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Incomplete Cd8 + T Lymphocyte Differentiation As A Mechanism For Subdominant Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Responses To A Viral Antigen, Juliet V. Spencer, Thomas J. Braciale

Biology Faculty Publications

CD8⁺ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) recognize antigen in the context of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules. Class I epitopes have been classified as dominant or subdominant depending on the magnitude of the CTL response to the epitope. In this report, we have examined the in vitro memory CTL response of H-2^d haplotype murine CD8⁺ T lymphocytes specific for a dominant and subdominant epitope of influenza hemagglutinin using activation marker expression and staining with soluble tetrameric MHC–peptide complexes. Immune CD8⁺ T lymphocytes specific for the dominant HA204-210 epitope give rise to CTL effectors that display …