Different methods of identifying new antigenic epitopes of human papillomavirus type 16 E6 and E7 proteins

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the most common cause of sexually transmitted viral infection and is the main cause of cervical cancer. Identification of HPV T-cell epitopes would be instrumental not only in our understanding of the protective immune response but also in the development of vaccines and immunotherapies. In contrast to viruses which cause systemic infection, identification of HPV epitopes is technically challenging because HPV causes a localized mucosal infection and the frequency of pathogen-specific T lymphocytes in peripheral blood is expected to be low. Here we describe three new antigenic epitopes (E7 7-15 [TLHEYMLDL], E6 52-61 [FAFRDLCIVY], and E7 79-87 [LEDLLMGTL]) of HPV 16 E6 and E7 proteins which have oncogenic activities. E7 7-15 was identified among peptides previously shown to bind to human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A2.1 molecule, but it was found likely to be restricted by the HLA-B48 molecule. E6 52-61 (likely to be restricted by HLA-B57) and E7 79-87 (likely to be restricted by HLA-B60) were detected, based on the magnitude of the T-cell immune responses, in another individual. In particular, T-cell clones specific for the E6 52-61 epitope were isolated effectively by magnetically selecting them based on gamma interferon secretion. This is an efficient method of identifying new epitopes of antigens for which the number of specific T lymphocytes in the circulation is expected to be small, and it should be widely applicable in identifying new T-cell epitopes.     

Different Methods of Identifying New Antigenic Epitopes of Human Papillomavirus Type 16 E6 and E7 Proteins

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the most common cause of sexually transmitted viral infection and is the main cause of cervical cancer. Identification of HPV T-cell epitopes would be instrumental not only in our understanding of the protective immune response but also in the development of vaccines and immunotherapies. In contrast to viruses which cause systemic infection, identification of HPV epitopes is technically challenging because HPV causes a localized mucosal infection and the frequency of pathogen-specific T lymphocytes in peripheral blood is expected to be low. Here we describe three new antigenic epitopes (E7 7-15 [TLHEYMLDL], E6 52-61 [FAFRDLCIVY], and E7 79-87 [LEDLLMGTL]) of HPV 16 E6 and E7 proteins which have oncogenic activities. E7 7-15 was identified among peptides previously shown to bind to human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A2.1 molecule, but it was found likely to be restricted by the HLA-B48 molecule. E6 52-61 (likely to be restricted by HLA-B57) and E7 79-87 (likely to be restricted by HLA-B60) were detected, based on the magnitude of the T-cell immune responses, in another individual. In particular, T-cell clones specific for the E6 52-61 epitope were isolated effectively by magnetically selecting them based on gamma interferon secretion. This is an efficient method of identifying new epitopes of antigens for which the number of specific T lymphocytes in the circulation is expected to be small, and it should be widely applicable in identifying new T-cell epitopes.     

Patterns of CD8 T-cell epitopes within the human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV 16) E6 protein among young women whose HPV 16 infection has become undetectable

The patterns of CD8 T-cell epitopes recognized within the E6 protein in women who had cleared their human papillomavirus 16 infection were examined. T-cell lines were established using autologous dendritic cells infected with a recombinant vaccinia virus. Evidence of potential antigenic epitopes was shown in 8 of 23 (34.8%) women.     

Patterns of CD8 T-Cell Epitopes within the Human Papillomavirus Type 16 (HPV 16) E6 Protein among Young Women Whose HPV 16 Infection Has Become Undetectable

The patterns of CD8 T-cell epitopes recognized within the E6 protein in women who had cleared their human papillomavirus 16 infection were examined. T-cell lines were established using autologous dendritic cells infected with a recombinant vaccinia virus. Evidence of potential antigenic epitopes was shown in 8 of 23 (34.8%) women.     

Epitope-mapped monoclonal antibodies against the HPV16E1--E4 protein.

The human papillomavirus (HPV) E1--E4 protein is the only nonstructural late protein encoded by the virus. We have isolated three hybridomas producing monoclonal antibodies to the E1--E4 protein of HPV16, which is the HPV type most frequently associated with cervical cancer. The three antibodies (TVG 401, 402, and 403) detect adjacent epitopes within the major seroreactive region of the molecule and show no reactivity against the E4 proteins of HPV1, HPV2, HPV4, or HPV6. The E1--E4 protein migrates as a 10K species on SDS-gel electrophoresis and forms cytoplasmic inclusion granules in infected cells in vitro similar in appearance to those produced by HPV1 in benign warts. In naturally occurring HPV16-induced tumors the E1--E4 protein was detected in the cytoplasm of cells in the upper layers of the lesion in areas in which HPV16 DNA replication was occurring, as determined by in situ hybridization. Although the epitopes recognized by these monoclonal antibodies survive brief fixation in 5% formaldehyde, reactivity was destroyed by prolonged fixation. These monoclonal antibodies represent the first against HPV16 E1--E4 and should complement those already available to E7 and L1 for the screening of frozen sections of clinical biopsies and will be of value in monitoring the progression of HPV infection from benign lesions to invasive cancer.     

Characterization of novel HLA-DR11-restricted HCV epitopes reveals both qualitative and quantitative differences in HCV-specific CD4+ T cell responses in chronically infected and non-viremic patients

The CD4+ T cell response is of critical importance in determining the fate of many viral infections. Clearance of HCV has a strong association with the MHC class II antigen HLA-DR11 suggesting a key role for CD4+ T cells. We used an epitope-prediction program to identify multiple novel HLA-DR11-restricted epitopes derived from several HCV proteins. These epitopes then allowed us to explore the qualitative and quantitative aspects of specific CD4+ T cell responses in HLA-DR11+ patients. Irrespective of the time since viral clearance, all the non-viremic patients recognized four epitopes with a high frequency of IFN-gamma-producing memory CD4+ T cells. There appeared to be two subpopulations of memory cells, immediate "effector" memory cells (Th1 phenotype) and resting "central" memory cells (Th1/0). Chronically infected patients revealed an almost complete absence of HCV epitope-specific IFN-gamma-producing T cells. However, three of these epitopes induced IL-10 production (down-regulatory) raising the question as to whether these cells play a role in viral persistence. The frequency and phenotype of memory cells is likely to reflect the magnitude of the initial immune response, and suggests that a high frequency of IFN-gamma-secreting CD4+ T cells to multiple epitopes are important in clearance of HCV.     

Effective induction of type 1 cytotoxic T cell responses in mice with DNA vaccine encoding two hepatitis C virus cytotoxic T lymphocyte epitopes

The aims of this study were to explain whether a multiple cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) epitope-based anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) DNA vaccine can induce specific CTL responses to each HCV CTL epitope independently and long-term CD8(+) T cell memory responses, and to determine the cytokine secretion pattern and subtype of epitope-specific cytotoxic T cells. A multi-CTL epitope gene, which consists of two epitopes of HCV (H-2(d)-restricted HCV core(133142) and E1(315322)), was cloned into the eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3.1. BALB/c mice (H-2(d) restricted) were vaccinated intramuscularly with this multi-CTL epitope-based DNA vaccine. The epitope-specific CTLs against target cells (P815,H-2(d) restricted) pulsed with various CTL epitope peptides were detected by lactate dehydrogenase release assay, and the precursor frequency of epitope-specific CTLs was determined by limiting dilution analysis. Cytokines (interleukin [IL]-2, IL-4, and interferon-) in culture supernatants were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The multi-CTL epitope-based DNA vaccine directed against two HCV CTL epitopes could induce specific CTL responses to each of the two CTL epitopes independently and long-term CD8(+) T cell memory responses. The epitope-specific cytotoxic T cells produced helper T cell type 1 cytokines. This work demonstrated that multiepitope DNA vaccination is a potential strategy to control HCV infection.     

Epitope specificity and longevity of a vaccine-induced human T cell response against HPV18

Persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 and 18 infection can lead to pre-malignant and malignant diseases of the lower genital tract. Several lines of evidence suggest that T cell responses can control HPV infection. However, relative to other human viruses, strong effector memory T cell responses against HPV have been difficult to detect. We used an in vitro stimulation step prior to enzyme-linked immunospot assays to identify IFN-gamma-secreting T cells specific for HPV16 and 18 E6/E7 peptides. This allowed the detection of HPV-specific CD4+ T cells that were not evident in direct ex vivo assays. T cell responses against HPV16 or 18 peptides were detected in healthy volunteers (7/9) and patients with lower genital tract neoplasia (10/20). Importantly, this assay allowed tracking of vaccine-induced T cell responses in nine patients, following inoculation with a live recombinant vaccinia virus (HPV16 and 18 E6/E7, TA-HPV). Novel vaccine-induced T cell responses were demonstrated in five patients, but no clinical responses (lesion regressions) were seen. For one vaccinated patient, the T cell response was mapped to a single dominant HPV18 E7 epitope and this response was sustained for >3 years. Our data suggest that systemic memory T cells against HPV16 and 18, induced naturally or by TA-HPV vaccination, are relatively rare. Nevertheless, the assay system developed allowed estimation of magnitude, epitope specificity, and longevity of vaccine-induced CD4+ T cell responses. This will be useful for vaccine design and measurement of immunological endpoints in clinical trials.     

人乳头状瘤病毒11型E7抗原HLA-A*0201限制性细胞毒性T淋巴细胞表位的功能鉴定

目的 筛选和鉴定人乳头状瘤病毒11型E7抗原(HPVllE7)HLA-A*0201限制性细胞毒性T淋巴细胞(cytotoxic T lymphocyte,CTL)表位.方法 预测HPVllE7抗原HLA-A*0201限制性CTL表位并合成相对应的表位多肽和四聚体(tetramer),即HPVllE7 7-15(TLKDIVLDL)、15-23(LQPPDPVGL)、47-55(PLTQHYQIL)、81-89(DLLLGTLNI)和82-90(LLLGTLNIV).从健康HLA-A*0201成人外周血单一核细胞诱导树突状细胞(DC)并负载上述表位多肽,流式细胞技术检测DC成熟分化标记及ELISA法检测DC分泌的IL-12;成熟DC负载各组多肽后观察DC激活T淋巴细胞的效应,ELISA法检测T细胞分泌的IFN-γ;四聚体检测抗原特异性CD8+ T细胞及乳酸脱氢酶(LDH)释放法评价DC诱导的CTL对靶细胞的特异性体外杀伤效应.结果 预测的5条HPVllE7表位多肽均能诱导DC的成熟分化;E7 7-15、82-90和15-23多肽负载的DC能激活T淋巴细胞分泌高水平IFN-γ;E7 7-15多肽负载的DC能刺激特异性tetramer+CD8+细胞增殖且其诱导的CTL对HPVllE7/293细胞产生高效率的特异性杀伤作用(P<0.05).结论 筛选并鉴定出1条HPVllE7HLA-A*0201限制性CTL表位E7 7-15(TLKDIVLDL),负载该表位肽的DC体外可诱导高效、特异性的CTL效应,抗原性较强,有可能作为HPV感染治疗用肽疫苗的候选表位.     

Preservation and redirection of HPV16E7-specific T cell receptors for immunotherapy of cervical cancer

Human papilloma virus (HPV) type 16 infections of the genital tract are associated with the development of cervical cancer (CxCa) in women. HPV16-derived oncoproteins E6 and E7 are expressed constitutively in these lesions and might therefore be attractive candidates for T-cell-mediated adoptive immunotherapy. However, the low precursor frequency of HPV16E7-specific T cells in patients and healthy donors hampers routine isolation of these cells for adoptive transfer. To overcome this problem, we have isolated T cell receptor (TCR) genes from four different HPV16E7-specific healthy donor and patient-derived human cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) clones. We examined whether genetic engineering of peripheral blood-derived CD8+ T cells in order to express HPV16E711-20-specific TCRs is feasible for adoptive transfer purposes. Reporter cells (Jurkat/MA) carrying a transgenic TCR were shown to bind relevant but not irrelevant tetramers. Moreover, these TCR-transgenic Jurkat/MA cells showed reactivity towards relevant target cells, indicating proper functional activity of the TCRs isolated from already available T cell clones. We next introduced an HPV16E711-20-specific TCR into blood-derived, CD8+ recipient T cells. Transgenic CTL clones stained positive for tetramers presenting the relevant HPV16E711-20 epitope and biological activity of the TCR in transduced CTL was confirmed by lytic activity and by interferon (IFN)-gamma secretion upon antigen-specific stimulation. Importantly, we show recognition of the endogenously processed and HLA-A2 presented HPV16E711-20 CTL epitope by A9-TCR-transgenic T cells. Collectively, our data indicate that HPV16E7 TCR gene transfer is feasible as an alternative strategy to generate human HPV16E7-specific T cells for the treatment of patients suffering from cervical cancer and other HPV16-induced malignancies.     

