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Journal of Virology, October 2004, p. 10829-10832, Vol. 78, No. 19
0022-538X/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JVI.78.19.10829-10832.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

T-Cell Responses to the M3 Immune Evasion Protein of Murid Gammaherpesvirus 68 Are Partially Protective and Induced with Lytic Antigen Kinetics

Joshua J. Obar,¹ Douglas C. Donovan,^1, Sarah G. Crist,¹ Ondine Silvia,² James P. Stewart,^2, and Edward J. Usherwood^1*

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Dartmouth Medical School, Lebanon, New Hampshire,¹ Department of Veterinary Pathology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom²

Received 31 July 2003/ Accepted 24 June 2004

DNA vaccination with the M3 gene, encoding an immune evasion molecule expressed during both the acute lytic and persistent phases of murid gammaherpesvirus 68 infection, yielded a significantly lower titer of virus in the lung than controls. The protection seen was dependent on T cells, and we mapped an epitope recognized by CD8 T cells. The immune response to this epitope follows the same kinetics as lytic cycle antigens, despite the fact that this gene is expressed in both lytic and persistent stages of infection. This has important implications for our understanding of T-cell responses to putative latency-associated gammaherpesvirus proteins and how vaccination may improve control of these viruses.

Present address: Department of Large Animal Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens.

Present address: Centre for Comparative Infectious Diseases, Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.