Caliciviruses induce mRNA of tumor necrosis factor α via their protease activity.

Calicivirus infection in patients and animals is associated with the production of multiple inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α). Here we studied the feline calicivirus (FCV) non-structural proteins and found that the FCV protease was a key factor for TNF-α gene expression in cultured cells. The expression of the TNF-α gene in cells expressing FCV, human norovirus, and rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus protease was compared, revealing that the induction of TNF-α could be a common phenomenon during the infection by the viruses in the Caliciviridae. The level of TNF-α mRNA in the cells expressing mutant proteases that lacked the active site was measured. These data indicate that the protease activity is crucial for TNF-α expression. These findings provide new insight into the induction of inflammation during calicivirus infection.