Induction of robust cellular immunity against HPV6 and HPV11 in mice by DNA vaccine encoding for E6/E7 antigen

Due to the strong relationship between the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) "high-risk" subtypes and cervical cancers, most HPV-related studies have been focusing on the "high-risk" HPV subtypes 16 and 18. However, it has been suggested that the "low-risk" subtypes of HPV, HPV6 and HPV11, are the major cause of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis and genital warts. In addition, HPV 6 and 11 are also associated with otolaryngologic malignancies, carcinoma of the lung, tonsil, larynx and low-grade cervical lesions. Therefore, development of HPV therapeutic vaccines targeting on subtypes 6 and 11 E6 or E7 are in great need. In this report, we describe two novel engineered DNA vaccines that encode HPV 6 and 11 consensus E6/E7 fusion proteins (p6E6E7 and p11E6E7) by utilizing a multi-phase strategy. Briefly, after generating consensus sequences, several modifications were performed to increase the expression of both constructs, including codon/RNA optimization, addition of a Kozak sequence and a highly efficient leader sequence. An endoproteolytic cleavage site was also introduced between E6 and E7 protein for proper protein folding and for better CTL processing. The expressions of both constructs were confirmed by western blot analysis and immunofluorescence assay. Vaccination with these DNA vaccines could elicit robust cellular immune responses. The epitope mapping assay was performed to further characterize the cellular immune responses induced by p6E6E7 and p11E6E7. The HPV 6 and 11 E6 or E7-specific immunodominant and subdominant epitopes were verified, respectively. The intracellular cytokine staining revealed that the magnitude of IFN-γ and TNF-α secretion in antigen-specific CD8(+) cells was significantly enhanced, indicating that the immune responses elicited by p6E6E7 and p11E6E7 was heavily skewed toward driving CD8(+) T cells. Such DNA immunogens are interesting candidates for further studies on HPV 6 and 11-associated diseases.     

Comparison of cervical and blood T-cell responses to human papillomavirus-16 in women with human papillomavirus-associated cervical intraepithelial neoplasia

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are obligate epithelial pathogens and typically cause localized mucosal infections. We therefore hypothesized that T-cell responses to HPV antigens would be greater at sites of pathology than in the blood. Focusing on HPV-16 because of its association with cervical cancer, the magnitude of HPV-specific T-cell responses at the cervix was compared with those in the peripheral blood by intracellular cytokine staining following direct ex vivo stimulation with both virus-like particles assembled from the major capsid protein L1, and the major HPV oncoprotein, E7. We show that both CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells from the cervix responded to the HPV-16 antigens and that interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) production was HPV type-specific. Comparing HPV-specific T-cell IFN-gamma responses at the cervix with those in the blood, we found that while CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cell responses to L1 were significantly correlated between compartments (P = 0.02 and P = 0.05, respectively), IFN-gamma responses in both T-cell subsets were significantly greater in magnitude at the cervix than in peripheral blood (P = 0.02 and P = 0.003, respectively). In contrast, both CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cell IFN-gamma responses to E7 were of similar magnitude in both compartments and CD8(+) responses were significantly correlated between these distinct immunological compartments (P = 0.04). We therefore show that inflammatory T-cell responses against L1 (but not E7) demonstrate clear compartmental bias and the magnitude of these responses do reflect local viral replication but that correlation of HPV-specific responses between compartments indicates their linkage.     

Activated B cells mediate efficient expansion of rare antigen-specific T cells

Potent professional antigen-presenting cells (APC) are essential tools to activate and expand antigen-specific T cells in vitro for use in adoptive immunotherapy. CD40-activated B cells can be easily generated and propagated from human donors and have been successfully used to generate antigen-specific T-cell cultures. Here we show that CD40-activated B cells strongly and specifically expand rare populations of antigen-specific CD8 T cells, with frequencies of less than 1 in 20,000 CD8 T cells in peripheral blood. We focused on T cells recognizing an epitope from the human papillomavirus 16 (HPV-16) E7 protein. In 6 of 6 healthy donors, epitope-specific CD8+ T cells were found to be "rare" by this criterion, as shown by staining with human leukocyte antigen (HLA)/peptide multimers. Using peptide-loaded CD40-activated B cells, epitope-specific T cells could be selectively expanded in all donors up to 10(6) fold, and the resulting T-cell cultures contained up to 88% specific T cells. These results strongly encourage the use of CD40-stimulated B cells as APCs in immunotherapy.     

