Ahmed R, King C C, Oldstone M B
J Virol. 1987 May;61(5):1571-6. doi: 10.1128/JVI.61.5.1571-1576.1987.
The lifelong persistence of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) in neonatally or congenitally infected mice is accompanied by a suppression of virus-specific T-cell responses. In this study, we identified the subset of T cells infected with LCMV during persistent infection in vivo. Using specific monoclonal antibodies to separate the different lymphocyte cell populations and employing both an infectious center assay and immunofluorescence to detect the virus, we found that infection is confined primarily to T cells of the helper subset (L3T4+ Lyt2-), with minimal involvement of cytotoxic T cells (Lyt2+ L3T4-) and mature B cells. About 0.54 to 1.1% of L3T4+ T cells were producing the virus, as determined by the infectious center assay. In contrast, 9.1 to 12.2% of these L3T4+ T cells contained viral antigen, as shown by immunofluorescence studies. This finding suggested that, at any given time, a substantial number of infected T cells were not producing infectious virus. This infection of T helper cells may be involved in the suppression of LCMV-specific T-cell responses observed in persistently infected mice.
淋巴细胞性脉络丛脑膜炎病毒（LCMV）在新生期或先天性感染小鼠体内的终身持续存在伴随着病毒特异性T细胞反应的抑制。在本研究中，我们确定了在体内持续性感染期间感染LCMV的T细胞亚群。使用特异性单克隆抗体分离不同的淋巴细胞群体，并采用感染中心测定法和免疫荧光法检测病毒，我们发现感染主要局限于辅助亚群（L3T4 + Lyt2 -）的T细胞，细胞毒性T细胞（Lyt2 + L3T4 -）和成熟B细胞的参与极少。通过感染中心测定法确定，约0.54%至1.1%的L3T4 + T细胞正在产生病毒。相比之下，免疫荧光研究显示，这些L3T4 + T细胞中有9.1%至12.2%含有病毒抗原。这一发现表明，在任何给定时间，大量受感染的T细胞并未产生传染性病毒。T辅助细胞的这种感染可能与在持续感染小鼠中观察到的LCMV特异性T细胞反应的抑制有关。
