J. Virol. doi:10.1128/JVI.01580-07
Copyright (c) 2007, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.
Anti-viral antibodies are necessary to prevent cytotoxic T lymphocyte escape in mice infected with a coronavirus
Noah S. Butler,
Ajai A. Dandekar,
and
Stanley Perlman*
Program in Immunology and Department of Microbiology, University of Iowa; Iowa City, Iowa 52242
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email:
Stanley-perlman{at}uiowa.edu.
 |
Abstract |
|---|
Mutation within virus-derived CD8 T cell epitopes can effectively abrogate CTL recognition and impede virus clearance in infected hosts. These so called CTL escape variant viruses are commonly selected during persistent infections and are associated with rapid disease progression and increased disease severity. Herein, we tested whether anti-viral antibody mediated suppression of virus replication and subsequent virus clearance was necessary for preventing CTL escape in coronavirus infected mice. We found that compared to wild type mice, B cell deficient mice did not efficiently clear infectious virus, uniformly developed clinical disease and harbored CTL escape variant viruses. These data directly demonstrate a critical role for anti-viral antibody in protecting from the selective outgrowth of CTL escape variant viruses.