Lysis mediated by T cells and restricted by H-2 antigen of target cells infected with vaccinia virus

Abstract

VARIOUS virus infections lead to the formation of cytotoxic lymphocytes (CL), which are capable of killing virus-infected target cells^1–4. Specific lysis of target cells infected with ⁵¹Cr-labelled vaccinia virus could be observed when investigating the cell-mediated cytotoxic reaction to vaccinia virus⁵; the CL could be characterised as a T cell. The sensitised lymphocytes from C3H mice could only kill syngeneic L929 cells infected with vaccinia virus, whereas lysis by sensitised lymphocytes derived from DBA/2 mice was restricted to the syngeneic infected mastocytoma P815X2 cells. In the lymphocytic choriomeningitis infection the target cell lysis was shown to be restricted by H-2 antigen⁶. We report here experiments with primary fibroblasts of the mouse strains C3H, DBA/2 and the (C3H × DBA/2)F₁ generation were designed to affirm that the effector phase of virus-specific lysis of target cells mediated by T cells is restricted by H-2 antigen even in the vaccinia virus infection. Further experiments with H-2 alloantisera were performed to indicate the close local relationship between H-2 antigens and viral surface antigens.