T-CELLS BEARING V-BETA-8 ARE PREFERENTIALLY INFECTED WITH EXOGENOUS MOUSE MAMMARY-TUMOR VIRUS

We previously reported that a mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV(II-TES14 )), encoding a superantigen specific for TCR V beta 14, can infect lym ph node (LN) cells of mice in an I-E-independent manner, Here we exami ned the kinetics of cell types infected with exogenous MMTV in the dra ining LN after s.c. injection of II-TES milk containing MMTV(II-TES14) , The infectivity was assessed in LN cells sorted into each cell subse t by a semiquantitative analysis of MMTV provirus using PCR with a pri mer specific for MMTV(II-TES14). Only B cells in the LN were infected by the MMTV on day 6 after injection, but CD8(+) T cells and, to a les ser extent, CD4(+) T cells were also found to be detectably infected o n day 14 after the injection of II-TES milk, Among the T cells we exam ined, V beta 8 T cells were most preferentially infected with MMTV, bu t no V beta 14 T cells specific for MMTV(II-TES14) superantigen were i nfected on day 14 after infection, The transfer of V beta 8 T cells so rted from mice injected with II-TES milk 14 days previously resulted i n the deletion of CD4(+)V beta 14 T cells and in the MMTV infection of normal B6 mice, No MMTV infection of T cells occurred in IgM knockout mice, which lack a mature B cell compartment, These results suggest t hat MMTV surviving in B cells is transferred to V beta 8 T cells, whic h may play an important role in MMTV longevity.