Non-Antigen-Specific B-Cell Activation following Murine Gammaherpesvirus Infection Is CD4 Independent In Vitro but CD4 Dependent In Vivo

AUTOR(ES)
FONTE

American Society for Microbiology

RESUMO

The murine gammaherpesvirus MHV-68 multiplies in the respiratory epithelium after intranasal inoculation, then spreads to infect B cells in lymphoid germinal centers. Exposing B cells to MHV-68 in vitro caused an increase in cell size, up-regulation of the CD69 activation marker, and immunoglobulin M (IgM) production. The infectious process in vivo was also associated with increased CD69 expression on B cells in the draining lymph nodes and spleen, together with a rise in total serum Ig. However, whereas the in vitro effect on B cells was entirely T-cell independent, evidence of in vivo B-cell activation was minimal in CD4+ T-cell-deficient (I-Ab−/−) or CD4+ T-cell-depleted mice. Furthermore, the Ig present at high levels in serum was predominantly of the IgG class. Surprisingly, the titer of influenza virus-specific serum IgG in previously immunized mice fell following MHV-68 infection, suggesting that there was relatively little activation of memory B cells. Thus, CD4+ T cells seemed both to amplify a direct viral activation of B cells in lymphoid tissue and to promote new Ig class switching despite a lack of obvious cognate antigen.

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