Mature CD8(+) T lymphocyte response to viral infection during fetal life

Autor: Marchant, A., Appay, V., Sande, M., Dulphy, N., Liesnard, C., Kidd, M., Kaye, S., Ojuola, O., Gillespie, G. M. A., Vargas Cuero, A. L., Vincenzo Cerundolo, Callan, M., Mcadam, K. P. W. J., Rowland-Jones, S. L., Donner, C., Mcmichael, A. J., Whittle, H.
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2003
Předmět:
Zdroj: Scopus-Elsevier
ISSN: 1558-8238
0021-9738
Popis: Immunization of newborns against viral infections may be hampered by ineffective CD8(+) T cell responses. To characterize the function of CD8(+) T lymphocytes in early life, we studied newborns with congenital human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection. We demonstrate that HCMV infection in utero leads to the expansion and the differentiation of mature HCMV-specific CD8(+) T cells, which have similar characteristics to those detected in adults. High frequencies of HCMV-specific CD8(+) T cells were detected by ex vivo tetramer staining as early as after 28 weeks of gestation. During the acute phase of infection, these cells had an early differentiation phenotype (CD28(-)CD27(+)CD45RO(+), perforin(low)), and they acquired a late differentiation phenotype (CD28(-)CD27(-)CD45RA(+), perforin(high)) during the course of the infection. The differentiated cells showed potent perforin-dependent cytolytic activity and produced antiviral cytokines. The finding of a mature and functional CD8(+) T cell response to HCMV suggests that the machinery required to prime such responses is in place during fetal life and could be used to immunize newborns against viral pathogens.
Databáze: OpenAIRE