Beads and cell debris were removed by 5 min centrifugation at 1000 g, followed by 20 min of centrifugation at 10 000 g. Lysates were cleared by ultracentrifugation for 1 hr at 100 000 g, and supernatants were then ultracentrifuged for 5 hr at 100 000 g.21 Proteasome-containing pellets were resuspended in 0·5 ml homogenization buffer [50 mm Tris–HCl (pH 7·5), 100 mm KCl, 15% glycerol]. Protein concentration was determined using the bicinchononic acid protocol (Pierce, Rockford, IL). The chymotrypsin-like and trypsin-like activities of purified proteasomes

were tested using the fluorogenic substrates Suc-LLVY-AMC and Boc-LRR-AMC, respectively, as previously described.21 Fluorescence was determined using a fluorimeter (Spectrafluor plus; GPCR Compound Library research buy Tecan, Salzburg, Austria). Proteasome activity is expressed as arbitrary fluorescence units. In vitro degradation of HPVGEADYFEYHQEGG (HPV + AG-014699 datasheet 5) was performed using 150 μg of the peptide and 150 μg purified proteasomes in 450 μl activity buffer at 37°. At different time-points, 80-μl samples were collected, and the reaction was stopped by adding 2 volumes of ethanol at 0°. 240 μl of digestion mixtures were centrifuged at 500 g, and 80 μl of supernatant was collected and analysed by HPLC.22 Peptides were synthesized by the solid-phase method and purified to > 98% purity by HPLC, as previously described.23 Structural verification

was performed by elemental and amino acid analysis and mass spectrometry. Peptide stocks were prepared in DMSO at 10−2 m concentration and

maintained at −20°. Equal amounts of proteins or equal amounts of purified proteasomes were loaded onto a 12% SDS–PAGE and electroblotted onto Protran nitrocellulose membranes (Schleicher & Schuell Microscience, Keene, NH). Blots were probed with antibodies specific for α, LMP2, LMP7, multicatalytic endopeptidase complex 1 (MECL1) subunits, proteasome activator Methane monooxygenase 28 (PA28) α-β, 19S, antigen peptide transporter 1 (TAP1) and TAP2, and developed by enhanced chemiluminescence (Amersham Biosciences, Uppsala, Sweden).22 Monocyte-depleted PBLs from HLA B35-restricted EBV-seropositive subjects were plated in RPMI-1640 containing 10% fetal calf serum (HyClone; Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.), at 3 × 106 cells per well in 24-well plates, and stimulated with either EBNA1-derived HPVGEADYFEY (HPV, amino acids 407–417) or EBNA3-derived YPLHEQHGM (YPL, amino acids 458–466) peptide. Cultures were restimulated after 7 and 14 days, and the medium was supplemented from day 8 with 10 U/ml recombinant interleukin-2 (Chiron). On days 14 and 21, T-cell cultures were tested for CTL activity by cytotoxicity assay. The EBV specificities and HLA class I restriction of the CTL preparations were then investigated by testing their cytotoxic activities against PHA-activated blasts.13 Cytotoxic activity was tested by a standard 5-hr 51Cr-release assay, as previously described.