Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
9286641 | Virology | 2005 | 9 Pages |
Abstract
CD8+ T cells play a critical role in protective immunity against Hepatitis B Virus (HBV). Epitope-based DNA vaccines expressing HBV-dominant CTL epitopes can be used as candidate vaccines capable of inducing cytotoxic T Lymphocytes (CTL) responses. A plasmid DNA encoding a CTL epitope of HBV core antigen, HBc18-27, was constructed. Intramuscular immunization of C57BL/6 mice with this DNA vaccine resulted in successful induction of HBV-specific CTL responses. In order to promote transportation of the peptide into endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to bind to MHC class I molecules for optimal class I antigen presentation, an ER targeting sequence (ERTS) was fused with the C18-27 encoding gene. ERTS fusion significantly enhanced specific CD8+ T cell responses in terms of CTL cytolysis as well as IFN-γ secretion. This enhancement was correlated with promoted epitope presentation on target cell surface. We report here an enhanced immunogenicity of an epitope-based DNA vaccine using an ER targeting signal sequence, which has significant implications for future design of therapeutic HBV vaccine.
Related Topics
Life Sciences
Immunology and Microbiology
Virology
Authors
Wei Xu, Yiwei Chu, Ruihua Zhang, Huanbin Xu, Ying Wang, Sidong Xiong,