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CTL response compensation for the loss of an immunodominant class I‐restricted HSV‐1 determinant
Author(s) -
Stock Angus T,
Jones Claerwen M,
Heath William R,
Carbone Francis R
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
immunology and cell biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.999
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1440-1711
pISSN - 0818-9641
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1711.2006.01469.x
Subject(s) - ctl* , repertoire , biology , immunodominance , epitope , cd8 , hsl and hsv , t cell , virology , virus , immune system , immunology , antigen , physics , acoustics
The T‐cell response to even complex pathogens is often focused on only a handful of immunodominant determinants. Such narrow responses provoke a selective pressure that can drive the emergence of CTL escape variants, raising the question of whether a broader response, targeting multiple non‐dominant peptides may be more beneficial. To examine the ability of the T‐cell repertoire to respond to non‐dominant determinants, we have investigated how mutating the dominant peptide in HSV affects the magnitude of the CD8 + T‐cell response. We found that the CTL response to HSV lacking the dominant peptide was only modestly reduced compared with the wild‐type virus and, surprisingly, this compensation occurred without any enhancement in the response to an established minor epitope. These findings are supportive of a malleable T‐cell repertoire that can elicit strong responses to alternate, unknown determinants in the absence of the dominant response.