title: VEGF-A expression by HSV-1-infected cells drives corneal lymphangiogenesis.
abstract: Inflammatory lymphangiogenesis plays a crucial role in the development of inflammation and transplant rejection. The mechanisms of inflammatory lymphangiogenesis during bacterial infection, toll-like receptor ligand administration, and wound healing are well characterized and depend on ligands for the vascular endothelial grow factor receptor (VEGFR) 3 that are produced by infiltrating macrophages. But inflammatory lymphangiogenesis in nonlymphoid tissues during chronic viral infection is unstudied. Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) infection of the cornea is a leading cause of blindness and depends on aberrant host immune responses to antigen within the normally immunologically privileged cornea. We report that corneal HSV-1 infection drives lymphangiogenesis and that corneal lymphatics persist past the resolution of infection. The mechanism of HSV-1-induced lymphangiogenesis was distinct from the described mechanisms of inflammatory lymphangiogenesis. HSV-1-elicited lymphangiogenesis was strictly dependent on VEGF-A/VEGFR-2 signaling but not on VEGFR-3 ligands. Macrophages played no role in the induction of lymphangiogenesis and were not a detectable source of VEGF-A. Rather, using VEGF-A reporter transgenic mice, we have identified infected epithelial cells as the primary source of VEGF-A during HSV-1 infection. Our results indicate that HSV-1 directly induces vascularization of the cornea through up-regulation of VEGF-A expression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA.
authors.forename: Todd R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Wuest
authors.forename: Daniel J J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Carr
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D003315:Cornea / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D016510:Corneal Neovascularization / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D007249:Inflammation / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D042601:Lymphatic Vessels / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D040301:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D040321:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-3 / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; C467480:vascular endothelial growth factor A, mouse; D040301:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2; D040321:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-3