CD8+ T cell immunodominance shifts during the early stages of acute LCMV infection independently from functional avidity maturation.
Virus-specific T cell responses are often directed to a small subset of possible epitopes and their relative magnitude defines their hierarchy. We determined the size and functional avidity of 4 representative peptide-specific CD8(+) T cell populations in C57BL/6 mice at different time points after lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection. We found that the frequency of different peptide-specific T cell populations in the spleen changed independently over the first 8 days after infection. These changes were not associated with a larger or more rapid increase in functional avidity and yet still resulted in a shift in the final immunodominance hierarchy. Thus, the immunodominance observed at the peak of an antiviral T cell response is not necessarily determined by the initial size or rate of functional avidity maturation of peptide-specific T cell populations.
Raué
Hans-Peter
HP
Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, 505 NW 185th Avenue, Beaverton, OR 97006, USA.
Slifka
Mark K
MK
D000818:Animals; D001117:Arenaviridae Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte / Q000276:immunology*; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000378:metabolism; D008217:Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology
D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte; D007371:Interferon-gamma