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Identification of cytotoxic T lymphocyte epitopes of human herpesvirus 8
Author(s) -
Micheletti Fabiola,
Monini Paolo,
Fortini Cinzia,
Rimessi Paola,
Bazzaro Martina,
Andreoni Massimo,
Giuliani Massimo,
Traniello Serena,
Ensoli Barbara,
Gavioli Riccardo
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.297
H-Index - 133
eISSN - 1365-2567
pISSN - 0019-2805
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2567.2002.01424.x
Subject(s) - ctl* , epitope , cytotoxic t cell , virology , biology , antigen , immunology , human leukocyte antigen , cellular immunity , cd8 , in vitro , genetics
Summary The human herpesvirus 8 (HHV‐8) is a human γ2‐herpesvirus that is implicated in the development of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), primary effusion lymphoma and Castelman's disease. Since the responses of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) play a key role in the control of herpesvirus infection, it is important to identify and to characterize the CTL target epitopes of HHV‐8 viral antigens. In this study, using peptide‐binding motifs, we selected potential human leucocyte antigen (HLA)‐A2‐binding peptides from kaposin A and glycoprotein H (gH), that are latent and lytic HHV‐8 antigens, respectively. HLA‐A2‐binding peptides were tested for their capacity to induce CTL responses in HHV‐8‐negative healthy donors. By this approach, we found that the majority of individuals responded to two HHV‐8‐derived CTL epitopes, namely, VLLNGWRWRL (amino acids 16–25), which derives from kaposin A, and FLNWQNLLNV (amino acids 59–68), which derives from gH. In addition, memory CTL responses to these epitopes were detected in disease‐free individuals infected by HHV‐8 demonstrating that the two epitopes are relevant targets of CTL‐mediated immunity in vivo . The identified epitopes may be investigated for the development of immunotherapeutic strategies against HHV‐8‐associated malignancies.