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Large clonal expansions of human virus‐specific memory cytotoxic T lymphocytes within the CD57 + CD28 – CD8 + T‐cell population
Author(s) -
Weekes M. P.,
Wills M. R.,
Mynard K.,
Hicks R.,
Sissons J. G. P.,
Carmichael A. J.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.297
H-Index - 133
eISSN - 1365-2567
pISSN - 0019-2805
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2567.1999.00901.x
Subject(s) - cytotoxic t cell , ctl* , biology , virology , cd8 , cd28 , clone (java method) , population , virus , t lymphocyte , t cell , human cytomegalovirus , microbiology and biotechnology , t cell receptor , immunology , antigen , immune system , genetics , medicine , in vitro , dna , environmental health
Summary The proportion of human peripheral blood CD8 + T cells that are CD57 + CD28 – is low at birth but increases with age and in individuals infected with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). These CD57 + CD28 – CD8 + T cells contain large oligoclonal T‐cell expansions whose antigen specificity is unknown. We identified clonal expansions of virus‐specific memory cytotoxic T‐lymphocyte precursors (CTLp) in both healthy carriers of HCMV and in asymptomatic HIV‐infected subjects. In each subject, from the T‐cell receptor (TCR) β‐chain hypervariable sequence of each immunodominant CTL clone, we designed complementary oligonucleotide probes to quantify the size and phenotypic segregation of individual virus‐specific CTL clones in highly purified populations of peripheral blood CD8 + T cells. We found large clonal expansions of virus‐specific CTL clonotypes in CD57 + CD28 – CD8 + T cells. Using limiting dilution analysis, we found functional peptide‐specific CTLp at high frequency in CD57 + CD28 – cells. Thus, memory CTL specific for persistent viruses account for many oligoclonal expansions within CD57 + CD28 – CD8 + T cells.