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HLA-restricted T-cell recognition of Epstein–Barr virus-infected B cells

Nature volume 283, pages 865–867 (1980)Cite this article

Abstract

In mice the cytotoxic T-cell response to several types of virus is influenced by genes within the major histocompatibility complex1–5; in particular, genetic control is exercised at the effector cell level through a requirement that virus-specific cytotoxic T cells recognise viral antigens in association with H–2K and H–2D region gene products on the surface of infected cells1,2. In man the restriction which the analogous HLA-A, -B and -C-region gene products might place on virus-specific T-cell function is still in dispute. The earliest and most controversial evidence concerns the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), a B lympho-tropic agent which causes infectious mononucleosis6 (IM) and which induces an unusually vigorous T-cell response7; cytotoxic T cells from IM patients' blood were shown to be EBV-specific, yet, in contrast to mouse systems, apparently free of any obvious HLA restriction8,9. Since then T-cell recognition of EBV-infected B cells has assumed particular significance as a model system for the study of cytotoxic T-cell function in man. This report describes the results of a new approach clearly indicating that HLA-A and -B region products do indeed have a role in this system.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TD, UK

    A. B. Rickinson, L. E. Wallace & M. A. Epstein

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  1. A. B. Rickinson
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  2. L. E. Wallace
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  3. M. A. Epstein
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Rickinson, A., Wallace, L. & Epstein, M. HLA-restricted T-cell recognition of Epstein–Barr virus-infected B cells. Nature 283, 865–867 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/283865a0

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