Cytotoxic T cell activity is strain-specific in outbred mice infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus.

The cytotoxic T cell response in outbred mice infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) is strain specific. The same is true for adoptive transfer of fatal LCM disease. The response of individuals within an outbred strain is completely cross-reactive, as shown by using immune lymphocytes and virus-infected macrophage targets from individual mice. Reciprocal exclusion of cytotoxic T cell activity between inbred and outbred mouse strains is the rule, the exception being one strain (H) known to have some C57BL ancestry. Immune T cells from one of 7 H mice specifically lysed LCMV-infected C57BL macrophages. Experiments with inbred mice have shown that only one allele need be shared at either the H-2K or H-2D locus for cytotoxic T cell activity to be manifest. Adoptive transfer protocols may thus be considered in outbred situations, providing that T cells are effective before allograft rejection occurs. Also, the LCMV cytotoxic T cell assay may be useful for determining the degree of H-2 variability in wild mouse populations, as novel H-2 types can be detected and mice need not be congenic.     

Antiviral antibodies attenuate T-cell-mediated immunopathology following acute lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection.

The role of antiviral antibody in resistance to acute lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection has been examined by passive transfer of monoclonal antibodies and intracerebral challenge infection. Protection of mice from lethal T-cell-mediated acute disease was observed following passive administration of antibodies either 1 day before or up to 2 days after infection. Viral replication was suppressed in protected mice, and the cytotoxic T-cell response to virus was also diminished. Virus was cleared from the brain and other tissues of protected mice without development of lethal immunopathology, suggesting that preexisting antibody may play a significant role in modulating potentially destructive effects of T-cell-mediated immune responses to pathogens.     

Vaccination with a synthetic peptide modulates lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus-mediated immunopathology.

Vaccination with a nucleopeptide (NP 118; amino acids 118 to 132) representing a cytotoxic T-cell epitope of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) can modulate immunopathology. Immunization with NP 118 protected H-2d mice against intracerebral infection with the LCMV-ARMSTRONG isolate. However, when NP 118-primed H-2d mice were challenged intracerebrally with an intermediate dose (5 x 10(4) PFU) of the LCMV-DOCILE strain, all mice primed with NP 118 emulsified in incomplete Freund's adjuvant died, whereas unprimed mice survived. Correspondingly, peptide vaccination enhanced specifically the cytotoxic T-cell response, influencing the critical balance between T-cell response and virus spread.     

Clearance of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus in antibody- and B-cell-deprived mice.

The role of antibody in immune recovery from infection with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) strain WE was evaluated in B-cell-depleted mice. Mice were treated from birth with either affinity-purified rabbit anti-mouse immunoglobulin M (IgM), normal rabbit immunoglobulin, or, alternatively, an affinity-purified monoclonal rat anti-mouse IgM antibody (LO-MM-9); untreated mice served as controls. B-cell depletion was considered complete in specifically treated mice according to the following criteria: absence of a significant response to the B-cell mitogen lipopolysaccharide, absence of B cells expressing immunoglobulin on their surfaces, absence of detectable IgM or IgG in serum, and presence in the serum of free anti-IgM antibodies. In organs of mu-suppressed BALB/c mice, LCMV-WE replicated, dependent upon organ, at the same rate or more rapidly and, in general, to higher titers than in normal rabbit immunoglobulin-treated mice; untreated mice eliminated the virus most rapidly and showed lower virus titers. In addition, LCMV-primed control mice cleared a second LCMV challenge very rapidly and contained no virus by day 3, whereas mu-suppressed mice had virus in their blood and organs (except the spleen) up to days 3 to 6. The observed effects of anti-mu treatment may reflect the action of neutralizing antibodies (which so far have been difficult to demonstrate in vivo) or other antibody-dependent antiviral mechanisms which, together with T cells, efficiently control LCMV clearance.     

Alterations of acetylcholine enzymes in neuroblastoma cells persistently infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus.

