evaluation-zika-virus-specific-t-cell-responses-immunoprivileged

Evaluation of Zika Virus-specific T-cell Responses in Immunoprivileged Organs of Infected Ifnar1<sup>-/-</sup> Mice

The Zika virus (ZIKV) can induce inflammation in immunoprivileged organs (e.g., the brain and testis), leading to the Guillain-Barr&#233; syndrome and ...

stability-structure-bat-major-histocompatibility-complex-class-i-with

Stability and Structure of Bat Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I with Heterologous &beta;<sub>2</sub>-Microglobulin

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays a pivotal role in antigen peptide presentation and T cell immune responses against infectious disease and ...

Chinese Center For Disease Control And Prevention

The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in 2002 and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in 2012 has generated enormous interest in the biodiversity, genomics and cross-species transmission potential of coronaviruses, especially those from bats, the second most speciose order of mammals. Herein, we identified a novel coronavirus, provisionally designated Rousettus bat coronavirus GCCDC1 (Ro-BatCoV GCCDC1), in the rectal swab samples of Rousettus leschenaulti bats by using pan-coronavirus RT-PCR and next-generation sequencing. Although the virus is similar to Rousettus bat coronavirus HKU9 (Ro-BatCoV HKU9) in genome characteristics, it is sufficiently distinct to be classified as a new species according to the criteria defined by the International Committee of Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). More striking was that Ro-BatCoV GCCDC1 contained a unique gene integrated into the 3'-end of the genome that has no homologs in any known coronavirus, but which sequence and phylogeny analyses indicated most likely originated from the p10 gene of a bat orthoreovirus. Subgenomic mRNA and cellular-level observations demonstrated that the p10 gene is functional and induces the formation of cell syncytia. Therefore, here we report a putative heterologous inter-family recombination event between a single-stranded, positive-sense RNA virus and a double-stranded segmented RNA virus, providing insights into the fundamental mechanisms of viral evolution.

A Bat-Derived Putative Cross-Family Recombinant Coronavirus with a Reovirus Gene.

We report the first imported case of Rift Valley fever (RVF) in China. The patient returned from Angola, a non-epidemic country, with an infection of a new reassortant from different lineages of Rift Valley fever viruses (RVFVs). The patient developed multiorgan dysfunction and gradually recovered with continuous renal replacement therapy and a short regimen of methylprednisolone treatment. The disordered cytokines and chemokines in the plasma of the patient revealed hypercytokinemia, but the levels of protective cytokines were low upon admission and fluctuated as the disease improved. Whole-genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis revealed that the imported strain was a reassortant comprising the L and M genes from lineage E and the S gene from lineage A. This case highlights that RVFV had undergone genetic reassortment, which could potentially alter its biological properties, cause large outbreaks and pose a serious threat to global public health as well as the livestock breeding industry.

The first imported case of Rift Valley fever in China reveals a genetic reassortment of different viral lineages.

Influenza A virus remains a major threat to public health, and the inactivated split-virus vaccine is the most prevalent vaccine used worldwide. However, our knowledge about cellular immune responses to the inactivated influenza virus vaccine and its correlation with humoral responses are yet limited, which has restricted our understanding of the vaccine's protective mechanisms. Herein, in two clinical trials, T-cell responses specific for both previously identified human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-I-restricted epitopes from influenza virus and hemagglutinin (HA) protein were longitudinally investigated before, during, and after a two-dose vaccination with the inactivated 2009 pandemic H1N1 (2009-pH1N1) vaccine. A robust antibody response in all of the donors after vaccination was observed. Though no CD8 T-cell responses to known epitopes were detected, HA-specific T-cell responses were primed following vaccination, and the responses were found to be mainly CD4 T-cell dependent. However, HA-specific T-cells circulating in peripheral blood dropped to baseline levels 6weeks after vaccination, but humoral immune responses maintained a high level for 4months post-vaccination. Significant correlations between the magnitude of the HA-specific T-cell responses and hemagglutination inhibition antibody titers were demonstrated, indicating a priming role of HA-specific T-cells for humoral immune responses. In conclusion, our study indicates that HA-specific CD4 T-cell responses can be primed by the inactivated 2009-pH1N1 vaccine, which may coordinate with the elicitation of antibody protection. These findings would benefit a better understanding of the immune protective mechanisms of the widely used inactivated 2009-pH1N1 vaccine.

Hemagglutinin-specific CD4 T-cell responses following 2009-pH1N1 inactivated split-vaccine inoculation in humans.

