CD4+ T-cell–epitope escape mutant virus selected in vivo

Abstract

Mutations in viral genomes that affect T-cell–receptor recognition by CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes have been shown to allow viral evasion from immune surveillance during persistent viral infections. Although CD4+ T-helper cells are crucially involved in the maintenance of effective cytotoxic T-lymphocyte and neutralizing-antibody responses, their role in viral clearance and therefore in imposing similar selective pressures on the virus is unclear. We show here that transgenic virus-specific CD4+ Tcells, transferred into mice persistently infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, select for T-helper epitope mutant viruses that are not recognized. Together with the observed antigenic variation of the same T-helper epitope during polyclonal CD4+ T-cell responses in infected pore-forming protein-deficient C57BL/6 mice, this finding indicates that viral escape from CD4+ T lymphocytes is a possible mechanism of virus persistence.

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Ciurea, A., Hunziker, L., Martinic, M. et al. CD4⁺ T-cell–epitope escape mutant virus selected in vivo. Nat Med 7, 795–800 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/89915

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