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Boeren M, de Vrij N, Ha MK, Valkiers S, Souquette A, Gielis S, Kuznetsova M, Schippers J, Bartholomeus E, Van den Bergh J, Michels N, Aerts O, Leysen J, Bervoets A, Lambert J, Leuridan E, Wens J, Peeters K, Emonds MP, Elias G, Vandamme N, Jansens H, Adriaensen W, Suls A, Vanhee S, Hens N, Smits E, Van Damme P, Thomas PG, Beutels P, Ponsaerts P, Van Tendeloo V, Delputte P, Laukens K, Meysman P, Ogunjimi B. Lack of functional TCR-epitope interaction is associated with herpes zoster through reduced downstream T cell activation. Cell Rep 2024; 43:114062. [PMID: 38588339 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024] Open
Abstract
The role of T cell receptor (TCR) diversity in infectious disease susceptibility is not well understood. We use a systems immunology approach on three cohorts of herpes zoster (HZ) patients and controls to investigate whether TCR diversity against varicella-zoster virus (VZV) influences the risk of HZ. We show that CD4+ T cell TCR diversity against VZV glycoprotein E (gE) and immediate early 63 protein (IE63) after 1-week culture is more restricted in HZ patients. Single-cell RNA and TCR sequencing of VZV-specific T cells shows that T cell activation pathways are significantly decreased after stimulation with VZV peptides in convalescent HZ patients. TCR clustering indicates that TCRs from HZ patients co-cluster more often together than TCRs from controls. Collectively, our results suggest that not only lower VZV-specific TCR diversity but also reduced functional TCR affinity for VZV-specific proteins in HZ patients leads to lower T cell activation and consequently affects the susceptibility for viral reactivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlies Boeren
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Parasitology and Hygiene (LMPH), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Laboratory of Experimental Hematology (LEH), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Antwerp Center for Translational Immunology and Virology (ACTIV), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS), Antwerp, Belgium; Centre for Health Economics Research and Modelling Infectious Diseases (CHERMID), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Nicky de Vrij
- Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS), Antwerp, Belgium; Adrem Data Lab, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Biomedical Informatics Research Network Antwerp (biomina), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Clinical Immunology Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - My K Ha
- Antwerp Center for Translational Immunology and Virology (ACTIV), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS), Antwerp, Belgium; Centre for Health Economics Research and Modelling Infectious Diseases (CHERMID), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Sebastiaan Valkiers
- Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS), Antwerp, Belgium; Adrem Data Lab, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Biomedical Informatics Research Network Antwerp (biomina), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Aisha Souquette
- Department of Immunology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Sofie Gielis
- Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS), Antwerp, Belgium; Adrem Data Lab, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Biomedical Informatics Research Network Antwerp (biomina), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Maria Kuznetsova
- Antwerp Center for Translational Immunology and Virology (ACTIV), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS), Antwerp, Belgium; Centre for Health Economics Research and Modelling Infectious Diseases (CHERMID), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Jolien Schippers
- Antwerp Center for Translational Immunology and Virology (ACTIV), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS), Antwerp, Belgium; Centre for Health Economics Research and Modelling Infectious Diseases (CHERMID), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Esther Bartholomeus
- Antwerp Center for Translational Immunology and Virology (ACTIV), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS), Antwerp, Belgium; Centre for Health Economics Research and Modelling Infectious Diseases (CHERMID), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Johan Van den Bergh
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology (LEH), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Nele Michels
- Department of Family Medicine and Population Health (FAMPOP), Center for General Practice/Family Medicine, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Olivier Aerts
- Department of Dermatology, Antwerp University Hospital and University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Julie Leysen
- Department of Dermatology, Antwerp University Hospital and University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - An Bervoets
- Department of Dermatology, Antwerp University Hospital and University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Julien Lambert
- Department of Dermatology, Antwerp University Hospital and University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Elke Leuridan
- Centre for the Evaluation of Vaccination (CEV), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Johan Wens
- Department of Family Medicine and Population Health (FAMPOP), Center for General Practice/Family Medicine, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Karin Peeters
- Antwerp Center for Translational Immunology and Virology (ACTIV), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS), Antwerp, Belgium; Centre for Health Economics Research and Modelling Infectious Diseases (CHERMID), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Marie-Paule Emonds
- Histocompatibility and Immunogenetic Laboratory, Rode Kruis-Vlaanderen, Mechelen, Belgium
| | - George Elias
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology (LEH), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Antwerp Center for Translational Immunology and Virology (ACTIV), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS), Antwerp, Belgium; Centre for Health Economics Research and Modelling Infectious Diseases (CHERMID), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Niels Vandamme
- Data Mining and Modeling for Biomedicine Group, VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; Department of Applied Mathematics, Computer Science and Statistics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Hilde Jansens
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Antwerp University Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Wim Adriaensen
- Clinical Immunology Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Arvid Suls
- Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS), Antwerp, Belgium; Medical Genetics, University of Antwerp and Antwerp University Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Stijn Vanhee
- Laboratory of Immunoregulation and Mucosal Immunology, VIB Center for Inflammation Research, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Head and Skin, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Niel Hens
- Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS), Antwerp, Belgium; Centre for Health Economics Research and Modelling Infectious Diseases (CHERMID), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; I-BioStat, Data Science Institute, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium
| | - Evelien Smits
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology (LEH), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS), Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Pierre Van Damme
- Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS), Antwerp, Belgium; Centre for the Evaluation of Vaccination (CEV), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Paul G Thomas
- Department of Immunology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Philippe Beutels
- Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS), Antwerp, Belgium; Centre for Health Economics Research and Modelling Infectious Diseases (CHERMID), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Peter Ponsaerts
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology (LEH), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Viggo Van Tendeloo
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology (LEH), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS), Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Peter Delputte
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Parasitology and Hygiene (LMPH), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Kris Laukens
- Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS), Antwerp, Belgium; Adrem Data Lab, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Biomedical Informatics Research Network Antwerp (biomina), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Pieter Meysman
- Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS), Antwerp, Belgium; Adrem Data Lab, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Biomedical Informatics Research Network Antwerp (biomina), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Benson Ogunjimi
- Antwerp Center for Translational Immunology and Virology (ACTIV), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS), Antwerp, Belgium; Centre for Health Economics Research and Modelling Infectious Diseases (CHERMID), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Department of Paediatrics, Antwerp University Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium.
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Mullan KA, de Vrij N, Valkiers S, Meysman P. Current annotation strategies for T cell phenotyping of single-cell RNA-seq data. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1306169. [PMID: 38187377 PMCID: PMC10768068 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1306169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) has become a popular technique for interrogating the diversity and dynamic nature of cellular gene expression and has numerous advantages in immunology. For example, scRNA-seq, in contrast to bulk RNA sequencing, can discern cellular subtypes within a population, which is important for heterogenous populations such as T cells. Moreover, recent advancements in the technology allow the parallel capturing of the highly diverse T-cell receptor (TCR) sequence with the gene expression. However, the field of single-cell RNA sequencing data analysis is still hampered by a lack of gold-standard cell phenotype annotation. This problem is particularly evident in the case of T cells due to the heterogeneity in both their gene expression and their TCR. While current cell phenotype annotation tools can differentiate major cell populations from each other, labelling T-cell subtypes remains problematic. In this review, we identify the common automated strategy for annotating T cells and their subpopulations, and also describe what crucial information is still missing from these tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerry A. Mullan
- Adrem Data Lab, Department of Computer Science, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS) Consortium, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Nicky de Vrij
- Adrem Data Lab, Department of Computer Science, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS) Consortium, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- Clinical Immunology Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences, Institute for Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Sebastiaan Valkiers
- Adrem Data Lab, Department of Computer Science, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS) Consortium, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Pieter Meysman
- Adrem Data Lab, Department of Computer Science, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS) Consortium, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
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de Vrij N, Meysman P, Gielis S, Adriaensen W, Laukens K, Cuypers B. HLA-DRB1 Alleles Associated with Lower Leishmaniasis Susceptibility Share Common Amino Acid Polymorphisms and Epitope Binding Repertoires. Vaccines (Basel) 2021; 9:270. [PMID: 33803005 PMCID: PMC8002611 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9030270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Revised: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Susceptibility for leishmaniasis is largely dependent on host genetic and immune factors. Despite the previously described association of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) gene cluster variants as genetic susceptibility factors for leishmaniasis, little is known regarding the mechanisms that underpin these associations. To better understand this underlying functionality, we first collected all known leishmaniasis-associated HLA variants in a thorough literature review. Next, we aligned and compared the protection- and risk-associated HLA-DRB1 allele sequences. This identified several amino acid polymorphisms that distinguish protection- from risk-associated HLA-DRB1 alleles. Subsequently, T cell epitope binding predictions were carried out across these alleles to map the impact of these polymorphisms on the epitope binding repertoires. For these predictions, we used epitopes derived from entire proteomes of multiple Leishmania species. Epitopes binding to protection-associated HLA-DRB1 alleles shared common binding core motifs, mapping to the identified HLA-DRB1 amino acid polymorphisms. These results strongly suggest that HLA polymorphism, resulting in differential antigen presentation, affects the association between HLA and leishmaniasis disease development. Finally, we established a valuable open-access resource of putative epitopes. A set of 14 HLA-unrestricted strong-binding epitopes, conserved across species, was prioritized for further epitope discovery in the search for novel subunit-based vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicky de Vrij
- Department of Computer Science, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium; (N.d.V.); (P.M.); (S.G.)
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium;
- Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS), University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
- Biomedical Informatics Network Antwerpen (Biomina), University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Pieter Meysman
- Department of Computer Science, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium; (N.d.V.); (P.M.); (S.G.)
- Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS), University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
- Biomedical Informatics Network Antwerpen (Biomina), University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Sofie Gielis
- Department of Computer Science, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium; (N.d.V.); (P.M.); (S.G.)
- Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS), University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
- Biomedical Informatics Network Antwerpen (Biomina), University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Wim Adriaensen
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium;
| | - Kris Laukens
- Department of Computer Science, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium; (N.d.V.); (P.M.); (S.G.)
- Antwerp Unit for Data Analysis and Computation in Immunology and Sequencing (AUDACIS), University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
- Biomedical Informatics Network Antwerpen (Biomina), University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Bart Cuypers
- Department of Computer Science, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium; (N.d.V.); (P.M.); (S.G.)
- Biomedical Informatics Network Antwerpen (Biomina), University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium
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