Differential kinetics of antigen-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses in the regression of retrovirus-induced sarcomas

J Immunol. 2002 Sep 15;169(6):3191-9. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.169.6.3191.

Abstract

Despite the accepted role for CD4+ T cells in immune control, little is known about the development of Ag-specific CD4+ T cell immunity upon primary infection. Here we use MHC class II tetramer technology to directly visualize the Ag-specific CD4+ T cell response upon infection of mice with Moloney murine sarcoma and leukemia virus complex (MoMSV). Significant numbers of Ag-specific CD4+ T cells are detected both in lymphoid organs and in retrovirus-induced lesions early during infection, and they express the 1B11-reactive activation-induced isoform of CD43 that was recently shown to define effector CD8+ T cell populations. Comparison of the kinetics of the MoMSV-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses reveals a pronounced shift toward CD8+ T cell immunity at the site of MoMSV infection during progression of the immune response. Consistent with an important early role of Ag-specific CD4+ T cell immunity during MoMSV infection, CD4+ T cells contribute to the generation of virus-specific CD8+ T cell immunity within the lymphoid organs and are required to promote an inflammatory environment within the virus-infected tissue.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Amino Acid Substitution / immunology
  • Animals
  • CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / immunology*
  • CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / metabolism
  • CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / virology
  • CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / immunology*
  • CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / metabolism
  • CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / virology
  • Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte / immunology
  • Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte / metabolism*
  • Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / analysis
  • Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / biosynthesis
  • Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / analysis
  • Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / biosynthesis
  • Immunity, Cellular
  • Immunophenotyping
  • Kinetics
  • Lymphocyte Activation / immunology*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Moloney murine leukemia virus / immunology
  • Moloney murine sarcoma virus / immunology*
  • Peptide Fragments / immunology
  • Peptide Fragments / metabolism
  • Remission, Spontaneous
  • Sarcoma, Experimental / immunology*
  • Tumor Virus Infections / immunology*

Substances

  • Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte
  • Histocompatibility Antigens Class I
  • Histocompatibility Antigens Class II
  • Peptide Fragments