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Intracranial infection of normal mice with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) causes meningitis and death mediated by CD8 + major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). β 2 -Microglobulin-deficient mice (β 2 M -/- ) do not express functional MHC class I proteins and do not produce significant numbers of CD8 + T cells. When β 2 M -/- mice were infected with LCMV, many died from LCMV disease and produced a specific response to LCMV mediated by CD4 + CTLs that were class II-restricted. In these mice, CD4 + CTLs may compensate for the lack of CD8 + CTLs.
Müller et al. (Fri,) studied this question.