Immunoproteomic analysis of a Chikungunya poxvirus-based vaccine reveals high HLA class II immunoprevalence.

Background Efficient adaptive antiviral cellular and humoral immune responses require previous recognition of viral antigenic peptides bound to human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and II molecules, which are exposed on the surface of infected and antigen presenting cells, respectively. The HLA-res...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Main Authors: Elena Lorente, Alejandro Barriga, Eilon Barnea, Concepción Palomo, Juan García-Arriaza, Carmen Mir, Mariano Esteban, Arie Admon, Daniel López
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2019
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007547
https://doaj.org/article/4f8bc775e33845b491b7265aab1f301a
Description
Summary:Background Efficient adaptive antiviral cellular and humoral immune responses require previous recognition of viral antigenic peptides bound to human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and II molecules, which are exposed on the surface of infected and antigen presenting cells, respectively. The HLA-restricted immune response to Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), a mosquito-borne Alphavirus of the Togaviridae family responsible for severe chronic polyarthralgia and polyarthritis, is largely unknown. Methodology/principal findings In this study, a high-throughput mass spectrometry analysis of complex HLA-bound peptide pools isolated from large amounts of human cells infected with a vaccinia virus (VACV) recombinant expressing CHIKV structural proteins was carried out. Twelve viral ligands from the CHIKV polyprotein naturally presented by different HLA-A, -B, and -C class I, and HLA-DR and -DP class II molecules were identified. Conclusions/significance The immunoprevalence of the HLA class II but not the HLA class I-restricted cellular immune response against the CHIKV structural polyprotein was greater than that against the VACV vector itself. In addition, most of the CHIKV HLA class I and II ligands detected by mass spectrometry are not conserved compared to its closely related O'nyong-nyong virus. These findings have clear implications for analysis of both cytotoxic and helper immune responses against CHIKV as well as for the future studies focused in the exacerbated T helper response linked to chronic musculoskeletal disorders in CHIKV patients.