title: T cells are not required for pathogenesis in the Syrian hamster model of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.
abstract: Andes virus (ANDV) is associated with a lethal vascular leak syndrome in humans termed hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). In hamsters, ANDV causes a respiratory distress syndrome closely resembling human HPS. The mechanism for the massive vascular leakage associated with HPS is poorly understood; however, T cell immunopathology has been implicated on the basis of circumstantial and corollary evidence. Here, we show that following ANDV challenge, hamster T cell activation corresponds with the onset of disease. However, treatment with cyclophosphamide or specific T cell depletion does not impact the course of disease or alter the number of surviving animals, despite significant reductions in T cell number. These data demonstrate, for the first time, that T cells are not required for hantavirus pathogenesis in the hamster model of human HPS. Depletion of T cells from Syrian hamsters did not significantly influence early events in disease progression. Moreover, these data argue for a mechanism of hantavirus-induced vascular permeability that does not involve T cell immunopathology.
authors.affiliation: U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Virology Division, Fort Detrick, MD 21702, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Hammerbeck
authors.forename: Jay W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Hooper
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006224:Cricetinae; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006476:Orthohantavirus / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D018804:Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D008212:Lymphocyte Depletion; D008647:Mesocricetus; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*