Cytotoxic T cells in the lungs of mice infected with an influenza A virus.
Cytotoxic T cells are present in the lungs and the bronchoalveolar washings of mice infected intravenously (i.v.) or intranasally (i.n.) with live influenza A/WSN virus. After i.v. injection, cytotoxic T cell activity in both spleens and lungs reaches a peak at 6 days when the level of infectious virus recovered from the lungs falls sharply and the mice do not die. If a lethal dose of virus is given intranasally, very high levels of virus appear rapidly in the lungs, and the development of lung consolidation follows slightly behind the appearance of cytotoxic T cells there. When a non-lethal dose of virus is given intranasally, lower levels of virus are found in the lung and the appearance of cytotoxic T cells is delayed. These results suggest that the cytotoxic T cells play a protective role if the level of virus in the lungs does not reach very high levels. After injection of antithymocyte serum, the subsequent level of cytotoxic T cell activity in the lungs was greatly reduced, suggesting that the T cells recovered in lungs had at an earlier stage been circulating cells. However, splenectomized mice develop high levels of cytotoxic T cell activity, after intranasal infection of mice, indicating that the spleen did not contribute substantially to the T cells recovered in the lungs.
D000818:Animals; D000961:Antilymphocyte Serum / Q000494:pharmacology; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D006385:Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests; D009980:Influenza A virus; D007267:Injections; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D007928:Lethal Dose 50; D008168:Lung / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D009666:Nose; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D013156:Splenectomy; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
D000961:Antilymphocyte Serum