Eight peptide pools of HPV16 peptides were used to determine the proliferative capacity of HPV16-specific T-cells, for cytokine polarization analysis and detection of the HPV16-specific Foxp3+ regulatory T-cells, as described previously [10 (link), 21 (link), 22 (link)]. Panels of overlapping 30-35 mer peptides with HPV16 E2, E6, and E7 protein sequences were synthesized by solid phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) method with >95 % purity (ChinaPeptides Co. Shanghai, China), with a 14 (for 30-mer) or 15 (for 35-mer) amino acid (aa) overlap. Two pools of E2 peptides (E2.1 and E2.2) consisted of 12 or 11 (30-mer) peptides, respectively. Four pools of E6 and two pools of E7 peptides (E6.1-E6.4 and E7.1 and E7.2) consisted of two 32-mer or 35-mer peptides, respectively [10 (link)]. The numbers of covered amino acids of each protein are shown in Additional file 1. Memory response mix (MRM) stock solution (50×), consisting of tetanus toxoid, 0.75 fL/mL (Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark), Tuberculin PPD, 5 µg/mL (Statens Serum Institut), and Candida albicans, 0.015 % (Greer Laboratories, Lenoir, USA) was used as a positive control for the proliferation assays and cytokine production capacity of the PBMCs.
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