INTRODUCTION Class I HLA's polymorphism has hampered CTL epitope mapping with laborious experiments. Objectives are 1) to evaluate the novel in silico model in predicting previously reported epitopes in comparison with existing program, and 2) to apply the model to predict optimal epitopes with HLA using experimental results. MATERIALS AND METHODS We have developed a novel in silico epitope p...

Infection with virus variants exhibiting changes in the peptide sequences defining immunodominant determinants that abolish recognition by antiviral cytotoxic T cells (CTL) presents a considerable challenge to the antiviral T-cell immune system and may enable some viruses to persist in hosts. The potential importance of such variants with respect to mechanisms of viral persistence and disease p...

Specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses to nucleocapsid of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) were identified by using target cells infected with a Semliki Forest virus (SFV) vector. Effector cells for CTL assays were collected from chickens infected with the Gray strain of IBV or inoculated with a DNA plasmid encoding nucleocapsid proteins. IBV-specific CTL epitopes were mapped within t...

The efficient in vitro expansion of antigen-specific CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) for use in adoptive immunotherapy represents an important clinical goal. Furthermore, the avidity of expanded CTL populations often correlates closely with clinical outcome. In our study, high-avidity CTL lines could be expanded ex vivo from an antigen-primed animal using low peptide concentration, and inter...

Cytotoxic CD8+ T cells (CTLs) play a critical role in controlling viral infections. HIV-infected individuals develop CTL responses against epitopes derived from viral proteins, but also against cryptic epitopes encoded by viral alternative reading frames (ARF). We studied here the mechanisms of HIV-1 escape from CTLs targeting one such cryptic epitope, Q9VF, encoded by an HIVgag ARF and present...

Members of the Arenaviridae family have been isolated from mammalian hosts in disparate geographic locations, leading to their grouping as Old World types (i.e., lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus [LCMV], Lassa fever virus [LFV], Mopeia virus, and Mobala virus) and New World types (i.e., Junin, Machupo, Tacaribe, and Sabia viruses) (C. J. Peters, M. J. Buchmeier, P. E. Rollin, and T. G. Ksiazek...

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-specific CTL clones were isolated that recognized A-type EBV transformants but not B-type transformants. These A-type-specific CTL clones (HLA B8 restricted) were used to screen peptides derived from the EBV nuclear antigens (EBNAs) 2, 3, 4, and 6 as potential CTL epitopes. Of the 76 peptides screened, one sequence from EBNA 3 (residues 329-353) was recognized by A-type...

PURPOSE Antiangiogenic therapy is now considered to be one of promising approaches to treat various types of cancer. In this study, we examined the possibility of developing antiangiogenic cancer vaccine targeting vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 (VEGFR1) overexpressed on endothelial cells of newly formed vessels in the tumor. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Epitope-candidate peptides were p...

Vaccine-induced cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) have been implicated in the control of virus replication in simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-challenged and simian-human immunodeficiency virus-challenged macaques. Therefore, we wanted to test the impact that vaccine-induced CTL responses against an immunodominant Gag epitope might have in the absence of other immune responses. By themselves, th...