Analysis of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) DNA load and physical state for identification of HPV16-infected women with high-grade lesions or cervical carcinoma

Integration of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA into the host cell genome is a frequent event in cervical carcinogenesis, even though this phenomenon does not seem to be mandatory for cervical cancer development. Our objective was to describe the load and physical state of HPV type 16 (HPV16) DNA in a series of cervical samples representative of the natural history of cervical cancer. We used a combination of three real-time PCR assays targeting E6, E2, and albumin genes to calculate HPV16 load (E6 and albumin) and the E2/E6 ratio as a surrogate of integration. This method was applied to 173 HPV16-positive cervical samples. Results show that viral load increases with the lesion grade (from 102 HPV16 DNA copies per 10³ cells in normal samples up to 56,354 copies per 10³ cells in cancers), while E2/E6 ratio decreases (from 1 in normal samples down to 0.36 in cancers). We propose that, according to this technique, an HPV16 viral load of higher than 22,000 copies/10³ cells or an E2/E6 ratio of lower than 0.50 allows the identification of women with prevalent high-grade lesions or worse with a high specificity. In conclusion, both viral load and E2/E6 ratio, used in combination with an appropriate cutoff value, are suitable to screen women with prevalent cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or 3 or cancer. Therefore, these assays would be useful in addition to routine HPV testing to more accurately identify women with (pre)cancerous lesions.     

A simple and efficient method for the monitoring of antigen-specific T cell responses using peptide pool arrays in a modified ELISpot assay

In this study, we describe a simple and efficient method for both the monitoring of antigen-specific CD4 and CD8 T cell responses as well as the identification of novel CD4 and CD8 T cell epitopes using a modified ELISpot assay and pools of 20mer peptides. We have demonstrated that pools containing as many as 64 20mer peptides may be used to screen for CD4 and CD8 T cell responses to HPV16 L1, E1, and E7 in mice. Using arrays of pools of overlapping 20mer peptides, we have identified novel CD4 and CD8 epitopes in both HPV16L1 and HPV16E1 which are presented in Balb/c mice. We have further shown that the use of 20mer peptides is equivalent to using minimal 9mer epitopes for the stimulation of CD8 T cell responses in our assay. While our experiments are conducted in mice, the use of peptide pool arrays allows for the identification of epitope-specific responses using far fewer cells than is required for testing a panel of overlapping peptides individually, making this strategy particularly useful in clinical settings where immune cells may be limiting.     

Single-dose, therapeutic vaccination of mice with vesicular stomatitis virus expressing human papillomavirus type 16 E7 protein

We are developing recombinant attenuated vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) as a vaccine vector to generate humoral and cell-mediated immune responses. Here, we explore the use of VSV vaccines for cancer immunotherapy. Immunotherapy targeting high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) lesions has the potential to benefit HPV-infected individuals and cervical cancer patients by generating cytotoxic T cells that kill tumor cells that express viral antigens. A single dose of VSV expressing the HPV type 16 (HPV16) E7 oncogene was used for therapeutic vaccination of mice bearing TC-1 syngeneic tumors, which express HPV16 E7. HPV16 E7-specific T cells were generated and displayed cytotoxic activity against the tumor cells. By 14 days postvaccination, average tumor volumes were 10-fold less in the vaccinated group than in mice that received the empty-vector VSV, and regression of preexisting tumors occurred in some cases. This antitumor effect was CD8 T-cell dependent. Our results demonstrate antitumor responses to HPV16 E7 and suggest that recombinant-VSV-based vaccination should be explored as a therapeutic strategy for cervical carcinoma and other HPV-associated cancers.     

