Attrition of T Cell Memory: Selective Loss of LCMV Epitope–Specific Memory CD8 T Cells following Infections with Heterologous Viruses

• Published in: Immunity (Cambridge, Mass.) Mass.), 1999-12, Vol.11 (6), p.733-742
• Main Authors: Selin, Liisa K, Lin, Meei Y, Kraemer, Kristy A, Pardoll, Drew M, Schneck, Jonathan P, Varga, Steven M, Santolucito, Paul A, Pinto, Amelia K, Welsh, Raymond M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: AIDS/HIV; Animals; Antigens, Viral - immunology; CD8 antigen; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes - immunology; Cell Line, Transformed; Dimerization; Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte - immunology; g-Interferon; H-2 Antigens - immunology; Histocompatibility Antigen H-2D; Immunodominant Epitopes - immunology; Immunoglobulin G - immunology; Immunologic Memory - immunology; Interferon-gamma - analysis; lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus; Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus - immunology; Major Histocompatibility Complex - immunology; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Muromegalovirus - immunology; Pichinde virus - immunology; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta - immunology; Staining and Labeling; Vaccinia virus - immunology; Virus Diseases - immunology
• ISSN: 1074-7613; 1097-4180
• DOI: 10.1016/S1074-7613(00)80147-8

Using a variety of techniques, including limiting dilution assays (LDA), intracellular IFNγ assays, and D b-IgG1 MHC dimer staining to measure viral peptide-specific T cell number and function, we show here that heterologous virus infections quantitatively delete and qualitatively alter the memory pool of T cells specific to a previously encountered virus. We also show that a prior history of a virus infection can alter the hierarchy of the immunodominant peptide response to a second virus and that virus infections selectively reactivate memory T cells with distinct specificities to earlier viruses. These results are consistent with a model for the immune system that accommodates memory T cell populations for multiple pathogens over the course of a lifetime.