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J. Virol., 12 1996, 8451-8458, Vol 70, No. 12
G Knowles, BW O'Neil and MS Campo
Papillomavirus-induced lesions often regress spontaneously in both humans
and animals. Papilloma regression is deemed to be due to a cell- mediated
immune response, the nature of which is still ill defined, and is
accompanied by immune cell infiltrates. To gain further information on the
nature and role of the immune cells present in regressing papillomas, we
have analyzed biopsies of papillomas induced in the soft palate of cattle
by bovine papillomavirus type 4 (BPV-4) and have phenotypically
characterized and quantified the lymphocytes present in these lesions.
Eleven papilloma biopsies and seven biopsies of noninfected palate were
analyzed for the presence of activated CD4+, CD8+, and gamma delta(WC1+)
lymphocytes. We found large numbers of lymphocytes in the subepithelial
derma of papillomas but not in normal palate tissue; these cellular masses
consisted predominantly of CD4+ lymphocytes, with only a few CD8+ and gamma
delta(WC1+) lymphocytes, generally positioned at the periphery of these
masses. All three subtypes of lymphocytes were found interdigitated with
the cells of the basal layer both in papillomas and in normal palate
tissue, but while basal layer CD8+ and gamma delta(WC1+) T cells were
detected with similar frequencies in papillomas and uninfected palate,
basal layer CD4+ T cells were much more frequent in papillomas. CD4+, CD8+,
and gamma delta(WC1+) lymphocytes were found in the suprabasal layers of
papillomas, but the CD8+ and gamma delta(WC1+) T cells were more numerous
and had migrated further into the differentiating keratinocytes of the
papilloma fronds than the CD4+ T cells. We conclude that T-cell
infiltration is characteristic of regressing BPV-4 papillomas, that CD4+
lymphocytes are specifically and massively recruited into the regressing
papillomas, and that although all three lymphocyte subsets can penetrate
the papilloma, only the CD8+ and gamma delta(WC1+) lymphocytes are able to
migrate into the fronds. These results suggest that all three lymphocyte
subsets have an important role to fulfill during natural regression of
papillomas.
Copyright © 1996, American Society for Microbiology
Phenotypical characterization of lymphocytes infiltrating regressing papillomas
The Beatson Institute for Cancer Research, CRC Beatson Laboratories, Bearsden, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom.
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