Figure 3

Intracellular IFN-γ protein production by HLA-A*2402 CD8+ CTLs stimulated with the twenty individual 15-amino acid peptides included in mini-pools 1 and 2. To determine which 15-amino acid peptides belonging to mini-pools 1 and 2 had the capacity to specifically re-induce CTL immune activity, intracellular IFN-γ production by CD8+ T cells was measured in HCMV-seropositive HLA-A*2402 cells from five donors (Donors 2, 3, and 6–8) that had been in vitro sensitized for a week with each of the twenty candidate 15-amino acid peptides. The results of testing cells from Donor 2 are shown. Peptides IE-1_1–15MESSAKRKMDPDNPD and IE-1_5–19AKRKMDPDNPDEGPS consistently induced greater quantities of IFN-γ protein production than the other 15-amino acid peptides tested. PHA and HCMV A2 (pp65_495–503) peptide-stimulated PBMCs were used as positive control and HCMV A33 (pp65_91–100) peptide and IL-2 only stimulated PBMCs (IL-2) were used as negative controls.