Identification of apoB-100 peptide-specific CD8+ T cells in atherosclerosis

Background-t cells are found in atherosclerotic plaques,with evidence supporting a potential role for cd8+ t cells in atherogenesis. prior studies provide evidence of low-density lipoprotein and apob-100 reactive t cells,yet specific epitopes relevant to the disease remain to be defined. the current study was undertaken to identify and characterize endogenous,antigenspecific cd8+ t cells in atherosclerosis. methods and results-a peptide fragment of apob-100 that tested positive for binding to the mouse mhc-i allele h2kb was used to generate a fluorescent-labeled h2kb pentamer and tested in apoe-/- mice. h2kb pentamer(+)cd8+ t cells were higher in apoe-/- mice fed an atherogenic diet compared with those fed a normal chow. h2kb pentamer (+)cd8+ t cells in atherogenic diet-fed mice had significantly increased effector memory phenotype with a shift in vβ profile. h2kb pentamer blocked lytic activity of cd8+ t cells from atherogenic diet-fed mice. immunization of age-matched apoe-/- mice with the apob-100 peptide altered the immune-dominant epitope of cd8+ t cells and reduced atherosclerosis. conclusions-our study provides evidence of a self-reactive,antigen-specific cd8+ t-cell population in apoe-/- mice. immune modulation using the peptide antigen reduced atherosclerosis in apoe-/- mice. © 2017 the authors.