HLA antigen-related restriction of T lymphocyte cytotoxicity to Epstein-Barr virus.

Abstract
The specificity of cytotoxic T[thymus-derived] cells generated in Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-infected lymphocyte cultures was investigated, using a 51Cr release assay. Potent cytotoxic T cells with preferred specificity directed to antigens expressed on autologous lymphoblastoid cell line (LCL) target cells were present in 14 day cultures of lymphocytes from EBV-seropositive donors and not from seronegative donors. The cytotoxic patterns obtained with a panel of HLA antigen-related and unrelated LCL target cells, supported by unlabeled target inhibition test, strongly indicate that T cell cytotoxicity to EBV is restricted by HLA antigens.