Recombinant Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Expressing Murine Interleukin-4 Is Less Virulent than Wild-Type Virus in Mice

AUTOR(ES)
FONTE

American Society for Microbiology

RESUMO

The effect of interleukin-4 (IL-4) on herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection in mice was evaluated by construction of a recombinant HSV-1 expressing the gene for murine IL-4 in place of the latency-associated transcript (LAT). The mutant virus (HSV-IL-4) expressed high levels of IL-4 in cultured cells. The replication of HSV-IL-4 in tissue culture and in trigeminal ganglia was similar to that of wild-type virus. In contrast, HSV-IL-4 appeared to replicate less well in mouse eyes and brains. Although BALB/c mice are highly susceptible to HSV-1 infection, ocular infection with HSV-IL-4 resulted in 100% survival. Furthermore, 57% of the mice survived coinfection with a mixture of HSV-IL-4 and a lethal dose of wild-type McKrae, compared with only 10% survival following infection with McKrae alone. Similar to wild-type BALB/c mice, 100% of IL-4−/− mice also survived HSV-IL-4 infection. T-cell depletion studies suggested that protection against HSV-IL-4 infection was mediated by a CD4+-T-cell response.

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