Epithelial expression of human papillomavirus type 16 E7 protein results in peripheral CD8 T‐cell suppression mediated by CD4⁺CD25⁺ T cells

The role of thymic versus peripheral epithelium in the regulation of the antigen‐specific CD8 T‐cell repertoire is still largely unresolved. We generated TCR‐β chain transgenic mice in which an increased frequency of peripheral CD8 T cells recognizes an epitope from a viral oncoprotein (HPV16E7) in the context of H‐2D b MHC class I. When T cells from these mice developed through the thymus of mice expressing functional E7 protein from a keratin...