Uptake of Human Papillomavirus Virus-Like Particles by Dendritic Cells Is Mediated by Fcγ Receptors and Contributes to Acquisition of T Cell Immunity

Abstract

Chimeric human papillomavirus virus-like particles (HPV cVLP) are immunogens able to elicit potent CTL responses in mice against HPV16-transformed tumors; however, the mechanism of T cell priming has remained elusive. HPV VLP bind to human MHC class II-positive APCs through interaction with FcγRIII, and immature dendritic cells (DC) become activated after incubation with HPV VLP; however, it is unclear whether FcγR on DC are involved. In mice, FcγRII and FcγRIII are homologous and bind similar ligands. In this study, we show that binding and uptake of VLP by DC from FcγRII, FcγRIII, and FcγRII/III-deficient mice are reduced by up to 50% compared with wild-type mice. Additionally, maturation of murine DC from FcγRII/III-deficient mice by VLP is also reduced, indicating that DC maturation, and thus Ag presentation, is diminished in the absence of expression of FcγR. To investigate the in vivo contribution of FcγR in the induction of cellular immunity, FcγR single- and double-knockout mice were immunized with HPV16 L1/L2-E7 cVLP, and the frequency of E7-specific T cells was analyzed by tetramer binding, IFN-γ ELISPOT, and cytotoxicity assays. All readouts indicated that the frequency of E7-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells induced in all FcγR-deficient mice after immunization with cVLP was significantly diminished. Based on these results, we propose that the low-affinity FcγR contribute to the high immunogenicity of HPV VLP during T cell priming by targeting VLP to DC and inducing a maturation state of the DC that facilitates Ag presentation to and activation of naive T cells.