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Journal of Virology, November 2003, p. 11661-11673, Vol. 77, No. 21
0022-538X/03/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.77.21.11661-11673.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Harry Openshaw,1,2 Christina Nalbandian,1 Carl Edwards,3 Lyle Moldawer,4 and Edouard Cantin1,2*
Departments of Virology,1 Neurology, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope Medical Center, Duarte, California,2 Amgen Inc., Thousand Oaks, California,3 Department of Surgery, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida4
Received 18 April 2003/ Accepted 25 July 2003
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Pioneering studies by Lopez and others (32, 36, 38) demonstrated that natural resistance of inbred mouse strains to HSV-1 formed a continuum, such that the strains could be classified as highly susceptible (A/J and PL), moderately susceptible (BALB/c, AKR/J, and DBA/2J), and resistant (C57BL/6 [B6], C57BL/10, DBA/1, and CBA) following intraperitoneal (i.p.) challenge. Analyses of F1 and F2 crosses and N2 backcrosses between resistant C57BL/6 and susceptible (BALB/c or A/J) mice revealed that resistance to i.p. challenge with HSV-1 was a dominant, autosomal trait determined by two independently segregating genes (38). Furthermore, resistance was not H-2 linked, as congenic strains expressing major histocompatibility complex alleles characteristic of the susceptible strains in a B6 background were as resistant as the parental B6 and B10 strains to HSV-1-induced mortality (30, 39). While HSV-1 strain differences did not influence the pattern of resistance seen in the inbred strains, the route of inoculation did, as A/J mice were significantly more resistant to intravenous challenge than to i.p. challenge with HSV-1 (36, 37).
To examine the genetics of natural resistance to HSV-1 neural infection, Simmons and colleagues (65) used the flank inoculation model as a better approximation of natural HSV-1 infection. Their results corroborated Lopez's prior results with one important exception: namely, that only one locus, rather than two loci, was found to determine resistance to mortality. A plausible explanation for this discrepancy is that the different routes of inoculation, i.p. versus flank (i.e., cutaneous), elicit different protective immune responses. i.p. inoculation may well involve spread to critical visceral organs such as the liver, in addition to infection of the central nervous system (CNS) via neural conduits. In contrast, after flank or cutaneous inoculation, HSV-1 infection is largely confined to the corresponding sensory nerve tracts and CNS, with minimal if any involvement of other critical organs in an immunocompetent host. Hence, protection from HSV-1 inoculated via cutaneous and i.p. routes might involve one and two genes, respectively. In contrast to mortality, resistance to ganglionic infection after flank inoculation of HSV-1 was shown to be genetically complex, involving multiple, independently segregating autosomal dominant loci (30, 66).
Genetic resistance to HSV-1 can be circumvented by direct intracerebral inoculation of HSV-1, resulting in uniform mortality in genetically resistant and susceptible mouse strains, which implies that resistance is immunologically mediated and functions to restrict the spread of virus to the CNS (38). Restriction of HSV-1 replication in peripheral nervous system ganglia of resistant mice (C57BL/6) is observed at early stages of infection, days 2 to 5 after inoculation, consistent with the involvement of innate immune responses (37, 66). Several studies have suggested a prominent role for NK cells, an important component of the innate immune system, in the control of herpesvirus infections (12). However, a complicating factor in these studies involving in vivo antibody-mediated depletion of NK cells is that the targeted lineage marker, NK1.1, lacks the required specificity for NK cells (5, 29, 67). Moreover, there is evidence that HSV, like cytomegalovirus (CMV), has evolved strategies to escape NK cell killing (3, 19). Early reports on innate resistance to HSV implicated a role for macrophages (37). Macrophages activated by HSV-1 infection produce tumor necrosis factor (TNF), NO, and alpha/beta interferon (IFN-
/ß), all of which can potently inhibit HSV-1 in vitro and in vivo. Thus, it is not surprising that in vivo depletion of macrophages results in enhanced susceptibility to HSV-1 infection (33) (E. Cantin, unpublished observations). Interestingly, macrophage infiltration and early IFN-
production in the peripheral nervous system were blocked by depletion of 
T cells, suggesting that cooperation between macrophages and 
T cells is an important component of the innate response to HSV-1 (33). A comprehensive understanding of natural resistance to HSV-1 infection will not be forthcoming until the critical gene(s) that determine innate resistance is identified and functionally characterized.
