Repeated stimulation of self-presentation pathway by targeting erythrocytes in vivo drives anergy and profound T cell dysfunction

The purpose of this study was to conduct an in-depth analysis of the molecular characteristics of both CD4 and CD8 T cells upon encounter of self-associated antigen bound to erythrocytes, induce therapeutic tolerance in an endogenous repertoire of T cells, and understand the mechanisms involved in uptake and presentation of erythrocyte-associated antigen. Overall design: Ovalbumin-specific CD4 and CD8 T cell mRNA profiles of WT mice 5 days post adoptive transfer of OTI and OTII cells. At 1 day post transfer mice received either 1ug A8B1-OVA, the molar equivalent of OVA, a higher dose of OVA, or saline. Each replicate was generated from fluorescent activated cell sorted OTI and OTII cells pooled from 3 mice.