Blood, Vol. 94 No. 4 (August 15), 1999:
pp. 1372-1381
Induction of Epstein-Barr Virus-Specific Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte
Responses Using Dendritic Cells Pulsed With EBNA-3A
Peptides or UV-Inactivated, Recombinant EBNA-3A Vaccinia Virus
Marion Subklewe,
Ann Chahroudi,
Alan Schmaljohn,
Michael G. Kurilla,
Nina Bhardwaj, and
Ralph M. Steinman
From the Laboratory of Cellular Physiology and Immunology,
Rockefeller University, New York, NY; the Virology Division,
USAMRIID, Fort Detrick, Frederick, MD; and the Department of
Pathology and Microbiology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville,
VA.
Cell-mediated immunity, especially the cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL),
provides resistance to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), as is demonstrated by
the occurrence of posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease in
immunosuppressed patients. We set out to use dendritic cells (DCs) to
elicit anti-EBV-specific CTLs in culture. In unselected, HLA-B8+ donors, monocyte-derived mature DCs were pulsed
with the HLA-B8-restricted EBNA-3A peptide, FLRGRAYGL, and added to
autologous T cells for 7 days at a DC:T ratio of 1:5 to 1:60. The
cultured cells specifically lysed EBNA-3A peptide-pulsed,
HLA-B8+, B-lymphoblastoid cell lines in a 5-hour
51Cr-release assay. The generation of CTLs did not require
the addition of interleukin-2. In comparison, monocytes were weak
antigen-presenting cells. DCs were then infected with recombinant
vaccinia-EBNA-3A. Vaccinia infection significantly decreased the
viability of immature DCs after 3 days of culture (to 25% to 45%) but
had a smaller effect on mature DC recovery (40% to 70%). To decrease
these cytopathic effects and to expand the potential use of vaccinia
vectors for DC therapy in immunocompromised patients, we successfully
used psoralen and UV-inactivated virus. Mature DCs pulsed with either live or inactivated vaccinia EBNA-3A virus could elicit strong EBNA-3A-specific CTLs. Therefore, mature DCs are powerful stimulators of EBV-specific CTLs and their major histocompatibility
complex class I products can even be charged with
UV-inactivated recombinant vaccinia.
