title: CD8 T cells are essential for recovery from a respiratory vaccinia virus infection.
abstract: The precise immune components required for protection against a respiratory Orthopoxvirus infection, such as human smallpox or monkeypox, remain to be fully identified. In this study, we used the virulent Western Reserve strain of vaccinia virus (VACV-WR) to model a primary respiratory Orthopoxvirus infection. Naive mice infected with VACV-WR mounted an early CD8 T cell response directed against dominant and subdominant VACV-WR Ags, followed by a CD4 T cell and Ig response. In contrast to other VACV-WR infection models that highlight the critical requirement for CD4 T cells and Ig, we found that only mice deficient in CD8 T cells presented with severe cachexia, pulmonary inflammation, viral dissemination, and 100% mortality. Depletion of CD8 T cells at specified times throughout infection highlighted that they perform their critical function between days 4 and 6 postinfection and that their protective requirement is critically dictated by initial viral load and virulence. Finally, the ability of adoptively transferred naive CD8 T cells to protect RAG⁻/⁻ mice against a lethal VACV-WR infection demonstrated that they are both necessary and sufficient in protecting against a primary VACV-WR infection of the respiratory tract.
authors: Division of Immune Regulation, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, San Diego, CA 92037, USA.
authors: John
authors: J
authors: Goulding
authors: Rebecka
authors: R
authors: Bogue
authors: Vikas
authors: V
authors: Tahiliani
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Croft
authors: Shahram
authors: S
authors: Salek-Ardakani
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D008168:Lung / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000276:immunology; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000821:virology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014615:Vaccinia / Q000276:immunology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D014616:Vaccinia virus / Q000276:immunology