title: T-lymphocyte subpopulations and function during murine cytomegalovirus infection.
abstract: To study the effects of cytomegalovirus infection on T-lymphocyte subpopulations, we determined helper (Lyt 1.2) and suppressor (Lyt 2.2) T-lymphocyte subset numbers using monoclonal antibodies and measured lymphocyte responsiveness to mitogen during sublethal murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) infection of 3-wk-old Balb/c mice. MCMV-infected mice had reduced Lyt 1.2 to Lyt 2.2 T-lymphocyte ratios on days 1, 3, 5, and 9 of infection. Alterations in T-lymphocyte subsets were accompanied by diminished lymphocyte response to concanavalin A. Lymphocyte responsiveness and Lyt 1.2 to Lyt 2.2 ratios were maximally reduced on day 5 of MCMV infection and correlated strongly with peak virus recovery from spleen, bone marrow, and peripheral blood leukocytes. These results indicate that acute MCMV infection of mice causes abnormalities in T-lymphocyte subset ratios and responsiveness to mitogen similar to the abnormalities observed in human cytomegalovirus infections. MCMV infection of mice is a useful model to study the mechanism by which cytomegalovirus infections induce altered T-lymphocyte subpopulations.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Sell
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Bale
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Giller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D003208:Concanavalin A / Q000494:pharmacology; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D003208:Concanavalin A