Hierarchies of T cell responsiveness are reflected in the distribution of effector T cells in viral meningitis

Abstract

The vaccinia-virus-immune cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response, associated with H-2K(k) in B10,A(2R) [K(k)D(b)] mice, is much more potent than that occurring in the context of H-2D(b). This differential reactivity is true for T-cels recovered either from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of mice injected intracerebrally (i.c.) with a low dose of virus or from spleen populations primed by intravenous (i.v.) inoculation of a large amount of virus. Further stimulation of CSF inflammatory cells in vitro for 7 days under limiting dilution conditions indicated that the hierarchy of cytotoxic T-cell activity was a function of the relative frequencies of H-2K(k) and H-2D(b)-restricted lymphocytes. We there..