Type II pneumocyte-CD8+ T-cell interactions. Relationship between target cell cytotoxicity and activation

CD8+ T-cell responses play an important role in the clearance of respiratory virus infection, but may also contribute to lung injury in the process. The effector mechanisms involved in viral clearance and associated lung injury include both cytolytic and noncytolytic effector functions. Previously we have shown that CD8+ T-cell recognition of alveolar epithelial cells triggers chemokine expression by the epithelial cell and that this plays an important role in the inflammatory infiltration that ensues in the context of T cell-mediated injury (Zhao and colleagues, J. Clin. Invest. 2000;106:R49-R58). In the present study we sought to understand the relationship between alveolar cell cytotoxicity and chemokine expression, both of which occur as a result of CD8+ T-cell antigen recognition. Alveolar epithelial cells efficiently process and present overlapping viral epitopes, and CD8+ T-cell recognition of these class I major histocompatibility complex-restricted epitopes resulted in cytotoxicity of the alveolar cells by both wild-type and perforin-deficient T cells. However, the contribution of perforin-mediated lysis to the total cytotoxicity of alveolar cells by CD8+ T cells was minimal, and the majority of the lysis was attributable to tumor necrosis factor-alpha expressed by the T cell. CD8+ T-cell recognition also led to activation of nuclear factor-kappaB in the alveolar epithelial target cells, at levels inversely proportional to the effector/target (E:T) ratio. Finally, at varying E:T ratios, we demonstrated an inverse relationship between alveolar cell cytotoxicity and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 expression, both of which occur as a result of T-cell recognition. These findings may have important ramifications in understanding the relationship between viral clearance and lung injury.     

HPV58 E6的基因克隆及HLA-DQB1*03限制性T细胞表位分析

目的:克隆HPV58E6的基因,并对其HLA-DQB1*03限制性T细胞表位进行分析。方法:从宫颈癌组织中提取基因组DNA,通过PCR方法扩增HPV58E6基因,常规方法将目的基因插入pGEM-TEasy载体中。酶切和测序鉴定后,利用位置特异性分数矩阵(PSSM)理论、支持向量机(SVM)理论和蛋白酶体酶切位点预测算法分析HPV58E6的HLA-DQB1*03限制性T细胞表位。结果:成功克隆了1株HPV58E6基因(GenBank EF060239),表位47FADLRIAY-RDGNPFA和表位102RCIICQRPLCPQEKK理论上是其HLA-DQB1*03限制性T细胞表位。结论:这两个表位可望作为后续相关实验中表位筛选、鉴定和多肽疫苗研制的候选对象。     

Molecular and phylogenetic analysis of the HPV 16 E4 gene in cervical lesions from women in Greece

The HPV16 E1(∧)E4 protein is thought to contribute to the release of newly formed viral particles from infected epithelia. In order to investigate amino acid mutations in the HPV16 E1(∧)E4 protein, the complete E4 ORF was amplified by PCR in 27 HPV16-positive cervical samples, and the amplicons were cloned. Fifteen nucleic acid variations were identified in the E4 ORF, including seven silent nucleic acid mutations. In addition, nine amino acid mutations (A7V, A7P, L16I, D45E, L59I, L59T, Q66P, S72F, H75Q) were detected in the E1(∧)E4 protein, and these were associated with the severity of cervical malignancy. A maximum-likelihood phylogenetic tree was constructed based on the E4 ORF, and nucleotide sequence analysis of the E4, E6 and E7 genes from the same samples was conducted in order to determine the phylogenetic origin of the cloned sequences from the amplified HPV16 E4. Based on the nucleotide sequence and phylogenetic analysis it was revealed that even though E4 ORF constitutes a small polymorphic portion of the viral genome (288?bp), it could provide valuable information about the origins of the HPV16 genome. In addition, molecular evolutionary analysis of the E4 coding region revealed that neutral selection is dominant in the overlapping region of the E4 and E2 ORFs.     

Persistence of herpes simplex virus type 2 VP16-specific CD4+ T cells

Patients with genital herpes have frequent viral reactivations. The repeated antigenic rechallenges can modulate the CD4+ memory T-cell repertoires during the course of infection. In this study, the CD4+ T-cell responses against the herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) tegument protein VP16 were studied in two HSV-2-infected subjects at two different time points that spanned a 5-year period. Although the VP16-specific T cells did exhibit variation of T-cell receptor Vbeta usages at the two time points, T cells that used identical Vbeta and CDR3 junction sequences were also observed at the two time points. These experiments demonstrate that the CD4+ T cells that are directed against HSV-2 VP16 protein in chronically infected individuals are oligoclonal and that T cells of specific clonotypes can be maintained throughout the course of the disease.