Quantifying T Cell Cross-Reactivity: Influenza and Coronaviruses.

Abstract

If viral strains are sufficiently similar in their immunodominant epitopes, then populations of cross-reactive T cells may be boosted by exposure to one strain and provide protection against infection by another at a later date. This type of pre-existing immunity may be important in the adaptive immune response to influenza and to coronaviruses. Patterns of recognition of epitopes by T cell clonotypes (a set of cells sharing the same T cell receptor) are represented as edges on a bipartite network. We describe different methods of constructing bipartite networks that exhibit cross-reactivity, and the dynamics of the T cell repertoire in conditions of homeostasis, infection and re-infection. Cross-reactivity may arise simply by chance, or because immunodominant epitopes of different strains are structurally similar. We introduce a circular space of epitopes, so that T cell cross-reactivity is a quantitative measure of the overlap between clonotypes that recognize similar (that is, close in epitope space) epitopes.

• Authors: Jessica Ann Gaevert, Daniel Luque Duque, Grant Lythe, Carmen Molina-París, Paul Glyndwr Thomas
• Journal: Viruses (Viruses) Vol. 13 Issue 9 (09 07 2021) ISSN: 1999-4915 [Electronic] Switzerland
• PMID: 34578367 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Review)

Chemical References

• Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte
• Immunodominant Epitopes
• Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell

Topics

• Animals
• CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes (immunology)
• Coronavirus (classification, genetics, immunology)
• Coronavirus Infections (immunology)
• Cross Reactions (immunology)
• Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte (immunology)
• Humans
• Immunodominant Epitopes (immunology)
• Immunologic Memory
• Influenza A virus (genetics, immunology)
• Influenza, Human (immunology)
• Mice
• Models, Theoretical
• Orthomyxoviridae Infections (immunology)
• Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell