Polyfunctional CD8 T cells are associated with the vaccination-induced control of a novel recombinant influenza virus expressing an HCV epitope

Abstract

In hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, CD8 + T cell responses have been shown to be important in viral clearance. Examining the efficacy of CD8 + T cell vaccines against HCV has been limited by the lack of an HCV infectious model in mice and the differences between MHC restriction in humans and mice. Using HLA-A2 transgenic HHD mice, we demonstrate that intranasally delivered Pam2Cys-based lipopeptides containing HLA-A2-restricted HCV epitopes can induce polyfunctional CD8 + T cell responses in several organs including the liver. To examine the activity of these responses in an infectious context, we developed a recombinant influenza virus that expresses the NS5B 2594-2602 epitope from non-st..