Specificities of human CD4+ T cell responses to an inactivated flavivirus vaccine and infection: correlation with structure and epitope prediction.

ABSTRACT: Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus is endemic in large parts of Europe and Central and Eastern Asia and causes more than 10,000 annual cases of neurological disease in humans. It is closely related to the mosquito-borne yellow fever, dengue, Japanese encephalitis, and West Nile viruses, and vaccination with an inactivated whole-virus vaccine can effectively prevent clinical disease. Neutralizing antibodies are directed to the viral envelope protein (E) and an accepted correlate of immunity. However, data on the specificities of CD4(+) T cells that recognize epitopes in the viral structural proteins and thus can provide direct help to the B cells producing E-specific antibodies are lacking. We therefore conducted a study on the CD4(+) T cell response against the virion proteins in vaccinat

SUBMITTER: Schwaiger J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4097808 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature