Fig. 2.

Monocytes latently infected with HCMV ∆112-1 target site mutant are recognized specifically by IE-specific CD8⁺ T-cells. Monocytes (Mono) were latently infected with either wild-type HCMV (WT) or miR-UL112-1 target site mutant virus (∆112-1) and a proportion of cells from each population were also differentiated to DCs by IL-4 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor treatment to induce reactivation. Both the undifferentiated and the differentiated cells were then co-cultured with IE- (VLE) specific CD8 T-cells and then assayed for IFNγ secretion using Fluorospot assays. Mock-infected monocytes (Mono mock) and dendritic cells (DC mock) were also co-cultured with IE- (VLE) specific CD8 T-cells. The level of T-cell recognition is shown relative to the level of T-cell recognition of reactivating DCs. Error bars denote standard deviation of three biological replicates. T-cells alone showed no background spots and reactivating DCs routinely showed in the region of 40–50 spot-forming units (SFU).