Persistent infection of murine neuroblastoma cells with a relatively non-cytopathic virus, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), significantly lowered the cells' concentrations of choline acetyl transferase (CAT) and acetylcholine esterase (ACHE), enzymes which make or degrade acetylcholine. Quantities of acetylcholine enzymes remained depressed during the observation period of more than two years. This cellular luxury function was turned off without observable alterations in the cells' vital functions – growth rates, protein and RNA synthesis. Cloning experiments showed that CAT and ACHE levels were altered in the majority of LCMV infected neuroblastoma cells in culture and not limited to a specific subpopulation. Cells persistently infected with virus also contained receptors for neurotoxin A and α bungarotoxin. Six months after becoming infected, neuroblastoma cells having significant alterations in luxury functions stopped making infectious virus. Instead these cells now produced a defective interfering virus component. Similar events to those seen in vitro with neuroblastoma cells also occurred in vivo. Mice inoculated with LCMV at birth carried high titers of LCMV in brain tissues and viral antigens in neuronal cells as adults. Some of these mice also showed significant alterations in their ability to make and degrade acetylcholine when compared to age and sex matched controls.     

Reactive oxygen species delay control of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus

Cluster of differentiation (CD)8⁺ T cells are like a double edged sword during chronic viral infections because they not only promote virus elimination but also induce virus-mediated immunopathology. Elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been reported during virus infections. However, the role of ROS in T-cell-mediated immunopathology remains unclear. Here we used the murine lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus to explore the role of ROS during the processes of virus elimination and induction of immunopathology. We found that virus infection led to elevated levels of ROS producing granulocytes and macrophages in virus-infected liver and spleen tissues that were triggered by the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase. Lack of the regulatory subunit p47phox of the NADPH oxidase diminished ROS production in these cells. While CD8⁺ T cells exhibited ROS production that was independent of NADPH oxidase expression, survival and T-cell function was elevated in p47phox-deficient (Ncf1^−/−) mice. In the absence of p47phox, enhanced T-cell immunity promoted virus elimination and blunted corresponding immunopathology. In conclusion, we find that NADPH-mediated production of ROS critically impairs the immune response, impacting elimination of virus and outcome of liver cell damage.     

Viral proteins and RNAs in BHK cells persistently infected by lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus

Some Syrian hamster cell lines persistently infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) do not produce extracellular virus particles but do contain intracytoplasmic infectious material. The proteins of these cells were labeled with [35S]methionine or with [3H]glucosamine and [3H]mannose, and immunoprecipitates were prepared with anti-LCMV sera. A substantial amount of the LCMV nucleocapsid protein (molecular weight about 58,000) was detected, along with GP-C, the precursor of the virion glycoproteins GP-1 and GP-2. GP-1 and GP-2 themselves were not detected. A new method of transferring proteins electrophoretically from sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels to diazotized paper in high yield revealed several additional LCMV proteins present specifically in the persistently infected cells, at apparent molecular weights (X10(3] of 112, 107, 103, 89, 71 (probably GP-C), 58 (nucleocapsid protein), 42 to 47 (probably GP-1), and 40 (possibly GP-2). By iodinating intact cells with I3, GP-1 but not GP-2 or GP-C was revealed on the surfaces of the persistently infected cells, whereas both GP-1 and GP-C were found on the surfaces of acutely infected cells. The absence of GP-C from the plasma membrane of the persistently infected cells might be related to defective maturation of the virus in these cells. Cytoplasmic viral nucleoprotein complexes were labeled with [3H]uridine in the presence or absence of actinomycin D, purified partially by sedimentation in D2O-sucrose gradients, and adsorbed to fixed Staphylococus aureus cells in the presence of anti-LCMV immunoglobulin G. Several discrete species of viral RNA were released from the immune complexes with sodium dodecyl sulfate. Some were appreciably smaller than the 31S and 23S species of standard LCMV virions, indicating that defective interfering viral RNAs are probably present in the persistently infected cells. Ribosomal 28S and 18S RNAs, labeled only in the absence of actinomycin D, were coprecipitated with anti-LCMV serum but not with control serum, indicating their association with LCMV nucleoproteins in the cells.     

Dianhydrodulcitol treatment of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection in suckling mice.

Mice 2--4 days of age were pretreated with a single 5 mg/kg dose of dianhydrodulcitol (DAD) and later infected intracerebrally with lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM) virus. These animals had a lower mortality rate and died later than the untreated control animals. Thus DAD pretreatment prevented in part of the animals the development of lethal meningitis, the consequence of LCM virus infection, reducing the cellular immune response. This effect of DAD could equally be observed in animals infected at the age of 16--18 days and of 4 weeks.     

