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HIV-1 adapts to HLA class II-associated selection pressure exerted by CD4 + and CD8 + T cells
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

HIV-1 adapts to HLA class II-associated selection pressure exerted by CD4 + and CD8 + T cells

Eric Alves, Jennifer Currenti, Keeley Crawford, Abha Chopra, Ramesh Ram, Louise Barnett, James F Read, Marwah Al-Kaabi, Ian James, Jonathan M Carlson, …
Science advances, Vol.11(7), eadr4238
2025
PMCID: PMC11827868
PMID: 39951541
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Published (Version of Record)CC BY-NC V4.0 Open Access

Abstract

CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - immunology CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - metabolism CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes - immunology CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes - metabolism Histocompatibility Antigens Class II - genetics Histocompatibility Antigens Class II - immunology Histocompatibility Antigens Class II - metabolism HIV Infections - immunology HIV Infections - virology HIV-1 - immunology Humans Selection, Genetic
Developing an effective HIV-1 vaccine is a global health priority, but HIV-1 mutational escape from T cells poses a challenge. While escape from human leukocyte antigen class I (HLA-I)–restricted CD8+ T cells is well characterized, less is known about HLA-II–restricted T cell escape. We used computational methods to identify 149 sites across the HIV-1 clade B genome under HLA-II–associated selection. Functional assays, including activation-induced intracellular cytokine staining and enzyme-linked immunospot for interferon-γ, revealed diverse mechanisms of HIV-1 adaptation to HLA-II–associated immune pressure, ranging from loss to sustained antigen recognition. T cell receptor and RNA sequencing demonstrated variable clonotype overlap of T cell clones to recognize adapted versus non-adapted peptides, with cells targeting adapted peptides exhibiting a dysfunctional transcriptomic state. Moreover, incorporating HLA-II–associated adaptation strengthened the correlation between Gag-specific viral adaptation and poor disease outcomes. Last, we mapped viral regions prone to HLA-II–associated adaptation and found that these adaptations can increase in frequency within populations.

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Collaboration types
Industry collaboration
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Citation topics
1 Clinical & Life Sciences
1.66 HIV
1.66.46 HIV Pathogenesis
Web Of Science research areas
Immunology
ESI research areas
Immunology
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