Differential effects of HSV-1 and HCMV infection on adhesion molecule expression on human corneal keratocytes.
OBJECTIVE
Previous studies have shown that keratoplasty buttons obtained at surgery from patients with herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) keratitis have elevated localized expression of the adhesion molecule ICAM-1, which plays a critical role in the initiation and amplification of an immune response. We performed studies to determine whether changes in expression of ICAM-1 and HLA class I are direct effects of productive infection of human corneal fibroblasts with HSV-1.


METHODS
Immunocytologic and flow cytometric analyses were performed to analyze the ability of HSV-1 to induce ICAM-1 and HLA class I expression in a primary cornea-derived keratocyte cell line, E-2. Positive controls for these experiments were E-2 cells infected with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), which has been shown to increase ICAM-1 expression in selected cells, and E-2 cells treated with IFN-gamma, which upregulates both ICAM-1 and HLA class I expression in most cell types.


RESULTS
Kinetic cytometric analysis indicated decreased ICAM-1 expression 3 hours following HSV-1 infection of E-2 cells. In contrast, HCMV led to detectable increases in ICAM-1 expression starting 6 hours after infection. Infections with either HSV-1 or HCMV resulted in reduced HLA class I expression on E-2 and SF cells.


CONCLUSIONS
These studies suggest that increased ICAM-1 expression seen on corneal stromal cells during clinical HSV-1 infection is not a direct result of productive viral infection, but of other mechanisms such as cytokine release by infiltrating mononuclear cells.
Stuart
P M
PM
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Usui
N
N
Randhawa
R S
RS
Laycock
K A
KA
Fleming
T P
TP
Pepose
J S
JS
D000293:Adolescent; D002460:Cell Line; D003315:Cornea / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000378:metabolism*; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human; D006801:Humans; D007158:Immunologic Techniques; D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male
D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1