title: Antibody-mediated immune control of a retrovirus does not require the microbiota.
abstract: Commensal microbes are often required to control viral infection by facilitating host immune defenses. However, we found that this does not hold true for retroviral infection. We report that retrovirus-resistant mice control the pathogen with virus-neutralizing antibodies independently of commensal microbiota. This is in contrast to orthomyxoviruses and arenaviruses, where resistance is ablated in animals depleted of microbiota. Clearly, when it comes to antiviral immunity, the role of the microbiota cannot be generalized.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wilks
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Beilinson
authors.forename: Betty
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Theriault
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chervonsky
authors.forename: Tatyana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Golovkina
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing / Q000276:immunology*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005620:Freund's Adjuvant; D005856:Germ-Free Life / Q000276:immunology; D056724:Immunity, Humoral / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D064307:Microbiota / Q000276:immunology; D010047:Ovalbumin; D012192:Retroviridae Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms
chemical_list: D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing; D010047:Ovalbumin; D005620:Freund's Adjuvant