An HLA-DRw53-restricted T-cell epitope from a novel Mycobacterium leprae protein antigen important to the human memory T-cell repertoire against M. leprae.

AUTOR(ES)

Mustafa, A S

RESUMO

Cellular immunity mediated by T cells plays a major role in protection against intracellular infections, including leprosy, a chronic disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. In this work, we describe CD4+ T-cell clones, isolated from healthy humans immunized with M. leprae, which recognize a novel M. leprae protein antigen previously isolated from a lambda gt11 DNA expression library. On the basis of the deduced primary structure of the carboxyl-terminal part of the antigen, we have used a synthetic-peptide approach to exactly define the T-cell epitope recognized. Importantly, major histocompatibility complex restriction studies showed that the epitope is presented by an HLA-DRw53 molecule which is frequently expressed in many populations. In addition, we have demonstrated that a long-term cell-mediated immunity response against the peptide epitope is present after immunization with M. leprae. In conclusion, the M. leprae T-cell epitope described here fulfills the primary criteria for subunit vaccine candidates against leprosy.

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