Immune responses of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) are implicated in viral eradication and the pathogenesis of hepatitis C. Weak CTL response against hepatitis C virus (HCV) may lead to a persistent infection. HCV infection impairs the function of HCV-specific CTLs; HCV proteins are thought to actively suppress host immune responses, including CTLs. Induction of a strong HCV-specific CTL respon...

Infection of C57BL/6 mice with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) stimulates major histocompatibility complex class I-restricted cytotoxic T cells (CTLs), which normally resolve the infection. Three peptide epitopes derived from LCMV have been shown to bind the mouse class I molecule H-2 Db and to stimulate CTL responses in LCMV-infected mice. This report describes the identity and abund...

Generation of CTL immunity often depends on the availability of CD4 T cell help. In this report, we show that CTL responses induced by cross-priming can be converted from CD4-dependent to CD4-independent by increasing the frequency of CTL precursors. In the absence of CD4 T cells, high numbers of CTL precursors were able to expand in number and become effector CTL. The ability of high frequenci...

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected individuals with HLA-B*35 allelic variants B*3502/3503/3504/5301 (B*35-Px) progress more rapidly to AIDS than do those with B*3501 (B*35-PY). The mechanisms responsible for this phenomenon are not clear. To examine whether cellular immune responses may differ according to HLA-B*35 genotype, we quantified HIV-1-specific CD8(+)-T-cell (CTL) res...

Upon primary challenge with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), H-2d (BALB/cByJ) mice mount a cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response to a single immunodominant domain of the viral nucleoprotein (NP) but no detectable response to the viral glycoprotein (GP). To manipulate this CTL response, the viral NP gene was expressed in the thymus and peripheral T lymphocytes using the murine Thy1.2 p...

Influenza A virus (IAV) is a significant human pathogen causing annual epidemics and periodic pandemics. CD8(+) cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL)-mediated immunity contributes to the clearance of virus-infected cells, and CTL immunity targeting the conserved internal proteins of IAVs is a key protection mechanism when neutralizing antibodies are absent during heterosubtypic IAV infection. However, C...

The alloreactive cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) were generated by coculturing peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) with allogeneic Sa cells (an Epstein-Barr virus [EBV]-transformed B-cell line). The CTL did not proliferate in response to UV-B-irradiated Sa cells unless exogenous interleukin-2 (IL-2) was present, although they could kill the UV-B-irradiated Sa cells. The results indicate tha...

The replication of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) in lungs and lymphoid tissues of PRRSV-infected pigs is already strongly reduced before the appearance of neutralizing antibodies, indicating that other immune mechanisms are involved in eliminating PRRSV at those sites. This study aimed to determine whether PRRSV Lelystad virus (LV)-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes ...

Adoptive immunotherapy with EBV-specific CTL (EBV-CTL) effectively prevents and treats EBV-driven lymphoproliferation in immunocompromised hosts. EBV-seronegative solid organ transplant recipients are at high risk of EBV-driven lymphoproliferation because they lack EBV-specific memory T cells. For the same reason, standard techniques for generating EBV-CTL in vitro from EBV-naive individuals ar...

The major histocompatibility complex class I-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response is important in the clearance of viral infections in humans. After influenza A infection, a peptide from the matrix protein, M58-66, is presented in the context of the MHC allele HLA-A0201 and the resulting CTL response is detectable in most HLA-A0201 subjects. An initial study suggested that M58-66-sp...