16 research outputs found
Low-budget three-dimensional CAD visualization of the Athens National Garden by merging heterogeneous data
Detection of specific antibodies to HCV-ARF/CORE+1 protein in patients treated with pegylated interferon plus ribavirin
The HCV ARFP/F/core+1 protein: Production and functional analysis of an unconventional viral product
Feasibility and diagnostic agreement in teledermatopathology using a virtual slide system.
Hepatitis C virus alternate reading frame protein decreases interferon-α secretion in peripheral blood mononuclear cells
Distinct hepatitis C virus core and F protein quasispecies in tumoral and nontumoral hepatocytes isolated via microdissection
Characterization of the specific CD4+ T cell response against the F protein during chronic hepatitis C virus infection.
BACKGROUND: The hepatitis C virus (HCV) Alternate Reading Frame Protein (ARFP or F protein) presents a double-frame shift product of the HCV core gene. We and others have previously reported that the specific antibodies against the F protein could be raised in the sera of HCV chronically infected patients. However, the specific CD4(+) T cell responses against the F protein during HCV infection and the pathological implications remained unclear. In the current study, we screened the MHC class II-presenting epitopes of the F protein through HLA-transgenic mouse models and eventually validated the specific CD4(+) T cell responses in HCV chronically infected patients. METHODOLOGY: DNA vaccination in HLA-DR1 and-DP4 transgenic mouse models, proliferation assay to test the F protein specific T cell response, genotyping of Chronic HCV patients and testing the F-peptide stimulated T cell response in the peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) by in vitro expansion and interferon (IFN)- γ intracellular staining. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: At least three peptides within HCV F protein were identified as HLA-DR or HLA-DP4 presenting epitopes by the proliferation assays in mouse models. Further study with human PBMCs evidenced the specific CD4(+) T cell responses against HCV F protein as well in patients chronically infected with HCV. CONCLUSION: The current study provided the evidence for the first time that HCV F protein could elicit specific CD4(+) T cell response, which may provide an insight into the immunopathogenesis during HCV chronic infection