J. Beninga et al., ANALYSIS OF T-HELPER CELL RESPONSE TO GLYCOPROTEIN-H (GPUL75) OF HUMAN CYTOMEGALOVIRUS - EVIDENCE FOR STRAIN-SPECIFIC T-CELL DETERMINANTS, The Journal of infectious diseases, 173(5), 1996, pp. 1051-1061
The proliferative response of helper T cells against glycoprotein H (g
H; gpUL75) of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) was determined in T cell li
nes from 5 healthy HCMV-seropositive donors. A differential response i
n two lines was noted when gH from strain AD169 or Towne was used as a
ntigen. T cell-reactive domains between aa 15 and 510 were identified
using beta-galactosidase fusion proteins containing overlapping fragme
nts of gH, and they were confirmed with synthetic peptides as stimulat
ing antigen. T cell proliferation was observed with antigens containin
g aa 34-51, 111-142, 284-302, 324-342, and 454-510 of gH. None of the
determinants stimulated all donors. The T cell epitope defined by aa 3
4-51 is located in close proximity to a strain-specific dominant B cel
l epitope; however, no strain dependence for this T cell determinant w
as observed, In contrast, the dominant T cell response against aa 284-
302, which was observed in three T cell lines, was strain specific.