Previously, inflammatory responses characterized by expression of proinflammatory cytokines, including IFN-
and TNF, were observed to persist in the nervous system of HSV-1-infected mice well into latency (16). Our prior studies of HSV-1 infection in IFN-
-/- and IFN-
R-/- mice revealed that the IFN-
receptor, rather than IFN-
itself, was required for protection from mortality (14), whereas both IFN-
and the IFN-
receptor were important for in vivo control of reactivated HSV-1 (13).
TNF is the prototypical member of a large family of immunoregulatory proteins, and its diverse functions include regulation of T-cell trafficking and apoptosis, activation of dendritic cells and macrophages, and antiviral activity (17, 28, 35, 40, 52, 70). We report here that, in the course of studies to ascertain a role for TNF in HSV infection, we serendipitously discovered a locus on mouse chromosome 6 (c6) that determines resistance to HSV-1 mortality. We named this locus the herpes resistance locus (Hrl). We demonstrated that Hrl is closely linked to the p55 TNF receptor (TNFR) gene (Tnfrsf1a) on c6 and that alone it mediates resistance to HSV mortality in male mice, whereas a second locus, the sex modifier locus (Sml) is responsible for enhanced resistance of female mice. Remarkably, Hrl also influences in vitro reactivation of HSV-1 and affects aspects of both innate and adaptive immunity to HSV. The identification of Hrl and Sml and functional characterization of their gene products will provide novel insights into innate immunity, immune factors that modulate reactivation and sex-based differences in HSV-1 infection that were previously reported (26).
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Virus stocks and inoculation of mice. Master stocks of HSV-1 strain 17+ or HSV-2 strain MS comprised only of cell-released virus were prepared in and were titered on mycoplasma-free CV-1 cell monolayers; single-use aliquots of virus in Hanks balanced salt solution (HBSS) were stored at -80°C.
The City of Hope animal care committee approved of all animal procedures. Mice were inoculated with HSV-1 or HSV-2 by corneal scarification. The right cornea of mice deeply anesthetized by i.p. injection of ketamine and xylazine was gently scarified by using a 27-gauge needle: 10 vertical strokes followed by application of HSV in a volume of 4 µl of HBSS followed by another 10 horizontal strokes and gentle massaging of the eye with the eyelid to promote virus uptake (14). To minimize experimental variation, the same individual inoculated all of the mice used in studies reported here and mice were always inoculated before noon. The same virus master stock was used for all experiments reported here. For determination of 50% lethal dose (LD50), groups of five to eight mice were challenged with 10-fold dilutions of virus ranging from 5 to 105 PFU per mouse and LD50 values were calculated as described by Reed and Muench previously (15, 53).
Murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) Smith strain (K181+) stocks, prepared from salivary glands of MCMV-infected BALB/c mice harvested on day 14 postinfection as previously described (22), were obtained from Chris Morello (University of California at San Diego, La Jolla). MCMV titers were determined by plaque assay on NIH 3T3 cells as previously described (41).
HSV shedding and necropsy titers. To monitor HSV shedding in the tear film, the inoculated cornea was swabbed with an alginate swab moistened in HBSS. The swab was vigorously agitated in a vial containing 0.2 ml of Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) supplemented with 2% fetal bovine serum (FBS), and HSV was detected by plaque assay on rabbit skin (RS) cell monolayers.
Trigeminal ganglia (Tg), brain stem, and eyes harvested from mice that died from HSV infection or were euthanatized because of pronounced symptoms of HSV encephalitis were homogenized in media containing 2% FBS (DMEM-2), and HSV necropsy titers were determined in the supernatants. Necropsy tissues were processed immediately or were stored at 4°C. Control experiments demonstrated that there was no significant loss of titer for tissues stored at 4°C or at room temperature for up to 24 h compared to tissues that were processed immediately after death.
In vitro reactivation of HSV. Latently infected mice were sacrificed on days 28 to 30 postinfection, and Tg were cultured intact as explants in DMEM supplemented with 10% FBS (DMEM-10) for 5 days. The Tg were homogenized in DMEM-2, and reactivated HSV-1 present in the homogenate and culture supernatants was detected by plaque assay on RS cells.
Quantitative PCR for HSV DNA in latently infected ganglia. Total ganglionic DNA was extracted from the Tg homogenate pellets or from Tg that were not subject to reactivation in vitro by digestion of the tissue with 250 µg of proteinase K in 250 µl of proteinase K buffer followed by phenol extraction and ethanol precipitation. DNA concentration and purity were determined spectrophotometrically from the ratio of absorbance at 260 nm to that at 280 nm.
