| First Author | Whitmire JK | Year | 1999 |
| Journal | J Immunol | Volume | 163 |
| Issue | 6 | Pages | 3194-201 |
| PubMed ID | 10477587 | Mgi Jnum | J:110838 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3641380 | Doi | 10.4049/jimmunol.163.6.3194 |
| Citation | Whitmire JK, et al. (1999) CD40-CD40 ligand costimulation is required for generating antiviral CD4 T cell responses but is dispensable for CD8 T cell responses. J Immunol 163(6):3194-201 |
| abstractText | This study documents a striking dichotomy between CD4 and CD8 T cells in terms of their requirements for CD40-CD40 ligand (CD40L) costimulation. CD40L-deficient (-/-) mice made potent virus-specific CD8 T cell responses to dominant as well as subdominant epitopes following infection with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. In contrast, in the very same mice, virus-specific CD4 T cell responses were severely compromised. There were 10-fold fewer virus-specific CD4 T cells in CD40L-/- mice compared with those in CD40L+/+ mice, and this inhibition was seen for both Th1 (IFN-gamma, IL-2) and Th2 (IL-4) responses. An in vivo functional consequence of this Th cell defect was the inability of CD40L-/- mice to control a chronic lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection. This study highlights the importance of CD40-CD40L interactions in generating virus-specific CD4 T cell responses and in resolving chronic viral infection. |
