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Updated: Apr 28, 2026

Streamlined Single Cell TCR Isolation and Generation of Retroviral Vectors for In Vitro and In Vivo Expression of Human TCRs
Published on: September 10, 2017
Tetherin promotes the innate and adaptive cell-mediated immune response against retrovirus infection in vivo
Sam X Li1, Bradley S Barrett2, Karl J Heilman2
1Department of Medicine, University of Colorado, Denver, Aurora, CO 80045; Department of Microbiology, University of Colorado, Denver, Aurora, CO 80045;
Abstract:
Tetherin/BST-2 is a host restriction factor that could directly inhibit retroviral particle release by tethering nascent virions to the plasma membrane. However, the immunological impact of Tetherin during retrovirus infection remains unknown. We now show that Tetherin influences antiretroviral cell-mediated immune responses. In contrast to the direct antiviral effects of Tetherin, which are dependent on cell surface expression, the immunomodulatory effects are linked to the endocytosis of the molecule. Mice encoding endocytosis-competent C57BL/6 Tetherin exhibited lower viremia and pathology at 7 d postinfection with Friend retrovirus (FV) compared with mice encoding endocytosis-defective NZW/LacJ Tetherin. Notably, antiretroviral protection correlated with stronger NK cell responses. In addition, Friend retrovirus infection levels were significantly lower in wild-type C57BL/6 mice than in Tetherin knockout mice at 2 wk postinfection, and antiretroviral protection correlated with stronger NK cell and virus-specific CD8+ T cell responses. The results demonstrate that Tetherin acts as a modulator of the cell-mediated immune response against retrovirus infection in vivo.
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