Defective cross-presentation of viral antigens in GILT-free mice

Reshma Singh1, Peter Cresswell

  • 1Department of Immunobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale University School of Medicine, 300 Cedar Street, Post Office Box 208011, New Haven, CT 06250-8011, USA.

Science (New York, N.Y.)
|June 12, 2010
PubMed

Gamma-interferon-inducible lysosomal thiolreductase (GILT) promotes major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II-restricted presentation of exogenous antigens containing disulfide bonds. Here, we show that GILT also facilitates MHC class I-restricted recognition of such antigens by CD8+ T cells, or cross-presentation. GILT is essential for cross-presentation of a CD8+ T cell epitope of glycoprotein B (gB) from herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) but not for its presentation by infected cells. Initiation of the gB-specific CD8+ T cell response during HSV-1 infection, or cross-priming, is highly GILT-dependent, as is initiation of the response to the envelope glycoproteins of influenza A virus. Efficient cross-presentation of disulfide-rich antigens requires a complex pathway involving GILT-mediated reduction, unfolding, and partial proteolysis, followed by translocation into the cytosol for proteasomal processing.

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