Cytomegalovirus Misleads Its Host by Priming of CD8 T Cells Specific for an Epitope Not Presented in Infected Tissues

Cytomegaloviruses (CMVs) code for several proteins that inhibit the presentation of antigenic peptides to CD8 T cells. Although the molecular mechanisms of CMV interference with the major histocompatibility complex class I pathway are long understood, surprisingly little evidence exists to support a role in vivo. Here we document the first example of the presentation of an antigenic peptide being blocked by a CMV immune evasion protein in organs relevant to CMV disease. Although this Db-restricted peptide, which is derived from the antiapoptotic protein M45 of murine CMV (mCMV), is classified as an immunodominant peptide based on response magnitude and long-term memory, adoptive transfer of…