Bystander T cells in human immune responses to dengue antigens

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Previous studies of T cell activation in dengue infection have focused on restriction of specific T cell receptors (TCRs) and classical MHC molecules. However, bystander T cell activation, which is TCR independent, occurs via cytokines in other viral infections, both in vitro and in vivo, and enables T cells to bypass certain control checkpoints. Moreover, clinical and pathological evidence has pointed to cytokines as the mediators of dengue disease severity. Therefore, we investigated bystander T cell induction by dengue viral antigen.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Whole blood samples from 55 Thai schoolchildren aged 13-14 years were assayed for in vitro interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) induction in response to inactivated dengue serotype 2 antigen (Den2). The contribution of TCR-dependent and independent pathways was tested by treatment with cyclosporin A (CsA), which inhibits TCR-dependent activation of T cells. ELISA results revealed that approximately 72% of IFN-γ production occurred via the TCR-dependent pathway. The major IFN-γ sources were natural killer (NK) (mean ± SE = 55.2 ± 3.3), CD4⁺T (24.5 ± 3.3) and CD8⁺T cells (17.9 ± 1.5), respectively, as demonstrated by four-color flow cytometry. Interestingly, in addition to these cells, we found CsA-resistant IFN-γ producing T cells (CD4⁺T = 26.9 ± 3.6% and CD8⁺T = 20.3 ± 2.1%) implying the existence of activated bystander T cells in response to dengue antigen in vitro. These bystander CD4⁺and CD8⁺T cells had similar kinetics to NK cells, appeared after 12 h and were inhibited by anti-IL-12 neutralization indicating cytokine involvement.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study described immune cell profiles and highlighted bystander T cell activation in response to dengue viral antigens of healthy people in an endemic area. Further studies on bystander T cell activation in dengue viral infection may reveal the immune mechanisms that protect or enhance pathogenesis of secondary dengue infection.</p

HLA-Associated Immune Pressure on Gag Protein in CRF01_AE-Infected Individuals and Its Association with Plasma Viral Load

BACKGROUND: The human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-restricted cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) immune response is one of the major factors determining the genetic diversity of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). There are few population-based analyses of the amino acid variations associated with the host HLA type and their clinical relevance for the Asian population. Here, we identified HLA-associated polymorphisms in the HIV-1 CRF01_AE Gag protein in infected married couples, and examined the consequences of these HLA-selected mutations after transmission to HLA-unmatched recipients. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: One hundred sixteen HIV-1-infected couples were recruited at a government hospital in northern Thailand. The 1.7-kb gag gene was amplified and directly sequenced. We identified 56 associations between amino acid variations in Gag and HLA alleles. Of those amino acid variations, 35 (62.5%) were located within or adjacent to regions reported to be HIV-specific CTL epitopes restricted by the relevant HLA. Interestingly, a significant number of HLA-associated amino acid variations appear to be unique to the CRF01_AE-infected Thai population. Variations in the capsid protein (p24) had the strongest associations with the viral load and CD4 cell count. The mutation and reversion rates after transmission to a host with a different HLA environment varied considerably. The p24 T242N variant escape from B57/58 CTL had a significant impact on the HIV-1 viral load of CRF01_AE-infected patients. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: HLA-associated amino acid mutations and the CTL selection pressures on the p24 antigen appear to have the most significant impact on HIV replication in a CRF01_AE-infected Asian population. HLA-associated mutations with a low reversion rate accumulated as a footprint in this Thai population. The novel HLA-associated mutations identified in this study encourage us to acquire more extensive information about the viral dynamics of HLA-associated amino acid polymorphisms in a given population as effective CTL vaccine targets

Linkage disequilibrium of polymorphic RAET1 genes in Thais

International audienceRetinoic acid early transcripts-1 (RAET1) or unique long 16 (UL-16) binding proteins (ULBPs) is a gene cluster encoding for molecules acting as ligands to natural killer group 2 D (NKG2D), a receptor expressed on immune cells. Binding of these ligands to the receptor activates immune cells leading to killing of tumor cells and also viral-infected cells. The information on polymorphism of RAET1 is limited. In this report, we analyze the linkages between four polymorphic RAET1 genes: RAET1E, RAET1G, RAET1H and RAET1L, in 318 unrelated Thais. The strongest linkage disequilibrium was found between RAET1E and RAET1G, with P-value, D' and r(2) of <5.0 x 10(-5), 0.707 and 0.840, respectively. RAET1E(*)001 was found to be in linkage disequilibrium with RAET1G(*)002, and RAET1E(*)002 with RAET1G(*)001. Evidently, there were possible RAET1 haplotypes with haplotype frequencies of more than 10% consisting of RAET1E(*)001; RAET1G(*)002; RAET1H(*)001; RAET1L(*)001 and RAET1E(*)002; RAET1G(*)001; RAET1H(*)002; RAET1L(*)003. This study provides basic information on polymorphisms of RAET1 and possible RAET1 haplotypes in Thais

Polymorphic Alu insertions and their associations with MHC class I alleles and haplotypes in the Northeastern Thais

Polymorphic Alu insertions (POALINs) are known to contribute to the strong polymorphic nature of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC). Previous population studies on MHC POALINs were limited to only Australian Caucasians and Japanese. Here, we report on the individual insertion frequency of the five POALINs within the MHC class I region, their HLA-A and B associations, and the three and four locus alpha block POALIN haplotype frequencies in the Northeastern (NE) Thai population. Of the five POALINs, the lowest frequency was 0.018 for AluyHF and the highest frequency was 0.292 for AluyHJ and AluyHG. The strongest positive associations between the POALINs and HLA class I alleles was between AluyMICB and HLA-B* 57, AluyHJ and HLA-A* 24 and HLA-A* 01, and AluyHG and HLA-A* 02, supporting previous findings in Caucasians and Japanese. Single POALIN haplotypes were found more frequently than multiple POALIN haplotypes. However, of the seven different POALIN haplotypes within the MHC alpha block, there were only two significant differences between the NE Thais, Caucasians and Japanese. This study confirms that the MHC POALINs are in linkage disequilibrium with HLA-A and -B alleles and that there are significant frequency differences for some of the POALINs when compared between NE Thai, Caucasians and Japanese

HLA alleles and haplotypes in Burmese (Myanmarese) and Karen in Thailand

This is the first report on human leukocyte antigen (HLA) allele and haplotype frequencies at three class I loci and two class II loci in unrelated healthy individuals from two ethnic groups, 170 Burmese and 200 Karen, originally from Burma (Myanmar), but sampled while residing in Thailand. Overall, the HLA allele and haplotype frequencies detected by polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific primer (PCR-SSP) at five loci (A, B, C, DRB1 and DRQB1) at low resolution showed distinct differences between the Burmese and Karen. In Burmese, five HLA-B*15 haplotypes with different HLA-A and HLA-DR/DQ combinations were detected with three of these not previously reported in other Asian populations. The data are important in the fields of anthropology, transplantation and disease-association studies