Fig. 1.
Bile duct epithelial antigen–specific autoreactive T cells present in 2-week-old Rhesus rotavirus (RRV)-diseased mice. Purified T cells (rested with IL-15) from livers (A) or spleens (B) of 2-week-old mice previously inoculated with balanced salt solution (BSS) or RRV (responders, 2 × 105 cells/well) were cultured for 48 hours with mitomycin-treated naïve splenocytes (stimulators, 5 × 105 cells/well) in media alone or with antigen. Determination of activation was performed by measuring T cell production of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) using a standard ELISPOT technique. Both RRV-liver and RRV-spleen T cells produced significant amounts of IFN-γ in the presence of bile duct epithelia (bde) homogenate in a dose–response fashion, in comparison with no antigen control (*P < .05). Increased amounts of IFN-γ also were detected in cultures that contained inactivated RRV antigen, suggesting the presence of memory T cells to virus or molecular mimicry. Low IFN-γ was seen within the following controls: media alone (no antigen), kidney epithelia homogenate, SV40 antigen, antigen-presenting cells (APCs) alone, and T cells alone. Furthermore, BSS-liver and BSS-spleen T cells produced low/undetectable IFN-γ in response to multiple antigens. All responders (BSS and RRV groups) produced excess amounts of IFN-γ (TNTC) in the presence of phytohemagglutinin (PHA) (positive control; not shown).