Adenovirus-induced liver pathology is mediated through TNF receptors I and II but is independent of TNF or lymphotoxin.

Mice infected with an adenovirus mutant in which the E3 region is deleted, including TNF-resistance genes, develop fatal liver pathology within 3-4 days after infection. At least 10-fold more wild-type virus was needed to cause comparable pathology. These results indicate that the E3 region is critically involved in modulating the pathogenesis of adenovirus infection and that TNF may play a role in liver damage. To explore the latter possibility, the course of disease was examined in infected mice lacking TNFR-I and/or TNFRII, TNF only, or both TNF and lymphotoxin-alpha. Only mice lacking both TNFRI and TNFRII were protected from the lethal affects of the mutant adenovirus. Mice deficient in TNF or TNF and lymphotoxin-alpha displayed the fatal pathology. This outcome is consistent with the existence of another related ligand that binds TNFRI/II to mediate liver damage during infection with this mutant.