Interferon has no protective effect during acute or persistent reovirus infection of mouse SC1 fibroblasts.
Mouse SC1 fibroblasts can support reovirus multiplication although they exhibit a partial resistance to viral-induced cytopathology; a significant percentage of infected SC1 cells can remain viable while becoming persistently infected by the virus. In the present study, the possible role of interferon on the fate of reovirus-infected cells was investigated. Treatment of mouse L fibroblasts with beta-interferon resulted in a reduced viral efficiency of plating while essentially no effect was observed on SC1 cells; the results were similar with the unrelated encephalomyocarditis virus. This suggests that the interferon-regulated pathways are somehow deficient in SC1 cells even though these cells do respond to interferon treatment, as evidenced by an increase in the level of active interferon-inducible protein kinase double-stranded RNA-dependent (PKR) enzyme. Persistently infected SC1 cells constitutively release interferon even though treatment with anti-interferon antiserum suggests that interferon presence is unrelated to maintenance of the persistent state. The possible significance of the correlation between the lack of interferon-induced antiviral effect and relative resistance of SC1 cells to viral-induced cytopathology is briefly discussed.
Danis
C
C
Département de Microbiologie et Immunologie, Université de Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
Mabrouk
T
T
Faure
M
M
Lemay
G
G
D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000494:pharmacology; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002460:Cell Line; D004686:Encephalomyocarditis virus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000187:drug effects / Q000821:virology*; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology; D016899:Interferon-beta / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051379:Mice; D012087:Reoviridae / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D017735:Virus Latency; D019892:eIF-2 Kinase / Q000378:metabolism
D000906:Antibodies; D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D016899:Interferon-beta; D019892:eIF-2 Kinase