Abstract
Monkeypox virus (MPV) is a virulent human pathogen that has gained increased attention because of its potential use as a bioterrorism agent and inadvertent introduction into North America in 2003. The US outbreak also provided an important opportunity to study MPV-specific T cell immunity. Although MPV-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells could recognize vaccinia virus (VV)-infected monocytes and produce inflammatory cytokines such as IFNγ and TNFα, they were largely incapable of responding to autologous MPV-infected cells. Further analysis revealed that, unlike cowpox virus (CPV), MPV did not interfere with MHC expression or intracellular transport of MHC molecules. Instead, MPV-infected cells were capable of preventing T cell receptor (TcR)-mediated T cell activation in trans. The ability to trigger a state of nonresponsiveness represents a unique MHC-independent mechanism for blocking antiviral T cell activation and inflammatory cytokine production and is likely an important attribute involved with viral dissemination in the infected host.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 14567-14572 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Volume | 105 |
Issue number | 38 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 23 2008 |
Keywords
- Immune evasion
- Orthopoxvirus
- T cell immunity
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General