engleski

The role of NKG2D co-stimulation in MCMV control by CD8+ T lymphocytes

NKG2D is an activating NK cell receptor, expressed also by activated macrophages and CD8+ T lymphocytes. At the surface of CD8+ T cells NKG2D serves as a co-stimulatory receptor. We have recently shown that gp40, encoded by m152 MCMV gene, down-regulates cellular ligands for NKG2D receptor, thereby inhibiting NK cell activation and promoting virus growth in vivo (Krmpotic et al., MCMV glycoprotein gp40 confers virus resistance to CD8+ T cells and NK cells in vivo, Nat Immunol 3:529, 2002.). In this work we investigated the significance of NKG2D co-stimulation for CD8+ T cell-mediated control of MCMV infection in vivo. To this end NKG2D receptors on CD8+ T lymphocytes were blocked by an anti-NKG2D antibody and the cells were tested for their antiviral activity after adoptive transfer into MCMV infected syngeneic recipients. To assess the role of m152/gp40-mediated down-regulation of NKG2D ligands in CD8+ T cell-mediated virus control, the same protocol was performed for m152 deletion mutant and its revertant virus strain. Our preliminary results support the notion about the importance of NKG2D co-stimulation for virus control by CD8+ T cell in vivo.

NKG2D; MCMV; m152; CD8 T lymphocytes

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