title: The immune evasion paradox: immunoevasins of murine cytomegalovirus enhance priming of CD8 T cells by preventing negative feedback regulation.
abstract: Cytomegaloviruses express glycoproteins that interfere with antigen presentation to CD8 T cells. Although the molecular modes of action of these "immunoevasins" differ between cytomegalovirus species, the convergent biological outcome is an inhibition of the recognition of infected cells. In murine cytomegalovirus, m152/gp40 retains peptide-loaded major histocompatibility complex class I molecules in a cis-Golgi compartment, m06/gp48 mediates their vesicular sorting for lysosomal degradation, and m04/gp34, although not an immunoevasin in its own right, appears to assist in the concerted action of all three molecules. Using the L(d)-restricted IE1 epitope YPHFMPTNL in the BALB/c mouse model as a paradigm, we provide here an explanation for the paradox that immunoevasins enhance CD8 T-cell priming although they inhibit peptide presentation in infected cells. Adaptive immune responses are initiated in the regional lymph node (RLN) draining the site of pathogen exposure. In particular for antigens that are not virion components, the magnitude of viral gene expression providing the antigens is likely a critical parameter in priming efficacy. We have therefore focused on the events in the RLN and have related priming to intranodal viral gene expression. We show that immunoevasins enhance priming by downmodulating an early CD8 T-cell-mediated "negative feedback" control of the infection in the cortical region of the RLN, thus supporting the model that immunoevasins improve antigen supply for indirect priming by uninfected antigen-presenting cells. As an important consequence, these findings predict that deletion of immunoevasin genes in a replicative vaccine virus is not a favorable option but may, rather, be counterproductive.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Virology, Johannes Gutenberg University, Hochhaus am Augustusplatz, 55101 Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Verena
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Böhm
authors.forename: Christian O
authors.initials: CO
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Podlech
authors.forename: Christof K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Seckert
authors.forename: Dorothea
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gendig
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Deegen
authors.forename: Dorothea
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gillert-Marien
authors.forename: Niels A W
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Lemmermann
authors.forename: Rafaela
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Holtappels
authors.forename: Matthias J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Reddehase
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017951:Antigen Presentation; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D000939:Epitopes; D005260:Female; D016679:Genome, Viral; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D017874:Immediate-Early Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000821:virology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D018146:Muromegalovirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: D000939:Epitopes; C088645:IE1 protein, cytomegalovirus; D017874:Immediate-Early Proteins; D014764:Viral Proteins