T cell detection of a B-cell tropic virus infection: newly-synthesised versus mature viral proteins as antigen sources for CD4 and CD8 epitope display.

ABSTRACT: Viruses that naturally infect cells expressing both MHC I and MHC II molecules render themselves potentially visible to both CD8+ and CD4+ T cells through the de novo expression of viral antigens. Here we use one such pathogen, the B-lymphotropic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), to examine the kinetics of these processes in the virally-infected cell, comparing newly synthesised polypeptides versus the mature protein pool as viral antigen sources for MHC I- and MHC II-restricted presentation. EBV-transformed B cell lines were established in which the expression of two cognate EBV antigens, EBNA1 and EBNA3B, could be induced and then completely suppressed by doxycycline-regulation. These cells were used as targets for CD8+ and CD4+ T cell clones to a range of EBNA1 and EBNA3B epitopes. For both ant

SUBMITTER: Mackay LK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2788701 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature