T-cell cytotoxicity in the absence of viral protein synthesis in target cells

Cytotoxic T cells lyse only those virus infected target cells in vitro which express, in addition to the viral antigen(s), those K or D region products of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) which were present during anti-viral sensitisation in vivo. This 'associative recognition' by cytotoxic T cells could reflect the interaction of two T-cell receptors with specificity for target K or D gene products and independently for the viral antigen, or one receptor with specificity for virally altered K or D region products (see ref. 1 and refs therein). There are various ways that the MHC antigens could be altered, including 'modification from within', where the virus modifies host protein synthesis by interfering with transcription, translation or post-translational glycosylation; or 'modification from without' where enzymic or chemical alteration of cell membrane proteins are induced by virus activity at the cell surface. In this report we show that inactivated Sendai virus or isolated Sendai virus envelopes can serve to modify a cell and make it a specific target for Sendai-immune T-cell killing, thus excluding the possibility of 'modification from within' in this system.