The Human Leukocyte Antigen-presented Ligandome of B Lymphocytes (original) (raw)

Identification of peptide sequences that potentially trigger HLA-A2.1-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes

European Journal of Immunology, 1993

We used the human processing defective cell line 174CEM.n (T2) to identify potential cytotoxicT lymphocyte (CTL) epitopes of human proteins. Exogenously added peptides can increase the number of properly folded HLA-A2.1 molecules on the cell surface of T2 cells, as shown by immunofluorescence measurements using the mouse monoclonal antibody BB7.2 (anti-HLA-A2.1) and fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled goat anti-mouse F(ab')z antibody. The peptides were selected on the basis of a computer score derived from the recently described HLA-A2.1 specific motif. Analysis of the influenza matrix protein showed that 15 out of 35 high-scoring peptides up-regulate the expression of HLA-A2.1 molecules on the T2 cell surface. The combination of the computer scoring program and an immunofluorescence-based peptide binding assay allows rapid detection of potential CTL target peptides.

A rapid method to identify cytotoxic T-lymphocyte peptide epitopes from HLA-A2 (+) donors

Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology, 2001

It would be useful to develop a method to rapidly identify peptide epitopes for vaccine development. We present an algorithm that can predict sequences that have a high binding activity for HLA-A2. These sequences were able to induce specific cytolytic cells from human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBMC). A computer-assisted algorithm was constructed to predict binding activity for HLA-A2, according to anchoring amino acid combinations. The human papillomavirus (HPV) type 18 E7 oncoprotein was used to test the algorithm. Peptides predicted to bind were synthesized and binding activity was determined by using the T2 cell assay. T2 cells pulsed with HPV-18 peptides were incubated with PBMC. Cytotoxicity assays were performed. From 110 possible sequences, four peptides were found to have a high binding activity. One of these peptides was able to induce significant lysis. Using this selection process only 3.6% of the total number of possible sequences was synthesized to identify an immunogenic peptide. Our algorithm with the T2 binding assay allows a rapid method to detect peptide epitopes.

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II peptide flanking residues tune the immunogenicity of a human tumor-derived epitope

Journal of Biological Chemistry

CD4 + T-cells recognize peptide antigens, in the context of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II molecules (HLA-II), which through peptide flanking residues (PFRs) can extend beyond the limits of the HLA-binding. The role of the PFRs during antigen recognition is not fully understood; however, recent studies have indicated that these regions can influence TCR affinity and pHLA-II stability. Here, using various biochemical approaches including peptide sensitivity ELISA and ELISpot assays, peptide binding assays and HLA-II tetramer staining, we focused on CD4 + T-cell responses against a tumor antigen, 5T4 oncofetal trophoblast glycoprotein (5T4), which have been associated with improved control of colorectal cancer. Despite their weak T-cell receptor (TCR) binding affinity, we found that anti-5T4 CD4 + Tcells are polyfunctional and that their PFRs are essential for TCR recognition of the core bound nonamer. The high-resolution (1.95 Å) crystal structure of HLA-DR1 presenting the immunodominant 20-mer peptide 5T4 111-130 , combined with molecular dynamic simulations, revealed how PFRs explore the HLA-proximal space to contribute to antigen reactivity. These findings advance our understanding of what constitutes an HLA-II epitope and indicate that PFRs can tune weak-affinity TCR-pHLA-II interactions.

Essential differences in ligand presentation and T cell epitope recognition among HLA molecules of the HLA-B44 supertype

European Journal of Immunology, 2008

Human leukocyte antigens (HLA) have long been grouped into supertypes to facilitate peptide-based immunotherapy. Analysis of several hundreds of peptides presented by all nine antigens of the HLA-B44 supertype (HLA-B*18, B*37, B*40, B*41, B*44, B*45, B*47, B*49 and B*50) revealed unique peptide motifs for each of them. Taking all supertype members into consideration only 25 out of 670 natural ligands were found on more than one HLA molecule. Further direct comparisons by two mass spectrometric methods -isotope labeling as well as a label-free approach -consistently demonstrated only minute overlaps of below 3% between the ligandomes of different HLA antigens. In addition, T cell reactions of healthy donors against immunodominant HLA-B*44 and HLA-B*40 epitopes from EBV lacked promiscuous T-cell recognition within the HLA-B44 supertype. Taken together, these results challenge the common paradigm of broadly presented epitopes within this supertype.

A large fraction of HLA class I ligands are proteasome-generated spliced peptides

Science (New York, N.Y.), 2016

The proteasome generates the epitopes presented on human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules that elicit CD8(+) T cell responses. Reports of proteasome-generated spliced epitopes exist, but they have been regarded as rare events. Here, however, we show that the proteasome-generated spliced peptide pool accounts for one-third of the entire HLA class I immunopeptidome in terms of diversity and one-fourth in terms of abundance. This pool also represents a unique set of antigens, possessing particular and distinguishing features. We validated this observation using a range of complementary experimental and bioinformatics approaches, as well as multiple cell types. The widespread appearance and abundance of proteasome-catalyzed peptide splicing events has implications for immunobiology and autoimmunity theories and may provide a previously untapped source of epitopes for use in vaccines and cancer immunotherapy.