Semiquantitative PCR for HSV gD sequences in Tg was done by comparing amplified gD sequences to that of the single-copy-number cellular adipsin gene as previously described (26). A quantitative fluorescence-based PCR assay derived from the commercially available TaqMan PCR was used to determine the quantity of HSV DNA in latently infected nonreactivated Tg and Tg pellets obtained after in vitro reactivation of explanted Tg cultures. The TaqMan PCR assay, originally optimized for amplification of HSV-1 gG sequences in human Tg samples (47), had to be reoptimized for efficient amplification of gG sequences in mouse Tg DNA. The optimized TaqMan PCR assay conditions for mouse Tg included the use of 4 mM Mg2+, 500 nM primers, 5% dimethyl sulfoxide, 2 U of AmpliTaq Gold with 100 ng of total ganglionic DNA per reaction, and TaqMan probe at 100 nM final concentration, all other conditions being as originally specified. The gG-specific primer sequences have been reported elsewhere (47). A TaqMan PCR Core kit (Applied Biosystems) was used, and the samples were run on a Bio-Rad iCycler. A standard curve, generated by amplification of HSV DNA ranging from 5 to 5 x 107 copies per 100 ng of normal mouse DNA, was linear throughout the range. All standards were in triplicate, all samples were in duplicate, and PCR standard interassay correlation coefficient variability was less than 0.7%.
Determination of NO levels in macrophage cultures. Resident peritoneal exudate (PE) macrophages were obtained by lavage with RPMI medium supplemented with 5% FBS. The cells were washed and plated in 100-cm-diameter tissue culture dish in RPMI medium-10% FBS. On the next day the culture was washed and the adherent cells were removed by scraping in cell dissociation buffer and were replated at a density of 2.5 x 105 cells per well of a 96-well plate. Following treatments to activate the macrophages, NO levels in macrophage culture supernatants were determined as nitrite concentration ([NO]) by using the Greiss reagent and were quantitated by comparison to a standard curve generated by using sodium nitrate (69). Briefly, a 100-µl aliquot of medium from the macrophage cultures was mixed with an equal volume of Greiss reagent (1% sulfanilamide, 0.1% N-[1-napthyl] etheylenediamine dihydrochlororide, and 2.1% phosphoric acid), and after 5 min at room temperature, the absorbance was read at 540 nm. The data presented are averages plus or minus standard errors of the means of duplicate cultures assayed in duplicate and are representative of three to six experiments.
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TABLE 1. Anomalous resistance to HSV-1 in TNFR knockout strains
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Significantly, we established that the resistant p55-/- mice had been backcrossed a further eight times to the B6 strain (B6p55-/- N13 mice (Tak Mak, personal communication). When p55-/- N13 mice were inoculated with HSV, 31 of 40 (78%) mice survived, compared to only 7 of 48 (15%) of p55-/- N5 mice (P < 0.001). There was a statistically significant difference in mortality when B6 and p55-/- N5 mice but not B6 and p55-/- N13 mice were compared. Based on this result and knowledge of the genetic background of the various TNFR lines, we hypothesized that different alleles of a locus closely linked to tnfrsf1a (p55, TNFR1) on mouse c6 confer resistance or susceptibility to HSV-1-induced mortality depending on whether the allele was derived from the resistant B6 or the susceptible 129 strain background, respectively. We have named the locus on c6 Hrl. This hypothesis predicts that HSV-1-induced mortality in the parental B6 and 129S6 strains should mirror that of the p55-/- N13 and p55-/- N5 strains, respectively. Identical mortality of 85% was observed for the susceptible p55-/- N5 and 129 strains, whereas the resistant p55-/- N13 and B6 strains had mortality rates of 22 and 8%, respectively, that were statistically indistinguishable (P > 0.05, log rank test), consistent with our hypothesis (Fig. 1).
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FIG. 1. HSV-1 induced mortality in the p55-/- congenic lines, the parental B6 and 129 strains and (B6 x 129)F1. Mortality in male (B6 x 129)F1 mice aged 8 to 10 weeks challenged with 10 times the LD50 of HSV-1 is shown in black squares, and mortality data for the parental B6 (grey squares) and 129 strain (grey circles) and the p55-/- Hrl congenic strains N5 (grey upward-pointed triangles) and N13 (grey downward-pointed triangles) are included for comparison purposes. Mice given 10 times the LD50 were monitored for mortality. The log rank test was used to determine P.
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87.5% mortality in susceptible animals) provide compelling evidence for linkage of Hrl to the p55 gene on c6. However, since the possibility that Hrl is on some other chromosome could not be excluded, it was important to confirm linkage before proceeding with mapping studies focused on c6. The null hypothesis to test for linkage predicts that, if Hrl were not linked to p55, susceptibility to HSV-1 would segregate independently of genotype at the p55 locus and would occur with equal frequency (50%) in heterozygous and homozygous N2 progeny of a (B6 x p55-/- N5)F1 x p55-/- N5 backcross (64). Conversely, linkage of Hrl to Tnfrsf1a predicts that susceptibility to HSV-1 challenge in the N2 backcross mice should segregate with homozygosity for the p55 null mutation. In experiment 1, 88% (seven of eight) of male N2 mice that died of HSV infection were homozygous p55-/- (Fig. 2A) compared to only 38% (three of eight) of littermates that survived a challenge by two times the LD50 (Fig. 2B). Because the difference in mortality between p55 homozygous and heterozygous null mutant mice was not statistically significant, this result supports but does not prove linkage. In experiment 2, in which 29 homozygous and 27 heterozygous p55 null mutant male N2 backcross mice were challenged at 10 times the LD50, susceptibility (Hrls) segregated with the p55-/- genotype at a frequency that was significantly different from 50% (P = 0.016), which is consistent with linkage of Hrl to p55 (Fig. 2C). Data from male N2 mice were used to assess linkage of Hrl to p55, because the combined effects of enhanced resistance of female mice (see below), together with the potential for sex-biased TNF signaling effects (49, 56), were considered too complex for interpretation of the data from female mice.
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FIG. 2. Linkage of Hrl to the p55 locus. Progeny from a (B6 x p55-/- N5)F1 x p55-/- N5 N2 backcross were challenged with 10 times the LD50 of HSV-1. Susceptibility (A) and resistance (B) correlated with homozygosity and heterozygosity, respectively, for the p55 null mutation (-/- and +/-) as determined by PCR on tail DNA samples, and this correlation was statistically significant (C).
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For genetic mapping of Hrl, 275 129 x (B6 x 129)F1 N2 backcross mice were phenotyped for resistance to HSV-1 challenge. A profound sex-based difference in resistance was evident in that 52% (75 of 144) of male mice, compared to 68% (89 of 131) of female mice, were resistant to HSV-1-induced mortality (Fig. 3). Mortality in male mice was not significantly different from 50% (P = 0.80), but it was significantly different from 75% (P < 0.0001), which is consistent with a single locus determining resistance. In contrast, mortality in female mice was significantly different from 50% (P < 0.0001) but not from 75% (P = 0.43), which would be expected if at least two loci were responsible for resistance in female mice. The second locus was named the sex modifier locus (Sml), and sex-based differences in innate resistance to HSV-1 were ascribed to Sml functioning to augment resistance in susceptible female mice that are genotypically Hrls.
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FIG. 3. Resistance to HSV-1 is sex biased. A total of 275 male and female 129 x (B6 x 129)F1 N2 backcross mice were challenged with 10 times the LD50 of HSV-1 and were monitored for mortality and symptoms of encephalitis. Female (grey triangles) mice were approximately 50% more resistant (P = 0.018) to HSV-1 than were male mice (black circles).
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FIG. 4. Hrl mediates resistance to HSV-2. p55-/- Hrl congenic N5 and N13 mice were challenged with 3,200 PFU of the virulent MS strain of HSV-2 and were monitored for symptoms of encephalitis and mortality. Mortality for females is shown in panel A and for males in panel B.
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FIG. 5. Cmv1 does not mediate resistance to HSV-1. Mortality in the C.B8-Klra8Cmv1-r/Uwa congenic strain was compared to that of the resistant B6 and susceptible BALB/c parental strains after challenge with 10 times the LD50 of HSV-1. BALB/c (grey circles) and C.B8-Klra8Cmv1-r/Uwa (black circles) animals are both susceptible to HSV-1, compared to C57BL/6 (black squares) mice.
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TABLE 2. p55-/- Hrl congenic strains are resistant to MCMV infection
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FIG. 6. A genetic map for Hrl. Confirmed polymorphic markers spanning 40 to 65 centimorgans of mouse chromosome 6 that were used to delineate the parental origin of genetic material in the p55-/- Hrl congenic N5 and N13 strains and the C.B8-Klra8Cmv1-r/Uwa congenic strain. Chromosome segments are shaded black for B6 derived, light grey for 129 or BALB/c derived, and striped for mosaic regions present in the three strains. The locations of p55, the major NK complex (NK), and the murine cytomegalovirus resistance (Cmv1) loci are indicated. DNA marker locations were retrieved from http://www.informatics.jax.org/searches/marker_form.shtml.
