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HLA‐A*0201 restricted CD8+ T‐lymphocyte responses to malaria: identification of new Plasmodium falciparum epitopes by IFN‐γ ELISPOT
Author(s) -
González John Mario,
Peter Katrin,
Esposito Fulvio,
Nebié Issa,
Tiercy JeanMarie,
Bonelo Anilza,
ArévaloHerrera Myriam,
Valmori Danila,
Romero Pedro,
Herrera Sócrates,
Corradin Giampietro,
López José Alejandro
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
parasite immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.795
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1365-3024
pISSN - 0141-9838
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-3024.2000.00331.x
Subject(s) - elispot , epitope , biology , circumsporozoite protein , plasmodium falciparum , cd8 , immunology , antigen , virology , human leukocyte antigen , cytotoxic t cell , malaria vaccine , malaria , genetics , in vitro
The role of antigen specific CD8+ T‐lymphocytes in mediating protection against sporozoite‐induced malaria has been well established in murine models. In humans, indirect evidence has accumulated suggesting a similar protective role for antigen‐specific CD8+ T‐lymphocytes. Nevertheless, the low frequency of circulating specific cells together with the lack of sensitive methods to quantify them has hampered the direct assessment of their function. Using a combination of short‐term cell culture and IFN‐γ ELISPOT, we studied CD8+ T‐lymphocyte responses to a panel of HLA‐A*0201 binding peptides. In addition to confirming the response to already described epitopes, we also identified five new CD8+ T‐lymphocyte epitopes. These epitopes are presented in pre‐erythrocytic stages gene products of Plasmodium falciparum 7G8 strain and correspond to the following protein segments: circumsporozoite (CS) 64‐72, 104‐113, 299‐308 and 403‐411; liver stage antigen (LSA‐1) repeat region; sporozoite surface protein 2 or thrombospondin related anonymous protein (SSP2/TRAP) 78–88 and 504–513. Four of these peptides are conserved amongst all published sequences of P. falciparum strains. We conclude that the modified IFN‐γ ELISPOT assay is a sensitive technique to monitor antigen‐specific CD8+ T‐lymphocyte responses in human malaria which may help in the improvement and assessment of the efficacy of malaria subunit vaccines.