I-Ag7-mediated antigen presentation by B lymphocytes is critical in overcoming a checkpoint in T cell tolerance to islet beta cells of nonobese diabetic mice.

B cell-deficient nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice are protected from the development of spontaneous autoimmune diabetes, suggesting a requisite role for Ag presentation by B lymphocytes for the activation of a diabetogenic T cell repertoire. This study specifically examines the importance of B cell-mediated MHC class II Ag presentation as a regulator of peripheral T cell tolerance to islet beta cells. We describe the construction of NOD mice with an I-Ag7 deficiency confined to the B cell compartment. Analysis of these mice, termed NOD BCIID, revealed the presence of functionally competent non-B cell APCs (macrophages/dendritic cells) with normal I-Ag7 expression and capable of activating Ag-reactive T cells. In addition, the secondary lymphoid organs of these mice harbored phenotypically normal CD4+ and CD8+ T cell compartments. Interestingly, whereas control NOD mice harboring I-Ag7-sufficient B cells developed diabetes spontaneously, NOD BCIID mice were resistant to the development of autoimmune diabetes. Despite their diabetes resistance, histologic examination of pancreata from NOD BCIID mice revealed foci of noninvasive peri-insulitis that could be intentionally converted into a destructive process upon treatment with cyclophosphamide. We conclude that I-Ag7-mediated Ag presentation by B cells serves to overcome a checkpoint in T cell tolerance to islet beta cells after their initial targeting has occurred. Overall, this work indicates that the full expression of the autoimmune potential of anti-islet T cells in NOD mice is intimately regulated by B cell-mediated MHC class II Ag presentation.     

Antigen-based immunotherapy drives the precocious development of autoimmunity

During the development of type I diabetes mellitus in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice, T cell autoimmunity gradually spreads among beta cell Ags. Little is known about how autoantigen-based immunotherapies affect this spreading hierarchy. We treated newborn NOD mice with different autoantigenic beta cell peptides (in adjuvant) and characterized their T cell responses at 4 wk of age, when autoimmunity is usually just beginning to arise to a few beta cell Ag determinants. Surprisingly, we found that regardless of whether an early, or late target determinant was administered, autoimmunity had already arisen to all tested beta cell autoantigen determinants, far in advance of when autoimmunity would have naturally arisen to these determinants. Thus, rather than limiting the loss of self-tolerance, immunotherapy caused the natural spreading hierarchy to be bypassed and autoreactivities to develop precociously. Evidently, young NOD mice have a broad array of beta cell-reactive T cells whose activation/expansion can occur rapidly after treatment with a single beta cell autoantigen. Notably, the precocious autoreactivities were Th2 type, with the exception that a burst of precocious Th1 responses was also induced to the injected autoantigen and there were always some Th1 responses to glutamic acid decarboxylase. Similarly treated type 1 diabetes mellitus-resistant mouse strains developed Th2 responses only to the injected Ag. Thus, autoantigen administration can induce a cascade of autoimmune responses in healthy (preautoimmune) mice that are merely genetically susceptible to spontaneous autoimmune disease. Such phenomena have not been observed in experimental autoimmune disease models and may have important clinical implications.     

Cutting Edge: Programmed death (PD) ligand-1/PD-1 interaction is required for CD8+ T cell tolerance to tissue antigens

Constitutive presentation of tissue Ags by dendritic cells results in tolerance of autoreactive CD8+ T cells; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms are not well understood. In this study we show that programmed death (PD)-1, an inhibitory receptor of the CD28 family, is required for tolerance induction of autoreactive CD8+ T cells. An antagonistic Ab against PD-1 provoked destructive autoimmune diabetes in RIP-mOVA mice expressing chicken OVA in the pancreatic islet cells, which received naive OVA-specific CD8+ OT-I cells. This effect was mediated by the PD ligand (PD-L) PD-L1 but not by PD-L2. An increased number of effector OT-I cells recovered from the pancreatic lymph nodes of anti-PD-L1-treated mice showed down-regulation of PD-1. Furthermore, the blockade of PD-1/PD-L1 interaction during the priming phase did not significantly affect OT-I cell division but enhanced its granzyme B, IFN-gamma, and IL-2 production. Thus, during the presentation of tissue Ags to CD8+ T cells, PD-1/PD-L1 interaction crucially controls the effector differentiation of autoreactive T cells to maintain self-tolerance.     

