Canine distemper virus infection leads to an inhibitory phenotype of monocyte-derived dendritic cells in vitro with reduced expression of co-stimulatory molecules and increased interleukin-10 transcription.

Canine distemper virus (CDV) exhibits a profound lymphotropism that causes immunosuppression and increased susceptibility of affected dogs to opportunistic infections. Similar to human measles virus, CDV is supposed to inhibit terminal differentiation of dendritic cells (DCs), responsible for disturbed repopulation of lymphoid tissues and diminished antigen presenting function in dogs. In order to testify the hypothesis that CDV-infection leads to an impairment of professional antigen presenting cells, canine DCs have been generated from peripheral blood monocytes in vitro and infected with CDV.