General and specific immunosuppression caused by antiviral T‐cell responses
Zinkernagel RM., Planz O., Ehl S., Battegay M., Odermatt B., Klenerman P., Hengartner H.
Summary: Immunosuppression caused by the non‐cytopathic lymphocytic choriomeningltis virus (LCMV) (an RNA virus) is mediated by anti‐viral cytotoxic T cells that destroy LCMV‐infected cells, also of the immune system. While this immunopathological destruction of antigen‐presenting cells, macrophages and follicular dendritic cells and of some CD4+ T cells causes general immunosuppression and impairs immune response to third party antigens, it also enhances exhaustion/deletion of LCMV‐specific CD8+ T‐cell responses. LCMV seems in addition to infect neutralizing antibody‐producing B cells via the specific receptor; immunopathological LCMV‐specific CD8T T‐cell‐mediated elimination of these infected B cells (but not of uninfected internal virus antigen‐specific B cells) causes a highly specific immunosuppression that delays neutralizing antibody responses and thereby enhances virus persistence. Both generalized and specific immunosuppression by CD8+ T‐cell‐mediated immunopathology may be involved in human infections with HIV; hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus.