Repertoire of HLA-DR1-restricted CD4 T-cell responses to capsular Caf1 antigen of Yersinia pestis in human leukocyte antigen transgenic mice.

ABSTRACT: Yersinia pestis is the causative agent of plague, a rapidly fatal infectious disease that has not been eradicated worldwide. The capsular Caf1 protein of Y. pestis is a protective antigen under development as a recombinant vaccine. However, little is known about the specificity of human T-cell responses for Caf1. We characterized CD4 T-cell epitopes of Caf1 in "humanized" HLA-DR1 transgenic mice lacking endogenous major histocompatibility complex class II molecules. Mice were immunized with Caf1 or each of a complete set of overlapping synthetic peptides, and CD4 T-cell immunity was measured with respect to proliferative and gamma interferon T-cell responses and recognition by a panel of T-cell hybridomas, as well as direct determination of binding affinities of Caf1 peptides to purified H

SUBMITTER: Musson JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2950366 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature