Varicella-zoster virus glycoproteins B and E are major targets of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells reconstituting during zoster after allogeneic transplantation.

Background: After allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation patients are at increased risk for herpes zoster as long as varicella-zoster virus specific T-cell reconstitution is impaired. This study aimed to identify immunodominant varicella-zoster virus antigens that drive recovery of virus-specific T cells after transplantation.

Design And Methods: Antigens were purified from a varicella-zoster virus infected cell lysate by high-performance liquid chromatography and were identified by quantitative mass spectrometric analysis.

Optimized recombinant dense bodies of human cytomegalovirus efficiently prime virus specific lymphocytes and neutralizing antibodies without the addition of adjuvant.

Control of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection correlates with the reconstitution of antiviral T lymphocytes in haematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients. A vaccine to foster this reconstitution and to ameliorate the severe consequences of HCMV reactivation is yet unavailable. This work focused on providing a rationale for the amendment of the yields and the antigenic composition of a vaccine, based on subviral dense bodies (DB) of HCMV.

Modification of the major tegument protein pp65 of human cytomegalovirus inhibits virus growth and leads to the enhancement of a protein complex with pUL69 and pUL97 in infected cells.

The tegument protein pp65 of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is abundant in lytically infected human foreskin fibroblasts (HFF), as well as in virions and subviral dense bodies (DB). Despite this, we showed previously that pp65 is dispensable for growth in HFF. In the process of refining a DB-based vaccine candidate, different HCMV mutants were generated, expressing a dominant HLA-A2-presented peptide of the IE1 protein fused to pp65.