We previously showed that agonistic antibodies to CD40 could substitute for CD4 T-cell help and prevent reactivation of murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV-68) in the lungs of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II(-/-) (CII(-/-)) mice, which are CD4 T cell deficient. Although CD8 T cells were required for this effect, no change in their activity was detected in vitro. A key question was whether anti-CD40 treatment (or CD4 T-cell help) changed the function of CD8 T cells or another cell type in vivo.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSecondary bacterial infections that follow infection with influenza virus result in considerable morbidity and mortality in young children, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals and may also significantly increase mortality in normal healthy adults during influenza pandemics. We herein describe a mouse model for investigating the interaction between influenza virus and the bacterium Haemophilus influenzae. Sequential infection with sublethal doses of influenza and H.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCD4 T cells are dispensable for acute control of murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV-68) but are necessary for effective long-term control of the virus by CD8 T cells. In contrast, protein kinase C theta (PKCtheta) is not essential for either acute or long-term viral control. However, we found that while either CD4 or CD8 T cells could mediate the clearance of MHV-68 from the lungs of PKCtheta(+/+) mice, PKCtheta(-/-) mice depleted of either subset failed to clear the virus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCD4 T cells are not essential for primary clearance of replicating murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV-68) but are required for effective long-term control. The virus reactivates in the lungs of major histocompatibility complex class II-deficient (CII-/-) mice that lack functional CD4 T cells. CD40 ligand (CD40L) is upregulated on activated CD4 T cells, and it is thought that CD40-CD40L interactions are an important component of CD4 T-cell help.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeutrophils traffic to the lungs in large numbers during influenza virus infection. Although the ability of these cells to respond to numerous chemotactic stimuli has been described in other systems, the chemokine receptors mediating recruitment of neutrophils to the lungs during influenza virus infection and the role of this cell type in viral clearance are currently undefined. In the present study, we used CXCR2(/) mice to investigate the role of the chemokine receptor CXCR2 in neutrophil recruitment to the lungs during influenza virus infection and to determine the role of neutrophils in viral clearance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInfluenza virus infections induce chemokines and cytokines, which regulate the immune response. The chemokine receptor CCR2 plays an important role in macrophage recruitment and in the development of T1 immunity. In the present study, we addressed the role of CCR2 in influenza A virus infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe costimulatory molecules CD80 and CD86 (B7-1 and B7-2) are upregulated on mature antigen-presenting cells and interact with positive and negative regulators of CD8 T cell function, CD28 and CD152 (CTLA4) respectively. In this study, we examined the role of CD80 and CD86 in the immune response to murine gammaherpesvirus-68 (MHV-68) using CD80/86-/- mice. As we had previously shown that CD28 (the only known activating receptor for CD80 and 86) is not essential for long-term control of MHV-68, we predicted that CD80 and 86 would also be dispensable for an effective response to this virus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe chemokine IP-10 (CXCL10) and its cellular receptor CXCR3 are upregulated in the lung during murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV-68) infection. In order to determine the role of the CXCR3 chemokine receptor in the immune response to MHV-68, CXCR3-/- mice were infected with the virus. CXCR3-/- mice showed delayed clearance of replicating MHV-68 from the lungs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMurine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV-68) is a naturally occurring rodent pathogen with significant homology to human pathogens Epstein-Barr virus and Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus. T cells are essential for primary clearance of MHV-68 and survival of mice following intranasal infection. Previous reports have suggested that protein kinase C theta (PKCtheta) is essential for T-cell activation and cytokine production in vitro.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInfluenza A virus replicates in the respiratory epithelium and induces an inflammatory infiltrate comprised of mononuclear cells and neutrophils. To understand the development of the cell-mediated immune response to influenza and how leukocyte trafficking to sites of inflammation is regulated, we examined the chemokine expression pattern in lung tissue from A/PR/8/34-infected C57BL/6 mice using an RNase protection assay. Monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, macrophage inflammatory protein 1alpha (MIP-1alpha), MIP-1beta, MIP-3alpha, regulated on activation, normal T expressed and secreted (RANTES), MIP-2, and interferon-inducible protein 10 (IP-10) mRNA expression was up-regulated between days 5 and 15 after infection, consistent with a role for these chemokines in leukocyte recruitment to the lung.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMurine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV-68) infection of mice provides a useful small animal model for studying gammaherpesvirus pathogenesis and immunity. Recent work has elucidated the cytokine and chemokine profiles during MHV-68 infection and has identified some of the costimulatory interactions that are important for an effective immune response to this virus. Several themes emerge from this work.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe open reading frame (ORF) 74 of gamma-2-herpesviruses encodes a G protein-coupled receptor which is highly conserved in members of this subfamily and is homologous to the CXCR2 chemokine receptor. The viral G protein-coupled receptor has been implicated in viral pathogenesis. However, the advantage of such chemokine receptor homologues to the virus is currently unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe role of CD28-dependent costimulatory interactions in the development and maintenance of antiviral immune responses was investigated in a mouse model of gammaherpesvirus infection. CD28(-/-) mice could clear a productive infection with murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV-68), although early lung viral titers were significantly increased. Both CD28(-/-) and CD28(+/+) mice maintained effective long-term control of MHV-68.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMurine gammaherpesvirus 68 replicates in the alveolar epithelium and induces an inflammatory infiltrate in the lung, following intranasal challenge, and is cleared 10 and 13 days after infection by a T-cell-dependent mechanism. In order to understand the development of the immune response to this virus and how leukocyte trafficking to the lung is regulated, chemokine expression during MHV-68 infection was examined in lung tissue using an RNase protection assay. Expression of RANTES, eotaxin, MIP-1 alpha, MIP-1 beta, IP-10, and MCP-1 was upregulated by day 7 after infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF