Apoptosis of JHMV-specific CTL in the CNS in the absence of CD4+ T cells.
The role of CD4+ T cells in altering the activity of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) during infection of the central nervous system (CNS) by the neuroptropic JHMV strain of mouse hepatitis virus was examined. Adoptive transfer of in vitro activated CTL into CD4-depleted and control recipients showed that CTL were not effective in reducing JHMV replication within the CNS. The distribution of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells within the CNS during JHMV infection showed that the CD4+ T cells remained in perivascular and subarachnoid spaces and few entered the parenchyma. By contrast approximately half of the CD8+ T cells entered the parenchyma. In CD4-depleted mice the trafficking of CD8+ T cells was not inhibited; however, the majority of the cells were found to be apoptotic. These data suggested that CD4+ T cells were not required for CTL induction but were required for the maintenance of CTL viability. The limited role of CD4+ T cells in CTL induction was confirmed by comparison of CTL activity from CD4-depleted and control mice.
Stohlman
S A
SA
Department of Neurology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles 90033, USA.
Bergmann
C C
CC
Cua
D J
DJ
Lin
M T
MT
Ho
S
S
Wei
W
W
Hinton
D R
DR
D019264:Adoptive Transfer; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D006517:Murine hepatitis virus / Q000276:immunology*; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*