Cooperation of B cells and T cells is required for survival of mice infected with vesicular stomatitis virus.
To define the role of T cells and B cells in resistance to vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) infection, knockout mice with different specific immune defects on an identical background were infected i.v. and the outcome of infection was compared; in this way a more complete picture of the relative importance of various host defence mechanisms could be obtained. Compared to T and B cell-deficient SCID mice which all succumbed from encephalitis within 5-9 days of infection, T cell-deficient nude mice generally lived longer, but within a period of approximately 1 month after challenge all died. In contrast, B cell-deficient mice were highly susceptible even to low doses of virus and mortality could be prevented by transfer of naive B cells prior to challenge as well as by immune serum given after challenge. Analysis of MHC class I- and class II-deficient mice revealed that CD8+ T cells could exert some antiviral activity, but CD4+ T cells sufficed for survival and were required for optimal resistance. Consistent with this it was found that in nude mice a lethal outcome could be prevented by transfer of CD8-depleted cells from B cell-deficient mice. Thus our results clearly demonstrate that while antibodies are pivotal for survival in the early phase of VSV infection, T cells are required for long-term survival, with CD4+ T cells being more effective in controlling this infection than CD8+ T cells.
Thomsen
A R
AR
Institute of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Panum Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Nansen
A
A
Andersen
C
C
Johansen
J
J
Marker
O
O
Christensen
J P
JP
D000818:Animals; D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000276:immunology; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D002494:Central Nervous System Infections / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000821:virology; D005091:Exons; D005260:Female; D007148:Immunoglobulin mu-Chains / Q000235:genetics; D016219:Immunotherapy, Adoptive; D008211:Lymphocyte Cooperation; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D016513:Mice, SCID; D018353:Rhabdoviridae Infections; D013280:Stomatitis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D014721:Vesicular stomatitis Indiana virus
D007148:Immunoglobulin mu-Chains