Complete modification of TCR specificity and repertoire selection does not perturb a CD8+ T cell immunodominance hierarchy.

ABSTRACT: Understanding T cell immunodominance hierarchies is fundamental to the development of cellular-based vaccines and immunotherapy. A combination of influenza virus infection in C57BL/6J mice and reverse genetics is used here to dissect the role of T cell antigen receptor (TCR) repertoire in the immunodominant D(b)NP(366)CD8(+) T cell response. Infection with an engineered virus (NPM6A) containing a single alanine (A) mutation at the critical p6 NP(366-374) residue induced a noncross-reactive CD8(+) T cell response characterized by a novel, narrower TCR repertoire per individual mouse that was nonetheless equivalent in magnitude to that generated after WT virus challenge. Although of lower overall avidity, the levels of both cytotoxic T lymphocyte activity and cytokine production were compara

SUBMITTER: Kedzierska K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2614774 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature