Reversal in the immunodominance hierarchy in secondary CD8+ T cell responses to influenza A virus: roles for cross-presentation and lysis-independent immunodomination

J Immunol. 2004 Oct 15;173(8):5021-7. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.173.8.5021.

Abstract

Immunodominance is a central feature of CD8+ T cell (TCD8+) responses to pathogens, transplants, and tumors. Determinants occupy a stable position in an immunodominance hierarchy (alpha-, beta-, etc.) defined by the frequencies of responding TCD8+. In this paper, we study the mechanistic basis for place-swapping between alpha- (acid polymerase (PA)(224-233)) and beta-determinants (nuclear protein 366-374) in primary vs secondary anti-influenza A virus (IAV) responses in mice. This phenomena was recently correlated with the inability of IAV-infected nondendritic cells (DCs) to generate PA(224-233), and it was proposed that secondary TCD8+ are principally activated by IAV-infected epithelial cells, while primary TCD8+ are activated by IAV-infected DCs. In this study, we show that the inability of non-DCs to generate PA(224-232) is relative rather than absolute, and that the preferential use of cross-priming in secondary anti-IAV responses can also account for the revised hierarchy. We further show that immunodomination of PA(224-233)-specific TCD8+ by nucleoprotein 366-374-specific TCD8+ plays a critical role in the phenomena, and that this is unlikely to be mediated by TCD8+ lysis of APCs or other cells.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adoptive Transfer
  • Animals
  • CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / immunology*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cross-Priming*
  • Cytotoxicity, Immunologic*
  • Immunologic Memory
  • Influenza A virus / immunology*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL