1. Comparison of Cytomegalovirus-Specific Immune Cell Response to Proteins versus Peptides Using an IFN-γ ELISpot Assay after Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
- Author
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Wolff, Daniel, Wagner-Drouet, Eva Maria, Teschner, Daniel, Wolschke, Christine, Schäfer-Eckart, Kerstin, Gärtner, Johannes, Mielke, Stephan, Schreder, Martin, Kobbe, Guido, Hilgendorf, Inken, Klein, Stefan, Verbeek, Mareike, Ditschkowski, Markus, Koch, Martina, Lindemann, Monika, Schmidt, Traudel, Rascle, Anne, Barabas, Sascha, Deml, Ludwig, and Wagner, Ralf
- Subjects
ddc:610 ,lcsh:R5-920 ,immune monitoring ,immunosuppression ,610 Medizin ,Medizin ,CMV ,T cells ,CMV-specific cellular immunity ,hematopoietic stem cell transplantation ,recall antigen ,peptide ,IFN-γ ELISpot ,antigen processing and presentation ,virus diseases ,Article ,lcsh:Medicine (General) - Abstract
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Measuring CMV-specific cellular immunity may improve the risk stratification and management of patients. IFN-γ ELISpot assays, based on the stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells with CMV pp65 and IE-1 proteins or peptides, have been validated in clinical settings. However, it remains unclear to which extend the T-cell response to synthetic peptides reflect that mediated by full-length proteins processed by antigen-presenting cells. We compared the stimulating ability of pp65 and IE-1 proteins and corresponding overlapping peptides in 16 HSCT recipients using a standardized IFN-γ ELISpot assay. Paired qualitative test results showed an overall 74.4% concordance. Discordant results were mainly due to low-response tests, with one exception. One patient with early CMV reactivation and graft-versus-host disease, sustained CMV DNAemia and high CD8+ counts showed successive negative protein-based ELISpot results but a high and sustained response to IE-1 peptides. Our results suggest that the response to exogenous proteins, which involves their uptake and processing by antigen-presenting cells, more closely reflects the physiological response to CMV infection, while the response to exogenous peptides may lead to artificial in vitro T-cell responses, especially in strongly immunosuppressed patients.
- Published
- 2021