%0 Journal Article %A Kristensen, Nanna Ny %A Christensen, Jan Pravsgaard %A Thomsen, Allan Randrup %T High numbers of IL-2-producing CD8+ T cells during viral infection: correlation with stable memory development %D 2002 %J Journal of General Virology, %V 83 %N 9 %P 2123-2133 %@ 1465-2099 %R https://doi.org/10.1099/0022-1317-83-9-2123 %I Microbiology Society, %X Using infections with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) and vesicular stomatitis virus in mice as model systems, we have investigated the ability of antigen-primed CD8+ T cells generated in the context of viral infections to produce IL-2. Our results indicate that acute immunizing infection normally leads to generation of high numbers of IL-2-producing antigen-specific CD8+ T cells. By costaining for IL-2 and IFN-γ intracellularly, we found that IL-2-producing cells predominantly constitute a subset of cells also producing IFN-γ. Comparison of the kinetics of generation revealed that IL-2-producing cells appear slightly delayed compared with the majority of IFN-γ producing cells, and the relative frequency of the IL-2-producing subset increases with transition into the memory phase. In contrast to acute immunizing infection, few IL-2-producing cells are generated during chronic LCMV infection. Furthermore, in MHC class II-deficient mice, which only transiently control LCMV infection, IL-2-producing CD8+ T cells are initially generated, but by 4 weeks after infection this subset has nearly disappeared. Eventually the capacity to produce IFN-γ also becomes impaired, while cell numbers are maintained at a level similar to those in wild-type mice controlling the infection. Taken together, these findings indicate that phenotyping of T cell populations based on capacity to produce cytokines, and especially IL-2, can provide important information as to the functional status of the analysed cell subset. Specifically, combined analysis of the capacity to produce IL-2 and IFN-γ can be used as a predictor for loss of function within the CD8+ T cell compartment. %U https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/0022-1317-83-9-2123