Robust intrapulmonary CD8 T cell responses and protection with an attenuated N1L deleted vaccinia virus.

• Main Authors: Anuja Mathew, Joel O'Bryan, William Marshall, Girish J Kotwal, Masanori Terajima, Sharone Green, Alan L Rothman, Francis A Ennis
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2008-10-01
• Series: PLoS ONE
• Online Access: http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2553181?pdf=render

Vaccinia viruses have been used as a model for viral disease and as a protective live vaccine.We investigated the immunogenicity of an attenuated strain of vaccinia virus engineered to inactivate the N1L gene (vGK5). Using the intranasal route, this recombinant virus was 2 logs less virulent compared to the wildtype VACV-WR. Infection by the intranasal, intraperitoneal, and tail scarification routes resulted in the robust induction of cytolytic virus-specific CD8 T cells in the spleens and the lungs. VACV-specific antibodies were also detected in the sera of mice infected 3-5 months prior with the attenuated vGK5 virus. Finally, mice immunized with vGK5 were significantly protected when challenged with a lethal dose of VACV-WR.These results indicate that the attenuated vGK5 virus protects against subsequent infection and suggest that the N1L protein limits the strength of the early antiviral CD8 T cell response following respiratory infection.