title: Malignant catarrhal fever induced by Alcelaphine herpesvirus 1 is characterized by an expansion of activated CD3+CD8+CD4- T cells expressing a cytotoxic phenotype in both lymphoid and non-lymphoid tissues.
abstract: Alcelaphine herpesvirus 1 (AlHV-1) is carried by wildebeest asymptomatically. It causes a fatal lymphoproliferative disease named wildebeest-derived malignant catarrhal fever (WD-MCF) when cross-species transmitted to a variety of susceptible species of the Artiodactyla order. WD-MCF can be reproduced experimentally in rabbits. In a previous report, we demonstrated that WD-MCF induced by AlHV-1 is associated with a severe proliferation of CD8(+) T cells in the lymphoid tissues. Here, we further studied the mononuclear leukocytic populations in both the lymphoid (throughout the infection and at time of euthanasia) and non-lymphoid (at time of euthanasia) organs during WD-MCF induced experimentally in rabbits. To reach that goal, we performed multi-colour flow cytometry stainings. The results obtained demonstrate that the development of WD-MCF correlates in peripheral blood with a severe increase of CD8(+) cell percentages; and that CD3(+)CD8(+)CD4(-) T cells were the predominant cell type in both lymphoid and non-lymphoid organs at time of euthanasia. Further characterization of the mononuclear leukocytes isolated from both lymphoid and non-lymphoid tissues revealed that the CD8(+) T cells express high levels of the activation markers CD25 and CD44, produce high amount of gamma-interferon (IFN-γ) and perforin, and showed a reduction of interleukin-2 (IL-2) gene expression. These data demonstrate that the development of WD-MCF is associated with the expansion and infiltration of activated and cytotoxic CD3(+)CD8(+)CD4(-) T cells secreting high amount of IFN-γ but low IL-2.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Immunology-Vaccinology (B43b), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, B-4000 Liège, Belgium. bgdewals@ulg.ac.be.
authors.forename: Benjamin G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Dewals
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vanderplasschen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017252:CD3 Complex / Q000378:metabolism; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000662:veterinary; D018142:Gammaherpesvirinae / Q000502:physiology*; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D008221:Lymphoid Tissue / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D008304:Malignant Catarrh / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D054353:Perforin / Q000378:metabolism; D011817:Rabbits; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D017252:CD3 Complex; D054353:Perforin