Vaccination against murine gamma-herpesvirus infection

The gamma -herpesviruses establish life-long latency in the host and are im portant human pathogens. T cells play a major role in controlling the initi al acute infection and subsequently maintaining the virus in a quiescent st ate. However, the nature of the T-cell response to gamma -herpesvirus infec tion and the requirements for effective vaccination are poorly understood. The recent development of a murine gamma -herpesvirus (murine herpesvirus-6 8 [MHV-68]) has made it possible to analyze T-cell responses and test vacci nation strategies in a small animal model. Intranasal infection with MHV-68 induces an acute infection in the lung and the subsequent establishment of long-term latency, which is associated with splenomegaly and an infectious mononucleosis-like syndrome. Here we review the T-cell response to differe nt phases of the infection and the impact of vaccination against either lyt ic-cycle, or latency-associated T-cell epitopes.