Epitope mapping of HIV-specific CD8+ T cells in a cohort dominated by clade A1 infection.

ABSTRACT:

Background

CD8+ T cell responses are often detected at large magnitudes in HIV-infected subjects, and eliciting these responses is the central aim of many HIV-1 vaccine strategies. Population differences in CD8+ T cell epitope specificity will need to be understood if vaccines are to be effective in multiple geographic regions.

Methodology/principal findings

In a large Kenyan cohort, we compared responsive CD8+ T cell HIV-1 Env overlapping peptides (OLPs) to Best Defined Epitopes (BDEs), many of which have been defined in clade B infection. While the majority of BDEs (69%) were recognized in this population, nearly half of responsive OLPs (47%) did not contain described epitopes. Recognition frequencies of BDEs were inversely correlated to epitopic sequence differences betwe

SUBMITTER: McKinnon LR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2735720 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature