FIG 8.

NK cell depletion does not influence the CD8 T cell response elicited in the lungs of mice infected with VACV. Wild-type (WT) C57BL/6J and NK cell-depleted mice were intranasally infected with 1.25 × 10⁴ PFU of VACV-WR. On days 4 and 6 postinfection, total lung (A and C) and spleen (B and D) cells were stained for CD3ε, CD4 CD8α, CD44, and B8R tetramer. Representative plots for CD4 and CD8 staining gated on CD3ε⁺ cells (A and B) and B8R tetramer staining (C and D) gated on CD8α⁺ cells are shown. The percentages and total numbers of CD3ε⁺ CD4⁺, CD3ε⁺ CD8α, CD3ε⁺ CD8α⁺ CD44^high, and B8R tetramer-positive T cells are also quantified. The results shown are the means ± SEM (n = 3 mice/group) from one experiment. Similar results were obtained in three separate experiments. Student's t test with Bonferroni correction was used to determine statistical significance.