CD8 T cell defect of TNF-α and IL-2 in DNAM-1 deficient mice delays clearance in vivo of a persistent virus infection

DNAM-1 gene-deficient (−/−) mice take significantly longer to clear an acute and persistent LCMV infection in vivo than DNAM-1 +/+ mice. During acute LCMV priming, at the single cell level, DNAM-1 −/− mice made significantly less cytoplasmic CD8 TNF-α and IL-2 but not IFN-γ than their DNAM-1 +/+ counterparts. Restimulated immune memory CD8 T cells from DNAM-1 −/− and DNAM-1 +/+ mice were equivalent in cytolytic activity against LCMV-infected target cells but DNAM-1 −/− CD8 T cells had significant reductions in TNF-α and IL-2 that were associated on adoptive transfer with the inability to terminate the persistent viral infection.