IOVS Infection and Immunity
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

(Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. 2007;48:3689-3697.)
© 2007 by The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc.
DOI:  10.1167/iovs.07-0020
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (2)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Milikan, J. C. M.
Right arrow Articles by Verjans, G. M. G. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Milikan, J. C. M.
Right arrow Articles by Verjans, G. M. G. M.

Identification of Viral Antigens Recognized by Ocular Infiltrating T Cells from Patients with Varicella Zoster Virus-Induced Uveitis

Johannes C. M. Milikan,1,2 Paul R. Kinchington,3 G. Seerp Baarsma,2 Robert W. A. M. Kuijpers,4 Albert D. M. E. Osterhaus,1 and Georges M. G. M. Verjans1

1From the Institute of Virology and the 4Department of Ophthalmology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam; the 2Rotterdam Eye Hospital, Rotterdam, Netherlands; and the 3Ophthalmology and Visual Science Research Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

PURPOSE. Varicella zoster virus (VZV) is a common cause of infectious uveitis associated with an intraocular inflammatory response involving virus-specific T cells. In the current study, the functional characteristics and the antigen specificity of VZV-reactive T cells recovered from intraocular fluid (IOF) samples of five patients with VZV were determined.

METHODS. B-cell lines were infected with a comprehensive panel of recombinant vaccinia viruses expressing 11 individual VZV open reading frames (ORFs), or alternatively pulsed with the corresponding peptides to generate antigen-presenting cells (APCs). T-cell responsiveness of the IOF-derived VZV-specific T cells toward APCs was monitored by interferon (IFN)-{gamma} enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot-forming assays on bulk T-cell cultures and subsequently T-cell clones (TCCs). The cytokine-secretion profile and cytotoxicity of the VZV-specific TCCs was determined by ELISA and flow cytometry, respectively.

RESULTS. T-cell reactivity to VZV proteins encoded by ORF4, -10, -14, -18, -29, -31, -61, -62, -63, -67, and -68 was demonstrated, but specificity varied individually. T-cell epitopes on ORF62 and -68 were delineated. The TCCs secreted IFN{gamma}, but relatively low levels of interleukin-4 and -5, in response to VZV antigen-expressing APCs. The TCCs induced antigen-specific cytotoxic T-cell activity.

CONCLUSIONS. The results suggest that the intraocular VZV-specific T-cell response in the patients with VZV analyzed is directed to a broad spectrum of VZV antigens, including the latency-associated VZV proteins from ORFs 4, 29, 63, and particularly ORF62. This local T-cell response was in part mediated by cytotoxic CD4+ T cells with a Th1/0-like effector memory phenotype.






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2007 by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology