Synergistic control of herpes simplex virus pathogenesis by IRF-3, and IRF-7 revealed through non-invasive bioluminescence imaging.
Interferon regulatory factors IRF-3 and IRF-7 are central to the establishment of the innate antiviral response. This study examines HSV-1 pathogenesis in IRF-3(-/-), IRF-7(-/-) and double-deleted IRF3/7(-/-) (DKO) mice. Bioluminescence imaging of infection revealed that DKO mice developed visceral infection following corneal inoculation, along with increased viral burdens in all tissues relative to single knockout mice. While all DKO mice synchronously reached endpoint criteria 5 days post infection, the IRF-7(-/-) mice survived longer, indicating that although IRF-7 is dominant, IRF-3 also plays a role in controlling disease. Higher levels of systemic pro-inflammatory cytokines were found in IRF7(-/-) and DKO mice relative to wild-type and IRF-3(-/-) mice, and IL-6 and G-CSF, indicative of sepsis, were increased in the DKO mice relative to wild-type or single-knockout mice. In addition to controlling viral replication, IRF-3 and -7 therefore play coordinating roles in modulation of inflammation during HSV infection.
['Murphy|Aisling A|AA|', 'Rosato|Pamela C|PC|', 'Parker|Zachary M|ZM|', 'Khalenkov|Alexey|A|', 'Leib|David A|DA|']
D000818:Animals D004195:Disease Models, Animal D006561:Herpes Simplex D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human D050838:Interferon Regulatory Factor-3 D050839:Interferon Regulatory Factor-7 D049449:Luminescence D051379:Mice D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL D018345:Mice, Knockout D018805:Sepsis D016019:Survival Analysis D013997:Time Factors D051598:Whole Body Imaging
Herpes simplex virus IRF-3 IRF-7 Innate immunity