Modified influenza M158–66 peptide vaccination induces non-relevant T-cells and may enhance pathology after challenge

CD8 + T cells are promising targets for vaccination against influenza A virus (IAV) infection. Their induction via peptide vaccination is not trivial, because peptides are weakly immunogenic. One strategy to overcome this is by vaccination with chemically enhanced altered peptide ligands (CPLs), which have improved MHC-binding and immunogenicity. It remains unknown how peptide-modification affects the resulting immune response. We studied the effect of CPLs derived from the influenza M158–66 epitope (GILGFVFTL) on the T-cell response. In HLA-A2*0201 transgenic mice, CPL-vaccination led to higher T-cell frequencies, but only a small percentage of the induced T cells recognized the GILG-wildtype (WT) peptide. CPL-vaccination resulted in a lower richness of the GILG-WT-specific T-cell repertoire and no improved protection against IAV-infection compared to GILG-WT peptide-vaccination. One CPL even appeared to enhance pathology after IAV-challenge. CPL-vaccination thus induces T cells not targeting the original peptide, which may lead to potential unwanted side effects.