| First Author | Walton SM | Year | 2011 |
| Journal | Eur J Immunol | Volume | 41 |
| Issue | 8 | Pages | 2248-59 |
| PubMed ID | 21590767 | Mgi Jnum | J:176830 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5292799 | Doi | 10.1002/eji.201141575 |
| Citation | Walton SM, et al. (2011) T-cell help permits memory CD8(+) T-cell inflation during cytomegalovirus latency. Eur J Immunol 41(8):2248-59 |
| abstractText | CD4(+) T cells are implied to sustain CD8(+) T-cell responses during persistent infections. As CD4(+) T cells are often themselves antiviral effectors, they might shape CD8(+) T-cell responses via help or via controlling antigen load. We used persistent murine CMV (MCMV) infection to dissect the impact of CD4(+) T cells on virus-specific CD8(+) T cells, distinguishing between increased viral load in the absence of CD4(+) T cells and CD4(+) T-cell-mediated helper mechanisms. Absence of T-helper cells was associated with sustained lytic MCMV replication and led to a slow and gradual reduction of the size and function of the MCMV-specific CD8(+) T-cell pool. However, when virus replication was controlled in the absence of CD4(+) T cells, CD8(+) T-cell function was comparably impaired, but in addition CD8(+) T-cell inflation, a hallmark of CMV infection, was completely abolished. Thus, CD8(+) T-cell inflation during latent CMV infection is strongly dependent on CD4(+) T-cell helper functions, which can partially be compensated by ongoing lytic viral replication in the absence of CD4(+) T cells. |
