived from human transmembrane helices (TMHs) are predicted to be presented more often as would be expected based on their abundance in the proteome. However, the physiological reason of why membrane proteins might be over-presented is unclear. In this study, we show that the over-presentation of TMH-derived peptides is general, as it is predicted for bacteria and viruses and for both MHC-I and MHC-II. Moreover, we show that TMHs are evolutionarily more conserved, because single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are present relatively less frequently in TMH-coding chromosomal regions compared to regions coding for extracellular and cytoplasmic protein regions. Thus, our findings suggest that both cytolytic and helper T cells respond more to membrane proteins, because these are evolutionary more conserved. We speculate that TMHs therefor are less prone to escape mutations that enable pathogens to evade T cell responses.


2018 ◽  
Vol 93 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauricio A. Martins ◽  
Lucas Gonzalez-Nieto ◽  
Young C. Shin ◽  
Aline Domingues ◽  
Martin J. Gutman ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTApproximately 50% of rhesus macaques (RMs) expressing the major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) alleleMamu-B*08spontaneously control chronic-phase viremia after infection with the pathogenic simian immunodeficiency virus mac239 (SIVmac239) clone. CD8+T-cell responses in these animals are focused on immunodominant Mamu-B*08-restricted SIV epitopes in Vif and Nef, and prophylactic vaccination with these epitopes increases the incidence of elite control in SIVmac239-infectedMamu-B*08-positive (Mamu-B*08+) RMs. Here we evaluated if robust vaccine-elicited CD8+T-cell responses against Vif and Nef can prevent systemic infection inMamu-B*08+RMs following mucosal SIV challenges. TenMamu-B*08+RMs were vaccinated with a heterologous prime/boost/boost regimen encoding Vif and Nef, while six sham-vaccinated MHC-I-matched RMs served as the controls for this experiment. Vaccine-induced CD8+T cells against Mamu-B*08-restricted SIV epitopes reached high frequencies in blood but were present at lower levels in lymph node and gut biopsy specimens. Following repeated intrarectal challenges with SIVmac239, all control RMs became infected by the sixth SIV exposure. By comparison, four vaccinees were still uninfected after six challenges, and three of them remained aviremic after 3 or 4 additional challenges. The rate of SIV acquisition in the vaccinees was numerically lower (albeit not statistically significantly) than that in the controls. However, peak viremia was significantly reduced in infected vaccinees compared to control animals. We found no T-cell markers that distinguished vaccinees that acquired SIV infection from those that did not. Additional studies will be needed to validate these findings and determine if cellular immunity can be harnessed to prevent the establishment of productive immunodeficiency virus infection.IMPORTANCEIt is generally accepted that the antiviral effects of vaccine-induced classical CD8+T-cell responses against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are limited to partial reductions in viremia after the establishment of productive infection. Here we show that rhesus macaques (RMs) vaccinated with Vif and Nef acquired simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection at a lower (albeit not statistically significant) rate than control RMs following repeated intrarectal challenges with a pathogenic SIV clone. All animals in the present experiment expressed the elite control-associated major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) molecule Mamu-B*08 that binds immunodominant epitopes in Vif and Nef. Though preliminary, these results provide tantalizing evidence that the protective efficacy of vaccine-elicited CD8+T cells may be greater than previously thought. Future studies should examine if vaccine-induced cellular immunity can prevent systemic viral replication in RMs that do not express MHC-I alleles associated with elite control of SIV infection.


2000 ◽  
Vol 74 (19) ◽  
pp. 9144-9151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael R. Betts ◽  
Joseph P. Casazza ◽  
Brent A. Patterson ◽  
Shar Waldrop ◽  
Wendy Trigona ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Recent studies of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-specific CD8+ T cells have focused on responses to single, usually HLA-A2-restricted epitopes as surrogate measures of the overall response to HIV. However, the assumption that a response to one epitope is representative of the total response is unconfirmed. Here we assess epitope immunodominance and HIV-specific CD8+ T-cell response complexity using cytokine flow cytometry to examine CD8+ T-cell responses in 11 HLA-A2+HIV+ individuals. Initial studies demonstrated that only 4 of 11 patients recognized the putative immunodominant HLA-A2-restricted p17 epitope SLYNTVATL, suggesting that the remaining subjects might lack significant HIV-specific CD8+ T-cell responses. However, five of six SLYNTVATL nonresponders recognized other HIV epitopes, and two of four SLYNTVATL responders had greater responses to HIV peptides restricted by other class I alleles. In several individuals, no HLA-A2-restricted epitopes were recognized, but CD8+ T-cell responses were detected to epitopes restricted by other HLA class I alleles. These data indicate that an individual's overall CD8+ T-cell response to HIV is not adequately represented by the response to a single epitope and that individual major histocompatibility complex class I alleles do not predict an immunodominant response restricted by that allele. Accurate quantification of total HIV-specific CD8+ T-cell responses will require assessment of the response to all possible epitopes.


Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 119 (4) ◽  
pp. 967-977 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agostinho Carvalho ◽  
Antonella De Luca ◽  
Silvia Bozza ◽  
Cristina Cunha ◽  
Carmen D'Angelo ◽  
...  

Abstract Aspergillus fumigatus is a model fungal pathogen and a common cause of severe infections and diseases. CD8+ T cells are present in the human and murine T-cell repertoire to the fungus. However, CD8+ T-cell function in infection and the molecular mechanisms that control their priming and differentiation into effector and memory cells in vivo remain elusive. In the present study, we report that both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells mediate protective memory responses to the fungus contingent on the nature of the fungal vaccine. Mechanistically, class I MHC-restricted, CD8+ memory T cells were activated through TLR3 sensing of fungal RNA by cross-presenting dendritic cells. Genetic deficiency of TLR3 was associated with susceptibility to aspergillosis and concomitant failure to activate memory-protective CD8+ T cells both in mice and in patients receiving stem-cell transplantations. Therefore, TLR3 essentially promotes antifungal memory CD8+ T-cell responses and its deficiency is a novel susceptibility factor for aspergillosis in high-risk patients.


