Functional analysis of the CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) on virus-specific CD8+ T cells following coronavirus infection of the central nervous system.

Intracranial infection of C57BL/6 mice with mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) results in an acute encephalomyelitis followed by a demyelinating disease similar in pathology to the human disease multiple sclerosis (MS). T cells participate in both defense and disease progression following MHV infection. Expression of chemokine receptors on activated T cells is important in allowing these cells to traffic into and accumulate within the central nervous system (CNS) of MHV-infected mice. The present study evaluated the contributions of CCR5 to the activation and trafficking of virus-specific CD8(+) T cells into the MHV-infected CNS mice. Comparable numbers of virus-specific CD8(+) T cells derived from immunized CCR5(+/+) or CCR5(-/-) mice were present within the CNS of MHV-infected RAG1(-/-) mice following adoptive transfer, indicating that CCR5 is not required for trafficking of these cells into the CNS. RAG1(-/-) recipients of CCR5(-/-)-derived CD8(+) T cells exhibited a modest, yet significant (