CD40L expression by CD4+ but not CD8+ T cells regulates antiviral immune responses in acute LCMV infection in mice. Issue 11 (20th September 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Durlanik, Sibel; Loyal, Lucie; Stark, Regina; Sercan Alp, Özen; Hartung, Anett; Radbruch, Andreas; von Herrath, Matthias; Matzmohr, Nadine; Frentsch, Marco; Thiel, Andreas
• Is Part Of: European journal of immunology. Volume 46:Issue 11(2016)
• Page Start: 2566
• Page End: 2573
• Publication Date: 2016-09-20
• Subjects: Antiviral T‐cell responses -- CD8+ T cells -- CD40 ligand -- Viral clearance -- LCMV; Immunology -- Periodicals; 616.079
• DOI: 10.1002/eji.201646420
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0014-2980

Abstract

Abstract : CD40L is absolutely essential for an effective pathogen clearance, but CD40L expressed by pathogen‐specific CD8 + T cells does not regulate immune responses and CD8 + T‐cell memory formation in acute viral and bacterial infections.2 Abstract : CD40‐CD40 ligand (CD40L) signaling plays multiple indispensable roles in cellular and humoral immunity. Impaired memory T‐cell responses in the absence of CD40L have been well documented, but the requirement of this interaction for efficient priming of CD8 + T cells especially under inflammatory conditions has been under debate. In contrast to previous publications, we report here that virus‐specific CD8 + T‐cell responses as well as viral clearance are affected not only in the memory but also in the effector phase in CD40L −/− mice infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) Armstrong strain. Interestingly, a considerable part of the LCMV‐specific effector and memory T cells consists of CD40L + CD8 + T cells. However, deficiency of CD40L in CD8 + T cells did influence neither the quantity nor the quality of primary T‐cell responses in LCMV infection. Virus‐specific CD8 + T cells in conditional knockout mice, with a selective deletion of the CD40L in CD8 + T cells, were fully functional regarding cytokine production and efficient pathogen clearance. Thus, our results unambiguously demonstrate that while CD40L is critical to generate effective primary CD8 + T‐cell responses also under inflammatory conditions, CD40L expression by CD8 + T cells themselves is dispensable in acute LCMV infection.