Paradoxical dampening of anti-islet self-reactivity but promotion of diabetes by OX40 ligand

Costimulatory signals received by diabetogenic T cells during priming by or upon secondary encounter with autoantigen are decisive in determining the outcome of autoimmune attack. The OX40-OX40 ligand (OX40L) costimulatory pathway is known to influence T cell responses, prompting us to examine its role in autoimmune diabetes. A null allele at OX40L completely prevented diabetes development in nonobese diabetic mice and strongly reduced its incidence in a TCR transgenic model (BDC2.5). However, somewhat paradoxically, the initial activation of T cells responsive to islet beta cell Ag was slightly faster and more efficient in the absence of OX40L, with an increased degree of cell proliferation and survival in the deficient hosts. Activated T cell migration into and retention within the islets was also slightly accelerated. When challenged in vitro, splenocytes from BDC2.5.OX40L(o/o) mice showed no altered reactivity to exogenously added peptide, no bias to the Th1 or Th2 phenotype, and no alteration in T cell survival. Thus, the OX40/OX40L axis has the paradoxical effect of dampening the early activation and migration of autoimmune T cells, but sustains the long-term progression to autoimmune destruction.     

Antigen presentation by nonhemopoietic cells amplifies clonal expansion of effector CD8 T cells in a pathogen-specific manner

Professional APCs of hemopoietic-origin prime pathogen-specific naive CD8 T cells. The primed CD8 T cells can encounter Ag on infected nonhemopoietic cell types. Whether these nonhemopoietic interactions perpetuate effector T cell expansion remains unknown. We addressed this question in vivo, using four viral and bacterial pathogens, by comparing expansion of effector CD8 T cells in bone marrow chimeric mice expressing restricting MHC on all cell types vs mice that specifically lack restricting MHC on nonhemopoietic cell types or radiation-sensitive hemopoietic cell types. Absence of Ag presentation by nonhemopoietic cell types allowed priming of naive CD8 T cells in all four infection models tested, but diminished their sustained expansion by approximately 10-fold during lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus and by < or =2-fold during vaccinia virus, vesicular stomatitis virus, or Listeria monocytogenes infections. Absence of Ag presentation by a majority (>99%) of hemopoietic cells surprisingly also allowed initial priming of naive CD8 T cells in all the four infection models, albeit with delayed kinetics, but the sustained expansion of these primed CD8 T cells was markedly evident only during lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, but not during vaccinia virus, vesicular stomatitis virus, or L. monocytogenes. Thus, infected nonhemopoietic cells can amplify effector CD8 T cell expansion during infection, but the extent to which they can amplify is determined by the pathogen. Further understanding of mechanisms by which pathogens differentially affect the ability of nonhemopoietic cell types to contribute to T cell expansion, how these processes alter during acute vs chronic phase of infections, and how these processes influence the quality and quantity of memory cells will have implications for rational vaccine design.     

Cutting edge: CD25+ regulatory T cells prevent expansion and induce apoptosis of B cells specific for tissue autoantigens

To study the role of CD25(+) regulatory T cells (T(regs)) in peripheral B cell tolerance, we generated transgenic rat insulin promoter RIP-OVA/HEL mice expressing the model Ags OVA and HEL in pancreatic islet beta cells (where RIP is rat insulin promoter and HEL is hen egg lysozyme). Adoptively transferred transgenic OVA-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells proliferated only in the autoantigen-draining pancreatic lymph node (PLN), demonstrating pancreas-specific Ag expression. Transferred HEL-specific transgenic B cells (IgHEL cells) disappeared within 3 wk from transgenic but not from nontransgenic mice immunized with autoantigen. Depletion of CD25(+) FoxP3(+) cells completely restored IgHEL cell numbers. T(reg) exerted an analogous suppressive effect on endogenous HEL-specific autoreactive B cells. T(regs) acted by inhibiting the proliferation of IgHEL cells in the spleen and PLN and by systemic induction of their apoptosis. Furthermore, they reduced BCR and MHC II surface expression on IgHEL cells in the PLN. These findings demonstrate that autoreactive B cells specific for a nonlymphoid tissue autoantigen are controlled by T(regs).     