Avian influenza viruses (AIVs) such as H5N1 and H7N9 are a great threat to poultry economics and public health. Vaccination can effectively inhibit the spread of AIV in poultry, which is also a viable strategy for controlling virus transmission from poultry to human. Adjuvants that are commonly used in current inactivated vaccines to provide stronger anti-AIV immune responses are often limited in their capacity to quantitatively induce both humoral and cellular immune responses. Herein, we assessed the levels of immune responses generated by a vaccine formulation comprising inactivated H5N1 antigen and synthetic peptides covering conserved CD4, CD8 T cell, and B cell epitopes. We found that the synthetic peptides enhanced the antibody responses against conserved influenza virus antigen M2e. Notably, the hemagglutination inhibition test results indicated that the peptides significantly augmented the antibody responses of inactivated H5N1 antigen even in the 1/10 or 1/5 dose group, in the identical antibody level as antigen alone used at the full dose. This indicates that the peptide can significantly reduce the use of inactivated virus, lowering the cost of the vaccine. Moreover, the peptides increased the transcript levels of interleukin-4 and interferon-γ cytokines in chicken peripheral blood mononuclear cells, which may facilitate both humoral and cellular immune responses. Our data suggest that this peptide combined with inactivated H5N1 antigen enhances both the humoral and cellular immune responses, which may benefit the prediction and design of synthetic peptide-based adjuvants for vaccines in chicken.

Conserved peptides enhance immune efficiency of inactive vaccines against emerging avian influenza viruses in chicken.

Bats are connected with the increasing numbers of emerging and re-emerging viruses that may break the species barrier and spread into the human population. Coronaviruses are one of the most common viruses discovered in bats, which were considered as the natural source of recent human-susceptible coronaviruses, i.e. SARS-COV and MERS-CoV. Our previous study reported the discovery of a bat-derived putative cross-family recombinant coronavirus with a reovirus gene p10, named as Ro-BatCoV GCCDC1. In this report, through a two-year follow-up of a special bat population in one specific cave of south China, we illustrate that Ro-BatCoV GCCDC1 persistently circulates among bats. Notably, through the longitudinal observation, we identified the dynamic evolution of Ro-BatCoV GCCDC1 in bats represented by continuously recombination events. Our study provides the first glimpse of the virus evolution in one longitudinally observed bat population cohort and underlines the surveillance and pre-warning of potential interspecies transmittable viruses in bats.

The persistent prevalence and evolution of cross-family recombinant coronavirus GCCDC1 among a bat population: a two-year follow-up.

Under the immune pressure of cytotoxic T cells (CTLs), hepatitis B virus (HBV) evolves to accumulate mutations more likely within epitopes to evade immune detection. However, little is known about the specific patterns of the immune pressure-associated HBV mutation of T-cell epitopes and their link to disease progression. Here, we observed a correlation of the accumulated variants on HBV core protein (HBc) with the disease severity of HBV infection. Further analysis indicated that these substitutions were mostly located within CD8 T-cell epitopes of HBc protein, which were systematically screened and identified in an unbiased manner in our study. From individual peptide level to the human leukocyte antigen I (HLA-I)-restricted population level, we elucidated that the mutations in these well-defined HLA-I-restricted T-cell epitopes significantly decreased antiviral activity-specific CTLs and were positively associated with clinical parameters and disease progression in HBV-infected patients. The molecular pattern for viral epitope variations based on the sequencing of 105 HBV virus genomes indicated that the C-terminal portion (Pc), especially the Pc-1 and Pc-2 positions, have the highest mutation rates. Further structural analysis of HLA-A*02 complexed to diverse CD8 T-cell epitopes revealed that the highly variable C-terminal bulged peak of M-shaped HBc-derived epitopes are solvent exposed, and most of the CDR3βs of the T-cell receptor hover over them. These data shed light on the molecular and immunological mechanisms of T-cell immunity-associated viral evolution in hepatitis B progression, which is beneficial for designing immunotherapies and vaccines. The specific patterns of sequence polymorphisms of T-cell epitopes and the immune mechanisms of the HBV epitope mutation-linked disease progression are largely unclear. In this study, we systematically evaluated the contribution of CD8 T cells to the disease progress-associated evolution of HBV. By evaluation of patient T-cell responses based on the peptide repertoire, we comprehensively characterized the association of clinical parameters in chronic hepatitis B with the antiviral T-cell response-associated mutations of the viruses from the single-epitope level to the overall HLA-I-restricted peptide levels. Furthermore, we investigated the molecular basis of the HLA-A2-restricted peptide immune escape and found that the solvent-exposed C-terminal portion of the epitopes is highly variable under CDR3β recognition. Our work may provide a comprehensive evaluation of viral mutations impacted by the host CTL response in HBV disease progression in the context of the full repertoire of HBc-derived epitopes.

