University of Washington investigators utilized rare cell enrichment and an HLA-agnostic, proteome-wide approach to expand the library of known HHV-6 T cell antigens from 11 to 60.
New HLA-DR3-restricted HHV-6B peptides demonstrate broadly recognized polyfunctional and cytotoxic CD4 T-cell responses
University of Massachusetts investigators have identified 25 new naturally processed peptide sequences using mass spectrometry.
HHV-6 infection induces a high percentage of virus-specific suppressive Tregs compared to CMV
A French group studied immunological responses to HHV-6 and CMV in healthy adults ex vivo and found that HHV-6 induces an excessive number of potently immunosuppressive T regulatory cells that block dendritic cell maturation and functions.
An elevated CD134/CD4+ ratio before conditioning results in a 10 fold increased risk of HHV-6B reactivation
A prospective study of allogenic stem cell transplant patients in Japan suggests that the percentage of CD134+ T cells could be used to predict which patients are vulnerable to HHV-6 reactivation. The authors propose that further investigation into the effect of elevated CD134+ T cells pre-transplant is warranted.
Breakthrough on therapeutic HHV-6B neutralizing antibodies
Yasuko Mori and colleagues were successful in humanizing two neutralizing monoclonal antibodies to HHV-6B. The chimeric antibodies performed well enough to show promise for therapeutic use.
Virus specific donor T cells found effective in treating HHV-6 and other viruses in Phase II clinical trial
“Off-the-shelf” donor T cells primed to fight five specific viruses were shown to be effective in a Phase 2 trial backed by Viracyte. A single infusion produced a complete or partial response rate of 92%.