Concomitant TLR/RLH signaling of radioresistant and radiosensitive cells is essential for protection against vesicular stomatitis virus infection.

Several studies indicated that TLR as well as retinoic acid-inducible gene I-like helicase (RLH) signaling contribute to vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV)-mediated triggering of type I IFN (IFN-I) responses. Nevertheless, TLR-deficient MyD88(-/-)Trif(-/-) mice and RLH-deficient caspase activation and recruitment domain adaptor inducing IFN-ß (Cardif)(-/-) mice showed only marginally enhanced susceptibility to lethal VSV i.v. infection. Therefore, we addressed whether concomitant TLR and RLH signaling, or some other additional mechanism, played a role. To this end, we generated MyD88(-/-)Trif(-/-)Cardif(-/-) (MyTrCa(-/-)) mice that succumbed to low-dose i.v. VSV infection with similar kinetics as IFN-I receptor-deficient mice. Three independent approaches (i.e., analysis of IFN-α/ß serum levels, experiments with IFN-ß reporter mice, and investigation of local IFN-stimulated gene induction) revealed that MyTrCa(-/-) mice did not mount IFN-I responses following VSV infection. Of note, treatment with rIFN-α protected the animals, qualifying MyTrCa(-/-) mice as a model to study the contribution of different immune cell subsets to the production of antiviral IFN-I. Upon adoptive transfer of wild-type plasmacytoid dendritic cells and subsequent VSV infection, MyTrCa(-/-) mice displayed significantly reduced viral loads in peripheral organs and showed prolonged survival. On the contrary, adoptive transfer of wild-type myeloid dendritic cells did not have such effects. Analysis of bone marrow chimeric mice revealed that TLR and RLH signaling of radioresistant and radiosensitive cells was required for efficient protection. Thus, upon VSV infection, plasmacytoid dendritic cell-derived IFN-I primarily protects peripheral organs, whereas concomitant TLR and RLH signaling of radioresistant stroma cells as well as of radiosensitive immune cells is needed to effectively protect against lethal disease.

M27 expressed by cytomegalovirus counteracts effective type I interferon induction of myeloid cells but not of plasmacytoid dendritic cells.

UNLABELLED: In healthy individuals, the functional immune system effectively confines human cytomegalovirus (CMV) replication, while viral immune evasion and persistence preclude sterile immunity. Mouse CMV (MCMV) is a well-established model to study the delicate CMV-host balance. Effective control of MCMV infection depends on the induction of protective type I interferon (IFN-I) responses. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether in professional antigen-presenting cell subsets MCMV-encoded evasins inhibit the induction of IFN-I responses. Upon MCMV treatment, enhanced expression of MCMV immediate-early and early proteins was detected in bone marrow cultures of macrophages and myeloid dendritic cells compared with plasmacytoid dendritic cell cultures, whereas plasmacytoid dendritic cells mounted more vigorous IFN-I responses. Experiments with Toll-like receptor (TLR)- and/or RIG-I like helicase (RLH)-deficient cell subsets revealed that upon MCMV treatment of myeloid cells, IFN-I responses were triggered independently of TLR and RLH signaling, whereas in plasmacytoid dendritic cells, IFN-I induction was strictly TLR dependent. Macrophages and myeloid dendritic cells treated with either UV-inactivated MCMV or live MCMV that lacked the STAT2 antagonist M27 mounted significantly higher IFN-I responses than cells treated with live wild-type MCMV. In contrast, plasmacytoid dendritic cells responded similarly to UV-inactivated and live MCMV. These experiments illustrated that M27 not only inhibited IFN-I-mediated receptor signaling, but also evaded the induction of IFN responses in myeloid dendritic cells. Furthermore, we found that additional MCMV-encoded evasins were needed to efficiently shut off IFN-I responses of macrophages, but not of myeloid dendritic cells, thus further elucidating the subtle adjustment of the host-pathogen balance. IMPORTANCE: MCMV may induce IFN-I responses in fibroblasts and epithelial cells, as well as in antigen-presenting cell subsets. We focused on the analysis of IFN-I responses of antigen-presenting cell subsets, including plasmacytoid dendritic cells, myeloid dendritic cells, and macrophages, which are all triggered by MCMV to mount IFN-I responses. Interestingly, myeloid dendritic cells and macrophages, but not plasmacytoid dendritic cells, are readily MCMV infected and support viral gene expression. As expected from previous studies, plasmacytoid dendritic cells sense MCMV Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) dependently, whereas in myeloid cells, IFN-I induction is entirely TLR and RLH independent. MCMV-encoded M27 does not impair the IFN-I induction of plasmacytoid dendritic cells, while in myeloid dendritic cells, it reduces IFN-I responses. In macrophages, M27 plus other, not yet identified evasins profoundly inhibit the induction of IFN-I responses. Collectively, these results illustrate that MCMV has evolved diverse mechanisms to differentially modulate IFN-I responses in single immune cell subsets.