CD8 T-Cell Response-Associated Evolution of Hepatitis B Virus Core Protein and Disease Progress.

Genomic characterizations of H4 subtype avian influenza viruses from live poultry markets in Sichuan province of China, 2014-2015.

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles have a high degree of polymorphism, which determines their peptide-binding motifs and subsequent T-cell receptor recognition. The simplest way to understand the cross-presentation of peptides by different alleles is to classify these alleles into supertypes. A1 and A3 HLA supertypes are widely distributed in humans. However, direct structural and functional evidence for peptide presentation features of key alleles (e.g., HLA-A30:01 and -A30:03) are lacking. Herein, the molecular basis of peptide presentation of HLA-A30:01 and -A30:03 was demonstrated by crystal structure determination and thermostability measurements of complexes with T-cell epitopes from influenza virus (NP44), human immunodeficiency virus (RT313), and  (MTB). When binding to the HIV peptide, RT313, the PΩ-Lys anchoring modes of HLA-A30:01, and -A30:03 were similar to those of HLA-A11:01 in the A3 supertype. However, HLA-A30:03, but not -A30:01, also showed binding with the HLA01:01-favored peptide, NP44, but with a specific structural conformation. Thus, different from our previous understanding, HLA-A30:01 and -A30:03 have specific peptide-binding characteristics that may lead to their distinct supertype-featured binding peptide motifs. Moreover, we also found that residue 77 in the F pocket was one of the key residues for the divergent peptide presentation characteristics of HLA-A30:01 and -A30:03. Interchanging residue 77 between HLA-A30:01 and HLA-A30:03 switched their presented peptide profiles. Our results provide important recommendations for screening virus and tumor-specific peptides among the population with prevalent HLA supertypes for vaccine development and immune interventions.

Divergent Peptide Presentations of HLA-A30 Alleles Revealed by Structures With Pathogen Peptides.

Rabbits are pivotal domestic animals for both the economy and as an animal model for human diseases. A large number of rabbits have been infected by rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) in natural and artificial pandemics in the past. Differences in presentation of antigenic peptides by polymorphic major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules to T-cell receptors (TCR) on T lymphocytes are associated with viral clearance in mammals. Here, we screened and identified a series of peptides derived from RHDV binding to the rabbit MHC class I molecule, RLA-A1. The small, hydrophobic B and F pockets of RLA-A1 capture a peptide motif analogous to that recognized by human class I molecule HLA-A*0201, with more restricted aliphatic anchors at P2 and PΩ positions. Moreover, the rabbit molecule is characterized by an uncommon residue combination of Gly53, Val55, and Glu56, making the 3 helix and the loop between the 3 and α1 helices closer to the α2 helix. A wider A pocket in RLA-A1 can induce a special conformation of the P1 anchor and may play a pivotal role in peptide assembly and TCR recognition. Our study broadens the knowledge of T-cell immunity in domestic animals and also provides useful insights for vaccine development to prevent infectious diseases in rabbits. We screened rabbit MHC class I RLA-A1-restricted peptides from the capsid protein VP60 of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) and determined the structures of RLA-A1 complexed with three peptides, VP60-1, VP60-2, and VP60-10. From the structures, we found that the peptide binding motifs of RLA-A1 are extremely constraining. Thus, there is a generally restricted peptide selection for RLA-A1 compared to that for human HLA-A*0201. In addition, uncommon residues Gly53, Val55, and Glu56 of RLA-A1 are located between the 3 helix and α1 helix, which makes the steric position of the 3 helix in RLA-A1 much closer to the α2 helix than that found in other mammalian MHC class I molecules. This special conformation between the 3 helix and α1 helix plays a pivotal role in rabbit MHC class I assembly. Our results provide new insights into MHC class I molecule assembly and peptide presentation of domestic mammals. Furthermore, these data also broaden our knowledge on T-cell immunity in rabbits and may also provide useful information for vaccine development to prevent infectious diseases in rabbits.

Strict Assembly Restriction of Peptides from Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus Presented by Rabbit Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I Molecule RLA-A1.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic poses a current world-wide public health threat. However, little is known about its hallmarks compared to other infectious diseases. Here, we report the single-cell transcriptional landscape of longitudinally collected peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in both COVID-19- and influenza A virus (IAV)-infected patients. We observed increase of plasma cells in both COVID-19 and IAV patients and XIAP associated factor 1 (XAF1)-, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-, and FAS-induced T cell apoptosis in COVID-19 patients. Further analyses revealed distinct signaling pathways activated in COVID-19 (STAT1 and IRF3) versus IAV (STAT3 and NFκB) patients and substantial differences in the expression of key factors. These factors include relatively increase of interleukin (IL)6R and IL6ST expression in COVID-19 patients but similarly increased IL-6 concentrations compared to IAV patients, supporting the clinical observations of increased proinflammatory cytokines in COVID-19 patients. Thus, we provide the landscape of PBMCs and unveil distinct immune response pathways in COVID-19 and IAV patients.

