Title: Immunodominance in primate immunodeficiency virus infection
Description: Epitope-specific CD8 + T lymphocytes play a critical role in containing lentiviral replication in humans and non-human primates. In human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1), simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), and simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) infection, mutations in dominant viral epitopes that result in escape from CD8 + T lymphocyte responses have been shown to be associated with increases in viremia and accelerated disease progression. It is likely that more clonally diverse CD8 + T lymphocyte responses to numerous primate lentiviral determinants will provide the greatest protection against viral replication and immune escape. However, the tendency of the immune system to focus its responses to only a few viral epitopes, known as immunodominance, during primary or secondary exposure to viral antigens currently limits our ability to generate a greater diversity of responses through vaccination.

The studies described in this thesis were initiated to characterize the immunodominance of HIV-1/SIV epitopes in the non-human primate model system. We describe the contribution and consequences of T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire, viral escape, and immunodomination on antigen-specific CD8 + T lymphocyte responses in the rhesus macaque model. We show that CD8 + T lymphocyte populations specific for immunodominant SIV epitopes are characterized by a diverse TCR repertoire, whereas those specific for subdominant SIV epitopes employ a dramatically more focused TCR repertoire. Furthermore, we demonstrate that a SHIV variant harboring an escape mutation in the immunodominant Mamu-A*01-restricted epitope Gag p11C can be efficiently controlled through compensating T lymphocyte responses. We also found that vaccination with wildtype SHIV immunogens conferred protection against reversion of the mutant virus to a wildtype sequence. Finally, we demonstrate that Gag p11C-specific CD8 + T lymphocyte responses exert suppressive effects on primed subdominant epitope-specific CD8 + T lymphocyte responses, referred to as immunodomination. Collectively, this work illustrates the complexity associated with cellular immune responses against primate lentiviral antigens. Further elucidating the factors that influence the potency of CD8 + T lymphocyte responses against immunodominant and subdominant HIV-1/SIV epitopes will be critical for the development of vaccine strategies that enhance and maintain the breadth of cellular immune responses against lentiviral infection.