Protection against influenza virus encephalitis by adoptive lymphocyte transfer.
CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) have an established role in anti-viral immunity, but whether CTL function efficiently in the brain remains unclear. In particular, virus-infected neurons, which express only low levels of MHC class I antigens and are resistant to the induction of apoptosis, could constitute a relatively intractable CTL target. We have used immune lymphocytes adoptively transferred into the CSF to protect naive mice against an intracerebral infection with influenza A/WSN, a virus that infects neurons in the brain parenchyma and causes a lethal encephalitis. After in vitro restimulation, heterotypically immune spleen cells protected against A/WSN encephalitis in an H-2-restricted, CD8-dependent, CD4-independent manner. Adoptively transferred CTL clones were also protective. Homotypically immune spleen cells additionally mediated CD8-independent, H-2-unrestricted protection, probably due to the generation of A/WSN-specific plasma cells from memory B cells during in vitro restimulation. Thus after in vitro restimulation, either CTL or B cells adoptively transferred into the CSF protected against an acutely lethal intracerebral virus infection.
Stevenson
P G
PG
Department of Immunology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee 38105-2794, USA.
Hawke
S
S
Bangham
C R
CR
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000276:immunology; D018792:Encephalitis, Viral / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016219:Immunotherapy, Adoptive; D017710:Lymphocyte Transfusion; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009976:Orthomyxoviridae Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000637:transplantation*