Cell-mediated antiviral response to equine herpesvirus type 1 demonstrated in a murine infection model by means of adoptive transfer of immune cells.
Protection against equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) infection in a mouse model has been studied by means of delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) and adoptive transfer of immune spleen cells. Mice were found to develop a positive DTH response to EHV-1 antigen which was sustained for several months after primary inoculation. The response was found to cross-react with EHV-4-derived antigen. Immune cells (from mice primed with live or heat-inactivated EHV-1) conferred an enhanced DTH response on recipients; however, only the immune cells that were previously primed with live EHV-1 gave protection against re-infection. The degree of protection was also dependent on the number of spleen cells transferred. Immune cells from mice primed with heat-inactivated EHV-1 appeared to enhance virus replication following subsequent inoculation. The serum antibody response to EHV-1 appeared to be slightly suppressed in recipients of spleen cells from mice primed with either live or heat-inactivated virus. These results support the important role for cell-mediated responses in protective immunity to EHV-1 and provide clues to the nature of protection and immunopathology in the natural host.
Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, U.K.
M
M
Azmi
H J
HJ
Field
D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary*; D004861:Herpesvirus 1, Equid / Q000276:immunology*; D006736:Horses; D006968:Hypersensitivity, Delayed / Q000276:immunology; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000276:immunology; D016219:Immunotherapy, Adoptive; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C
D000914:Antibodies, Viral