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A CD8+ T cell immune evasion protein specific to Epstein-Barr virus and its close relatives in Old World primates.

ABSTRACT: gamma 1-Herpesviruses such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) have a unique ability to amplify virus loads in vivo through latent growth-transforming infection. Whether they, like alpha- and beta-herpesviruses, have been driven to actively evade immune detection of replicative (lytic) infection remains a moot point. We were prompted to readdress this question by recent work (Pudney, V.A., A.M. Leese, A.B. Rickinson, and A.D. Hislop. 2005. J. Exp. Med. 201:349-360; Ressing, M.E., S.E. Keating, D. van Leeuwen, D. Koppers-Lalic, I.Y. Pappworth, E.J.H.J. Wiertz, and M. Rowe. 2005. J. Immunol. 174:6829-6838) showing that, as EBV-infected cells move through the lytic cycle, their susceptibility to EBV-specific CD8(+) T cell recognition falls dramatically, concomitant with a reductions in transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) function and surface human histocompatibility leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I expression. Screening of genes that are unique to EBV and closely related gamma 1-herpesviruses of Old World primates identified an early EBV lytic cycle gene, BNLF2a, which efficiently blocks antigen-specific CD8(+) T cell recognition through HLA-A-, HLA-B-, and HLA-C-restricting alleles when expressed in target cells in vitro. The small (60-amino acid) BNLF2a protein mediated its effects through interacting with the TAP complex and inhibiting both its peptide- and ATP-binding functions. Furthermore, this targeting of the major histocompatibility complex class I pathway appears to be conserved among the BNLF2a homologues of Old World primate gamma 1-herpesviruses. Thus, even the acquisition of latent cycle genes endowing unique growth-transforming ability has not liberated these agents from evolutionary pressure to evade CD8(+) T cell control over virus replicative foci.

SUBMITTER: Hislop AD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2118677 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A CD8+ T cell immune evasion protein specific to Epstein-Barr virus and its close relatives in Old World primates.

Hislop Andrew D AD Ressing Maaike E ME van Leeuwen Daphne D Pudney Victoria A VA Horst Daniëlle D Koppers-Lalic Danijela D Croft Nathan P NP Neefjes Jacques J JJ Rickinson Alan B AB Wiertz Emmanuel J H J EJ

The Journal of experimental medicine 20070709 8

gamma 1-Herpesviruses such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) have a unique ability to amplify virus loads in vivo through latent growth-transforming infection. Whether they, like alpha- and beta-herpesviruses, have been driven to actively evade immune detection of replicative (lytic) infection remains a moot point. We were prompted to readdress this question by recent work (Pudney, V.A., A.M. Leese, A.B. Rickinson, and A.D. Hislop. 2005. J. Exp. Med. 201:349-360; Ressing, M.E., S.E. Keating, D. van Le ...[more]

PMID: 17620360

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Project description:CD8+ T cell responses to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) lytic cycle expressed antigens display a hierarchy of immunodominance, in which responses to epitopes of immediate-early (IE) and some early (E) antigens are more frequently observed than responses to epitopes of late (L) expressed antigens. It has been proposed that this hierarchy, which correlates with the phase-specific efficiency of antigen presentation, may be due to the influence of viral immune-evasion genes. At least three EBV-encoded genes, BNLF2a, BGLF5 and BILF1, have the potential to inhibit processing and presentation of CD8+ T cell epitopes. Here we examined the relative contribution of these genes to modulation of CD8+ T cell recognition of EBV lytic antigens expressed at different phases of the replication cycle in EBV-transformed B-cells (LCLs) which spontaneously reactivate lytic cycle. Selective shRNA-mediated knockdown of BNLF2a expression led to more efficient recognition of immediate-early (IE)- and early (E)-derived epitopes by CD8+ T cells, while knock down of BILF1 increased recognition of epitopes from E and late (L)-expressed antigens. Contrary to what might have been predicted from previous ectopic expression studies in EBV-negative model cell lines, the shRNA-mediated inhibition of BGLF5 expression in LCLs showed only modest, if any, increase in recognition of epitopes expressed in any phase of lytic cycle. These data indicate that whilst BNLF2a interferes with antigen presentation with diminishing efficiency as lytic cycle progresses (IE>E>>L), interference by BILF1 increases with progression through lytic cycle (IE<E<<L). Moreover, double-knockdown experiments showed that BILF1 and BNLF2a co-operate to further inhibit antigen presentation of L epitopes. Together, these data firstly indicate which potential immune-evasion functions are actually relevant in the context of lytic virus replication, and secondly identify lytic-cycle phase-specific effects that provide mechanistic insight into the immunodominance pattern seen for CD8+ T cell responses to EBV lytic antigens.

Dataset Information

A CD8+ T cell immune evasion protein specific to Epstein-Barr virus and its close relatives in Old World primates.

Publications

A CD8+ T cell immune evasion protein specific to Epstein-Barr virus and its close relatives in Old World primates.

Similar Datasets

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