A Single CD8(+) T Cell Epitope Sets the Long-Term Latent Load of a Murid Herpesvirus

The pathogenesis of persistent viral infections depends critically on long-term viral loads. Yet what determines these loads is largely unknown. Here, we show that a single CD8(+) T cell epitope sets the long-term latent load of a lymphotropic gamma-herpesvirus, Murid herpesvirus-4 (MuHV-4). The MuHV-4 M2 latency gene contains an H2-K(d) -restricted T cell epitope, and wild-type but not M2(−) MuHV-4 was limited to very low level persistence in H2(d) mice. Mutating the epitope anchor residues increased viral loads and re-introducing the epitope reduced them again. Like the Kaposi's sarcoma–associated herpesvirus K1, M2 shows a high frequency of non-synonymous mutations, suggesting that it has been selected for epitope loss. In vivo competition experiments demonstrated directly that epitope presentation has a major impact on viral fitness. Thus, host MHC class I and viral epitope expression interact to set the long-term virus load.