Hepatitis B surface antigen presentation and HLA-DRB1*– lessons from twins and peptide binding studies

Summary The aim of this study was to investigate the underlying mechanisms of the genetic association between certain HLA-DRB1* alleles and the immune response to HBsAg vaccination. Therefore, HBsAg peptide binding to HLA-DR molecules was measured in vitro by peptide binding ELISAs. Additionally, HBsAg-specific T cell reaction and cytokine profile of immune response were analysed ex vivo in ELISPOT assays and DR-restriction of T-cell proliferative responses was investigated with HBsAg specific T cell clones. In addition, we compared HBsAg specific T cell responses of 24 monozygotic and 3 dizygotic twin pairs after HBsAg vaccination. Our results showed that the peptide binding assays did not…