Herpes Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Herpes, including details on herpes simplex virus (hsv), genital, oral, symptoms, treatment.

Plasmacytoid DCs help lymph node DCs to induce anti-HSV CTLs.

Yoneyama H, Matsuno K, Toda E, Nishiwaki T, Matsuo N, Nakano A, Narumi S, Lu B, Gerard C, Ishikawa S, Matsushima K

Department of Molecular Preventive Medicine and Solution Oriented Research for Science and Technology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.

Antiviral cell-mediated immunity is initiated by the dendritic cell (DC) network in lymph nodes (LNs). Plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) are known to migrate to inflamed LNs and produce interferon (IFN)-alpha, but their other roles in antiviral T cell immunity are unclear. We report that LN-recruited pDCs are activated to create local immune fields that generate antiviral cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) in association with LNDCs, in a model of cutaneous herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection. Although pDCs alone failed to induce CTLs, in vivo depletion of pDCs impaired CTL-mediated virus eradication. LNDCs from pDC-depleted mice showed impaired cluster formation with T cells and antigen presentation to prime CTLs. Transferring circulating pDC precursors from wild-type, but not CXCR3-deficient, mice to pDC-depleted mice restored CTL induction by impaired LNDCs. In vitro co-culture experiments revealed that pDCs provided help signals that recovered impaired LNDCs in a CD2- and CD40L-dependent manner. pDC-derived IFN-alpha further stimulated the recovered LNDCs to induce CTLs. Therefore, the help provided by pDCs for LNDCs in primary immune responses seems to be pivotal to optimally inducing anti-HSV CTLs.

Published 2 August 2005 in J Exp Med, 202(3): 425-35.
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