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Identification of a peptide capable of inducing an HIV-1 Tat-specific CTL response
C B Morris1, A Thanawastien, D E Sullivan
1Program in Molecular Pathogenesis and Immunity, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Tulane University Health Science Center, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
Although Tat-specific CTL responses are elicited in HIV-infected patients and in non-human primate models, specific CTL epitopes within Tat have not been identified. In this study, we mucosally immunized mice with recombinant, full-length Tat protein or individual Tat-specific, overlapping peptides to map putative H-2d-restricted, Tat-specific CTL epitopes. Standard chromium release assays from splenocytes of immunized animals identified a peptide (QPKTACTNC) capable of inducing Tat-specific CTL responses. This newly-identified epitope lies within a region of low sequence variability among HIV-1 subtypes, suggesting its potential use in a multicomponent AIDS vaccine.
Although Tat-specific CTL responses are elicited in HIV-infected patients and in non-human primate models, specific CTL epitopes within Tat have not been identified. In this study, we mucosally immunized mice with recombinant, full-length Tat protein or individual Tat-specific, overlapping peptides to map putative H-2d-restricted, Tat-specific CTL epitopes. Standard chromium release assays from splenocytes of immunized animals identified a peptide (QPKTACTNC) capable of inducing Tat-specific CTL responses. This newly-identified epitope lies within a region of low sequence variability among HIV-1 subtypes, suggesting its potential use in a multicomponent AIDS vaccine.