A COMMON ANTIVIRAL CYTOTOXIC LYMPHOCYTE-T EPITOPE FOR DIVERSE MAJOR HISTOCOMPATIBILITY COMPLEX HAPLOTYPES - IMPLICATIONS FOR VACCINATION

Of nine established murine haplotypes, mice of three types (H-2d, H-2u , and H-2q) possess major histocompatibility complex class I glycoprot eins able to present an identical viral peptide for recognition and ly sis by virus-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Incorporation of this v iral epitope into a recombinant vaccinia vaccine and administration of a single dose protects mice with these three haplotypes from an ordin arily lethal challenge of virus. Hence, a common epitope can exist. Th e sharing of the ability to bind such epitopes among different MHC hap lotypes underscores the feasibility of developing an effective cytotox ic T-lymphocyte vaccine for outbred populations like humans.