T helper epitopes enhance the cytotoxic response of mice immunized with MHC class I-restricted malaria peptides.

We have previously derived MHC class I (H-2Kd) restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) from BALB/c mice immunized with irradiated sporozoites from Plasmodium (P.) berghei and P. yoelii. The CTL recognize synthetic peptides corresponding to a region of the circumsporozoite (CS) protein that is homologous in the two species. In the present study, we have attempted to induce CS-specific CTL by immunization with those peptides in incomplete Freund's adjuvant. Only a low level CTL response was detected in BALB/c mice immunized with synthetic peptides corresponding to the Pb or Py CTL epitopes. In contrast, CS-specific CTL responses could be readily detected in mice injected with mixtures of peptides that combined the P. berghei or P. yoelii CTL epitopes with previously defined T helper epitopes. Several different T helper epitopes were shown to enhance the response when injected as separate peptides in a mixture, or when covalently linked to a CTL epitope. These results may have general implications for the elicitation of CTL responses to defined CTL epitopes and for the design of peptide-based synthetic vaccines.