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More pronounced weight loss in susceptible than in resistant mouse strains. During acute-stage infection with HSV-1, weight loss began earlier and was more rapid for susceptible p55-/- N5 and 129S6 mice than for resistant p55-/- N13 and B6 mice when it occurred, which correlates with the susceptible strains dying more rapidly than the resistant strains (Fig. 7). In fact, for the majority of p55-/- N13 and B6 mice, there was a tendency for weight gain during the acute phase of infection, which attests to their resistance to HSV-1. An important observation was that weight loss in excess of 30% of initial body weight (day 0) was an excellent prognostic indicator of death; only 2% (3 of 150) of mice that lost more than 30% of their body weight subsequently recovered and survived. By utilizing the criterion of weight loss in excess of 25% of initial body weight in conjunction with clinical signs of encephalitis, it was possible to identify and euthanatize HSV-1-infected mice that would otherwise die from encephalitis, thus avoiding unnecessary suffering for terminally ill mice.
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FIG. 7. HSV-induced weight loss in susceptible and resistant mouse strains. HSV-infected animals were monitored daily for weight loss. Individual mice are shown and data are given as percentage of original (preinoculation) weight for each of four strains used. Individual mice that died from infection or were euthanatized due to symptoms of encephalitis are shown as grey symbols and lines. The horizontal line in each panel indicates 30% body weight loss. Data shown are for 14 to 19 mice per group and are representative of results from three experiments.
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FIG. 8. HSV-1 titers in necropsy tissue samples. Necropsy tissues were collected from mice that died after ocular inoculation or were euthanatized because of severe encephalitis. HSV-1 load in eye, Tg, and brain stem tissues was determined by plaque assay on CV-1 cells. Parental strains (B6 circles, and 129, squares) are shown in black, and the p55-/- congenic strains are shown in grey (p55-/- N13, triangles; and p55-/- N5, diamonds). Eye titers are the sum of left and right eyes. Time of death ranged from days 5 to 14, with the majority of susceptible (129 and p55-/- N5) mice usually dying between days 7 and 10. No correlation was seen between time of death and HSV titer. Horizontal bars with asterisks above represent P for comparison of the indicated mouse groups; *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; and ***, P < 0.001.
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TABLE 3. HSV shedding in tear film of p55-/- micea
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Depletion of macrophages in resistant B6 and p55-/- N13 mice resulted in increased mortality after HSV-1 infection (unpublished results), attesting to the importance of macrophages in resistance to HSV-1 infection (37). It was of interest, therefore, to determine possible differences in macrophage function between p55-/- N5 and p55-/- N13 mice. This was accomplished by assessing NO production by PE macrophages from uninfected or latently infected mice stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or IFN-
. There was no significant difference in NO production in overall comparisons (n = 6) of p55-/- N5 uninfected macrophages and infected macrophages (P = 0.37) or in comparisons of p55-/- N5 and p55-/- N13 uninfected macrophages (P = 0.11) (Fig. 9). However, differences in NO production were significant in comparison of macrophages from naive and latent p55-/- N13 mice (P = 0.013) and also when comparing macrophages from latent p55-/- N5 and p55-/- N13 mice (P = 0.014) (Fig. 9). These differences were attributable to the greater responsiveness of macrophages from latently infected p55-/- N13 mice when HSV-1 was present in the in vitro culture, as P was > 0.25 without HSV-1 for both comparisons above and P < 0.01 when HSV-1 was present (n = 3). These differences in the response of N5 and N13 macrophages were determined by using the Student paired t test (two-tailed) to compare overall NO production from macrophages within strains (with or without HSV-1) and across strains per treatment set (IFN-
or LPS). The enhanced responsiveness of PE macrophages from latently infected p55-/- N13 mice to activating stimuli (IFN-
, LPS, or HSV) was not due to contamination with virus-specific memory T cells, as the adherent macrophage cultures were extensively washed prior to stimulation with IFN-
/LPS and infection with HSV-1. In Fig. 9 it can be seen that HSV-1 synergizes with IFN-
/LPS to augment NO production by PE macrophages from uninfected or latently infected mice, as previously reported by Paludan and colleagues for uninfected macrophages infected with HSV-2 (44). However, in vivo, infection of PE macrophages is not expected for corneally inoculated mice; thus, how prior HSV-1 infection of mice can lead to enhanced macrophage NO production in response to IFN-
, LPS or HSV-1 infection in vitro is not understood at present. The observed differences in NO production by PE macrophages from latently infected p55-/- N5 and N13 mice suggest involvement of Hrl.
