Definition of a minimal optimal cytotoxic T-cell epitope within the hepatitis B virus nucleocapsid protein.
AUTOR(ES)
Bertoletti, A
RESUMO
Residues 11 to 27 of the hepatitis B virus nucleocapsid antigen contain a cytotoxic T-cell epitope that is recognized by cytotoxic T cells from virtually all HLA-A2-positive patients with acute hepatitis B virus infection. Using panels of truncated and overlapping peptides, we now show that the optimal amino acid sequence recognized by cytotoxic T cells is a 10-mer (residues 18 to 27) containing the predicted peptide-binding motif for HLA-A2 and that this peptide can stimulate cytotoxic T cells able to recognize endogenously synthesized hepatitis B core antigen. Since patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection fail to mount an efficient cytotoxic T-cell response to it, this epitope might serve as the starting point for the design of synthetic peptide-based immunotherapeutic strategies to terminate persistent viral infection.
ACESSO AO ARTIGO
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=240403Documentos Relacionados
- Hepatitis B synthetic immunogen comprised of nucleocapsid T-cell sites and an envelope B-cell epitope.
- Delineation of the minimal hepatitis B surface antigen-specific B- and T-cell epitope contained within an anti-idiotype-derived pentadecapeptide.
- Characterization of the Ld-restricted cytotoxic T-lymphocyte epitope in the mouse hepatitis virus nucleocapsid protein.
- Definition of a human suppressor T-cell epitope.
- Immunodominant CD4+ T-cell epitope within nonstructural protein 3 in acute hepatitis C virus infection.