Human papillomavirus type 16 E7 oncoprotein expressed in peripheral epithelium tolerizes E7-directed cytotoxic T-lymphocyte precursors restricted through human (and mouse) major histocompatibility complex class I alleles.

Mice which coexpress human papillomavirus type 16 E7 and HLA A2.1 in peripheral squamous epithelium and thymic cortical epithelium are tolerant at the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) level to E7 epitopes restricted through HLA A*0201 and H-2(b) (T. Doan, M. Chambers, M. Street, G. J. Fernando, K. Herd, P. Lambert, and R. Tindle, Virology 244:352-364, 1998). Here we used bone marrow-reconstituted radiation chimeras to distinguish whether E7-directed CTL tolerance was mediated peripherally by E7 expression in skin or centrally by E7 expression in thymus. In chimeric mice expressing E7 in skin and reconstituted with E7-naïve bone marrow and E7-naïve thymus, CTL responses to vaccine-administered E7 epitopes were not restored, i.e. , the mice remained tolerant. In contrast, chimeric mice not expressing E7 in skin and reconstituted with E7-naïve bone marrow and E7-expressing thymus had full E7-directed CTL responses. These results demonstrate that E7 protein expression in peripheral squamous epithelium is sufficient to tolerize the E7-directed CTL precursor repertoire. The data have implications for E7-mediated tumorigenesis and for the development of E7-based immunotherapeutic strategies, since peripheral immunological tolerance of tumor-associated antigens may create a barrier to effective immunotherapy.