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FIG. 9. Differences in NO production comparing p55-/- N5 and p55-/- N13 macrophages. Peritoneal macrophages from naïve and latently infected mice (four mice per group) seeded at a density of 2.5 x 105 cells per well in a 96-well dish were cultured overnight with IFN- (10 U/ml) to activate the cells. The next morning, the cultures were mock infected (A) or were infected with HSV-1 (multiplicity of infection = 2) (B). After removal of virus inoculum, the cultures were treated with medium alone, IFN- (20 U/ml), or LPS (100 ng/ml), and 20 h later culture supernatants were assayed for NO production by using the Greiss reaction. The data presented are averages plus or minus standard errors of the means of two or three experiments for the different mouse groups.
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TABLE 4. Impaired HSV-1 reactivation in p55-/- N5 micea
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FIG. 10. Quantitative PCR for HSV DNA load in latently infected Tg. Each Tg DNA sample (100 ng) was analyzed in duplicate by TaqMan real-time PCR as described in Materials and Methods. Standards ranged from 5 to 5 x 107 copies of HSV virion DNA in 100 ng of normal mouse DNA. Raw data shown in panels A, B and C are summarized in panels D, E and F, respectively, as HSV-1 genome copies present in individual Tg. For graphs A, B and C, flanking standards and blanks are shown as black lines without symbols; standard curves are shown as inset with standards in blue and samples in red. (A) Baseline (nonreactivated) PCR on 0.2 times the LD50 Tg: N5 in green and N13 in red. (B) Reactivated PCR on the LD50 Tg: N5, none reactivated (green lines); N13, two did not (red lines), two reactivated (25, 28; with symbols); and 129, two did not (orange lines), two reactivated (24, 28; with symbols), two did not (blue lines), two reactivated (24, 26.5; with symbols). (C) Reactivated PCR on 0.2 times the LD50 Tg: N5, none reactivated (shown in green lines without symbols); N13, 6 of 12 reactivated, shown as red circles; and N13, 6 of 12 did not reactivate, shown as blue circles. (D) Baseline (nonreactivated) N13 in red and N5 in green. (E) After 5 days of Tg explant culture, reactivation-positive Tg for each strain are shown in black while those that did not reactivate are shown in color (N5 is green, N13 is red, 129 is yellow, and B6 is blue). (F) After 5 days of Tg explant culture, reactivation-positive N13 Tg are shown in red, and reactivation-negative N13 and N5 Tg are shown in blue and green, respectively.
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Earlier studies of genetic resistance to HSV infection demonstrated involvement of either one or two major dominant autosomal loci in resistance of inbred mouse strains to mortality induced by cutaneous or i.p. inoculation of HSV, respectively (37, 38, 66). Our results differ in one important aspect, which is that analysis of the various backcrosses in these prior studies failed to reveal sex-based differences in resistance. This discrepancy could arise because too few backcross mice were analyzed and/or because the effect of Sml varies with different mouse strain backgrounds; earlier crosses were B6 x A/J, B6 x BALB/c, B10 x A/J, and B10 x BALB/c (37, 66), whereas we used B6 x 129 crosses. Sex-based differences in innate resistance to HSV-1 reported here provide a genetic basis for rationalizing the observed greater susceptibility, in terms of mortality and in vivo reactivation of HSV-1, of male than of female mice, that was previously reported (26). Sex-based differences in mortality were accentuated for HSV-2 compared to HSV-1 infection of p55-/- N5 and N13 Hrl congenic strains for unknown reasons, but differential sensitivity of HSV-1 and HSV-2 replication to sex hormone effects is one possible explanation. The potential benefit of identifying and characterizing Sml functionally is evident from results of recent clinical trails of a gD-2 subunit vaccine, which demonstrated protection against both HSV-2 infection and disease in women but not in men who were seronegative for both HSV-1 and HSV-2 (68).
