Identification of novel HLA-A11-restricted T-cell epitopes in the Ebola virus nucleoprotein

Publication date: Available online 10 October 2018Source: Microbes and InfectionAuthor(s): Dan Li, Pei Li, Nianping Song, Yuting Jiang, Yang Zeng, Guangyu Zhao, Yunzhi Fa, Huahu Ye, Yuchun Lone, Yusen Zhou, Shihui Sun, Lin ZengAbstractThe Ebola virus (EBOV) is a very contagious virus that is highly fatal in humans and animals. The largest epidemic was in West Africa in 2014, in which over 11,000 people died. However, to date, there are no licensed vaccines against it. Studies show that CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses, especially cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses, play key roles in protecting individuals from EBOV infection. Since HLA-restricted epitope vaccines are likely to be effective and safe immunization strategies for infectious diseases, the present study screened for CTL epitopes in the EBOV-nucleoprotein that are restricted by HLA-A11 (a common allele in Chinese people). Predictive computer analysis of the amino-acid sequence of EBOV-nucleoprotein identified ten putative HLA-A11-restricted epitopes. ELISPOT assay of immunized HLA-A11/DR1 transgenic mice showed that five (GR-9, VR-9, EK-9, PK-9, and RK-9) induced effective CTL responses. Additional epitope analyses will aid the design of epitope vaccines against EBOV.
Source: Microbes and Infection - Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research