Single-Cell Sequencing of Peripheral Mononuclear Cells Reveals Distinct Immune Response Landscapes of COVID-19 and Influenza Patients.

Avian-origin influenza viruses overcome the bottleneck of the interspecies barrier and infect humans through the evolution of variants toward more efficient replication in mammals. The dynamic adaptation of the genetic substitutions and the correlation with the virulence of avian-origin influenza virus in patients remain largely elusive. Here, based on the one-health approach, we retrieved the original virus-positive samples from patients with H7N9 and their surrounding poultry/environment. The specimens were directly deep sequenced, and the subsequent big data were integrated with the clinical manifestations. Unlike poultry/environment-derived samples with the consistent dominance of avian signature 627E of H7N9 polymerase basic protein 2 (PB2), patient specimens had diverse ratios of mammalian signature 627K, indicating the rapid dynamics of H7N9 adaptation in patients during the infection process. In contrast, both human- and poultry/environment-related viruses had constant dominance of avian signature PB2-701D. The intrahost dynamic adaptation was confirmed by the gradual replacement of 627E by 627K in H7N9 in the longitudinally collected specimens from one patient. These results suggest that host adaptation for better virus replication to new hosts, termed "genetic tuning," actually occurred in H7N9-infected patients in vivo. Notably, our findings also demonstrate the correlation between rapid host adaptation of H7N9 PB2-E627K and the fatal outcome and disease severity in humans. The feature of H7N9 genetic tuning in vivo and its correlation with the disease severity emphasize the importance of testing for the evolution of this avian-origin virus during the course of infection.

Dynamic PB2-E627K substitution of influenza H7N9 virus indicates the in vivo genetic tuning and rapid host adaptation.

Downregulated miR-451a as a feature of the plasma cfRNA landscape reveals regulatory networks of IL-6/IL-6R-associated cytokine storms in COVID-19 patients.

ArticleTotal : 2	Year
Publication title Cited by 5	2018
Publication title Cited by 1	2021

Article	Year
A Bat-Derived Putative Cross-Family Recombinant Coronavirus with a Reovirus Gene. PLoS pathogens\| PubMed ID: 27676249	2016
The first imported case of Rift Valley fever in China reveals a genetic reassortment of different viral lineages. Emerging microbes & infections\| PubMed ID: 28096531	2017
Hemagglutinin-specific CD4 T-cell responses following 2009-pH1N1 inactivated split-vaccine inoculation in humans. Vaccine\| PubMed ID: 28917539	2017
Conserved peptides enhance immune efficiency of inactive vaccines against emerging avian influenza viruses in chicken. Science China. Life sciences\| PubMed ID: 29230639	2017
The persistent prevalence and evolution of cross-family recombinant coronavirus GCCDC1 among a bat population: a two-year follow-up. Science China. Life sciences\| PubMed ID: 29299855	2017
CD8 T-Cell Response-Associated Evolution of Hepatitis B Virus Core Protein and Disease Progress. Journal of virology\| PubMed ID: 29950410	2018
Genomic characterizations of H4 subtype avian influenza viruses from live poultry markets in Sichuan province of China, 2014-2015. Science China. Life sciences\| PubMed ID: 29995198	2018
Divergent Peptide Presentations of HLA-A30 Alleles Revealed by Structures With Pathogen Peptides. Frontiers in immunology\| PubMed ID: 31396224	2019
Strict Assembly Restriction of Peptides from Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus Presented by Rabbit Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I Molecule RLA-A1. Journal of virology\| PubMed ID: 32522857	2020
Single-Cell Sequencing of Peripheral Mononuclear Cells Reveals Distinct Immune Response Landscapes of COVID-19 and Influenza Patients. Immunity\| PubMed ID: 32783921	2020
Dynamic PB2-E627K substitution of influenza H7N9 virus indicates the in vivo genetic tuning and rapid host adaptation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America\| PubMed ID: 32873642	2020
Downregulated miR-451a as a feature of the plasma cfRNA landscape reveals regulatory networks of IL-6/IL-6R-associated cytokine storms in COVID-19 patients. Cellular & molecular immunology\| PubMed ID: 33637960	2021

Yingze Zhao

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