Induction of HLA-A2 Restricted CD8 T Cell Responses Against ApoB100 Peptides Does Not Affect Atherosclerosis in a Humanized Mouse Model

Cardiovascular diseases form the most common cause of death worldwide, with atherosclerosis as main etiology. Atherosclerosis is marked by cholesterol rich lipoprotein deposition in the artery wall, evoking a pathogenic immune response. Characteristic for the disease is the pathogenic accumulation of macrophages in the atherosclerotic lesion, which become foam cells after ingestion of large quantities of lipoproteins. We hypothesized that, by inducing a CD8 T cell response towards lipoprotein derived apolipoprotein-B100 (ApoB100), lesional macrophages, that are likely to cross-present lipoprotein constituents, can specifically be eliminated. Based on in silico models for protein processing and MHC-I binding, 6 putative CD8 T cell epitopes derived from ApoB100 were synthesized. HLA-A2 binding was confirmed for all peptides by T2 cell binding assays and recall responses after vaccination with the peptides proved that 5 of 6 peptides could induce CD8 T cell responses. Induction of ApoB100 specific CD8 T cells did not impact plaque size and cellular composition in HLA-A2 and human ApoB100 transgenic LDLr mice. No recall response could be detected in cultures of cells isolated from the aortic arch, which were observed in cell cultures of splenocytes and mesenteric lymph nodes, suggesting that the atherosclerotic environment impairs CD8 T cell activation.