Identification of novel avian influenza virus derived CD8+ T-cell epitopes

Sylvia S.N. Reemers, Daphne A. van Haarlem, Alice J.A.M. Sijts, Lonneke Vervelde, Christine A. Jansen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

28 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Avian influenza virus (AIV) infection is a continuing threat to both humans and poultry. Influenza virus specific CD8+ T cells are associated with protection against homologous and heterologous influenza strains. In contrast to what has been described for humans and mice, knowledge on epitope-specific CD8+ T cells in chickens is limited. Therefore, we set out to identify AIV-specific CD8+ T-cell epitopes. Epitope predictions based on anchor residues resulted in 33 candidate epitopes. MHC I inbred chickens were infected with a low pathogenic AIV strain and sacrificed at 5, 7, 10 and 14 days post infection (dpi). Lymphocytes isolated from lung, spleen and blood were stimulated ex vivo with AIV-specific pooled or individual peptides and the production of IFNγ was determined by ELIspot. This resulted in the identification of 12 MHC B12-restricted, 3 B4-restricted and 1 B19-restricted AIV- specific CD8+ T-cell epitopes. In conclusion, we have identified novel AIV-derived CD8+ T-cell epitopes for several inbred chicken strains. This knowledge can be used to study the role of CD8+ T cells against AIV infection in a natural host for influenza, and may be important for vaccine development.
Original languageEnglish
Article numbere31953
JournalPLoS ONE
Volume7
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 23 Feb 2012
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Identification of novel avian influenza virus derived CD8+ T-cell epitopes'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this