01929nas a2200349   4500000000100000008004100001260001600042653002400058653002700082653002400109653001300133653002000146653002000166653001200186653002800198653002500226653001300251653001800264653003400282100001700316700001700333700001400350700001500364700001700379700001400396245009700410300001100507490000800518050001700526520102200543022001401565       1988                            d  c1988 Oct 1410aAmino Acid Sequence10aAntibodies, Monoclonal10aAntigens, Bacterial10aEpitopes10aHLA-DR Antigens10aHLA-DR2 Antigen10aleprosy10aMolecular Sequence Data10aMycobacterium leprae10aPeptides10aT-Lymphocytes10aT-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer1 aAnderson D C1 aSchooten W C1 aBarry M E1 aJanson A A1 aBuchanan T M1 aVries R R00aA Mycobacterium leprae-specific human T cell epitope cross-reactive with an HLA-DR2 peptide.  a259-610 v242  aANDERSON19883 a<p>Mycobacterium leprae induces T cell reactivity and protective immunity in the majority of exposed individuals, but the minority that develop leprosy exhibit various types of immunopathology. Thus, the definition of epitopes on M. leprae antigens that are recognized by T cells from different individuals might result in the development of an effective vaccine against leprosy. A sequence from the 65-kD protein of this organism was recognized by two HLA-DR2-restricted, M. leprae-specific helper T cell clones that were derived from a tuberculoid leprosy patient. Synthetic peptides were used to define this epitope as Leu-Gln-Ala-Ala-Pro-Ala-Leu-Asp-Lys-Leu. A similar peptide that was derived from the third hypervariable region of the HLA-DR2 chain, Glu-Gln-Ala-Arg-Ala-Ala-Val-Asp-Thr-Tyr, also activated the same clones. The unexpected cross-reactivity of this M. leprae-specific DR2-restricted T cell epitope with a DR2 peptide may have to be considered in the design of subunit vaccines against leprosy.</p>  a0036-8075