Borna disease virus nucleoprotein (p40) is a major target for CD8(+)-T-cell-mediated immune response.
Experimental infection of rats with Borna disease virus (BDV) and natural BDV infection of horses and sheep leads to a virus-induced T-cell-mediated immunopathology in the central nervous system. Earlier work revealed the importance of the BDV-specific T-cell response and of CD8(+) effector cells in particular in the destruction of virus-infected cells. Evidence was also presented that this major histocompatibility complex class I-restricted lysis detected in vitro might play a functional role in the immunopathogenesis of Borna disease. The present study employed different vaccinia virus recombinants expressing single BDV-specific proteins to investigate the specificity of the cytolytic CD8(+)-T-cell response, revealing a major epitope on the BDV nucleoprotein p40. In contrast, no direct evidence in favor of the presence of in vivo relevant cytotoxic T-lymphocyte epitopes on other BDV-specific proteins was found.
Planz
O
O
Institut für Impfstoffe, Bundesforschungsanstalt für Viruskrankheiten der Tiere, Tübingen, Germany. olibrt.planz@tue.bfav.de
Stitz
L
L
D000818:Animals; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology*; D001891:Borna disease virus / Q000276:immunology*; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D002460:Cell Line; D006224:Cricetinae; D005260:Female; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000276:immunology*
D000956:Antigens, Viral; D014764:Viral Proteins; C077347:p40 protein, Borna disease virus