Structural and functional constraints limit options for cytotoxic T-lymphocyte escape in the immunodominant HLA-B27-restricted epitope in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 capsid.

ABSTRACT: Control of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) by HLA-B27-positive subjects has been linked to an immunodominant CD8(+) cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) response targeting the conserved KK10 epitope (KRWIILGLNK(263-272)) in p24/Gag. Viral escape in KK10 typically occurs through development of an R(264)K substitution in conjunction with the upstream compensatory mutation S(173)A, and the difficulty of the virus to escape from the immune response against the KK10 epitope until late in infection has been associated with slower clinical progression. Rare alternative escape mutations at R(264) have been observed, but factors dictating the preferential selection of R(264)K remain unclear. Here we illustrate that while all observed R(264) mutations (K, G, Q, and T) reduced peptide binding to

SUBMITTER: Schneidewind A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2395179 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature