Simultaneous isolation of CD8(+) and CD4(+) T cells specific for multiple viruses for broad antiviral immune reconstitution after allogeneic stem cell transplantation

J Immunother. 2011 Apr;34(3):307-19. doi: 10.1097/CJI.0b013e318213cb90.

Abstract

Opportunistic viral infections can cause serious morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Clinical studies have shown that adoptive transfer of donor-derived T cells specific for cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), or human adenovirus (HAdV) can be a safe and effective treatment of infections with these major viral pathogens. The aim of this study was to develop a method for the simultaneous isolation of coordinated CD8(+) and CD4(+) memory T-cell responses against a broad repertoire of viral epitopes. To ensure that the method was applicable to a wide variety of virus-specific T cells that may differ in phenotypic and functional properties, we focused on T cells specific for the persistent viruses, CMV and EBV, and T cells specific for HAdV and influenza (FLU), which are not repetitively activated in vivo after initial viral clearance. Following in vitro activation, nearly all T cells specific for these viruses produced interferon γ (IFN-γ) and tumor necrosis factor α, and expressed CD137, whereas the populations varied in the production of interleukin-2, degranulation, and expression of phenotypic markers. Different kinetics of IFN-γ production were observed in CMV/EBV-specific T cells and HAdV/FLU-specific T cells. However, after the stimulation of peripheral blood from seropositive donors with viral protein-spanning peptide pools, the activated virus-specific CD8(+) and CD4(+) T cells could be simultaneously isolated by either IFN-γ-based or CD137-based enrichment. This study provides an efficient and widely applicable strategy for the isolation of virus-specific T cells, which may be used for the reconstitution of virus-specific immunity in allogeneic stem cell transplantation recipients.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adaptive Immunity*
  • Adenoviruses, Human / immunology
  • Adoptive Transfer*
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Antigens, Viral / chemistry
  • Antigens, Viral / immunology
  • CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / immunology
  • CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / transplantation*
  • CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / virology
  • CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / immunology
  • CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / transplantation*
  • CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / virology
  • Cytomegalovirus / immunology
  • Herpesvirus 4, Human / immunology
  • Humans
  • Immunocompromised Host
  • Immunologic Memory
  • Immunomagnetic Separation / methods*
  • Interferon-gamma / immunology
  • Lymphocyte Activation
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Opportunistic Infections / immunology*
  • Opportunistic Infections / virology
  • Orthomyxoviridae / immunology
  • Stem Cell Transplantation
  • Transplantation, Homologous
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor Superfamily, Member 9 / immunology
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / immunology

Substances

  • Antigens, Viral
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor Superfamily, Member 9
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
  • Interferon-gamma