pactamycin and Ectromelia--Infectious

An in vitro culture method was used to study secondary cell-mediated responses to ectromelia virus infection in mice. Infected, syngeneic spleen cells or peritoneal cells were efficient "stimulator" cells when cultured with "responder" cells obtained from mice infected with ectromelia 4-6 weeks previously. The kinetics of generation of cytotoxic cells in cultures were determined; a peak occurred on days 4-5. A separation procedure performed on the cytotoxic cells showed that activity was associated mainly with the Ig-negative subpopulation (T cell-rich) and that H-2 compatibility between cytotoxic cells and target cells was required. The secondary response was virus-specific, at the level of both induction and target cell lysis, at least so far as ectromelia and lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM) viruses are concerned. Seperation of responder cells prior to culture showed that a potent secondary response was generated with the Ig-negative (T cell-rich) subpopulation and only a weak response was observed when the responder cells were Ig-positive (rich in B cells). Infected stimulator cells did not appear to secrete significant amounts of soluble antigen into the medium over 4 days of culture. Thus, antigenic patterns effective in memory T cell stimulation may be largely associated with the surfaces of infected cells.Pretreatment of ectromelia virus with UV- or gamma-irradiation did not impair its ability to induce antigenic changes in stimulator cells. Stimulator cells treated with UV-or gamma-irradiated virus for 1 h and then immediately with pactamycin to inhibit further viral protein synthesis and replication were efficient stimulators, thus indicating that antigenic changes are induced very rapidly on the surface of stimulator cells after uptake of virus. These treatments are being used to further characterize the cellular requirements in the stimulator population.

Topics: Animals; Antigens; Antigens, Viral; Cytotoxicity Tests, Immunologic; Ectromelia virus; Ectromelia, Infectious; Epitopes; Histocompatibility Antigens; Immunity, Cellular; Immunologic Memory; In Vitro Techniques; Kinetics; Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus; Mice; Pactamycin; Poxviridae Infections; T-Lymphocytes; Ultraviolet Rays

Target cells (P-815 mastocytoma cells) infected with ectromelia virus became susceptible to lysis by H-2 compatible specific effector T cells within one hour of exposure of the cells to virus. This is long before viral progeny are produced and shed from the cell. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) profiles of the plasma membranes from infected and uninfected P-815 cells pulsed with 35S-methionine for one or a few hours after infection with virus were very complex and showed no consistent differences. P-815 cells, infected with ectromelia virus in the presence of an inhibitor of protein synthesis, pactamycin, slowly became susceptible to cell mediate lysis when the pactamycin was removed. The number of polypeptide species synthesized under these conditions was reduced to only three, of molecular weights between 10,000-50,000 daltons. Specific, newly synthesized membrane components recognized by mouse convalescent sera were isolated by immune complexing and examined by PAGE. Six polypeptide bands were seen, the major one correlating with one observed in the pactamycin experiment. The results suggested that the convalescent serum recognized both viral and host cell coded antigens. The significance of these findings is discussed.

Topics: Animals; Antibodies, Viral; Antigens; Cell Line; Cell Membrane; Cytotoxicity Tests, Immunologic; Depression, Chemical; Ectromelia virus; Ectromelia, Infectious; Mast-Cell Sarcoma; Membrane Proteins; Methionine; Mice; Pactamycin; T-Lymphocytes