Role of de novo protein synthesis in target cells recognized by cytotoxic T lymphocytes specific for vesicular stomatitis virus.

The requirements for viral and host protein synthesis in the generation of target antigens for cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) was evaluated by using vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) inactivated by UV irradiation (UV-VSV). EL4 target cells incubated with UV-VSV were recognized and lysed by anti-VSV CTL, indicating that de novo synthesis of viral proteins was not required for the generation of antigens recognized by antiviral CTL. Anti-VSV CTL from H-2b mice primarily recognize determinants derived from the VSV N protein bound to the class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigen H-2Kb. Comparison of a cloned CTL line representing this specificity and a heterogeneous population of anti-VSV CTL showed that determinants other than that recognized by the cloned CTL were generated more efficiently from UV-VSV. By using vaccinia virus recombinants that express deletion fragments of the N protein, it was shown that these additional determinants were probably derived from VSV proteins other than the N protein. The protein synthesis inhibitor emetine was used to determine whether newly synthesized host proteins were required for antigen generation. The addition of emetine to target cells prior to or at the time of the addition of UV-VSV inhibited lysis by anti-VSV CTL. This inhibition could be due to depletion of newly synthesized MHC molecules from intracellular membranes. This hypothesis was supported by using brefeldin A to delay membrane protein transport in target cells during the time of incubation with emetine and UV-VSV, which resulted in partial reversal of the effect of emetine. These results suggest that newly synthesized class I MHC molecules are required for the generation of antigens recognized by anti-VSV CTL.