Immunodominance in T cell responses elicited against different domains of detoxified pneumolysin PlyD1

PLoS One. 2018 Mar 6;13(3):e0193650. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0193650. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Detoxified pneumolysin, PlyD1, is a protein vaccine candidate that induces protection against infections with Streptococcus pneumoniae in mouse models. Despite extensive knowledge on antibody responses against PlyD1, limited information is available about PlyD1 induced T cell recognition. Here we interrogated epitope breadth and functional characteristics of the T cell response to PlyD1 in two mouse strains. BALB/c (H-2d) and C57BL/6 (H-2b) mice were vaccinated with Al(OH)3-adjuvanted or non-adjuvanted PlyD1, or placebo, on day 0, 21 and 42 and were sacrificed at day 56 for collection of sera and spleens. Vaccination with adjuvanted and non-adjuvanted PlyD1 induced anti-pneumolysin IgG antibodies with neutralizing capacity in both mouse strains. Adjuvantation of PlyD1 enhanced the serological responses in both strains. In vitro restimulation of splenocytes with PlyD1 and 18-mer synthetic peptides derived from pneumolysin revealed specific proliferative and cytokine responses. For both mouse strains, one immunodominant and three subdominant natural epitopes were identified. Overlap between H-2d and H-2b restricted T cell epitopes was limited, yet similarities were found between epitopes processed in mice and predicted to be immunogenic in humans. H-2d restricted T cell epitopes were localized in pneumolysin domains 2 and 3, whereas H-2b epitopes were scattered over the protein. Cytokine responses show mostly a Th2 profile, with low levels of Th1 cytokines, in both mouse strains. In conclusion, PlyD1 evokes T cell responses in mice directed against multiple epitope regions, that is dependent on Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) background. These results are important to understand human PlyD1 T cell immunogenicity, to guide cell mediated immunity studies in the context of vaccine development.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / immunology
  • Cytokines / metabolism
  • Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte / immunology*
  • Escherichia coli
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunodominant Epitopes*
  • Immunoglobulin G / blood
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Models, Molecular
  • Pneumococcal Infections / immunology
  • Pneumococcal Infections / prevention & control
  • Protein Domains
  • Recombinant Proteins / metabolism
  • Species Specificity
  • Spleen / immunology
  • Spleen / pathology
  • Streptococcus pneumoniae / immunology*
  • Streptolysins / genetics
  • Streptolysins / immunology*
  • T-Lymphocytes / immunology*
  • Vaccination

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Cytokines
  • Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte
  • Immunodominant Epitopes
  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • Streptolysins
  • plY protein, Streptococcus pneumoniae

Grants and funding

Author MO is an employee of a commercial company, Sanofi Pasteur (SP). EO was an employee of SP while engaged in this research and is currently an employee of Schrodinger Inc. SP provided research materials, but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or the description of the data and the conclusions of the manuscript. The specific roles of authors EO and MO are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section and include of textual and visual improvement of the manuscript.