| First Author | Selin LK | Year | 2001 |
| Journal | J Immunol | Volume | 166 |
| Issue | 11 | Pages | 6784-94 |
| PubMed ID | 11359837 | Mgi Jnum | J:124516 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3721816 | Doi | 10.4049/jimmunol.166.11.6784 |
| Citation | Selin LK, et al. (2001) Innate immunity to viruses: control of vaccinia virus infection by gamma delta T cells. J Immunol 166(11):6784-94 |
| abstractText | The existence of gammadelta T cells has been known for over 15 years, but their significance in innate immunity to virus infections has not been determined. We show here that gammadelta T cells are well suited to provide a rapid response to virus infection and demonstrate their role in innate resistance to vaccinia virus (VV) infection in both normal C57BL/6 and beta TCR knockout (KO) mice. VV-infected mice deficient in gammadelta T cells had significantly higher VV titers early postinfection (PI) and increased mortality when compared with control mice. There was a rapid and profound VV-induced increase in IFN-gamma-producing gammadelta T cells in the peritoneal cavity and spleen of VV-infected mice beginning as early as day 2 PI. This rapid response occurred in the absence of priming, as there was constitutively a significant frequency of VV-specific gammadelta T cells in the spleen in uninfected beta TCR KO mice, as demonstrated by limiting dilution assay. Also, like NK cells, another mediator of innate immunity to viruses, gammadelta T cells in uninfected beta TCR KO mice expressed constitutive cytolytic activity. This cytotoxicity was enhanced and included a broader range of targets after VV infection. VV-infected beta TCR KO mice cleared most of the virus by day 8 PI, the peak of the gammadelta T cell response, but thereafter the gammadelta T cell number declined and the virus recrudesced. Thus, gammadelta T cells can be mediators of innate immunity to viruses, having a significant impact on virus replication early in infection in the presence or absence of the adaptive immune response. |
