CD8+ T cell evasion mandates CD4+ T cell control of chronic gamma-herpesvirus infection
Fig 1
CD4+ T cell deficiency promotes chronic macrophage infection.
a. IA-/- mice or IA+/- littermate controls were given MuHV-4 i.n. (104 p.f.u.). Lungs were then plaque assayed for infectious virus. Bars = mean ± SEM of individuals (n = 6). Dashed line = assay sensitivity limit. b. Lung sections of mice infected as in a were stained for viral lytic antigens (MHV) and for AM (CD68) and AEC1 (PDP). MHV+ cells were counted across 3 fields of view per section for 3 sections of each of 3 mice. Bars = mean ± SEM. No viral antigen staining was seen in lungs of naive mice. c. Example images from b show MHV+CD68+ and MHV+PDP+ cells (arrows) at d9. Red / green co-localization appears as yellow. Each AEC1 has a large surface area and often a complex shape. Thus, cell counts were of nuclei within areas of PDP staining. See also S1 Fig Staining of naive lungs is shown in S2 Fig. d. Example images from b show MHV+ AM in IA-/- mice at d30 (arrows). Lungs of IA+/- mice showed no MHV antigen staining at this time. See also S3 Fig. e. C57BL/6 mice depleted of CD4+ T cells (αCD4) or not (control) were given MuHV-4 i.n. (104 p.f.u.). Lungs were plaque assayed for infectious virus at d5 or d12. Circles = individual mice (5 per group), crosses = means, dashed line = assay sensitivity limit. f. Lung sections from e were stained for MHV and CD68 or PDP. Bars = mean ± SEM counts of MHV+ cells across 3 fields of view per section for 3 sections from each of 3 mice.