Open AccessCD8 + T Cell Recognition of Cryptic Epitopes Is a Ubiquitous Feature of AIDS Virus Infection
Author(s) -
Nicholas J. Maness,
Andrew D. Walsh,
Shari M. Piaskowski,
Jessica Furlott,
Holly L. Kolar,
Alexander T. Bean,
Nancy A. Wilson,
David I. Watkins
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.617
H-Index - 292
eISSN - 1070-6321
pISSN - 0022-538X
DOI - 10.1128/jvi.01419-10
Subject(s) - epitope , biology , virology , simian immunodeficiency virus , virus , cd8 , aids vaccines , immunology , antibody , antigen , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , vaccine trial
Vaccines designed to elicit AIDS virus-specific CD8+ T cells should engender broad responses. Emerging data indicate that alternate reading frames (ARFs) of both human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) encode CD8+ T cell epitopes, termed cryptic epitopes. Here, we show that SIV-specific CD8+ T cells from SIV-infected rhesus macaques target 14 epitopes in eight ARFs during SIV infection. Animals recognized up to five epitopes, totaling nearly one-quarter of the anti-SIV responses. The epitopes were targeted by high-frequency responses as early as 2 weeks postinfection and in the chronic phase. Hence, previously overlooked ARF-encoded epitopes could be important components of AIDS vaccines.