Attenuation of innate immunity by cytomegalovirus IL-10 establishes a long-term deficit of adaptive antiviral immunity

WLW Chang, PA Barry - Proceedings of the National …, 2010 - National Acad Sciences
WLW Chang, PA Barry
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2010National Acad Sciences
Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and many other pathogens exploit the IL-10 pathway, as
part of their infectious cycle, either through their own encoded IL-10 (hcmvIL-10 for HCMV)
or manipulation of the cellular IL-10 signaling cascade. Based on the in vitro demonstrations
of its pleiotropic and cell type-dependent modulatory nature, hcmvIL-10 could profoundly
attenuate host immunity, facilitating the establishment and maintenance of a persistent
infection in an immune-competent host. To investigate the impact of extrinsic IL-10 on the …
Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and many other pathogens exploit the IL-10 pathway, as part of their infectious cycle, either through their own encoded IL-10 (hcmvIL-10 for HCMV) or manipulation of the cellular IL-10 signaling cascade. Based on the in vitro demonstrations of its pleiotropic and cell type-dependent modulatory nature, hcmvIL-10 could profoundly attenuate host immunity, facilitating the establishment and maintenance of a persistent infection in an immune-competent host. To investigate the impact of extrinsic IL-10 on the induction and maintenance of antiviral immune responses in vivo, rhesus macaques were inoculated with variants of rhesus cytomegalovirus (RhCMV) either expressing or lacking the RhCMV ortholog of hcmvIL-10 (rhcmvIL-10). The results show that rhcmvIL-10 alters the earliest host responses to viral antigens by dampening the magnitude and specificity of innate effector cells to primary RhCMV infection. In addition, there is a commensurate reduction in the quality and quantity of early and long-term, RhCMV-specific adaptive immune responses. These findings provide a mechanistic basis of how early interactions between a newly infected host and HCMV could shape the long-term virus–host balance, which may facilitate the development of new prevention and intervention strategies for HCMV.
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