Antigen-specific CD4+ T Cells Recognize Epitopes of Protective Antigen Following Vaccination with an Anthrax Vaccine

Overview

Journal Infect Immun

Publisher American Society for Microbiology

Specialty Allergy & Immunology

Date 2007 Feb 7

PMID 17283103

Citations 17

Authors

Elsa M Laughlin

Joseph D Miller

Eddie James

Dimitri Fillos

Chris C Ibegbu

Robert S Mittler

Rama Akondy

William Kwok

Rafi Ahmed

Gerald Nepom

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Detection of antigen-specific CD4+ T cells is facilitated by the use of fluorescently labeled soluble peptide-major histocompatibility complex (MHC) multimers which mirror the antigen specificity of T-cell receptor recognition. We have used soluble peptide-MHC class II tetramers containing peptides from the protective antigen (PA) of Bacillus anthracis to detect circulating T cells in peripheral blood of subjects vaccinated with an anthrax vaccine. PA-specific HLA class II-restricted T lymphocytes were isolated which displayed both TH1- and TH2-like characteristics, indicating heterogeneity of the lymphocyte lineage within the CD4+ response. Presentation of antigen to these T-cell clones by HLA-matched antigen-presenting cells exposed to the intact PA protein confirmed that the identified epitopes are indeed naturally processed by the human immune system. Specific tetramer-derived T-cell profiling may be useful for monitoring helper CD4+ T-cell responses to anthrax vaccination.

Citing Articles

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