HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Cush, S. S. Articles by Flaño, E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Cush, S. S. Articles by Flaño, E.

Memory Generation and Maintenance of CD8⁺ T Cell Function during Viral Persistence¹

Stephanie S. Cush^*, Kathleen M. Anderson^*, David H. Ravneberg^*, Janet L. Weslow-Schmidt^* and Emilio Flaño^2,*,

^* Center for Vaccines and Immunity, Columbus Children’s Research Institute, Columbus, OH 43205; and College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210

During infection with viruses that establish latency, the immune system needs to maintain lifelong control of the infectious agent in the presence of persistent Ag. By using a -herpesvirus (HV) infection model, we demonstrate that a small number of virus-specific central-memory CD8⁺ T cells develop early during infection, and that virus-specific CD8⁺ T cells maintain functional and protective capacities during chronic infection despite low-level Ag persistence. During the primary immune response, we show generation of CD8⁺ memory T cell precursors expressing lymphoid homing molecules (CCR7, L-selectin) and homeostatic cytokine receptors (IL-7, IL-2/IL-15). During long-term persistent infection, central-memory cells constitute 20–50% of the virus-specific CD8⁺ T cell population and maintain the expression of L-selectin, CCR7, and IL-7R molecules. Functional analyses demonstrate that during viral persistence: 1) CD8⁺ T cells maintain TCR affinity for peptide/MHC complexes, 2) the functional avidity of CD8⁺ T cells measured as the capacity to produce IFN- is preserved intact, and 3) virus-specific CD8⁺ T cells have in vivo killing capacity. Next, we demonstrate that at 8 mo post-virus inoculation, long-term CD8⁺ T cells are capable of mediating a protective recall response against the establishment of HV68 splenic latency. These observations provide evidence that functional CD8⁺ memory T cells can be generated and maintained during low-load HV68 persistence.

The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

¹ This work was supported in part by National Institutes of Health Grant AI-59603 and by Columbus Children’s Research Institute.

² Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Emilio Flaño, Center for Vaccines and Immunity, Columbus Children’s Research Institute, Columbus, OH 43205. E-mail address: flanoe{at}ccri.net

³ Abbreviations used in this paper: LCMV, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus; HV68, murine -herpesvirus 68; LDA-PCR, limiting dilution nested PCR; RT, room temperature; d.p.i., days postinfection; m.p.i., months postinfection; MLN, mediastinal lymph node.