A frameshift mutation at the NH(2) terminus of the nucleoprotein gene does not affect generation of cytotoxic T lymphocyte epitopes Journal Article


Authors: Fetten, J. V.; Roy, N.; Gilboa, E.
Article Title: A frameshift mutation at the NH(2) terminus of the nucleoprotein gene does not affect generation of cytotoxic T lymphocyte epitopes
Abstract: BALB/3T3 cells infected with a retroviral vector encoding the influenza virus nucleoprotein (NP) gene are efficiently lysed by CTL generated in BALB/c mice (H-2d background). Cells transduced with a mutant form of NP which contains a frameshift mutation at its NH2 terminus (NPm) do not express biochemically detectable levels of protein but nevertheless present Ag to CTL with high efficiency. Cold target inhibition studies indicate that the same CTL epitope(s) are recognized in cells harboring NP or NPm. L929 cells transduced with the NPm gene also present Ag efficiently to CTL raised in C3H mice (H-2k background). Cells engineered to express 5- to 15-fold lower levels of wild-type NP were not capable of presenting Ag to CTL, arguing against the notion that CTL are able to lyse cells expressing very low levels of Ag which might have resulted from suppression of the frameshift mutation in NPm. Implications to the mechanism of epitope generation in class I MHC-restricted immune responses are considered.
Keywords: protein; antigen; point mutation; recognition; virus; cell; infected-cells; hemagglutinin; synthetic peptides; influenza nucleoprotein; class-i mhc
Journal Title: Journal of Immunology
Volume: 147
Issue: 8
ISSN: 0022-1767
Publisher: The American Association of Immunologists, Inc  
Date Published: 1991-10-15
Start Page: 2697
End Page: 2705
Language: English
ACCESSION: WOS:A1991GK97200040
PROVIDER: wos
PUBMED: 1717574
Notes: Source: Wos
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MSK Authors
  1. Eli Gilboa
    46 Gilboa