TABLE 2.
Dominance hierarchy of IFN-γ-producing, epitope-specific CD8+ T cells infiltrating the CNS during viral infection
| Assay and epitope | No. of IFN-γ-producing cells per 104 cells (per CNS) postinfection at:
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6-8 days | 29-35 days | |||
| ELISPOTa | ||||
| VP111-20 | 13 ± 3 | (1,838) | 49 ± 30 | (2,401) |
| VP3159-166 | 74 ± 27 | (10,805) | 79 ± 33 | (3,871) |
| VP3173-181 | 40 ± 8 | (5,807) | 27 ± 10 | (1,299) |
| Flow cytometryb | ||||
| VP111-20 | 105 | (15,840) | 47 | (4,651) |
| VP3159-166 | 409 | (61,380) | 275 | (27,499) |
| VP3173-181 | 239 | (35,838) | 139 | (13,872) |
a
Three separate ELISPOT experiments were combined in this table. The averages of CNS-infiltrating mononuclear cells were 1.47 × 106 ± 0.6 × 106 and 0.49 × 106 ± 0.01 × 106 cells at 6 to 8 and 29 to 35 days, respectively. The results at 4 to 5 weeks after viral infection were not consistent in different experiments.
b
Enumeration based on intracellular IFN-γ staining was approximately 5- to 10-fold greater than that assessed by ELISPOT assays. The total cell numbers recovered from a CNS in this experiment were 1.5 × 106 and 1 × 106 at 8 and 30 days postinfection, respectively.