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. 1988 May;62(5):1653–1658. doi: 10.1128/jvi.62.5.1653-1658.1988

A nonstructural viral protein expressed by a recombinant vaccinia virus protects against lethal cytomegalovirus infection.

S Jonjić 1, M del Val 1, G M Keil 1, M J Reddehase 1, U H Koszinowski 1
PMCID: PMC253194  PMID: 2833615

Abstract

The nonstructural immediate-early protein pp89 of murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) is the first viral protein synthesized after infection and has a regulatory function in viral gene expression. Despite its localization in the nucleus of infected cells, pp89 is also the dominant antigen recognized by MCMV-specific cytolytic T lymphocytes. The recombinant vaccinia virus MCMV-ieI-VAC, which expresses pp89, was used to study the capacity of this protein to induce protective immunity in BALB/c mice. Vaccination with MCMV-ieI-VAC induced a long-lasting immunity that protected mice against challenge with a lethal dose of MCMV but did not prevent infection and morbidity. In vivo depletion of CD8+ T lymphocytes before challenge completely abrogated the protective immunity. CD8+ T lymphocytes derived from MCMV-ieI-VAC-primed donors and adoptively transferred into sublethally irradiated and MCMV-infected recipients were found to limit viral replication in host tissues, whereas CD4+ T lymphocytes and pp89-specific antiserum had no protective effect. The data demonstrate for the first time that a single nonstructural viral protein can confer protection against a lethal cytolytic infection and that this immunity is entirely mediated by the CD8+ subpopulation of T lymphocytes.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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