Transgenic mice expressing the thymus leukemia antigen fail to control cutaneous herpes simplex virus infection.
TL-transgenic mice expressing the thymus leukemia antigen demonstrate a lack of viral clearance following cutaneous HSV infection of the footpad. In this study, both uninfected and HSV-infected TL-transgenic mice demonstrate increased concentrations of IL-4 as well as decreased concentrations of IFN-gamma which may possibly underlie the impairment of viral clearance. Furthermore, lymphocytes from HSV-infected nontransgenic mice, adoptively transferred into HSV-infected TL-transgenic mice, promoted viral clearance and led to an increase in IFN-gamma production. Transgenic mice which were subcutaneously injected with IFN-gamma in the right footpad were also capable of clearing the viral challenge; however, clearance was restricted solely to the right footpad. These studies support the possibility of perturbations in the immune system of TL-transgenic mice and effectively demonstrate the utility of this model system in the study of HSV clearance, persistence, and potential spontaneous reactivation. Moreover, the TL-transgenic animals may provide a useful model system for additional studies requiring a host system skewed toward a Th2 phenotype.
Sharma
P
P
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey 17033, USA.
Johnson
C A
CA
Bonneau
R H
RH
Lang
C M
CM
Chorney
M J
MJ
D019264:Adoptive Transfer; D000818:Animals; D002461:Cell Line, Transformed; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000276:immunology*; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000494:pharmacology; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000276:immunology*
D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; C028388:thymus-leukemia antigens; D015847:Interleukin-4; D007371:Interferon-gamma