Influenza A virus infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States and throughout the world. The current vaccine elicits primarily a humoral response that is specific for the external glycoproteins hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). However, these are the viral proteins that are most susceptible to antigenic shift and drift, and can evade the humoral response. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) recognize and lyse virus-infected cells and are important in clearing influenza A virus infections. CTL can recognize epitopes on both the external glycoproteins and the more conserved internal viral proteins. This thesis investigates the hypothesis that there is a broad CTL memory response in humans, and, if boosted by vaccines, these CTL may help clear influenza A virus strains of different subtypes.
The CTL repertoire specific for influenza A viruses reported in inbred mice is extremely limited and has focused on a few immunodominant epitopes. We perfonned preliminary bulk culture chromium release assays using human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) stimulated with influenza virus strain A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) in vitro. CTL activity was observed against autologous B-lymphoblastoid cell lines (B-LCL) infected with vaccinia constructs that expressed several influenza A viral proteins, including nucleoprotein (NP), matrix (M1), nonstructural 1 (NS1) and polymerase (PB1). This was more diverse than the limited response reported in inbred mice. To further characterize the CTL repertoire in humans, PBMC from healthy adult donors were stimulated and CTL were cloned by limiting dilution. Isolated cell lines were further characterized by their CD4/CD8 surface expression, histocompatibility leukocyte antigen (HLA) restriction, cross-reactive or subtype-specific influenza A subtype recognition, and epitope recognition.
CTL lines isolated from three donors recognized epitopes on many different influenza virus proteins. The ELISPOT assay was used to identify the number of IFN-γ- secreting cells and determine the precursor frequency of the CTL specific for the epitopes that were mapped. The precursor frequency of IFN-γ producing CTL ranged from 1 in 4,156 PBMC to 1 in 31,250 PBMC. The precursor frequency for one epitope was below the level of detection of this assay, but most of the memory CTL were readily detected. The cross-reactive or subtype-specific recognition of various human influenza A subtypes by these T cell lines was determined by chromium release assays. Most of the CTL lines recognized B-LCL infected with any of the three influenza A subtypes that have caused epidemics in the last century (H1N1, H2N2, and H3N2) and recognized epitopes on conserved internal influenza viral proteins. Most of the subtype-specific cell lines recognized the surface HA or NA glycoproteins, which are not well conserved between influenza subtypes.
Although most of the T cell lines that were characterized were cross-reactive with influenza viruses of human origin, infection of humans with a divergent swine or avian derived strain could cause a global pandemic. To study the human CTL responses to non-human influenza viruses, B-LCL were infected with an Hsw1N1 influenza A virus of swine origin, and cell lines were tested for recognition of these targets in a chromium release assay. Most cell lines lysed the targets infected With the Hsw1N1 subtype to the same degree as targets infected with the human H1N1 strain. Two influenza viruses of duck origin were also tested and were recognized by many of the cell lines. The subtypes of these duck strains were Hav1N1 and H5N2. The isolates of influenza A virus from the Hong Kong outbreak of 1997 were also used to infect targets and analyze recognition by these CTL. We found that approximately 50% of the human T cell lines tested recognized both of the Hong Kong isolates, 25% recognized at least one isolate, and 25% recognized neither isolate to the same degree as the A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) virus. We analyzed the amino acid (aa) changes in the epitopes of the T cells lines from the 25% of cell lines that did not recognize either Hong Kong virus isolate. Non-conservative mutations were found in all of the epitopes that lost recognition by the human CTL lines. Bulk cultures of PBMC from three donors that were stimulated with A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) influenza A virus of human origin recognized all of the non-human virus strains tested. Thus, humans have memory CTL that recognize influenza viruses of avian and swine species. This may provide a second line of defense against influenza infection in case of exposure to a novel influenza A virus derived from these species.
These results made it clear that humans have broad CTL memory to influenza A virus. In order to determine whether these T cells could be boosted in a vaccine, immune-stimulatory complexes (Iscom) incorporating inactivated influenza particles were tested in vitro. Iscoms containing inactivated influenza A vaccine (Flu-Iscom) were used to pulse autologous B-LCL overnight that were then used as targets in chromium release assays with human CTL lines as effectors. A CD8+ HA-specific CTL line lysed these targets, but not targets pulsed with Iscoms alone or with inactivated influenza A vaccine alone. An NS1-specific cell line recognized targets pulsed with NS1 protein and Iscoms, but not targets pulsed with Iscoms or NS1 protein alone. Therefore, CTL could recognize in vitrotarget cells that were exposed to the Iscom vaccines containing their specific epitope.
Flu-Iscom and Iscom mixed with inactivated influenza virus particles (Flu-Iscomatrix) were then used as vaccines in a clinical trial to test CTL and neutralizing antibody induction against influenza. Fifty-five donors were bled pre-vaccination, and on days 14 and day 56 post-vaccination. Bulk culture chromium release assays were performed using targets infected with live vaccine strain viruses. There were significantly more increases in the influenza A specific CTL activity in the PBMC of donors that were vaccinated with the Flu-Iscom and Flu-Iscomatrix vaccines than in recipients of the standard vaccine. In order to determine whether these increases in cytotoxicity were due to an increase in the precursor frequency of influenza specific CTL, the PBMC were used in ELISPOT assays to assess the changes pre-and post-vaccination. When there was an increase in the level of cytotoxicity detected in bulk culture CTL, there was often also an increase in the precursor frequency of influenza-specific CTL. Peptide-specific increases in the number of CTL that recognize epitopes such as M1 aa 58-66 were detected in several donors confirming the increase in influenza-specific CTL post-vaccination.
Another type of T cell that may be involved in defense against viruses is the γδ T cell. T cells expressing the γδ T cell receptor (TCR) have been found extensively in mucosal tissues in mice and humans. Influenza A viruses enter via the airway tract, infecting the epithelial cells at the mucosal surface. These epithelial cells have been shown in vitro to be targets for influenza-specific cytolytic recognition of αβ T cells. To analyze whether γδ T cells can respond to influenza A-infected APCs, PBMC were stimulated with influenza A virus. Intracellular IFN-γ staining was used to determine whether γ/δ T cells can secrete IFN-γ in response to the influenza A virus infection. We observed an increase in the percentage of γ/δ T cells secreting IFN-γ post-influenza A virus infection of PBMC compared to uninfected or allantoic fluid-stimulated cultures. These T cells also upregulated CD25 and CD69 in response to live influenza A virus. We focused on the responses in the CD8- population of γδ T cells, which are the majority of γδ T lymphocytes. Furthermore, the increases in IFN-γ production and activation marker expression were much more clear in the CD8- γδ+ T cells. The level of CD8- γδ T cell activation with inactivated influenza A virus was much less, and in some cases no higher than uninfected PBMC. The CD8+ αβ and γδ responses could be partially blocked by anti-class I antibodies, but the CD8- γδ responses could not. Vaccinia virus infection did not activate the CD8- γδ T cells to the same degree as influenza virus infection. γδ T cells are thought to have a regulatory role that includes the secretion of cytokines and epithelial growth factors to help restore tissue back to health.
Humans have broad multi-specific T lymphocyte responses by αβ T cells to influenza A viruses and those responses are cross-reactive with human, avian, and swine virus strains. These CTL can be activated in vitro and boosted in number in vivo by Iscom incorporating vaccines. There is also a population of γδ+ T lymphocytes in humans that responds to influenza virus infection by producing cytokines and becoming activated. Increasing memory CTL as a second line of defense against influenza A viruses may be important in future vaccine development.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:umassmed.edu/oai:escholarship.umassmed.edu:gsbs_diss-1134 |
| Date | 01 November 1999 |
| Creators | Jameson, Julie Marie |
| Publisher | eScholarship@UMMS |
| Source Sets | University of Massachusetts Medical School |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | GSBS Dissertations and Theses |
| Rights | Copyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved., select |
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