Generation of cytolytic T lymphocytes after reovirus infection: Role of S1 gene

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) can be generated if spleen cells from reovirus-infected mice are stimulated in vitro with syngeneic reovirus-infected cells. These cytolytic effector cells demonstrate: (i) serotype specificity (i.e., maximal cytolytic activity is observed on target cells infected with the serotype used to induce the CTLs) and (ii) H-2 restriction. The S1 gene was shown to be the predominant viral gene determining the specificity of the cytotoxic T cells. This genome segment has previously been demonstrated to encode the viral hemagglutinin and determines reovirus cell tropism in the nervous system.