Induction of broad multifunctional CD8+ and CD4+ T cells by hepatitis B virus antigen-based synthetic long peptides ex vivo.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Therapeutic vaccination based on synthetic long peptides (SLP^®) containing both CD4+ and CD8+ T cell epitopes is a promising treatment strategy for chronic hepatitis B infection (cHBV).

Methods

We designed SLPs for three HBV proteins, HBcAg and the non-secreted proteins polymerase and X, and investigated their ability to induce T cell responses ex vivo. A set of 17 SLPs was constructed based on viral protein conservation, functionality, predicted and validated binders for prevalent human leukocyte antigen (HLA) supertypes, validated HLA I epitopes, and chemical producibility.

Results

All 17 SLPs were capable of inducing interferon gamma (IFNɣ) production in samples from four or more donors that had resolved an HBV infection in the past (

SUBMITTER: Jansen DTSL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10534072 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature