HLA Control of the Proliferative T Lymphocyte Response to Antigenic Determinants on Mumps Virus

The proliferative T lymphocyte responses to two different mumps antigen preparations, S (nucleocapsid) and V (viral envelope), were characterized. Eight patients with Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus were all found to be responders to S and V mumps antigen. Among the 64 healthy individuals, 52 were classified as responders to the S antigen and 50 responders to the V antigen. No difference was found between T lymphocytes from Type 1 diabetic patients and those from healthy individuals as regards the effect of indomethacin on the mumps-specific response. The majority of the mumps-specific T lymphocytes seemed to be restricted by epitopes on the HLA-DR molecules. The frequency of mumps antigen-reactive T lymphocytes (ARTL) was found to be low when the response was restricted by DR3-associated elements, and high when it was restricted by DR4-associated elements, compared to the frequency of ARTL when other DR-associated elements restricted the mumps-specific response. For the majority of the individuals tested, the DR-associated hypo- and hyper-responsiveness was found with both the S and the V mumps antigens.