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Abstract
Narcolepsy, a disorder strongly associated with human leukocyte antigen (HLA)–DQA1*01:02/DQB1*06:02 (DQ0602), is characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, and rapid eye movement sleep abnormalities. It is caused by the loss of ~70,000 posterior hypothalamic neurons that produce the wake-promoting neuropeptide hypocretin (HCRT) (orexin). We identified two DQ0602-binding HCRT epitopes, HCRT56–68 and HCRT87–99, that activated a subpopulation of CD4+ T cells in narcolepsy patients but not in DQ0602-positive healthy control subjects. Because of the established association of narcolepsy with the 2009 H1N1 influenza A strain (pH1N1), we administered a seasonal influenza vaccine (containing pH1N1) to patients with narcolepsy and found an increased frequency of circulating HCRT56–68– and HCRT87–99–reactive T cells. We also identified a hemagglutinin (HA) pHA1 epitope specific to the 2009 H1N1 strain, pHA1275–287, with homology to HCRT56–68 and HCRT87–99. In vitro stimulation of narcolepsy CD4+ T cells with pH1N1 proteins or pHA1275–287 increased the frequency of HCRT56–68– and HCRT87–99–reactive T cells. Our data indicate the presence of CD4+ T cells that are reactive to HCRT in narcolepsy patients and possible molecular mimicry between HCRT and a similar epitope in influenza pH1N1, pHA1275–287.
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