Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the resistance against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) using an interferon-alpha 1 (IFN-alpha 1) transgene in specifically targeted cells in vitro. Transfection of mouse fibroblast L929 cells with an IFN-alpha 1 plasmid construct reduced viral load and viral gene expression in a time dependent fashion. Supernatants from IFN-alpha 1-transfected cells augmented natural killer (NK) cell activity, and such an effect was antagonized with neutralizing antibody to IFN-alpha/beta. In addition, transfected cells displayed an increase in the IFN inducible genes (2, 5-oligoadenylate synthetase [2, 5-OAS], T cell-specific guanine nucleotide triphosphate-binding protein, IFN regulatory factor 1 [IRF-1], and major histocompatibility complex [MHC] class I) compared with plasmid vector-treated controls. Collectively, these results show that IFN-alpha 1 transfection of cells in vitro induces or upregulates a spectrum of IFN-regulated genes involved in the direct or indirect antiviral action of this cytokine. In addition, the transgene significantly increases the resistance of transfected cells in vitro to HSV-1 infection.
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