- Champiat, Stéphane;
- Garrison, Keith E;
- Raposo, Rui André Saraiva;
- Burwitz, Benjamin J;
- Reed, Jason;
- Tandon, Ravi;
- York, Vanessa A;
- Newman, Laura P;
- Nimityongskul, Francesca A;
- Wilson, Nancy A;
- Almeida, Rafael R;
- Martin, Jeffrey N;
- Deeks, Steven G;
- Rosenberg, Michael G;
- Wiznia, Andrew A;
- Spotts, Gerald E;
- Pilcher, Christopher D;
- Hecht, Fredrick M;
- Ostrowski, Mario A;
- Sacha, Jonah B;
- Nixon, Douglas F
APOBEC3 proteins mediate potent antiretroviral activity by hypermutating the retroviral genome during reverse transcription. To counteract APOBEC3 and gain a replicative advantage, lentiviruses such as human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) have evolved the Vif protein, which targets APOBEC3 proteins for proteasomal degradation. However, the proteasome plays a critical role in the generation of T cell peptide epitopes. Whether Vif-mediated destruction of APOBEC3 proteins leads to the generation and presentation of APOBEC3-derived T cell epitopes on the surfaces of lentivirus-infected cells remains unknown. Here, using peptides derived from multiple Vif-sensitive APOBEC3 proteins, we identified APOBEC3-specific T cell responses in both HIV-1-infected patients and SIV-infected rhesus macaques. These results raise the possibility that these T cell responses may be part of the larger antiretroviral immune response.