ABSTRACT
Subclinical infection of BALB/c mice with the intracellular bacterial pathogen Listeria monocytogenes results in the development of protective antilisterial immunity. L. monocytogenes can infect hepatocytes, and antilisterial cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) lyse Listeria-infected hepatocytes in a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class Ia-restricted manner. It remained to be determined whether L. monocytogenes-infected hepatocytes are susceptible to MHC class Ib-restricted cytolysis. In this study, we showed that hepatocytes express MHC class Ib molecule Qa-1b mRNA and protein. We further showed thatListeria-infected hepatocytes are susceptible to MHC class Ib-restricted cytolysis, since C57BL/6-derivedListeria-infected hepatocytes were lysed by BALB/c-derived antilisterial CTL. These results establish thatListeria-infected hepatocytes are susceptible to cytolysis by MHC class Ib restricted Listeria-specific CTL.
Use of the CD107 mobilization assay reveals that cytotoxic T lymphocytes with novel MHC-Ib restriction are activated during Listeria monocytogenes infection
