The Role of Mouse Adenovirus Type 1 Early Region 1A in Acute and Persistent Infections in Mice

Mouse adenovirus type 1 (MAV-1) early region 1A (E1A) viral mutants were used to determine the importance of this region in pathogenesis and establishment of a persistent infection in the natural host. Lethal dose analysis with adult male Swiss outbred mice revealed a significant reduction in virulence for all of the E1A mutants. During acute infections with 10⁵ PFU of virus, an E1A null mutant, pmE109, was found in the same organs (brain, spleen, and spinal cord) and the same cell types (endothelial cells and mononuclear cells in lymphoid tissue) as wild-type virus. Another null mutant, pmE112, was detected in the same organs but in lower numbers. However, when mice were given a lower dose, 1 PFU, pmE109 and pmE112 reached none of the target organs analyzed by 14 days postinfection (p.i.). The absence of E1A did not hinder the ability of MAV-1 to establish a persistent infection. Viral nucleic acid was detected by PCR amplification or in situ hybridization in the kidneys, brains, spleens, and prefemoral lymph nodes of mice infected with wild-type or mutant virus up to 55 weeks p.i. The brain, spleen, and lymph node are recognized sites of acute viral infection but are previously unrecognized sites for MAV-1 persistence. Evidence for the potential reactivation of persistent MAV-1 infections is also presented.     

Direct entry of rabies virus into the central nervous system without prior local replication.

Rabies virus pathogenesis was studied in a mouse model by inoculation of the masseter muscle. At different intervals, the masseter muscle, trigeminal ganglia, and brain were analyzed for virus-specific RNA with a polymerase chain reaction assay, which revealed that as early as 18 h postinfection (p.i.), virus-specific RNA was present in the trigeminal ganglia, and at 24 h p.i., viral RNA was identified in the brain stem. Analysis of the masseter muscle demonstrated virus at 1 h p.i. but no virus-specific RNA between 6 and 30 h p.i., indicating that virus invaded the nerve ending directly, without prior replication in the muscle. At 36 h p.i., viral RNA was detected again in the masseter muscle. Selective amplification of plus- and minus-strand RNA isolated from the masseter muscle at 96 h p.i. revealed that the majority of the rabies virus-specific RNA was in the positive sense, suggesting virus replication in muscle tissue during late stages of infection.     

Persistent Hz-1 Virus Infection in Insect Cells: Evidence for Insertion of Viral DNA into Host Chromosomes and Viral Infection in a Latent Status

Persistent/latent viral infections of insect cells are a prominent though poorly understood phenomenon. In this study, the long-term association between the Hz-1 virus and insect host cells, conventionally referred to as persistent viral infection, is described. With the aid of a newly developed fluorescent cell-labeling system, we found that productive viral replication occurs by spontaneous viral reactivation in fewer than 0.2% of persistently infected cell lines over a 5-day period. Once viral reactivation takes place, the host cell dies. The persistently infected cells contain various amounts of viral DNA, and, in an extreme case, up to 16% of the total DNA isolated from infected cells could be of viral origin. Both pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and in situ hybridization experiments showed that some of these viral DNA molecules are inserted into the host chromosomes but that the rest of viral DNA copies are free from host chromosomes. Thus, Hz-1 virus is the first nonretroviral insect virus known to insert its genome into the host chromosome during the infection process. These data also suggest that the previously described persistent infection of Hz-1 virus in insect cells should be more accurately referred to as latent viral infection.     

Multiple 5' terminal cap structures in late polyoma virus RNA.

Nuclear and cytoplasmic polyoma virus-specific RNA extracted from 32P-labeled mouse embryo cells late during productive viral infection was analyzed for the presence of 5' terminal capped structures by complete digestion with RNAases T1, T2 and A, followed by two-dimensional electrophoretic fractionation. Seven major cap I structures (m7 GpppNm1pN2p) were observed in both cases. These termini were further characterized by digestion with penicillium nuclease P1, followed by product analysis in a variety of alternative separate systems. Each structure had an individual combination of N1 and N2 nucleotides, where N1 was always a purine nucleotide but N2 was any nucleotide subject to the single exception that m7GpppGmpCp is found only in low yield. Four different cap II derivatives (m7GpppNm1pNm2pN3p) of four of the cap I structures were also detected in cytoplasmic RNA. None of the termini described derived from contaminating host cell RNA. All of these cap structures mapped on the polyoma viral DNA genome between 66 and 71 map units, a region distant from the 5' end of the bodies of two of the three late polyoma mRNAs. All the polyoma virus-specific cap structures, however, were present in each of the purified 16S, 18S and 19s late mRNAs. These data suggested that families of capped leader sequences of varying sizes are attached to the main body of each late polyoma mRNA species by a splicing mechanism.     

CD94/NKG2A expression is associated with proliferative potential of CD8 T cells during persistent polyoma virus infection

Memory CD8 T cells comprise a critical component of durable immunity because of their capacity to rapidly proliferate and exert effector activity upon Ag rechallenge. During persistent viral infection, memory CD8 T cells repetitively encounter viral Ag and must maintain a delicate balance between limiting viral replication and minimizing immunopathology. In mice infected by polyoma virus, a natural mouse pathogen that establishes long-term persistent infection, the majority of persistence-phase antiviral CD8 T cells express the inhibitory NK cell receptor CD94/NKG2A. In this study, we asked whether CD94/NKG2A expression is associated with Ag-specific recall of polyoma virus-specific CD8 T cells. During the persistent phase of infection, polyoma virus-specific CD8 T cells that express CD94/NKG2A were found to preferentially proliferate; this proliferation was dependent on cognate Ag both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, CD94/NKG2A(+) polyoma-specific CD8 T cells have a markedly enhanced capacity to produce IL-2 upon ex vivo Ag stimulation compared with CD94/NKG2A(-) polyoma-specific CD8 T cells. Importantly, CD94/NKG2A(+) anti-polyoma virus CD8 T cells appear to be essential for Ag-specific recall responses in mice persistently infected by polyoma virus. Because of its higher proliferative potential and capacity to produce IL-2, we propose that the CD94/NKG2A(+) subpopulation represents a less differentiated state than the CD94/NKG2A(-) subpopulation. Identification of proliferation-competent subpopulations of memory CD8 T cells should prove valuable in designing therapeutic vaccination strategies for persistent viral infections.     

Increased expression of the NK cell receptor KLRG1 by virus-specific CD8 T cells during persistent antigen stimulation

The killer cell lectin-like receptor G1 (KLRG1) is a natural killer cell receptor expressed by T cells that exhibit impaired proliferative capacity. Here, we determined the KLRG1 expression by virus-specific T cells. We found that repetitive and persistent antigen stimulation leads to an increase in KLRG1 expression of virus-specific CD8+ T cells in mice and that virus-specific CD8+ T cells are mostly KLRG1+ in chronic human viral infections (human immunodeficiency virus, cytomegalovirus, and Epstein-Barr virus) but not in resolved infection (influenza virus). Thus, by using KLRG1 as a T-cell marker, our results suggest that the differentiation status and function of virus-specific CD8+ T cells are directly influenced by persistent antigen stimulation.