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Journal of Virology, September 1998, p. 7201-7212, Vol. 72, No. 9
Institute for Virology,
Received 12 March 1998/Accepted 12 June 1998
The lungs are a major organ site of cytomegalovirus (CMV)
infection, pathogenesis, and latency. Interstitial CMV pneumonia represents a critical manifestation of CMV disease, in particular in
recipients of bone marrow transplantation (BMT). We have
employed a murine model for studying the immune response to CMV in the lungs in the specific scenario of immune reconstitution after syngeneic
BMT. Control of pulmonary infection was associated with a
vigorous infiltration of the lungs, which was characterized by a
preferential recruitment and massive expansion of the CD8 subset of
0022-538X/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Control of Murine Cytomegalovirus in the Lungs: Relative but Not
Absolute Immunodominance of the Immediate-Early 1 Nonapeptide
during the Antiviral Cytolytic T-Lymphocyte Response in
Pulmonary Infiltrates
/
T cells. The infiltrate provided a microenvironment in which the CD8 T cells differentiated into mature effector
cells, that is, into functionally active cytolytic T lymphocytes
(CTL). This gave us the opportunity for an ex vivo testing of the
antigen specificities of CTL present at a relevant organ site
of viral pathogenesis. The contribution of the previously identified
immediate-early 1 (IE1) nonapeptide of murine CMV was evaluated by
comparison with the CD3
-redirected cytolytic activity used as a
measure of the overall CTL response in the lungs. The IE1 peptide was detected by pulmonary CTL, but it accounted for a minor part of the
response. Interestingly, no additional viral or virus-induced antigenic
peptides were detectable among naturally processed peptides derived
from infected lungs, even though infected fibroblasts were recognized
in a major histocompatibility complex-restricted manner. We conclude
that the antiviral pulmonary immune response is a collaborative
function that involves many antigenic peptides, among which the IE1
peptide is immunodominant in a relative sense.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institute for
Virology, Johannes Gutenberg-University, Hochhaus am Augustusplatz,
55101 Mainz, Germany. Phone: 49-6131-173650. Fax: 49-6131-395604. E-mail: REDDEHAS{at}mzdmza.zdv.uni-mainz.de
Journal of Virology, September 1998, p. 7201-7212, Vol. 72, No. 9
0022-538X/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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