Immunogenicity study of a synthetic T-cell epitope of rubella virus capsid protein recognized by human T cells in different strains of mice.

The immunogenicity of a human immunodominant T-cell epitope C9 (residues 205-233) of rubella virus capsid protein was studied in three strains of mice using C9 lipopeptide. This peptide induced strong T-cell responses in all three strains of mice. The minimal T-cell epitope C9B (residues 205-216) recognized by human T cells with HLA-DR4 phenotype did not specifically stimulate proliferation of T cells from mice in vitro. T cells specific for C9 from immunized mice were shown to be CD4+, in agreement with results of similar studies in RV-seropositive humans.