A comparison of HSV-1 infection in the p55-/- N5 and N13 lines revealed several phenotypes that were differentially expressed, suggesting regulation by Hrl; these included differences in necropsy HSV titers in the eyes, in vitro NO production by PE macrophages, and in vitro reactivation of latent HSV-1. While the p55-/- N5 mice were impaired relative to N13 mice for all the aforementioned traits, it is instructive to focus on reactivation, as the data are particularly informative. HSV was efficiently reactivated in vitro in ganglia from male B6, 129, p75-/-, p55p75-/-, and p55-/- N13 but not p55-/- N5 latently infected mice sacrificed on days 28 to 35 postinfection; insufficient data are available for female mice at present. Based on the levels of latent HSV-1 DNA in ganglia determined by quantitative TaqMan PCR for HSV gG sequences, latency was established with equal efficiency in p55-/- N5 and p55-/- N13 ganglia. However, the quantitative PCR results do not exclude establishment of latency, with an increased frequency of neurons harboring amounts of HSV-1 DNA below a critical threshold required for efficient reactivation in p55-/- N5 ganglia compared to p55-/- N13 ganglia as the reason for impaired reactivation in p55-/- N5 ganglia (60). Experiments to investigate this possibility are in progress. Counterintuitively, the HSV genome copy number in ganglia reactivated in vitro was not dramatically higher than in nonreactivated ganglia. Considering the potential for extensive HSV-1 replication during 5 days of in vitro ganglion explant culture, this result suggests that only a subset of latently infected neurons reactivated in vitro or alternatively that only a fraction of the latent genomes can reactivate.
Although the p55-/- congenic mice express different alleles of Hrl, this cannot account for impaired reactivation in p55-/- N5 mice, since reactivation is normal in parental 129 mice that are also genotypically Hrls like p55-/- N5 mice. Therefore, we speculate that for efficient reactivation Hrl needs to interact with some unknown gene(s) or that Hrls may be dependent on p55 signaling for efficient reactivation. Such interactions may be blocked in p55-/- N5 mice, as in only this strain is there discordance between the expressed Hrl allele and the overall genetic background. Thus, the 129-derived Hrls allele is expressed in an overall B6 background in p55-/- N5 mice, while the B6-derived Hrlr allele is expressed in the B6 background in p55-/- N13 mice. Studies are in progress to determine the validity of this mismatch hypothesis in explaining impaired reactivation in p55-/- N5. Nonetheless, to our knowledge, this is the first report of a genetic locus that influences HSV-1 reactivation.
Mapping studies, involving correlation of genotypic and phenotypic data obtained from analysis of HSV-1 and MCMV infection of p55-/- N5 and N13 congenic strains, the C.B8-Klra8Cmv1-r/Uwa congenic strain, and F1 and N2 crosses between the B6 and 129 strains, established (i) that linkage of Hrl to Tnfrsf1a occurs on c6; (ii) that Hrl and Cmv1 are distinct loci; (iii) that Hrl is not encoded in the major NKC locus; (iv) that HSV-1 titers in the ganglion or brain stem of individual mice do not correlate with mortality and thus cannot be used as a surrogate marker for mortality to phenotype individual mice as resistant or susceptible; and (v) that Hrl is located in the interval spanning D6Mit55 and D6Jpk2, representing
6 centimorgans of DNA.
There are several genes involved in host immunity within the mapped interval that are candidates for Hrl, including Tnfr superfamily members of unknown function. The Tnfr-related genes are of particular interest, because in studies to be reported elsewhere we showed that TNF, but neither p55 nor p75, is required for protection against HSV-1 (unpublished data). In this context, it is notable that herpesviruses have evolved mechanisms specifically targeting TNF superfamily members as an immune evasion strategy (7, 8). Thus, expression of HveA (HveM), a recently described Tnfr superfamily member, on activated T cells facilitates HSV-1 infection, resulting possibly in cell death or impaired functionality that could compromise the host adaptive response. Furthermore, macrophages have frequently been implicated in resistance to HSV infection (18, 27, 33, 37, 57), which is consistent with them being the major producer of TNF and high-output NO, effector molecules with documented beneficial and/or detrimental effects in different HSV-1 infection models (1, 23). Resistance of B6 mice to MCMV infection was recently shown to depend on expression of Klra8, an activating NK cell receptor encoded by Cmv1, on NK cells. Remarkably, enhanced NK cell lysis of infected cells is triggered by an MCMV-encoded protein ligand for Klra8 (4, 10, 20). A protective role for NK cells in resistance to HSV-1 infection was inferred from observations that in vivo elimination of NK cells by treatment of mice with anti-NK1.1 antibodies resulted in a significant increase in mortality (2, 25, 45). However, results from these in vivo neutralization experiments require reevaluation in light of recent reports that NK1.1 expression is upregulated on virus specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells (5, 29, 67). Hence, the importance of NK cells in resistance to HSV-1 remains unresolved, and in this context it is important to note that our data exclude the NKC as a major contributor to resistance.
