HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplementary Material Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Gallagher, K. M. E. Articles by Man, S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Gallagher, K. M. E. Articles by Man, S. Agricola Articles by Gallagher, K. M. E. Articles by Man, S.

Identification of HLA-DR1- and HLA-DR15-restricted human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) and HPV18 E6 epitopes recognized by CD4⁺ T cells from healthy young women

Department of Medical Biochemistry and Immunology, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF14 4XX, UK

Correspondence
Stephen Man
mans{at}cf.ac.uk

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, particularly with types 16 and 18, is causally associated with the development of cervical cancer. Prophylactic vaccines against HPV have recently been licensed and have the primary aim of protecting children against future HPV infection and cervical cancer. However, these vaccines are unlikely to be effective in women with pre-existing HPV infection and disease. Previous studies have suggested that HPV16 E6-specific CD4⁺ T cells play a role in controlling viral infection; however, the epitopes recognized by such T-cells have not been defined. In this study, we analysed T-cell responses against HPV16 and 18 in ten healthy young women in an age group (21–31) with a high prevalence of HPV infection and clearance. Five individuals made HPV E6 responses, from which five candidate T-cell epitopes (three HPV16 E6 and two HPV18 E6) were identified. More detailed characterization of epitopes from HPV16 E6_(127–141) and HPV18 E6_(43–57) revealed HLA-DRB1*01 and HLA-DRB1*15 restriction, respectively. Furthermore, generation of a T-cell line against HPV16 E6_(127–141) demonstrated that this epitope could be presented after endogenous processing of soluble HPV16 E6 protein. Overall we demonstrate a powerful approach for defining novel CD4⁺ T-cell epitopes from two oncogenic HPV types. This approach could be applied to study populations in developing countries with a high incidence of cervical cancer. Such epitopes could provide a more precise way of investigating the role of natural and vaccine-induced T-cell responses against HPV in blood and at sites of disease.

Supplementary material is available in JGV Online.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. L. Trimble, S. Peng, F. Kos, P. Gravitt, R. Viscidi, E. Sugar, D. Pardoll, and T.C. Wu A Phase I Trial of a Human Papillomavirus DNA Vaccine for HPV16+ Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia 2/3 Clin. Cancer Res., January 1, 2009; 15(1): 361 - 367. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				X. Wang, A.-B. Moscicki, L. Tsang, A. Brockman, and M. Nakagawa Memory T Cells Specific for Novel Human Papillomavirus Type 16 (HPV16) E6 Epitopes in Women Whose HPV16 Infection Has Become Undetectable Clin. Vaccine Immunol., June 1, 2008; 15(6): 937 - 945. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]