Target antigens for H-2-restricted vesicular stomatitis virus-specific cytotoxic T cells.

Cytotoxic thymus-derived lymphocytes from mice infected with vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) are H-2 restricted and virus specific for the Indiana and New Jersey strains of VSV. VSV-Indiana-immune T cells can lyse target cells infected with the temperature sensitive (ts) mutant ts 045 about 30 times better when target cell infection occurs at the permissive rather than the non-permissive temperature. Since this mutant fails to express the glycoprotein at the cell surface when grown at the nonpermissive temperature, our results support the view that the viral glycoprotein is involved in defining the major target antigen for VSV-specific T cells. However, the tl 17 mutant that expresses a mutant glycoprotein at the cell surface was lysed, suggesting that the expressed mutated glycoprotein can cross-react with Indiana wild-type glycoprotein. Targets infected at the nonpermissive temperature with VSV ts G31 (mutant in the matrix protein) are still susceptible to T cell-mediated lysis but at a lower level of sensitivity. These results are compatible with the interpretation that for VSV-specific T cell lysis of infected target cells, the viral glycoprotein is a major target antigen and must be expressed, and that the matrix protein plays a lesser role, probably by indirectly influencing glycoprotein configuration at the cell surface.     

Hierarchy among multiple H-2b-restricted cytotoxic T-lymphocyte epitopes within simian virus 40 T antigen.

Simian virus 40 large tumor (T) antigen contains three H-2Db-restricted (I, II/III, and V) and one H-2Kb-restricted (IV) cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) epitopes. We demonstrate that a hierarchy exists among these CTL epitopes, since vigorous CTL responses against epitopes I, II/III, and IV are detected following immunization of H-2b mice with syngeneic, T-antigen-expressing cells. By contrast, a weak CTL response against the H-2Db-restricted epitope V was detected only following immunization of H-2b mice with epitope loss variant B6/K-3,1,4 cells, which have lost expression of CTL epitopes I, II/III, and IV. Limiting-dilution analysis confirmed that the lack of epitope V-specific CTL activity in bulk culture splenocytes correlated with inefficient expansion and priming of epitope V-specific CTL precursors in vivo. We examined whether defined genetic alterations of T antigen might improve processing and presentation of epitope V to the epitope V-specific CTL clone Y-5 in vitro and/or overcome the recessive nature of epitope V in vivo. Deletion of the H-2Db-restricted epitopes I and II/III from T antigen did not increase target cell lysis by epitope V-specific CTL clones in vitro. The amino acid sequence SMIKNLEYM, which species an optimized H-2Db binding motif and was found to induce CTL in H-2b mice, did not further reduce epitope V presentation in vitro when inserted within T antigen. Epitope V-containing T-antigen derivatives which retained epitopes I and II/III or epitope IV did not induce epitope V-specific CTL in vivo: T-antigen derivatives in which epitope V replaced epitope I failed to induce epitope V-specific CTL. Recognition of epitope V-H-2Db complexes by multiple independently derived epitope V-specific CTL clones was rapidly and dramatically reduced by incubation of target cells in the presence of brefeldin A compared with the recognition of the other T-antigen CTL epitopes by epitope specific CTL, suggesting that the epitope V-H-2Db complexes either are labile or are present at the cell surface at reduced levels. Our results suggest that processing and presentation of epitope V is not dramatically altered (reduced) by the presence of immunodominant CTL epitopes in T antigen and that the immunorecessive nature of epitope V is not determined by amino acids which flank its native location within simian virus 40 T antigen.     

Inability of mice to generate cytotoxic T lymphocytes to vesicular stomatitis virus restricted to H-2Kk or H-2Dk

H-2k mice are unable to generate cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) to vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV). This apparent unresponsiveness is found for both major serotypes of VSV, VSV-Indiana and VSV-New Jersey. CTL unresponsiveness occurs despite the ability of H-2k mice to generate a humoral immune response against VSV that is comparable to that found in responder (H-2b and H-2a) strains. All H-2k mice regardless of background genes, including various Ig allotypes, were found to be nonresponders. H-2k-linked unresponsiveness mapped to both H-2Kk and H-2Dk and occurred despite the presence of responder alleles in (responder x nonresponder)F1 mice. The unresponsiveness cannot be attributed to an inability of VSV-infected H-2k target cells to express viral surface antigens of H-2 molecules. Further, unresponsiveness cannot be overcome by using secondary stimulation in vivo or in vitro. H-2k-linked unresponsiveness does not appear to be due to suppression, and no complementation has been found in various (nonresponder x nonresponder)F1 mice. Thus unresponsiveness to VSV in association with H-2Kk or H-2Dk appears to represent an extensive defect of immune responsiveness that probably occurs because VSV is not a natural mouse pathogen.     

Murine infection by vesicular stomatitis virus: initial characterization of the H-2d system.

BALB/c mice and congenic H-2Ld-deficient BALB/c-H-2dm2 (dm2) mice were experimentally infected intranasally with isolates of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV). The survival of infected hosts, viral replication in lungs and brains, and histopathologic in the two mouse strains were compared. In both strains of mice, mortality occurred during the period 7 to 10 days postinfection. However, dm2 mice were relatively resistant to lethal infections. Viral replication occurred at low levels in the lungs of both strains and did not evoke significant pathologic changes. In contrast, viral replication in the brains was much greater; in the BALB/c strain, this was accompanied by more frequent and more severe pathologic changes. In general, mice surviving at day 10 had effectively cleared virus from central nervous system but not respiratory sites. Evidence is presented that viral replication occurs first in the nasal cavity and is transmitted both to the lungs and to the olfactory bulb where focal cytopathology occurs. Virus enters the ventricles, causing encephalitis; necrosis occurs around the ventricles and in the lumbosacral region of the spinal cord. Necrotic lesions were accompanied by mononuclear infiltration. Mice immunized with virus of the same serotype or with a vaccinia virus hybrid encoding the VSV glycoprotein were protected from lethal infection; in contrast, mice immunized with heterotypic virus were susceptible to challenge.     

Dissection of H-2Db-restricted cytotoxic T-lymphocyte epitopes on simian virus 40 T antigen by the use of synthetic peptides and H-2Dbm mutants.

Five distinct cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) recognition sites were identified in the simian virus 40 (SV40) T antigen by using H-2b cells that express the truncated T antigen or antigens carrying internal deletions of various sizes. Four of the CTL recognition determinants, designated sites I, II, III, and V, are H-2Db restricted, while site IV is H-2Kb restricted. The boundaries of CTL recognition sites I, II, and III, clustered in the amino-terminal half of the T antigen, were further defined by use of overlapping synthetic peptides containing amino acid sequences previously determined to be required for recognition by T-antigen site-specific CTL clones by using SV40 deletion mutants. CTL clone Y-1, which recognizes epitope I and whose reactivity is affected by deletion of residues 193 to 211 of the T antigen, responded positively to B6/PY cells preincubated with a synthetic peptide corresponding to T-antigen amino acids 205 to 219. CTL clones Y-2 and Y-3 lysed B6/PY cells preincubated with large-T peptide LT220-233. To distinguish further between epitopes II and III, Y-2 and Y-3 CTL clones were reacted with SV40-transformed cells bearing mutations in the major histocompatibility complex class I antigen. Y-2 CTL clones lysed SV40-transformed H-2Dbm13 cells (bm13SV) which carry several amino acid substitutions in the putative antigen-binding site in the alpha 2 domain of the H-2Db antigen but not bm14SV cells, which contain a single amino acid substitution in the alpha 1 domain. Y-3 CTL clones lysed both mutant transformants. Y-1 and Y-5 CTL clones failed to lyse bm13SV and bm14SV cells; however, these cells could present synthetic peptide LT205-219 to CTL clone Y-1 and peptide SV26(489-503) to CTL clone Y-5, suggesting that the endogenously processed T antigen yields fragments of sizes or sequences different from those of synthetic peptides LT205-219 and SV26(489-503).     

N protein is the predominant antigen recognized by vesicular stomatitis virus-specific cytotoxic T cells.

The specificity of anti-vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV)-specific cytotoxic T cells was explored with cell lines expressing VSV genes introduced by electroporation. Low levels of nucleocapsid (N) protein were detected on the surface of VSV-infected cells, but N protein could not be detected on the plasma membrane of transfected EL4 cells. Intracellular N protein was detectable by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or immunoprecipitation in some of the transfected cell lines but not in others, unless the transfected genes were induced by sodium butyrate. However, all of the stably transfected EL4 cell lines expressing the VSV-Indiana N protein were efficiently lysed by serotype-specific and cross-reactive anti-VSV cytotoxic T cells (CTLs). Primary cross-reactive anti-VSV CTLs appeared to be specific solely for N protein, based on cold-target competition assays using infected and transfected target cells. Cell lines expressing 100- to 1,000-fold less N protein than did VSV-infected cells were efficiently lysed by both primary and secondary anti-VSV CTLs. Cell lines expressing 100-fold less G protein than did VSV-infected cells were not lysed by either population of effectors. Significantly, cold-target competition studies with secondary CTLs demonstrated that N protein-expressing cell lines were more efficient competitors than were VSV-infected cells even though the latter expressed 100- to 1,000-fold more N protein. This was not an artifact of viral infection since infection of the transfected cell lines did not affect their ability to compete. The possibility that cell lines constitutively expressing internal virus proteins present antigen more effectively than infected cells do is discussed.     

Comparative analysis of core amino acid residues of H-2D(b)-restricted cytotoxic T-lymphocyte recognition epitopes in simian virus 40 T antigen.

Simian virus 40 (SV40) tumor (T) antigen expressed in H-2b SV40-transformed cells induces the generation of Lyt-2+ (CD8+) cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), which are involved in tumor rejection, in syngeneic mice. Five CTL recognition sites on T antigen have been described by using mutant T antigens. Four of the sites (I, II, III, and V) are H-2Db restricted and have been broadly mapped with synthetic peptides of 15 amino acids in length overlapping by 5 residues at the amino and carboxy termini. The goal of this study was to define the minimal and optimal amino acid sequences of T antigen which would serve as recognition elements for the H-2Db-restricted CTL clones Y-1, Y-2, Y-3, and Y-5, which recognizes sites I, II, III, and V, respectively. The minimal and optimal residues of T antigen recognized by the four CTL clones were determined by using synthetic peptides truncated at the amino or carboxy terminus and an H-2Db peptide-binding motif. The minimal site recognized by CTL clone Y-1 was defined as amino acids 207 to 215 of SV40 T antigen. However, the optimal sequence recognized by CTL clone Y-1 spanned T-antigen amino acids 205 to 215. The T-antigen peptide sequence LT223-231 was the optimal and minimal sequence recognized by both CTL clones Y-2 and Y-3. Site V was determined to be contained within amino acids 489 to 497 of T antigen. The lytic activities of CTL clones Y-2 and Y-3, which recognize a single nonamer peptide, LT223-231, were affected differently by anti-Lyt-2 antibody, suggesting that the T-cell receptors of these two CTL clones differ in their avidities. As the minimal and optimal H-2Db-restricted CTL recognition sites have been defined by nonamer synthetic peptides, it is now possible to search for naturally processed H-2Db-restricted epitopes of T antigen and identify critical residues involved in processing, presentation, and recognition by SV40-specific CTL.     

Pseudotypes of vesicular stomatitis virus with the mixed coat of reticuloendotheliosis virus and vesicular stomatitis virus.

Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) forms pseudotypes with envelope components of reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV). The VSV pseudotype possesses the limited host range and antigenic properties of REV. Approximately 70% of the VSV, Indiana serotype, and 45% of VSV, New Jersey serotype, produced from the REV strain T-transformed chicken bone marrow cells contain mixed envelope components of both VSV and REV. VSV pseudotypes with mixed envelope antigens can be neutralized with excess amounts of either anti-VSV antiserum or anti-REV antiserum.     

Simian virus 40 T antigen as a carrier for the expression of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte recognition epitopes.

Simian virus 40 (SV40) large T antigen can immortalize a wide variety of mammalian cells in culture. We have taken advantage of this property of T antigen to use it as a carrier for the expression of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) recognition epitopes. DNA sequences corresponding to an H-2Db-restricted SV40 T-antigen site I (amino acids 205 to 215) were translocated into SV40 T-antigen DNA at codon positions 350 and 650 containing EcoRI linkers. An H-2Kb-restricted herpes simplex virus glycoprotein B epitope (amino acids 498 to 505) was also expressed in SV40 T antigen at positions 350 and 650. Primary C57BL/6 mouse kidney cells were immortalized by transfection with the recombinant and wild-type T-antigen DNA. Clonal isolates of cells expressing chimeric T antigens were shown to be specifically susceptible to lysis by CTL clones directed to SV40 T-antigen site I and herpes simplex virus glycoprotein B epitopes, indicating that CTL epitopes restricted by two different elements can be processed, presented, and recognized by the epitope-specific CTL clones. Our results suggest that SV40 T antigen can be used as a carrier protein to express a wide variety of CTL epitopes.     

Activation of mouse lymphocytes by vesicular stomatitis virus.

Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is a mitogen for mouse spleen cells, and infectious virus is not required for mitogenesis. At concentrations between 10 and 100 microgram per culture, VSV stimulated DNA synthesis and blast transformation. Maximal activation by VSV occurred 48 h after culture initiation. Spleen cells depleted of T-lymphocytes by treatment with anti-Thy 1.2 and complement and those obtained from congenitally athymic BALB/c nu/nu mice were activated by VSV, suggesting that VSV is a B-cell mitogen. Activation of spleen cells was independent of the host in which the virus was grown, since VSV grown in BHK-21, HKCC, or MDBK cells was mitogenic. The mitogenesis was specific for VSV, since MDBK cell-grown WSN influenza virus was not a mitogen in this in vitro activation system, VSV-specific antibody prevented VSV mitogenesis, and VSV was mitogenic for spleen cells from C3H/HeJ mice which were resistant to mitogenesis by endotoxin.     

Clonal analysis of H-2Kb + TNP recognition by T cells with the use of H-2Kbm mutants and H-2Kb-specific monoclonal antibodies

Eleven long-term cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) clones derived from C57BL/10 T cells sensitized in vivo and in vitro with trinitrobenzene sulfonate- (TNBS) treated syngeneic cells were all restricted to the K end of H-2b. The fine specificity of these CTL clones was analyzed by using H-2Kbm mutant target cells and H-2Kb-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAb). Seven distinct patterns of reactivity of the T cell clones could be observed with the use of six H-2Kbm mutant target cells. Further heterogeneity could be detected in terms of the ability of anti-Lyt-2 mAb to inhibit CTL activity. Cross-reactivity between H-2Kb + TNP and H-2Kbm + TNP was observed for all clones tested for bm5 and bm6, but less frequently for bm3 (8/11), bm8 (7/10), bm4 (4/11), and bm1 (3/11). It was further observed that amino acid substitutions located in the first domain only (one clone), or in the second domain only (six clones), or in either the first or the second domain (three clones) of the H-2Kb molecule could affect target cell recognition by a given T cell clone. the latter type of reactivity suggested that some clones recognized "conformational" determinants of the H-2 molecule, or that amino acid substitutions in one domain might influence the structure of the next domain. One H-2Kb + TNP-reactive clone exhibited a heteroclitic behavior with decreasing avidities for target cells expressing H-2Kbm8 + TNP, H-2Kb + TNP, and H-2Kbm8, which further extends the various patterns of T cell cross-reactions observed within a given class of MHC products. The use of H-2Kb-specific mAb in blocking studies as an attempt to define further the H-2Kb epitopes recognized by CTL clones indicated that: a) TNBS treatment may affect the antigenicity of the H-2Kb molecule as assessed by some mAb; and b) that the T cell clone-target cell interaction may or may not be inhibited by a given mAb, depending on structural variations of the H-2Kb molecule (use of H-2Kbm mutants) that do not affect the interaction itself. These results indicate that this type of analysis does not permit correlation of serologic- and T cell-defined epitopes.     

Inhibition of vesicular stomatitis virus infection by nitric oxide.

Inhibitory effects of nitric oxide (NO) on vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) infection were investigated by using a VSV-susceptible mouse neuroblastoma cell line, NB41A3. Productive VSV infection of NB41A3 cells was significantly inhibited by an organic NO donor, S-nitro-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP), while the control compound N-acetylpenicillamine (NAP) had no effect. Survival rate of VSV-infected cells was greatly increased by the treatment with SNAP, while the NAP treatment did not have any effect. Adding SNAP 30 min prior to infection resulted in complete inhibition of viral production when a low multiplicity of infection (MOI) was used. Substantial inhibition of viral production was also obtained with treating cells 6 h earlier before infection with a higher MOI. Activating the neuronal NO synthase by treating cells with N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) led to significant inhibition of viral production by cells infected at the three doses of virus tested (MOIs of 0.1, 1, and 5). The inhibitory effect of NMDA on viral infection was totally blocked by the NO synthase inhibitor N-methyl-L-arginine. However, adding hemoglobin, a strong NO-binding protein and thus an inactivator of NO activity, did not reverse the NMDA-induced inhibition of viral production, suggesting that NO might exert its antiviral effects inside the NO-producing cells. Collectively, these data support the anti-VSV effects of NO, which might be one of the important factors of natural immunity in controlling the initial stages of VSV infection in the central nervous system.     

Recognition of H-2Kb mutant target cells by Moloney virus-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes from bm13 (H-2Db mutant) mice. I. Full recognition of Kbm11 by Kb-restricted CTL

In C57BL/6 (B6, H-2b) mice, the secondary in vitro CTL response against Moloney leukemia virus is restricted and regulated by the H-2Db locus. B6.C-H- 2bm13 ( bm13 ) mice, however, carrying a mutation at the Db locus, show an increased H-2Kb-restricted CTL response without a demonstrable CTL component restricted by the mutant Dbm13 molecule (D----K shift). These purely Kb-restricted bm13 virus-specific CTL were incubated with a series of Kb mutant virus-infected target cells to study the effect of the mutations at the target cell level. Of six Kb-mutant virus-infected target cells tested, bm1 cells were not recognized and bm8 cells were recognized only marginally by bm13 virus-specific CTL, whereas bm3 , bm5 , bm6 , and bm11 cells were fully recognized. Thus, the bm3 , bm5 , bm6 , and bm11 Kb mutants fully share the relevant H-2K restriction specificities with H-2Kb, whereas the bm1 mutant totally and the bm8 mutant almost completely lack these specificities. This result differs markedly from the restriction site relationships among B6 and these Kb mutants in other antigenic systems. The most striking example concerns the bm11 mutant, which is fully recognized by Moloney-specific CTL, but not at all by Sendai, minor H (H-3.1, H-4.2), and sulfhydryl hapten-specific CTL. Monoclonal anti-H-2Kb antibody B8-3-24 inhibited virus-specific lysis by bm13 CTL of all Kb virus-infected mutant target cells to which this antibody binds. Lysis of bm5 and bm11 but not of bm3 target cells was inhibited, in line with the fact that B8-3-24 antibody does not bind bm3 . On the other hand, not only bm5 and bm11 but also bm3 virus-infected target cells blocked virus-specific lysis to the same extent as syngeneic bm13 target cells. Therefore, bm13 virus-specific CTL populations do not recognize the discrete cluster alteration in the Kbm3 molecule, as identified by antibody B8-3-24. The bm1 and the bm8 mutations, which have structural alterations in completely different sites of the Kb molecule, show complete or almost complete loss, respectively, of Kb-Moloney restriction sites. This finding supports the notion that these virus-specific CTL recognize conformational determinants rather than linear amino acid sequences.     

Amino-terminal mutation of the vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein does not affect its fusion activity.

Earlier studies demonstrated that synthetic peptides corresponding to the amino terminus of the vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein (G protein) have a pH-dependent hemolytic activity that is thought to be related to the fusion activity of G protein (R. Schlegel and M. Wade, J. Biol. Chem. 259: 4691-4694, 1984; R. Schlegel and M. Wade, J. Virol. 53: 319-323, 1985). A single amino acid change (lysine to glutamic acid at the amino terminus) abolishes the hemolytic activity of the peptide. Here we used oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis to create a DNA encoding G protein with this same amino acid change at its amino terminus. The mutant protein encoded by this gene was expressed transiently in a monkey fibroblast cell line (COS) and was found to have a pH-dependent fusion activity indistinguishable from wild-type G protein. This result indicates that the hemolytic activity of the synthetic peptides was not related to the fusion activity of the G protein.     

Isolation of the envelope of vesicular stomatitis virus.

Vesicular stomatitis virus was disrupted by a combination of freezing and thawing, osmotic shock, and sonic treatment. Subviral components were separated by isopycnic centrifugation. The low-density, lipid-rich fractions were pooled and shown to contain primarily viral glycoprotein. Further purification of this material resulted in the isolation of a preparation of vesicles which contained only the G protein and the same phospholipids as in the intact virions and exhibited spikelike structures similar to those on intact vesicular stomatitis virions. We conclude that we have isolated fragments of native vesicular stomatitis virus envelopes.     

Enhanced recognition of a modified peptide antigen by cytotoxic T cells specific for influenza nucleoprotein

A previously identified Kd restricted epitope of influenza A virus nucleoprotein (147-161) was modified, resulting in recognition by Kd restricted cytotoxic T cells at significantly lower concentrations than the natural peptide sequence. This was achieved by first refining the epitope to the minimum determinant 147-158. Deletion of arginine 156 resulted in a peptide that was shown to be greatly superior in both dose response titrations and in its rate of association with cells to form targets. Analog peptides were tested to determine the important amino acid changes. These data suggest that T cell epitopes can be modified to result in improved immunological recognition.