Pereira et al. (45) reported recently that a NKC-linked locus, Rhs1, was responsible for rapid control of acute HSV-1 ganglionic infection and for an increased frequency of latently infected neurons. After flank inoculation, HSV-1 replication was restricted in dorsal root ganglia in resistant B6 mice expressing Rhs1r compared to susceptible BALB/c mice that express Rhs1s, as assessed by the extent of zosteriform skin lesions at day 5 postinfection (45). Importantly, analysis of B6 x BALB backcrosses indicated that at least three other genes besides Rhs1 were involved in control of HSV-1 zosteriform spread, which is consistent with results from prior studies showing that multiple genes control HSV-1 ganglionic infection and the establishment of latency (30, 66). Two results suggested that Rhs1 is located on c6 linked to the NKC: (i), compared to BALB/c mice, zosteriform spread was retarded in the C.B8-Klra8Cmv1-r/UWA congenic strain carrying the B6-derived NKC, and (ii), C.B8-Klra8Cmv1-r/Uwa mice were resistant to i.p. challenge with HSV-1 (LD50 > 107 PFU compared to LD50 < 104 PFU for susceptible BALB/c mice). In contrast, we showed that C.B8-KlraiCmv1-r/Uwa mice were susceptible to HSV-1, although slightly more resistant than the BALB/c parental strain (Fig. 5). Introduction of the B6-NKC could explain the slightly increased resistance of C.B8-Klra8Cmv1-r/Uwa mice, as the NKC is highly polymorphic between inbred mouse strains (11). HSV-1 strain differences cannot account for the discrepant mortality results, since the LD50 values for 129 mice inoculated on the cornea with HSV-1(17+) (used in our studies) or HSV-1 SC16 (used in studies by Pereira et al.) were similar, i.e., 330 or 795 PFU, respectively. Differences in inoculation route in the two studies, corneal versus i.p., are a possible explanation, even though earlier studies found that this parameter did not significantly alter the ranking of inbred mouse strains in terms of susceptibility to HSV-1 (38). Although initially identified as one of four genes controlling zosteriform spread, Rhs1 was mapped by determining the pattern of resistance to HSV i.p. inoculation in a panel of B6 and BALB/c background NKC congenic strains. Based on results from HSV-1 challenge of C.B8-Klra8Cmv1-r/Uwa congenic mice and reports that one and two genes, respectively, determine resistance to HSV inoculated peripherally versus i.p. (39), we conclude that Rhs1 is distinct from Hrl. However, the data do not exclude Rhs1 being a linked modifier locus for Hrl.
In summary, Hrl is genetic locus linked to Tnfrsf1a on mouse c6, which has two alleles: Hrlr, which dominantly determines resistance of mice with the B6 background, and Hrls, which confers susceptibility to 129S6 mice and possibly other susceptible strains. There is a strong sex bias to HSV resistance due to effects of Sml, a modifier locus that acts to augment resistance of susceptible female mice. Hrl also affects reactivation of latent HSV as well as aspects of the host immune response, possibly by interaction with some unknown gene(s). Detection of regions of extensive synteny between the mapped Hrl candidate region and several different human chromosomal segments, primarily 3p and 12p, suggests strongly the existence of a human ortholog for Hrl. The eventual identification and characterization of Hrl and Sml will advance understanding of innate resistance to HSV and possibly lead to identification of immune factors that are important for efficient reactivation and hence represent potential therapeutic targets. Eventually, unraveling the interactions between Hrl and Sml will provide a unique opportunity for understanding sex-based differences in HSV-1 infection (26), and this is clearly important for vaccine design (68).
Finally, the results of this study highlight the importance of carefully considering the potentially confounding effects of genetic background on interpretation of results from studies of mice with targeted null mutations, particularly in genes with pleiotropic effects (24, 43, 59). The problem arises because 129-derived ES cells are commonly used for gene targeting and because the targeted mutation is usually transferred to the B6 strain background by repeated backcrossing, which results in the rapid replacement of 129-derived genes (21). However, even after 10 backcrosses, as much as 40 Mb of 129 genetic material can remain linked to the knockout locus (
0.5% of the genome at N12) and can influence the phenotype of the targeted mutation. An ideal solution to the problem is to produce the targeted mutation in the desired strain background, thus avoiding backcrossing, but presently suitable ES cell lines are available only for the B6 and 129 strains (6).
This work was supported by Public Health Service grant EY-013814 from the National Eye Institute and by a grant from Amgen Inc.
Present address: Department of Microbiology, University of Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801. ![]()
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) receptor null-mutant mice are more susceptible to herpes simplex virus type 1 infection than IFN-
ligand null-mutant mice. J. Virol. 73:5196-5200.
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