Identification of HLA-DP3-restricted Peptides from EBNA1 Recognized by CD4+ T Cells

KS Voo, T Fu, HE Heslop, MK Brenner, CM Rooney… - Cancer research, 2002 - AACR
KS Voo, T Fu, HE Heslop, MK Brenner, CM Rooney, RF Wang
Cancer research, 2002AACR
The EBV-encoded nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1) is required for the maintenance and
replication of the viral episome in EBV-transformed human B-lymphoblastoid cell lines. It is
expressed in all EBV-associated tumors, making it a potentially important target for
immunotherapy. However, this promise has not been realized, because an endogenously
processed MHC class I-restricted T-cell epitope remains to be identified, and relatively little
is known about MHC class II-restricted helper epitopes in the molecule. In this report, we …
Abstract
The EBV-encoded nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1) is required for the maintenance and replication of the viral episome in EBV-transformed human B-lymphoblastoid cell lines. It is expressed in all EBV-associated tumors, making it a potentially important target for immunotherapy. However, this promise has not been realized, because an endogenously processed MHC class I-restricted T-cell epitope remains to be identified, and relatively little is known about MHC class II-restricted helper epitopes in the molecule. In this report, we identify a T-cell peptide derived from EBNA1 that is recognized by CD4+ T cells. More importantly, EBNA1-specific, HLA-DP3-restricted CD4+ T cells are capable of recognizing MHC class II-matched Burkitt’s lymphoma cells, autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells loaded with the purified EBNA1 protein, as well as target cells transfected with Ii-EBNA1 cDNA. These new findings demonstrate that EBNA1 is processed endogenously and presented to T cells by MHC class II molecules, and, hence, may be useful to incorporate into cancer vaccines to enhance antitumor immunity against EBV-associated tumors.
AACR