The Role of Treg Epitopes (Tregitopes) in Antibody Maturation Uncovered in New EpiVax Study: Implications for Therapeutic Antibodies
PROVIDENCE, R.I., April 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- EpiVax, Inc. announces a new study published in Frontiers in Immunology unveiling the impact of peptides known as "Tregitopes" on antibody maturation during immune response.
Lymph nodes contain antibodies that undergo changes to their sequence as they adapt to their immune target, such as a flu virus. As this happens, the content of regulatory T cell (Treg) epitope sequences (also called Tregitopes) in the antibodies appears to decrease, which enables the B cells to expand and persist.
The study, "Regulatory T Cell Epitope Content in Human Antibodies Decreases During Maturation", was conducted by Andres Gutierrez, PhD and Annie De Groot, MD of EpiVax, using existing antibody sequence data. "This work provides important insights into how antibodies evolve over time, not just in terms of affinity, but in their ability to engage with the immune system." said Dr. Gutierrez.
The discovery of Tregitopes in 2008 marked a shift in awareness about the function of natural Tregs in human and animal immunity. Tregitopes may explain, in part, the tolerogenic impact of IV immunoglobulin therapy (IVIG). Tregitope-like peptides have since been found in other self-proteins.
A prior analysis of human antibody repertoires demonstrated that T cell epitopes decreased with increasing antibody maturation. However, that study didn't separate regulatory from effector T cell epitope dynamics. In this study, researchers examined antibody repertoires from four healthy human donors. They assessed three subsets of T cell epitopes: previously validated Tregitopes, potentially tolerated T cell epitopes and potential effector T cell epitopes.
Findings revealed that as antibodies mature and have higher affinity for their target antigen, Tregitope content systematically decreases, while potential effector T cell epitope content increases. This suggests that Tregitope depletion is a fundamental feature of antibody evolution. The observation was confirmed by testing some of the 'natural' and 'modified' Tregitope sequences in vitro.
"This mechanism is likely relevant to immunity from pathogens, to the development of autoantibodies during autoimmune disease, and for the selection of therapeutic antibody candidates", said Dr. De Groot. "We are pleased to contribute this finding to the literature on immune regulation and antibody design."
About EpiVax
EpiVax is a leader in preclinical immunogenicity assessment and sequence optimization for therapeutics and vaccines. EpiVax collaborates with globally recognized partners to accelerate immunogenicity risk assessment, immune modulation, and rapid vaccine design.
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