Protection from Respiratory Virus Infections Can Be Mediated by Antigen-Specific Cd4+ T Cells That Persist in the Lungs

• DOI: 10.1084/jem.193.8.981
• Publication Date: 2002-07-26T16:48:54Z
• Authors: Robert J. Hogan; Weimin Zhong; Edward J. Usherwood; Tres Cookenham; Alan D. Roberts; David L. Woodland
• Keywords: Adoptive Cell Transfer; Sendai virus; Cellular immunity

Although CD4+ T cells have been shown to mediate protective cellular immunity against respiratory virus infections, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. For example, although phenotypically distinct populations of memory identified in different secondary lymphoid tissues, it is not known which subpopulations immunity. In this report, we demonstrate that virus-specific persist lung tissues and airways for several months after Sendai infection C57BL/6 mice. A large proportion these possess a highly activated phenotype (CD44hi, CD62Llo, CD43hi, CD25hi) express immediate effector function as indicated by production interferon γ 5-h restimulation vitro. Furthermore, intratracheal adoptive transfer into β2m-deficient mice demonstrated lung-resident mediated substantial degree protection infection. Taken together, data persisting at mucosal sites play critical role mediating