Specificity or affinity of cytotoxic T cells for self H-2K determinants apparently does not change between primary and secondary responses to ectromelia virus infection

Aust J Exp Biol Med Sci. 1977 Feb;55(1):39-48. doi: 10.1038/icb.1977.4.

Abstract

Lysis of virus-infected target cells by virus-specific cytotoxic T cells occurs where donors of T cells and targets share either H-2K or H-2D genes. The effect of four H-2K mutations on virus-induced antigens recognized by cytotoxic T cells from in vitro secondary response to infection was studied. B10.A(5R) cytotoxic T cells (which share the K end of H-2 with the mutant strains, except for the mutated gene(s)) efficiently killed virus-infected macrophage targets from mutant strains B6-H-2bg1 and B6-H-2bg2, were less effective against B6-H-2bh and did not appear to be cytotoxic for B6.C-H-2ba target cells. Conversely, B6-H-Ibg1 and B6-H-2bg2 cytotoxic T cells were more effective in killing virus-infected B10.A(5R) macrophages than B6-H-2bh and B6.C-H-2ba cytotoxic cells respectively. In addition, B6-H-2bg1 and B6-H-2bg2 cells appeared to be only slightly different from wild-type with respect to the interaction between virus-infected cells and T cells. The data obtained suggested that virus-induced antigenic patterns on infected B6.C-H-2ba (mutant) cells are more different antigenically from those on wild-type cells than are those on infected cells from the other mutants, B6-H-2bh, B6-H-2bg1 and B6-H-2bh2. This agrees with previous data using primary cytotoxic T cells and thus suggests that no detectable change in the affinity or specificity of cytotoxic T cell receptors occurs between primary and secondary responses to infection. These findings are also discussed in relation to the exclusion of T cells with receptors for H-2K determinants that are common to the mutants and wild-type, from the response to virus-infected self cells.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Viral / biosynthesis*
  • Cytotoxicity Tests, Immunologic
  • Ectromelia virus / immunology
  • Ectromelia, Infectious / immunology*
  • Epitopes*
  • Female
  • Histocompatibility Antigens*
  • Immunologic Memory*
  • Macrophages / immunology
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL / immunology
  • Mice, Inbred Strains / immunology
  • Mutation
  • Poxviridae Infections / immunology*
  • T-Lymphocytes / immunology*

Substances

  • Antibodies, Viral
  • Epitopes
  • Histocompatibility Antigens