Early self-regulatory mechanisms control the magnitude of CD8+ T cell responses against liver stages of murine malaria

Following immunization with Plasmodium yoelii sporozoites, the CD8(+) T cell population specific for the SYVPSAEQI epitope expressed in sporozoite and liver stages of this malaria parasite revealed the existence of a short term Ag presentation process that translated into a single clonal burst. Further expansion of this CD8(+) T cell population in conditions of sustained Ag exposure and additional supply of naive cells was inhibited by regulatory mechanisms that were developed as early as 24-48 h after priming. Studies using mouse models for Plasmodium or influenza virus infections revealed that this mechanism is Ag specific and is mediated by activated CD8(+) T cells that inhibit the priming of naive cells. This interference of the priming of naive cells appeared to result from limited access to Ag-presenting dendritic cells, which become disabled or are eliminated after contact with activated cells. Thus, concomitantly with the development of their effector antimicrobial capacity, CD8(+) T cells also acquire a self-regulatory role that is likely to represent one of the earliest mechanisms induced in the course of an immune response and that limits the magnitude of the early expansion of CD8(+) T lymphocytes reactive to microorganisms.     

Modulation of CD103 expression on human colon carcinoma-specific CTL

Recent results have shown a correlation between survival and frequency of tumor-infiltrating T cells in colorectal cancer patients. However, the mechanisms controlling the ability of human T lymphocytes to infiltrate colon carcinoma remain unclear. Although, it is known that expression of the integrin CD103alpha(E)/beta(7) by intraepithelial lymphocytes controls the retention of lymphocytes in epithelial layers, very little is known about the expression of intestinal homing receptors in human T lymphocytes. In particular, it remains unknown whether expression of CD103/beta(7) by human colon cancer-specific T lymphocytes is controlled by recognition of tumor Ags and is imprinted during T cell priming, facilitating its expression during memory T cell activation. In this study, we demonstrate that expression of CD103/beta(7) in human colon carcinoma-specific CTL is synergistically enhanced by the simultaneous TGF-beta1 stimulation and Ag recognition. These results were confirmed by using a panel of human CTL clones. Finally, we show that priming of naive CD8(+) T cells in the presence of TGF-beta1 ensures up-regulation of CD103/beta(7) in recall responses, at concentrations of TGF-beta1 significantly lower than those required by memory T cells primed in the absence of TGF-beta1. These results indicate a role of TGF-beta1 during T cell priming in modulating expression of CD103/beta(7) and controlling retention of human memory CD8(+) T cells into tumor epithelium.     

Dendritic cells cross-dressed with peptide MHC class I complexes prime CD8+ T cells

The activation of naive CD8+ T cells has been attributed to two mechanisms: cross-priming and direct priming. Cross-priming and direct priming differ in the source of Ag and in the cell that presents the Ag to the responding CD8+ T cells. In cross-priming, exogenous Ag is acquired by professional APCs, such as dendritic cells (DC), which process the Ag into peptides that are subsequently presented. In direct priming, the APCs, which may or may not be DC, synthesize and process the Ag and present it themselves to CD8+ T cells. In this study, we demonstrate that naive CD8+ T cells are activated by a third mechanism, called cross-dressing. In cross-dressing, DC directly acquire MHC class I-peptide complexes from dead, but not live, donor cells by a cell contact-mediated mechanism, and present the intact complexes to naive CD8+ T cells. Such DC are cross-dressed because they are wearing peptide-MHC complexes generated by other cells. CD8+ T cells activated by cross-dressing are restricted to the MHC class I genotype of the donor cells and are specific for peptides generated by the donor cells. In vivo studies demonstrate that optimal priming of CD8+ T cells requires both cross-priming and cross-dressing. Thus, cross-dressing may be an important mechanism by which DC prime naive CD8+ T cells and may explain how CD8+ T cells are primed to Ags that are inefficiently cross-presented.     

Anti-CD43 monoclonal antibody L11 blocks migration of T cells to inflamed pancreatic islets and prevents development of diabetes in nonobese diabetic mice.

Nonobese diabetic mice are a well-known model for human insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. These mice develop autoimmune-mediated inflammation of the pancreatic islets, followed by destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells and development of diabetes. Nonobese diabetic mice also have salivary gland inflammation, and serve as a model for human Sjogren's syndrome. T cells are a prominent component of the inflammatory infiltrate in these sites, and T cell recruitment from the blood is thought to be essential for the initiation and maintenance of pathologic tissue damage. A unique mAb to murine CD43, L11, has recently been shown to block the migration of T cells from blood into organized lymphoid tissues. Here we demonstrate that L11 significantly inhibits T cell migration from blood into inflamed islets and salivary glands. Treatment of nonobese diabetic mice with L11 from 1 to 4 or 8 to 12 wk of age led to significant protection against the development of diabetes. Moreover, protection was long-lived, with decreased incidence of diabetes even months after cessation of Ab administration. When treatment was started at 1 wk of age, L11 inhibited the development of inflammation in pancreatic islets and salivary glands. L11 treatment had no long-term effect on numbers or phenotypes of peripheral lymphocytes. These data indicate that anti-CD43 Abs that block T cell migration may be useful agents for the prevention or treatment of autoimmune diseases including insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and Sjogren's syndrome.     

Cross-priming of diabetogenic T cells dissociated from CTL-induced shedding of beta cell autoantigens

Cross-presentation of self Ags by APCs is key to the initiation of organ-specific autoimmunity. As MHC class I molecules are essential for the initiation of diabetes in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice, we sought to determine whether the initial insult that allows cross-presentation of beta cell autoantigens in diabetes is caused by cognate interactions between naive CD8(+) T cells and beta cells. Naive splenic CD8(+) T cells from transgenic NOD mice expressing a diabetogenic TCR killed peptide-pulsed targets in the absence of APCs. To ascertain the role of CD8(+) T cell-induced beta cell lysis in the initiation of diabetes, we expressed a rat insulin promoter (RIP)-driven adenovirus E19 transgene in NOD mice. RIP-E19 expression inhibited MHC class I transport exclusively in beta cells and rendered these cells resistant to lysis by CD8(+) (but not CD4(+)) T cells, both in vitro and in vivo. Surprisingly, RIP-E19 expression impaired the accumulation of CD8(+) T cells in islets and delayed the onset of islet inflammation, without affecting the timing or magnitude of T cell cross-priming in the pancreatic lymph nodes, which is the earliest known event in diabetogenesis. These results suggest that access of beta cell autoantigens to the cross-presentation pathway in diabetes is T cell independent, and reveal a previously unrecognized function of MHC class I molecules on target cells in autoimmunity: local retention of disease-initiating clonotypes.     

Early Th1 response in unprimed nonobese diabetic mice to the tyrosine phosphatase-like insulinoma-associated protein 2, an autoantigen in type 1 diabetes

The insulinoma-associated protein 2 (IA-2) is a phosphatase-like autoantigen inducing T and B cell responses associated with human insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). We now report that T cell responses to IA-2 can also be detected in the nonobese diabetic (NOD) mouse, a model of human IDDM. Cytokine secretion in response to purified mouse rIA-2, characterized by high IFN-gamma and relatively low IL-10 and IL-6 secretion, was elicited in spleen cells from unprimed NOD mice. Conversely, no response to IA-2 was induced in spleen cells from BALB/c, C57BL/6, or Biozzi AB/H mice that express, like NOD, the I-A(g7) class II molecule, but are not susceptible to spontaneous IDDM. The IA-2-induced IFN-gamma response in NOD spleen cells could already be detected at 3 wk and peaked at 8 wk of age, whereas the IL-10 secretion was maximal at 4 wk of age and then waned. IA-2-dependent IFN-gamma secretion was induced in CD4(+) cells from spleen as well as pancreatic and mesenteric lymph nodes. It required Ag presentation by I-A(g7) molecules and engagement of the CD4 coreceptor. Interestingly, cytokines were produced in the absence of cell proliferation and IL-2 secretion. The biological relevance of the response to IA-2 is indicated by the enhanced IDDM following a single injection of the recombinant protein emulsified in IFA into 18-day-old NOD mice. In addition, IFN-gamma production in response to IA-2 and IDDM acceleration could be induced by IL-12 administration to 12-day-old NOD mice. These results identify IA-2 as an early T cell-inducing autoantigen in the NOD mouse and indicate a role for the IA-2-induced Th1 cell response in IDDM pathogenesis.     

