This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) An erratum has been published Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Bocharov, G. Articles by Anderson, R. M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Bocharov, G. Articles by Anderson, R. M.

Underwhelming the Immune Response: Effect of Slow Virus Growth on CD8⁺-T-Lymphocyte Responses

Gennady Bocharov,^1,2, Burkhard Ludewig,^3,* Antonio Bertoletti,⁴ Paul Klenerman,⁵ Tobias Junt,³ Philippe Krebs,^3, Tatyana Luzyanina,⁶ Cristophe Fraser,¹ and Roy M. Anderson¹

Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College Faculty of Medicine, University of London,¹ Institute of Hepatology, University College London, London,⁴ Nuffield Department of Medicine, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom,⁵ Institute of Numerical Mathematics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia,² Institute of Experimental Immunology, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland,³ Computer Science Department, Leuven University, Leuven, Belgium⁶

Received 19 August 2003/ Accepted 22 October 2003

The speed of virus replication has typically been seen as an advantage for a virus in overcoming the ability of the immune system to control its population growth. Under some circumstances, the converse may also be true: more slowly replicating viruses may evoke weaker cellular immune responses and therefore enhance their likelihood of persistence. Using the model of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection in mice, we provide evidence that slowly replicating strains induce weaker cytotoxic-T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses than a more rapidly replicating strain. Conceptually, we show a "bell-shaped" relationship between the LCMV growth rate and the peak CTL response. Quantitative analysis of human hepatitis C virus infections suggests that a reduction in virus growth rate between patients during the incubation period is associated with a spectrum of disease outcomes, from fulminant hepatitis at the highest rate of viral replication through acute resolving to chronic persistence at the lowest rate. A mathematical model for virus-CTL population dynamics (analogous to predator [CTL]-prey [virus] interactions) is applied in the clinical data-driven analysis of acute hepatitis B virus infection. The speed of viral replication, through its stimulus of host CTL responses, represents an important factor influencing the pathogenesis and duration of virus persistence within the human host. Viruses with lower growth rates may persist in the host because they "sneak through" immune surveillance.

B.L. and G.B. contributed equally to this work.

Present address: Mathematics Department, University College Chester, Chester, United Kingdom.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Sroller, V., Vilchez, R. A., Stewart, A. R., Wong, C., Butel, J. S. (2008). Influence of the Viral Regulatory Region on Tumor Induction by Simian Virus 40 in Hamsters. J. Virol. 82: 871-879 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Zelinskyy, G., Balkow, S., Schimmer, S., Werner, T., Simon, M. M., Dittmer, U. (2007). The Level of Friend Retrovirus Replication Determines the Cytolytic Pathway of CD8+ T-Cell-Mediated Pathogen Control. J. Virol. 81: 11881-11890 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Bertoletti, A., Gehring, A. J. (2006). The immune response during hepatitis B virus infection. J. Gen. Virol. 87: 1439-1449 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Wodarz, D., Thomsen, A. R. (2005). Effect of the CTL proliferation program on virus dynamics. Int Immunol 17: 1269-1276 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Junt, T., Scandella, E., Forster, R., Krebs, P., Krautwald, S., Lipp, M., Hengartner, H., Ludewig, B. (2004). Impact of CCR7 on Priming and Distribution of Antiviral Effector and Memory CTL. J. Immunol. 173: 6684-6693 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• (2004). . Vet Pathol 41: 454-455 [Full Text]