Temporal and spatial distribution of antigen following influenza virus infection (92.16)

Abstract

Abstract Memory CD8 T cells generated by vaccines are important for prevention of certain viral infections. However, our understanding of the factors that contribute to the development of memory CD8 T cell remains unclear. We hypothesized that, in response to a localized influenza virus (IAV) infection, CD8 T cells are recruited to the local draining lymph node (dLN) at different times and thus acquire different fates. We therefore studied the kinetics of recruitment and activation of naïve IAV-specific CD8 T cells in the dLN of the respiratory tract following IAV infection. We observed early antigen presentation in the dLN; however, we also observed evidence of antigen encounter in the spleen. To determine the differentiation outcome of CD8 T cells primed in disparate sites following a localized infection we adoptively transferred spleen-primed or dLN-primed cells into naïve mice and determined their survival and ability to respond upon recall. Surprisingly we found that CD8 T cells primed in the spleen differentiate into memory cells of equal longevity and with similar capacity to respond to recall as CD8 T cells that are primed in the dLN. Thus, in a model of respiratory IAV infection, virus-specific memory CD8 T cells are generated in the spleen in addition to the dLN. Antigen presentation in the spleen may therefore serve to ensure the involvement of a greater fraction of the virus-specific CD8 T cell repertoire after a local infection.