Summary of the publications |
|
2009-2010 |
| Yuka Kawashima*, Nozomi Kuse*, Hiroyuki Gatanaga*, Takuya Naruto, Mamoru Fujiwara, Sachi Dohki, Tomohiro Akahoshi, Katsumi Maenaka, Philip Goulder, Shinichi Oka, and Masafumi Takiguchi (* Equal contribution), Long-term control of HIV-1 in hemophiliacs carrying slow-progressing allele HLA-B*5101. J. Virol. 84:7151-7160, 2010 |
| HLA-B*51 alleles are reported to be associated with slow disease progression to AIDS, but the mechanism underlying this association is still unclear. In the present study, we analyzed the effect of HLA-B*5101 on clinical outcome for Japanese hemophiliacs who had been infected with HIV-1 before 1985 and had been recruited in 1998 for this study. HLA-B*5101(+) hemophiliacs exhibited significantly slow progression. The analysis of HLA-B*5101-restricted HIV-1-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses to 4 HLA-B*-restricted epitopes in 10 antiretroviral-therapy (ART)-free HLA-B*5101(+) hemophiliacs showed that the frequency of Pol283-8-specific CD8(+) T cells was inversely correlated with the viral load, whereas the frequencies of CD8(+) T cells specific for 3 other epitopes were positively correlated with the viral load. The HLA-B*5101(+) hemophiliacs whose HIV-1 replication had been controlled for approximately 25 years had HIV-1 possessing the wild-type Pol283-8 sequence or the Pol283-8V mutant, which does not critically affect T-cell recognition, whereas other HLA-B*5101(+) hemophiliacs had HIV-1 with escape mutations in this epitope. The results suggest that the control of HIV-1 over approximately 25 years in HLA-B*5101-positive hemophiliacs is associated with a Pol283-8-specific CD8(+) T-cell response and that lack of control of HIV-1 is associated with the appearance of Pol283-8-specific escape mutants. |
| Hirokazu Koizumi*, Masao Hashimoto*, Mamoru Fujiwara, Hayato Murakoshi, Takayuki Chikata, Mohamed Ali Borghan, Atsuko Hachiya, Yuka Kawashima, Hiroshi Takata, Takamasa Ueno, Shinichi Oka, and Masafumi Takiguchi (* Equal contribution), Different in vivo effects of HIV-1 immunodominant epitope-specific CTLs on selection of escape mutant viruses. J. Virol. 84: 5508-5519, 2010 |
| HIV-1 escape mutants are well known to be selected by immune pressure via HIV-1-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and neutralizing antibodies. The ability of the CTLs to suppress HIV-1 replication is assumed to be associated with the selection of escape mutants from the CTLs. Therefore, we first investigated the correlation between the ability of HLA-A*1101-restricted CTLs recognizing immunodominant epitopes in vitro and the selection of escape mutants. The result showed that there was no correlation between the ability of these CTLs to suppress HIV-1 replication in vitro and the appearance of escape mutants. The CTLs that had a strong ability to suppress HIV-1 replication in vitro but failed to select escape mutants expressed a higher level of PD-1 in vivo, whereas those that had a strong ability to suppress HIV-1 replication in vitro and selected escape mutants expressed a low level of PD-1. Ex vivo analysis of these CTLs revealed that the latter CTLs had a significantly stronger ability to recognize the epitope than the former ones. These results suggest that escape mutations are selected by HIV-1-specific CTLs that have a stronger ability to recognize HIV-1 in vivo but not in vitro. |
| Nan Zheng, Mamoru Fujiwara, Takamasa Ueno, Shinichi Oka, and Masafumi Takiguchi, Strong ability of Nef-specific CD4+ cytotoxic T cells to suppress HIV-1 replication in HIV-1-infected CD4+ T cells and macrophages, J. Virol. 83: 7668-7677, 2009 |
