Characterization of CD8 T Cell-Mediated Mutations in the Immunodominant Epitope GP33-41 of Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus.

ABSTRACT: Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) represent key immune effectors of the host response against chronic viruses, due to their cytotoxic response to virus-infected cells. In response to this selection pressure, viruses may accumulate escape mutations that evade CTL-mediated control. To study the emergence of CTL escape mutations, we employed the murine chronic infection model of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV). We developed an amplicon-based next-generation sequencing pipeline to detect low frequency mutations in the viral genome and identified non-synonymous mutations in the immunodominant LCMV CTL epitope, GP33-41, in infected wildtype mice. Infected Rag2-deficient mice lacking CTLs did not contain such viral mutations. By using transgenic mice with T cell receptors specific to GP33-

SUBMITTER: Smyth M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8236698 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature