title: Interferon-gamma, macrophages, and virus spread after HSV-1 injection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  After uniocular anterior chamber (AC) injection of HSV-1, the anterior segment of BALB/c mice becomes inflamed and infected; however, virus does not spread from the anterior segment to cause retinitis in the injected eye. The purpose of these studies was to determine whether interferon (IFN-)-γ and Mac-1(+) cells play a role in preventing direct anterior-to-posterior spread of HSV-1 in the injected eye.
  
  
  METHODS
  One AC of adult female BALB/c mice was injected with HSV-1 (KOS). The location of IFN-α, IFN-β, and IFN-γ in the injected eye was determined by immunofluorescence, and mRNA expression was quantified by qPCR. Injected eyes of IFN-γ knockout or clodronate-treated macrophage-depleted mice were examined to determine whether the absence of IFN-γ or Mac-1(+) macrophages affected the sites or timing of virus spread.
  
  
  RESULTS
  IFN-α, IFN-β, and IFN-γ were observed in the anterior segment of injected eyes through 72 hours and mRNA levels of IFN-β and IFN-γ were increased in virus-infected eyes 48 to 120 hours after infection. However, the absence of IFN-γ or macrophages did not affect either the sites or the timing of HSV-1 infection in injected eyes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Protection of the retina of the injected eye does not depend on a single cell type or cytokine. In addition, in the eye, as in other sites of the body, there are redundancies in the innate response to virus infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia 30912, USA.
authors.forename: Heather M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Cathcart
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Jason J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Covar
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Podolsky
authors.forename: Sally S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Atherton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000867:Anterior Chamber / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology*; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology*; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D016899:Interferon-beta / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D007372:Interferons / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D016177:Macrophage-1 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D057972:Posterior Eye Segment / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D016898:Interferon-alpha; D016177:Macrophage-1 Antigen; D016899:Interferon-beta; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D007372:Interferons