RECOGNITION OF CONTIGUOUS ALLELE-SPECIFIC PEPTIDE ELEMENTS IN THE RUBELLA-VIRUS E1 ENVELOPE PROTEIN

Peptides which bind to human HLA-DRB1 class II molecules in an allele- specific fashion were derived from the immunodominant E1 envelope prot ein of rubella virus. Two nonoverlapping E1 peptide epitopes were reco gnized by rubella virus-specific T cells in the context of independent HLA alleles when presented either separately or as a contiguous polyp eptide containing both epitopes. Direct binding analysis of potential peptide epitopes to distinct HLA molecules provides a direct approach for selecting antigenic peptides useful for epitope-based vaccine targ eted to multiple HLA types. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.