Cooperation of B cells and T cells is required for survival of mice infected with vesicular stomatitis virus
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
To define the role of T cells and B cells in resistance to vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) infection, knockout mice with different specific immune defects on an identical background were infected i.v. and the outcome of infection was compared; in this way a more complete picture of the relative importance of various host defence mechanisms could be obtained. Compared to T and B cell-deficient SCID mice which all succumbed from encephalitis within 5-9 days of infection, T cell-deficient nude mice generally lived longer, but within a period of approximately 1 month after challenge all died. In contrast, B cell-deficient mice were highly susceptible even to low doses of virus and mortality could be prevented by transfer of naive B cells prior to challenge as well as by immune serum given after challenge. Analysis of MHC class I- and class II-deficient mice revealed that CD8+ T cells could exert some antiviral activity, but CD4+ T cells sufficed for survival and were required for optimal resistance. Consistent with this it was found that in nude mice a lethal outcome could be prevented by transfer of CD8-depleted cells from B cell-deficient mice. Thus our results clearly demonstrate that while antibodies are pivotal for survival in the early phase of VSV infection, T cells are required for long-term survival, with CD4+ T cells being more effective in controlling this infection than CD8+ T cells.
Original language | English |
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Journal | International Immunology |
Volume | 9 |
Issue number | 11 |
Pages (from-to) | 1757-66 |
Number of pages | 9 |
ISSN | 0953-8178 |
Publication status | Published - 1997 |
Bibliographical note
Keywords: Animals; Antigen-Presenting Cells; B-Lymphocytes; Central Nervous System Infections; Exons; Female; Immunoglobulin mu-Chains; Immunotherapy, Adoptive; Lymphocyte Cooperation; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred Strains; Mice, Knockout; Mice, SCID; Rhabdoviridae Infections; Stomatitis; T-Lymphocyte Subsets; T-Lymphocytes; Vesicular stomatitis Indiana virus
ID: 9639716