A systematic review of T cell epitopes defined from the proteome of human immunodeficiency virus

BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) persists as a formidable and far - reaching threat without a cure. T cells are crucial for antiviral immunity and pathology in HIV patients, with specific T cell epitopes potentially key to effective therapies and HIV cure methods. METHODS: Identifying sufficient T-cell epitopes within the HIV proteome holds great significance. It can not only substantially accelerate the development of T-cell epitope-based vaccines but also enable a highly precise evaluation of the host's HIV-specific cellular immunity. This research provides an overview of functionally verified T-cell epitopes derived from HIV antigens, the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles, as well as the screening and identification strategies. RESULTS: T-cell epitopes originate from Gag protein. Antigenic peptides of HIV-1 subtypes A/B/C/D/CRF01_AE account for 11.43 %, 58.26 %, 21.69 %, 4.96 %, and 3.65 %, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The 321 T-cell epitope repertoires of HIV encompass the HLA polymorphisms of the main populations and subtypes in a particular geographical area. These epitope catalogs provide strong support for researching therapeutic vaccines, specific T-cell detection, and the interaction mechanism between HIV and the immune system. However, the limitations of the identified T-cell epitope library, the polymorphism of HLA molecules, and the high mutation rate of HIV require more research to cover the entire HIV proteome and the comprehensive landscape of T-cell epitopes in global patients.