Transfer of CD8⁺ T Cells into SCID Mice and Activation of Memory Virus‐Specific Cytotoxic T Cells

The requirements for the activation of naive and memory CD8⁺ cytotoxic T(Tc) cells into effector virus‐specific Tc cells after transferring them into SCID mice were investigated. SCID mice reconstituted with splenocytes or purified CDS⁺ T cells from naive or influenza‐immune syngeneic mice and immunized with influenza virus generated effector Tc cells specific for influenza virus‐infected target cells in vitro. The kinetics of Ihe response varied between those two populations. The generation of effector Tc cells after transfer of memory CD8⁺ T cells indicates that there exists no absolute requirement for “help” in the activation of memory virus‐immune Tc cells. However, under the conditions described here the in vitro immunogenic peptide NPP derived from influenza nucleoprotein is not sufficient to elicit a response in vivo.