FIG. 7.
Induction of HCVNS3-1073-specific CTL by IV infection in vivo. HLA-A2-transgenic mice were infected intraperitoneally with ≈500 hemagglutinating units of PR8 IV, 107 PFU of wild-type WR strain VV (Wt-VV), or 107 PFU of recombinant VV expressing HCV-NS3 (NS3-VV). At 21 days following immunization, splenocytes were stimulated in vitro for 7 days in the presence of 10 μg of the indicated peptides per ml. (A) IFN-γ production as assessed by Elispot analysis. (B) Cytotoxicity tested in a standard 6-h 51Cr release assay. Cytotoxicity was tested against peptide-coated and noncoated target cells; the specific cytotoxicity, i.e., cytotoxicity in the presence of peptide minus cytotoxicity in the absence of peptide, is shown. Similar results for both IFN-γ production and the 51Cr release assay were observed for splenocytes harvested 7 days after infection.