Abstract
C57BL/6 mice mount a cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) response against the Daniel's strain of Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) 7 days after infection and do not develop persistent infection or the demyelinating syndrome similar to multiple sclerosis seen in susceptible mice. The TMEV capsid peptide VP2121-130 sensitizes H-2Db+ target cells for killing by central-nervous-system-infiltrating lymphocytes (CNSILs) isolated from C57BL/6 mice infected intracranially. Db:VP2121-130 peptide tetramers were used to stain CD8± CNS-ILs, revealing that 50 to 63% of these cells bear receptors specific for VP2121-130 presented in the context of Db. No T cells bearing this specificity were found in the cervical lymph nodes or spleens of TMEV-infected mice. H-2b mice lacking CD4, class II, gamma interferon, or CD28 expression are susceptible to persistent virus infection but surprisingly still generate high frequencies of CD8+, Db:VP2121-130-Specific T cells. However, CD4-negative mice generate a lower frequency of Db:VP2121-130-specific T cells than do class II negative or normal H-2b animals. Resistant tumor necrosis factor alpha receptor I knockout mice also generate a high frequency of CD8+ CNS-ILs specific for Db:VP2121-130. Furthermore, normally susceptible FVB mice that express a Db transgene generate Db:VP2121-130-specific CD8+ CNS-ILs at a frequency similar to that of C57BL/6 mice. These results demonstrate that VP2121-130 presented in the context of Db is an immunodominant epitope in TMEV infection and that the frequency of the VP2121-130-specific CTLs appears to be independent of several key inflammatory mediators and genetic background but is regulated in part by the expression of CD4.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 3702-3708 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Journal of virology |
Volume | 73 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1999 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Microbiology
- Immunology
- Insect Science
- Virology