Pathogen-derived noncanonical epitopes: Are they valuable targets for novel vaccinations and shall we be concerned about autoimmune responses?

Title : Pathogen-derived noncanonical epitopes: Are they valuable targets for novel vaccinations and shall we be concerned about autoimmune responses?

Abstract:

MHC class I complexes can present antigenic peptides that derive from canonical proteins as well as have a sequence produced by post-translational mechanisms such as proteasome-generated peptide splicing. Few pathogen-derived proteasome-generated spliced epitopes have been investigated for their immunogenicity so far. We developed several pipelines to identify and predict both canonical and noncanonical epitopes derived from pathogens, which are freely available. In addition, we tested the immunogenicity and the potential for therapeutical applications for those associated to various forms of infections. During my lecture I review the work done my team and others on the identification of pathogen-derived noncanonical epitopes, I discuss the risk of autoimmune response triggered by them and their potential relevance for future development on vaccines.

Biography:

Prof. Michele Mishto is Professor in Immunobiology at the King’s College London and Senior Group leader at the Francis Crick Institute in London (UK). PhD in Medical Biotechnology at University of Bologna (ITA) and a long post-doc and project leader experience at the Institute of Biochemistry at Universitätsmedizin Charite’ Berlin (GER). His research focuses on antigen presentation and proteasomes. He particularly contributed to the identification and characterisation of noncanonical peptides such as proteasome-generated spliced peptides, investigating their antigenicity and immunogenicity in cancer and infections. Mishto is currently consultant for GSK.