Identification of an MHC class I-restricted autoantigen in type 1 diabetes by screening an organ-specific cDNA library.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells are destroyed at an early age by an immune process that involves both CD4 and CD8 T lymphocytes. The identification of autoantigens in diabetes is very important for the design of antigen-specific immunotherapy. By screening a pancreatic islet cDNA library, we have identified the autoantigen recognized by highly pathogenic CD8 T cells in the non-obese diabetic mouse, one of the best animal models for human diabetes. This is the first identification, to our knowledge, of a CD8 T-cell epitope in an autoimmune disease. The peptide recognized by the cells is in the same region of the insulin B chain as the epitope recognized by previously isolated pathogenic CD4 T cells. This has very important implications for the potential use of insulin in preventative therapy.     

Multiple paths for activation of naive CD8+ T cells: CD4-independent help

CD8(+) CTLs play a pivotal role in immune responses against many viruses and tumors. Two models have been proposed. The "three-cell" model focuses on the role of CD4(+) T cells, proposing that help is only provided to CTLs by CD4(+) T cells that recognize Ag on the same APC. The sequential "two-cell" model proposes that CD4(+) T cells can first interact with APCs, which in turn activate naive CTLs. Although these models provide a general framework for the role of CD4(+) T cells in mediating help for CTLs, a number of issues are unresolved. We have investigated the induction of CTL responses using dendritic cells (DCs) to immunize mice against defined peptide Ags. We find that help is required for activation of naive CTLs when DCs are used as APCs, regardless of the origin or MHC class I restriction of the peptides we studied in this system. However, CD8(+) T cells can provide self-help if they are present at a sufficiently high precursor frequency. The important variable is the total number of T cells responding, because class II-knockout DCs pulsed with two noncompeting peptides are effective in priming.     

Prolonged antigen expression following DNA vaccination impairs effector CD8+ T cell function and memory development

After priming, naive T cells undergo a program of expansion, contraction, and memory formation. Numerous studies have indicated that only a brief period of antigenic stimulation is required to fully commit CD8+ T cells to this program. Nonetheless, the persistence of Ag may modulate the eventual fate of CD8+ T cells. Using DNA delivery, we showed previously that direct presentation primes high levels of effector CD8+ T cells as compared with cross-presentation. One explanation now revealed is that prolonged cross-presentation limits effector cell expansion and function. To analyze this, we used a drug-responsive system to regulate Ag expression after DNA injection. Reducing expression to a single burst expanded greater numbers of peptide-specific effector CD8+ T cells than sustained Ag. Consequences for memory development were assessed after boosting and showed that, although persistent Ag maintained higher numbers of tetramer-positive CD8+ T cells, these expanded less (approximately 4-fold) than those induced by transient Ag expression (approximately 35-fold). Transient expression at priming therefore led to a net higher secondary response. In terms of vaccine design, we propose that the most effective DNA-based CD8+ T cell vaccines will be those that deliver a short burst of Ag.     

HLA-DQ8-associated T cell responses to the diabetes autoantigen phogrin (IA-2 beta) in human prediabetes

Susceptibility to type 1A autoimmune diabetes is linked to expression of particular MHC class II molecules, notably HLA-DQ8 in man and the orthologous I-Ag7 in the nonobese diabetic mouse. In the present study, we analyzed two peptide epitopes (peptides 2 and 7) from the diabetes autoantigen phogrin (IA-2beta), in the context of their presentation by the I-Ag7 and HLA-DQ8 molecules and their role as potential T cell antigenic epitopes in human diabetes. Both of these peptides are targets of diabetogenic CD4+ T cell clones in the nonobese diabetic mouse. Transgenic mice expressing HLA-DQ8 as the sole class II molecule generated a robust T cell-proliferative response when primed with peptide 2 or peptide 7 in CFA. Analysis of the IL-2 secretion from peptide 2-reactive T cell hybridomas stimulated with alanine-substituted peptides identified three residues that were crucial to the response. Among 41 islet cell Ag-positive prediabetic human subjects, 36.5% showed PBMC-proliferative responses to peptide 7, 17.1% to peptide 2, and 17.1% to both peptides; no response was seen among 20 matched healthy controls. Stratification of the data based upon HLA haplotype suggested that peptide 7 could be presented by at least one HLA-DR molecule in addition to HLA-DQ8, a finding that was supported by blocking studies with monomorphic mAbs. The results indicate that common phogrin peptides are targeted by autoreactive T cells in human and murine type 1A diabetes, and that the responses may in part be associated with the similar peptide-binding specificities of I-Ag7 and HLA-DQ8.     

