HLA-restricted T-cell recognition of Epstein-Barr virus-infected B cells

• Published in: Nature (London) 1980-02, Vol.283 (5750), p.865-867
• Main Authors: Rickinson, A. B, Wallace, L. E, Epstein, M. A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antibodies, Viral; B-Lymphocytes - immunology; B-Lymphocytes - microbiology; Cell Division; Cell Line; Cell Transformation, Viral; Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; Herpesvirus 4, Human - immunology; HLA Antigens; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Immunity, Cellular; letter; multidisciplinary; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); T-Lymphocytes - immunology
• ISSN: 0028-0836; 1476-4687
• DOI: 10.1038/283865a0

In mice the cytotoxic T-cell response to several types of virus is influenced by genes within the major histocompatibility complex 1–5 ; in particular, genetic control is exercised at the effector cell level through a requirement that virus-specific cytotoxic T cells recognise viral antigens in association with H–2K and H–2D region gene products on the surface of infected cells 1,2 . In man the restriction which the analogous HLA-A, -B and -C-region gene products might place on virus-specific T-cell function is still in dispute. The earliest and most controversial evidence concerns the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), a B lympho-tropic agent which causes infectious mononucleosis 6 (IM) and which induces an unusually vigorous T-cell response 7 ; cytotoxic T cells from IM patients' blood were shown to be EBV-specific, yet, in contrast to mouse systems, apparently free of any obvious HLA restriction 8,9 . Since then T-cell recognition of EBV-infected B cells has assumed particular significance as a model system for the study of cytotoxic T-cell function in man. This report describes the results of a new approach clearly indicating that HLA-A and -B region products do indeed have a role in this system.