Diverse Cross-Reactive Potential and Vβ Gene Usage of an Epitope-Specific Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte Population in Monkeys Immunized with Diverse Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Env Immunogens

Abstract

ABSTRACT An ideal human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccine would elicit potent cellular and humoral immune responses that recognize diverse strains of the virus. In the present study, combined methodologies (flow cytometry, Vβ repertoire analysis, and complementarity-determining region 3 sequencing) were used to determine the clonality of CD8 + T lymphocytes taking part in the recognition of variant epitope peptides elicited in Mamu-A*01-positive rhesus monkeys immunized with vaccines encoding diverse HIV-1 envelopes (Envs). Monkeys immunized with clade B Envs generated CD8 + T lymphocytes that cross-recognized both clade B- and clade C-p41A epitope peptides using a large degree of diversity in Vβ gene usage. However, with two monkeys immunized with clade C Env, one monkey exhibited p41A-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL) with the capacity for cross-recognition of variant epitopes, while the other monkey did not. These studies demonstrate that the cross-reactive potential of variant p41A epitope peptide-specific CTL populations can differ between monkeys that share the same restricting major histocompatibility complex class I molecule and receive the same vaccine immunogens.