Characterization of murine T-cell epitopes on mycobacterial DNA-binding protein 1 (MDP1) using DNA vaccination

Mycobacterial DNA-binding protein 1 (MDP1) is a major protein antigen in mycobacteria and induces protective immunity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in mice. In this study we determined murine T-cell epitopes on MDP1 with MDP1 DNA immunization in mice. We analyzed interferon-γ production from the MDP1 DNA-immune splenocytes in response to 20-mer overlapping peptides covering MDP1 protein. We identified several CD4+ T-cell epitopes in three inbred mouse strains and one CD8+ T-cell epitope in C57BL/6 mice. These T-cell epitopes would be feasible for analysis of the role of MDP1-specific T-cells in protective immunity and for future vaccine design against M. tuberculosis infection.