Elevated natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity, plasma interferon, and tumor cell rejection in mice persistently infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus

To assess the effects of chronic virus infection on NK cells, the related phenomena of interferon (IFN) production, NK cell activation, and resistance to tumor implants were studied in mice persistently infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV). NK cells from these LCMV-carrier mice displayed augmented killing of the NK-sensitive YAC-1 target cell. They did not lyse the more resistant targets L-929 and P815, whereas NK cells from acutely infected mice efficiently lysed all three cell types. The plasma from LCMV-carrier mice contained an antiviral substance identified as IFN type I, based on species specificity, virus nonspecificity, resistance to pH 2, and sensitivity to antibody to type I IFN. IFN titers in plasma from LCMV-carrier mice were 32 to 64 U/ml, about 20-fold less than those in acutely infected mice. Both the IFN and NK cell levels continuously remained elevated in the LCMV carrier mice up to at least 6 months of age. IFN is known to activate NK cells and to induce their blastogenesis in vivo. As determined by centrifugal elutriation, large NK blast-size cells were isolated from the spleens of acutely infected mice, but not from either normal or LCMV-carrier mice, suggesting augmented NK cell-mediated lysis in the absence of enhanced proliferation. Poly inosinic-cytidylic acid induced high levels of NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity and blastogenesis in both control and LCMV-carrier mice, but IFN was induced to lower levels in carriers as compared with controls. Coincidental with augmented NK cell activity, the LCMV-carrier mice rejected intravenously injected 125IUdR-labeled tumor cells more efficiently than did normal mice. Thus, LCMV carrier mice have low levels of type I IFN, moderately augmented NK cell activity lasting for at least 6 months, and increased resistance to tumor cell implants. This indicates that augmented NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity can be maintained in vivo over prolonged periods of time in the presence of chronic low-level IFN stimulation.     

RNA interference-mediated virus clearance from cells both acutely and chronically infected with the prototypic arenavirus lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus

Several arenaviruses, including Lassa fever virus, cause severe, often lethal hemorrhagic fever in humans. No licensed vaccines are available in the United States, and currently there is no efficacious therapy to treat this viral infection. Therefore the importance of developing effective antiviral approaches to combat pathogenic arenaviruses is clear. Moreover, the prototypic arenavirus lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) is an important model for the study of viral persistence and associated diseases, as well as for exploring therapies to treat viral chronic infections. The use of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to downregulate gene expression via RNA interference (RNAi) has emerged as a powerful genetic tool for the study of gene function. In addition, the successful use of siRNAs to target a variety of animal viruses has led us to consider RNAi as a potential novel antiviral strategy. We have investigated the use of RNAi therapy against LCMV. Here, we show that siRNAs targeting sequences within the viral L polymerase and Z mRNAs inhibit LCMV multiplication in cultured cells. Unexpectedly, the antiviral efficacy of RNAi-based therapy against LCMV was highly dependent on the method used to deliver effector siRNA molecules. Thus, transfection of chemically synthesized siRNA pools to L and Z was ineffective in preventing virus multiplication. In contrast, targeting of the same viral L and Z gene products with siRNAs produced inside cells using a replication-deficient recombinant adenovirus expression system inhibited LCMV multiplication very efficiently. Notably, transduction with the replication-deficient recombinant adenovirus expression system to Z and L effectively cured persistently LCMV-infected cells, suggesting the feasibility of using RNAi therapy to combat viral chronic infections by riboviruses.     

Combined phytohaemagglutinin and dianhydrodulcitol treatment of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection in mice.

The course of intracerebral lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM) virus infection was studied in mice treated simultaneously with dianhydrodulcitol (DAD) and phytohaemagglutinin (PHA). Earlier experiments revealed that DAD decreased and PHA enhanced the cellular immune response of mice to LCM virus infection. On applying the treatments simultaneously they inhibited each other and neither the decreasing effect of DAD nor the enhancing effect of PHA on the cellular immune response could be observed.