Development and optimization of human T-cell leukemia virus-specific antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) assay directed to the envelope protein.
Cynthia A Pise-Masison, Mohammad Arif Rahman, Daniel C Masison, Anna Gutowska, Ramona Moles, Massimiliano Bissa, Sarkis Sarkis, Luca Schifanella, Tongqing Zhou, Jennifer Jones, Steve Jacobson, Genoveffa Franchini
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
An estimated 10-20 million people worldwide are infected with the deltaretrovirus human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1). Although most infected individuals remain asymptomatic, some progress to develop the fatal and debilitating disease adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) or HTLV-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) or develop a plethora of other inflammatory disorders. In addition, HTLV-1 infection is associated with immunosuppression and a shorter lifespan. Although a protective role for neutralizing antibodies has been suggested, the role of non-neutralizing antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) remains unclear, largely because an assay to measure this response has not been established. Here, we developed a high-throughput flow cytometry-based assay system to measure HTLV-1 envelope-specific ADCC. We used a natural killer cell-resistant T-lymphoblastoid cell line stably expressing the green fluorescent protein GFP to construct a target cell line expressing HTLV-1 envelope protein and using monoclonal antibodies and plasma samples from HTLV-infected or uninfected individuals, validating the specificity and sensitivity of the assay. We detected high ADCC activity in samples from HTLV-1-infected humans. In the plasma of experimentally infected macaques, ADCC activity was measured and a correlation between ADCC activity and HTLV-1 envelope antibody titers was observed. Further, we observed a significant increase in ADCC titer over time; as HTLV-1 infection persists, a higher ADCC response is generated, potentially influencing disease outcome. ADCC titer in HTLV-1-infected macaques also positively correlated with FLT3LG, IL-17F, CD4+ T cells, and lymphocytes but negatively correlated with monocyte frequency and classical monocyte frequency. In conclusion, these findings detail the generation of a cell line that enabled development of an HTLV-specific ADCC assay, which can be employed in large clinical studies as well as research involving humans or non-human primates.IMPORTANCEThis approach measures human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV)-specific envelope antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity responses, provides a critical tool to investigate the role of envelope-specific binding antibodies in the immune control of HTLV infection and pathogenesis, and may help guide the development of both therapeutic and preventative vaccine approaches.
期刊介绍:
Journal of Virology (JVI) explores the nature of the viruses of animals, archaea, bacteria, fungi, plants, and protozoa. We welcome papers on virion structure and assembly, viral genome replication and regulation of gene expression, genetic diversity and evolution, virus-cell interactions, cellular responses to infection, transformation and oncogenesis, gene delivery, viral pathogenesis and immunity, and vaccines and antiviral agents.