Primary pulmonary murine cytotoxic T lymphocyte specificity in respiratory syncytial virus pneumonia.

Effector cells capable of lysing respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-infected cells were isolated from the lungs of intranasally infected mice. An examination of their specificity showed that cytolysis was major histocompatibility complex restricted. Using recombinant vaccinia viruses containing cloned RSV genes to infect target cells, BALB/c (H-2d) pulmonary effector cells were shown to recognize the fusion protein (F) and to a lesser extent the nucleoprotein (N). Cells specific for the major glycoprotein (G) or the small hydrophobic protein (1A) were not observed.