Fig. 1

Lentiviral vector design, integration and expression of the CII-peptide on MHC II. a Lentiviral vectors with an Igk promoter and the collagen type II (CII) amino acids 259–270 peptide cloned into the Ii (LNT-Igk-CII) and the control vector with the original class II-associated invariant chain peptide (CLIP) sequence (LNT-Igk-Ctrl). LTR long terminal repeat, WPRE woodchuck post-transcriptional regulatory element, cPPT central polypurine tract. b Confirmation of vector integration, detected as WPRE DNA fragment, in cells from spleen and lymph from recipient mice 22 weeks after intravenous injection of transduced CD34⁺ cells. c Proliferation index of 5 × 10⁵ T-cell hybridomas specific for hydroxylated (Hdbr1), glycosylated (Hcq3) and naked (Hcq4) CII-peptide co-cultured with 5 × 10⁶ Igk-CII cells from spleen and peritoneal lavage