MHC Class I Antigen Presentation in Viral Infections

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We have previously shown that bone marrow-derived professional antigen presenting cells (pAPC) are essential to prime CD8+ T cell responses against several viruses. However, the cell types and mechanisms whereby these anti-viral responses are primed are still unsolved. The current model, mostly inferred from experiments with non-infectious antigens (Ags), proposes that dendritic cells carry Ags from infected tissues to secondary lymphoid organs (SLO) where CD8+ T cells are primed. We think that this model is too simplistic and cannot account for the priming of all anti-viral CD8+ T cell responses. Furthermore, this model does not address whether the pAPC in the infected tissues must become infected with the virus and migrate thereafter to directly prime the responses, or whether it must avoid its own infection and acquire the viral Ags from other infected cells in order to maintain its migratory capacity. In this case cross-presentation could be the major mechanism involved in priming. Another possibility is that pAPC may not need to transport viral Ags to SLO but become infected or acquire the viral Ags when they are already in the SLO. In this scenario, uninfected pAPC in the tissues could sense infection, and rapidly migrate to SLO to wait for the arrival of the virus. Our hypothesis is that, in order to minimize immune evasion, Ag presentation is a flexible system that could use any of these mechanisms in order to adapt to the type of invading virus and the route of infection. In this project we will test this hypothesis using VACV and LCMV as our model viruses with the following specific Aims: Specific Aim 1: To determine and compare the ability of macrophages and DC to migrate to secondary lymphoid organs during viral infections. Specific Aim 2: To determine the ability of macrophages and DC to prime and cross-prime anti-viral naive CD8+ T cells in vivo. Specific Aim 3: To determine the role of bone marrow-derived pAPC in the activation of memory CD8+ T cells. These experiments should provide important information to understand the pathogenesis of viral infections and the induction of anti-viral CD8+ T cell responses.