| A restricted number of studies have shown that human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-specific cytotoxic CD4+ T cells are present in HIV-1-infected individuals. However, the roles of this type of CD4+ T cell in the immune responses against an HIV-1 infection remain unclear. In this study, we identified novel Nef epitope-specific HLA-DRB1*0803-restricted cytotoxic CD4+ T cells. The CD4+ T-cell clones specific for Nef187-203 showed strong gamma interferon production after having been stimulated with autologous B-lymphoblastoid cells infected with recombinant vaccinia virus expressing Nef or pulsed with heat-inactivated virus particles, indicating the presentation of the epitope antigen through both exogenous and endogenous major histocompatibility complex class II processing pathways. Nef187-203-specific CD4+ T-cell clones exhibited strong cytotoxic activity against both HIV-1-infected macrophages and CD4+ T cells from an HLA-DRB1*0803+ donor. In addition, these Nef-specific cytotoxic CD4+ T-cell clones exhibited strong ability to suppress HIV-1 replication in both macrophages and CD4+ T cells in vitro. Nef187-203-specific cytotoxic CD4+ T cells were detected in cultures of peptide-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and in ex vivo PBMCs from 40% and 20% of DRB1*0803+ donors, respectively. These results suggest that HIV-1-specific CD4+ T cells may directly control HIV-1 infection in vivo by suppressing virus replication in HIV-1 natural host cells. |
Center
for AIDS Research Best Paper Award
2009 |
| The rapid and extensive spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic provides a rare opportunity to witness host–pathogen co-evolution involving humans. A focal point is the interaction between genes encoding human leukocyte antigen (HLA) and those encoding HIV proteins. HLA molecules present fragments (epitopes) of HIV proteins on the surface of infected cells to enable immune recognition and killing by CD8+ T cells; particular HLA molecules, such as HLA-B*57, HLA-B*27 and HLA-B*51, are more likely to mediate successful control of HIV infection1. Mutation within these epitopes can allow viral escape from CD8+ T-cell recognition. Here we analysed viral sequences and HLA alleles from >2,800 subjects, drawn from 9 distinct study cohorts spanning 5 continents. Initial analysis of the HLA-B*51-restricted epitope, TAFTIPSI (reverse transcriptase residues 128–135), showed a strong correlation between the frequency of the escape mutation I135X and HLA-B*51 prevalence in the 9 study cohorts (P = 0.0001). Extending these analyses to incorporate other well-defined CD8+ T-cell epitopes, including those restricted by HLA-B*57 and HLA-B*27, showed that the frequency of these epitope variants (n = 14) was consistently correlated with the prevalence of the restricting HLA allele in the different cohorts (together, P < 0.0001), demonstrating strong evidence of HIV adaptation to HLA at a population level. This process of viral adaptation may dismantle the well-established HLA associations with control of HIV infection that are linked to the availability of key epitopes, and highlights the challenge for a vaccine to keep pace with the changing immunological landscape presented by HIV. |
| Takaaki Kondo*, Hiroshi Takata*, Fumichika Matsuki, and Masafumi Takiguchi, Cutting Edge: Phenotypic Characterization and Differentiation of Human CD8+ T cells Producing IL-17, J. Immunol. 182: 1794-1798. 2009 |
| Although IL-17-producing CD8+ T cells (Tc17 cells) have recently been identified, the detailed information about these cells still remains unclear. In this article we describe a study investigating the phenotype and differentiation of human Tc17 cells. Human Tc17 cells were detected in a minor population of CD8+ T cells and were predominantly found in CD27?/+CD28+CD45RA? memory subsets. They also expressed CCR6 and a high level of CCR5. Though most Tc17 cells produced IFN-, a small part of the Tc17 cell population was IFN- negative in some individuals. Analysis of the in vitro induction of Tc17 cells showed that these cells were induced from the CD27+CD28+CD45RA+ naive subset and that they expressed the CD27?CD28+CD45RA? and CCR6+ phenotype. These results together indicate that Tc17 cells have a unique phenotype and suggest that they differentiate from the same precursors that differentiate into IFN--producing CD8+ T cells. The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact. |