IL-12 administration leads to a transient depletion of T cells, B cells, and APCs and concomitant abrogation of the HLA-A2.1-restricted CTL response in transgenic mice.

The injection of a mixture of bona fide T cell epitopes can lead to the occurrence of immunodominance, meaning that the immune response is focused on the recognition of a single epitope or a small portion of the epitopes injected. We have previously demonstrated that the administration of rIL-12 can counteract immunodominance in BALB/c mice. In this study, we show that the administration of rIL-12 to HLA-A2.1 transgenic mice (A2k(b) mice) abrogates specifically the immune response against HLA-A2.1-restricted HIV epitopes in the spleen. This lack of immune response is most probably due to a transient depletion of B cells, T cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells in this organ. Therefore, our study explains the mechanism of immunosuppression by rIL-12 in vivo.