Analysis of the proliferative T cell response to human cytomegalovirus major immediate-early protein (IE1): phenotype, frequency and variability.

Cellular immune responses are important in the recovery from human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection. However, little is known about the CD4+ T cell response and the target antigens (Ag) recognized. In this paper, we have analysed the proliferative T cell response of healthy HCMV seropositive (HCMV+) blood donors to recombinant immediate-early proteins expressed in transfected astrocytoma cells and to total HCMV Ags expressed in infected astrocytoma cells. We found that CD4+ T cells were the major cell population that proliferated in the presence of IE or total HCMV Ags. Among healthy HCMV seropositive blood donors with anti-HCMV specific proliferative response, 33-44% also responded to IE Ags. Moreover, in high responders, the precursor frequencies of cells which proliferated in the presence of total HCMV, IE, or IE1 Ags were high (1/103 to 1/255, 1/2785 to 1/7744 and 1/5190 to 1/13531, respectively). In some donors, the anti-IE response was variable over time, whereas the anti-total HCMV Ags response remained constant, which suggests regulation of the anti-IE response in immunocompetent subjects. Our results suggest that the CD4+ anti-IE1 response represents a significant part of the anti-HCMV proliferative response, both at the population level, and within individual immune systems.