Infection of adult thymus with murine retrovirus induces virus-specific central tolerance that prevents functional memory CD8+ T cell differentiation.

ABSTRACT: In chronic viral infections, persistent antigen presentation causes progressive exhaustion of virus-specific CD8+ T cells. It has become clear, however, that virus-specific naïve CD8+ T cells newly generated from the thymus can be primed with persisting antigens. In the setting of low antigen density and resolved inflammation, newly primed CD8+ T cells are preferentially recruited into the functional memory pool. Thus, continual recruitment of naïve CD8+ T cells from the thymus is important for preserving the population of functional memory CD8+ T cells in chronically infected animals. Friend virus (FV) is the pathogenic murine retrovirus that establishes chronic infection in adult mice, which is bolstered by the profound exhaustion of virus-specific CD8+ T cells induced during the early p

SUBMITTER: Takamura S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3961338 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature