Effects of heat shock protein gp96 on human dendritic cell maturation and CTL expansion

We reported previously that heat shock protein gp96 and its N-terminal fragment were able to stimulate CTL expansion specific for a HBV peptide (SYVNTNMGL) in BALB/c mice. Here we characterized the adjuvant effects of gp96 on human HLA-A2 restricted T cells. Full-length gp96 isolated from healthy human liver and recombinant fragments both from prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells were analyzed for their ability to stimulate maturation of human dendritic cells. It was found that in vitro these proteins were capable of maturating human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MDDC) isolated from healthy donors as well as from HBV-positive, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. In HLA-A2.1/Kb transgenic mice, gp96 and the recombinant fragments were found to augment CTL response specific for the HBcAg(18-27) FLPSDFFPSV peptide of hepatitis B virus.