2012 ◽  
Vol 513 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Fabrizzio Inácio ◽  
Renata Graciele Zanon ◽  
Liana Verinaud ◽  
Alexandre Leite Rodrigues de Oliveira

2013 ◽  
Vol 288 (45) ◽  
pp. 32797-32808 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy van Hateren ◽  
Rachel Carter ◽  
Alistair Bailey ◽  
Nasia Kontouli ◽  
Anthony P. Williams ◽  
...  

2000 ◽  
Vol 74 (19) ◽  
pp. 9256-9266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvie Le Gall ◽  
Florence Buseyne ◽  
Alicja Trocha ◽  
Bruce D. Walker ◽  
Jean-Michel Heard ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Nef protein alters the post-Golgi stages of major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) biogenesis. Presumed mechanisms involve the disclosure of a cryptic tyrosine-based sorting signal (YSQA) located in the cytoplasmic tail of HLA-A and -B heavy chains. We changed this signal for a prototypic sorting motif (YSQI or YSQL). Modified HLA-A2 molecules, termed A2-endo, displayed constitutively low surface levels and accumulated in a region close to or within the Golgi apparatus, a behavior reminiscent of wild-type HLA-A2 in Nef-expressing cells. However, several lines of evidence indicate that the action of prototypic signals on MHC-I trafficking differs from that of Nef. Internalization of surface A2-endo was more rapid and was associated with efficient recycling to the surface. A transdominant-negative mutant of dynamin-1 inhibited A2-endo constitutive internalization and Nef-induced CD4 down-regulation, whereas it did not affect the activity of Nef on MHC-I. Moreover, trafficking of A2-endo was still affected by the viral protein, indicating additive effects of prototypic signals and Nef. Therefore, distinct trafficking pathways regulate clathrin-dependent and Nef-induced MHC-I modulation.


2015 ◽  
Vol 89 (15) ◽  
pp. 7636-7645 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuancheng Guo ◽  
Taixiang Liu ◽  
Hengfei Shi ◽  
Jingjing Wang ◽  
Ping Ji ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTRespiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of acute respiratory tract viral infection in infants, causing bronchiolitis and pneumonia. The host antiviral response to RSV acts via retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I). We show here that RSV infection upregulates major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) expression through the induction of NLRC5, a NOD-like, CARD domain-containing intracellular protein that has recently been identified as a class I MHC transactivator (CITA). RSV infection of A549 cells promotes upregulation of NLRC5 via beta interferon (IFN-β) production, since the NLRC5-inducing activity in a conditioned medium from RSV-infected A549 cells was removed by antibody to IFN-β, but not by antibody to IFN-γ. RSV infection resulted in RIG-I upregulation and induction of NLRC5 and MHC-I. Suppression of RIG-I induction significantly blocked NLRC5, as well as MHC-I, upregulation and diminished IRF3 activation. Importantly, Vero cells deficient in interferon production still upregulated MHC-I following introduction of the RSV genome by infection or transfection, further supporting a key role for RIG-I. A model is therefore proposed in which the host upregulates MHC-I expression during RSV infection directly via the induction of RIG-I and NLRC5 expression. Since elevated expression of MHC-I molecules can sensitize host cells to T lymphocyte-mediated cytotoxicity or immunopathologic damage, the results have significant implications for the modification of immunity in RSV disease.IMPORTANCEHuman respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in infants and young children worldwide. Infection early in life is linked to persistent wheezing and allergic asthma in later life, possibly related to upregulation of major histocompatibility class I (MHC-I) on the cell surface, which facilitates cytotoxic T cell activation and antiviral immunity. Here, we show that RSV infection of lung epithelial cells induces expression of RIG-I, resulting in induction of a class I MHC transactivator, NLRC5, and subsequent upregulation of MHC-I. Suppression of RIG-I induction blocked RSV-induced NLRC5 expression and MHC-I upregulation. Increased MHC-I expression may exacerbate the RSV disease condition due to immunopathologic damage, linking the innate immune response to RSV disease.


Blood ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 91 (10) ◽  
pp. 3566-3573 ◽  
Author(s):  
Søren Skov ◽  
Mette Nielsen ◽  
Søren Bregenholt ◽  
Niels Ødum ◽  
Mogens H. Claesson

Abstract Activation of Janus tyrosine kinases (Jak) and Signal transducers and activators of transcription (Stat) after ligation of major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) was explored in Jurkat T cells. Cross-linking of MHC-I mediated tyrosine phosphorylation of Tyk2, but not Jak1, Jak2, and Jak3. In addition, the transcription factor Stat-3 was tyrosine phosphorylated in the cytoplasma and subsequently translocated to the cell nucleus. Data obtained by electrophoretic mobility shift assay suggested that the activated Stat-3 protein associates with the human serum-inducible element (hSIE) DNA-probe derived from the interferon-γ activated site (GAS) in the c-fos promoter, a common DNA sequence for Stat protein binding. An association between hSIE and Stat-3 after MHC-I ligation was directly demonstrated by precipitating Stat-3 from nuclear extracts with biotinylated hSIE probe and avidin-coupled agarose. To investigate the function of the activated Stat-3, Jurkat T cells were transiently transfected with a Stat-3 isoform lacking the transactivating domain. This dominant-negative acting Stat-3 isoform significantly inhibited apoptosis induced by ligation of MHC-I. In conclusion, our data suggest the involvement of the Jak/Stat signal pathway in MHC-I–induced signal transduction in T cells.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document