Thymic and postthymic regulation of diabetogenic CD8 T cell development in TCR transgenic nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice

Natural development of diabetes in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice requires both CD4 and CD8 T cells. Transgenic NOD mice carrying alphabeta TCR genes from a class I MHC (Kd)-restricted, pancreatic beta cell Ag-specific T cell clone develop diabetes significantly faster than nontransgenic NOD mice. In these TCR transgenic mice, a large fraction of T cells express both transgene derived and endogenous TCR beta chains. Only T cells expressing two TCR showed reactivity to the islet Ag. Development of diabetogenic T cells is inhibited in mice with no endogenous TCR expression due to the SCID mutation. These results demonstrate that the expression of two TCRs is necessary for the autoreactive diabetogenic T cells to escape thymic negative selection in the NOD mouse. Further analysis with MHC congenic NOD mice revealed that diabetes development in the class I MHC-restricted islet Ag-specific TCR transgenic mice is still dependent on the presence of the homozygosity of the NOD MHC class II I-Ag7.     

Peptide-MHC class II dimers as therapeutics to modulate antigen-specific T cell responses in autoimmune diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder caused by autoreactive T cells that mediate destruction of insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. Studies have shown that T cell tolerance can be restored by inducing a partial or altered signal through the TCR. To investigate the potential of bivalent peptide-MHC class II/Ig fusion proteins as therapeutics to restore Ag-specific tolerance, we have developed soluble peptide I-A(g7) dimers for use in the nonobese diabetic mouse model of diabetes. I-A(g7) dimers with a linked peptide specific for islet-reactive BDC2.5 TCR transgenic CD4(+) T cells were shown to specifically bind BDC2.5 T cells as well as a small population of Ag-specific T cells in nonobese diabetic mice. In vivo treatment with BDC2.5 peptide I-A(g7) dimers protected mice from diabetes mediated by the adoptive transfer of diabetogenic BDC2.5 CD4(+) T cells. The dimer therapy resulted in the activation and increased cell death of transferred BDC2.5 CD4(+) T cells. Surviving cells were hypoproliferative to challenge by Ag and produced increased levels of IL-10 and decreased levels of IFN-gamma compared with cells from control I-A(g7) dimer-treated mice. Anti-IL-10R therapy reversed the tolerogenic effects of the dimer. Thus, peptide I-A(g7) dimers induce tolerance of BDC2.5 TCR T cells through a combination of the induction of clonal anergy and anti-inflammatory cytokines.     

Inhibitory effects of cytomegalovirus proteins US2 and US11 point to contributions from direct priming and cross-priming in induction of vaccinia virus-specific CD8(+) T cells

The extent to which naive CD8(+) CTLs (T(CD8)(+)) are primed by APCs presenting endogenous Ags (direct priming) or Ags acquired from other infected cells (cross-priming) is a critical topic in basic and applied immunology. To examine the contribution of direct priming in the induction of VV-specific T(CD8)(+), we generated recombinant vaccinia viruses that express human CMV proteins (US2 and US11) that induce the destruction of newly synthesized MHC class I molecules. Expression of US2 or US11 was associated with a 24-63% decrease in numbers of primary or secondary VV-specific T(CD8)(+) responding to i.p. infection. Using HPLC-isolated peptides from VV-infected cells, we show that US2 and US11 selectively inhibit T(CD8)(+) responses to a subset of immunogenic VV determinants. Moreover, VV-US2 and lysates from VV-infected histoincompatible cells elicit T(CD8)(+) specific for a similar subset of VV determinants. These findings indicate that US2 and US11 can function in vivo to interfere with the activation of virus-specific T(CD8)(+). Furthermore, they suggest that 1) both cross-priming and direct priming contribute significantly to the generation of VV-specific T(CD8)(+), 2) the sets of immunogenic vaccinia virus determinants generated by cross-priming and direct priming are not completely overlapping, and 3) cross-priming overrides the effects of cis-acting viral interference with the class I Ag presentation pathway.