Effects of thymic selection of the T cell repertoire on HLA-class I associated control of HIV infection

Without therapy, most people infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) ultimately progress to AIDS. Rare individuals (‘elite controllers’) maintain very low levels of HIV RNA without therapy, thereby making disease progression and transmission unlikely. Certain HLA class I alleles are markedly enriched in elite controllers, with the highest association observed for HLA-B57 (ref. 1). Because HLA molecules present viral peptides that activate CD8+ T cells, an immune-mediated mechanism is probably responsible for superior control of HIV. Here we describe how the peptide-binding characteristics of HLA-B57 molecules affect thymic development such that, compared to other HLA-restricted T cells, a larger fraction of the naive repertoire of B57-restricted clones recognizes a viral epitope, and these T cells are more cross-reactive to mutants of targeted epitopes. Our calculations predict that such a T-cell repertoire imposes strong immune pressure on immunodominant HIV epitopes and emergent mutants, thereby promoting efficient control of the virus. Supporting these predictions, in a large cohort of HLA-typed individuals, our experiments show that the relative ability of HLA-B alleles to control HIV correlates with their peptide-binding characteristics that affect thymic development. Our results provide a conceptual framework that unifies diverse empirical observations, and have implications for vaccination strategies.Mark and Lisa Schwartz FoundationNational Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Director’s Pioneer award)Philip T. and Susan M. Ragon FoundationJane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical ResearchBill & Melinda Gates FoundationNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (U.S.)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (contract no. HHSN261200800001E)National Institutes of Health (U.S.). Intramural Research ProgramNational Cancer Institute (U.S.)Center for Cancer Research (National Cancer Institute (U.S.)

Characterization of antigenic variants of hepatitis C virus in immune evasion

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Antigenic variation is an effective way by which viruses evade host immune defense leading to viral persistence. Little is known about the inhibitory mechanisms of viral variants on CD4 T cell functions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using sythetic peptides of a HLA-DRB1*15-restricted CD4 epitope derived from the non-structural (NS) 3 protein of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and its antigenic variants and the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from six HLA-DRB1*15-positive patients chronically infected with HCV and 3 healthy subjects, the <it>in vitro </it>immune responses and the phenotypes of CD4⁺CD25⁺cells of chronic HCV infection were investigated. The variants resulting from single or double amino acid substitutions at the center of the core region of the Th1 peptide not only induce failed T cell activation but also simultaneously up-regulate inhibitory IL-10, CD25^-TGF-β⁺Th3 and CD4⁺IL-10⁺Tr1 cells. In contrast, other variants promote differentiation of CD25⁺TGF-β⁺Th3 suppressors that attenuate T cell proliferation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Naturally occuring HCV antigenic mutants of a CD4 epitope can shift a protective peripheral Th1 immune response into an inhibitory Th3 and/or Tr1 response. The modulation of antigenic variants on CD4 response is efficient and extensive, and is likely critical in viral persistence in HCV infection.</p

Insight into Coenzyme A cofactor binding and the mechanism of acyl-transfer in an acylating aldehyde dehydrogenase from Clostridium phytofermentans

The breakdown of fucose and rhamnose released from plant cell walls by the cellulolytic soil bacterium Clostridium phytofermentans produces toxic aldehyde intermediates. To enable growth on these carbon sources, the pathway for the breakdown of fucose and rhamnose is encapsulated within a bacterial microcompartment (BMC). These proteinaceous organelles sequester the toxic aldehyde intermediates and allow the efficient action of acylating aldehyde dehydrogenase enzymes to produce an acyl-CoA that is ultimately used in substrate-level phosphorylation to produce ATP. Here we analyse the kinetics of the aldehyde dehydrogenase enzyme from the fucose/rhamnose utilisation BMC with different short-chain fatty aldehydes and show that it has activity against substrates with up to six carbon atoms, with optimal activity against propionaldehyde. We have also determined the X-ray crystal structure of this enzyme in complex with CoA and show that the adenine nucleotide of this cofactor is bound in a distinct pocket to the same group in NAD(+). This work is the first report of the structure of CoA bound to an aldehyde dehydrogenase enzyme and our crystallographic model provides important insight into the differences within the active site that distinguish the acylating from non-acylating aldehyde dehydrogenase enzymes

How much can a T-cell antigen receptor adapt to structurally distinct antigenic peptides?

Binding degeneracy is thought to constitute a fundamental property of the T-cell antigen receptor (TCR), yet its structural basis is poorly understood. We determined the crystal structure of a complex involving the BM3.3 TCR and a peptide (pBM8) bound to the H-2K(bm8) major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecule, and compared it with the structures of the BM3.3 TCR bound to H-2K(b) molecules loaded with two peptides that had a minimal level of primary sequence identity with pBM8. Our findings provide a refined structural view of the basis of BM3.3 TCR cross-reactivity and a structural explanation for the long-standing paradox that a TCR antigen-binding site can be both specific and degenerate. We also measured the thermodynamic features and biological penalties that incurred during cross-recognition. Our data illustrate the difficulty for a given TCR in adapting to distinct peptide-MHC surfaces while still maintaining affinities that result in functional in vivo responses. Therefore, when induction of protective effector T cells is used as the ultimate criteria for adaptive immunity, TCRs are probably much less degenerate than initially assumed