Immunity
Volume 13, Issue 5, 1 November 2000, Pages 657-664
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Article
Fratricide among CD8+ T Lymphocytes Naturally Infected with Human T Cell Lymphotropic Virus Type I

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Abstract

Infection and gene expression by the human T lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) in vivo have been thought to be confined to CD4+ T lymphocytes. We show here that, in natural HTLV-I infection, a significant proportion of CD8+ T lymphocytes are infected by HTLV-I. Interestingly, HTLV-I-specific but not Epstein-Barr virus–specific CD8+ T lymphocytes were shown to be infected. Furthermore, HTLV-I protein expression in naturally infected CD8+ T lymphocytes renders them susceptible to fratricide mediated by autologous HTLV-I-specific CD8+ T lymphocytes. Fratricide among virus-specific CTLs could impair the immune control of HTLV-I and possibly other lymphotropic viruses.

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