Predominance of HLA-Restricted Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte Responses to Serotype-Cross-Reactive Epitopes on Nonstructural Proteins following Natural Secondary Dengue Virus Infection

We examined the memory cytotoxic T-lymphocytic (CTL) responses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) obtained from patients in Thailand 12 months after natural symptomatic secondary dengue virus infection. In all four patients analyzed, CTLs were detected in bulk culture PBMC against nonstructural dengue virus proteins. Numerous CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ CTL lines were generated from the bulk cultures of two patients, KPP94-037 and KPP94-024, which were specific for NS1.2a (NS1 and NS2a collectively) and NS3 proteins, respectively. All CTL lines derived from both patients were cross-reactive with other serotypes of dengue virus. The CD8⁺ NS1.2a-specific lines from patient KPP94-037 were HLA B57 restricted, and the CD8⁺ NS3-specific lines from patient KPP94-024 were HLA B7 restricted. The CD4⁺ CTL lines from patient KPP94-037 were HLA DR7 restricted. A majority of the CD8⁺ CTLs isolated from patient KPP94-024 were found to recognize amino acids 221 to 232 on NS3. These results demonstrate that in Thai patients after symptomatic secondary natural dengue infections, CTLs are mainly directed against nonstructural proteins and are broadly cross-reactive.     

Distribution of natural killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor sequences in three ethnic groups

Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) are members of a group of molecules that specifically recognize HLA class I ligands and are found on subsets of human lymphopoetic cells. The number of KIR loci can vary between individuals, resulting in a heterogeneous array of possible KIR genes. The range of observed profiles has been explained by the occurrence of two haplotype families termed A and B which can be distinguished on the basis of certain KIR sequences. Here we attempted to determine whether the frequencies of putative KIR loci and the two haplotype groups vary in three ethnically defined, healthy, and unrelated control populations, namely UK Caucasoid (n=136), Palestinian (n=105) and Thai (n=119). We molecularly typed genomic DNA for the presence of 12 putative KIR loci, KIR2DL1, KIR2DL2, KIR2DL3, KIR2DL4, KIR3DL1, KIR3DL2, KIR2DS1, KIR2DS2, KIR2DS3, KIR2DS4, KIR2DS5, and KIR3DS1, using modified PCR sequence-specific primers. The patterns of KIR locus frequencies combined with the similar linkage disequilibrium values suggest that there was a distinction in the distribution of the two broad haplotype groups between the populations studied. The A haplotype was always the most prevalent, but the ratio of A to B varied between populations. The frequency of B haplotype was highest in the Palestinians and lowest in the Thais (Pc<0.0001).     

SNP haplotypes and allele frequencies show evidence for disruptive and balancing selection in the human leukocyte receptor complex

The human leukocyte receptor complex (LRC) of Chromosome 19q13.4 encodes polymorphic and highly homologous genes that are expressed by cells of the immune system and regulate their function. There is an enormous diversity at the LRC, most particularly the variable number of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) genes. KIR have been associated with several disease processes due to their interaction with polymorphic human leukocyte antigen class I molecules. We have assessed haplotype compositions, linkage disequilibrium patterns and allele frequencies in two Caucasoid population samples (n=54, n=100), using a composite of single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers and high-resolution, allele-specific molecular genotyping. Particular KIR loci segregated with SNP and other markers, forming two blocks that were separated by a region with a greater history of recombination. The KIR haplotype composition and allele frequency distributions were consistent with KIR having been subject to balancing selection (Wattersons F: P=0.001). In contrast, there was a high inter-population heterogeneity measure for the LRC-encoded leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptor A3 (LILRA3), indicating pathogen-driven disruptive selection (Wrights F_ST=0.32). An assessment of seven populations representative of African, Asian and Caucasoid ethnic groups (total n=593) provided little evidence for long-range LRC haplotypes. The different natural selection pressures acting on each locus may have contributed to a lack of linkage disequilibrium between them.     

T cell responses to an HLA-B*07-restricted epitope on the dengue NS3 protein correlate with disease severity

Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), the severe manifestation of dengue virus (DV) infection characterized by plasma leakage, is more common in secondary DV infections in previously infected individuals and is associated with high levels of immune activation. To determine the Ag specificity of this immune response, we studied the response to an HLA-B*07-restricted T cell epitope, residues 221-232 of the DV NS3 protein, in 10 HLA-B*07(+) Thai children who were studied during and after acute DV infections. Peptide-specific T cells were detected in 9 of 10 subjects. The frequency of peptide-specific T cells was higher in subjects who had experienced DHF than in those who had experienced DF. We also detected peptide-specific T cells in PBMC obtained at the time of the acute DV infection in 2 of 5 subjects. These data suggest that the NS3 (221-232) epitope is an important target of CD8(+) T cells in secondary DV infection and that the activation and expansion of DV-specific T cells is greater in subjects with DHF than in those with dengue fever. These findings support the hypothesis that activation of DV-specific CD8(+) T cells plays an important role in the pathogenesis of DHF.     

Allelic variation in the intron 2 and 3 of the MICA gene.

We have determined by sequencing the allelic variation in intron 2 and 3 of hte MICA gene for a total of 22 different alleles. Sequencing of introns was performed in two directions, using DNA from homozygous cell lines from families and from unrelated individuals. Intron 2 is 273 bp long and did in the alleles investigated not reveal any length polymorphism. We found a total of eight polymorphic positions which exhibit a strict biallelism, as it is also found in the polymorphisms for exon 2, 3 and 4 of MICA. Intron 3 is 586 bp long an required an additional set of primers placed near the middle of this intron in order to allow a complete bidirectional sequence. In intron 3, a total of 10 polymorphic positions were identified. Interestingly, we found two variants of the allele MICA*002 which are distinguished only by one basepair difference in intron 3. The variant MICA*002A is associated with HLA-B35 and B58, while the allele MICA*002B is associated with B38 and B39.