Abstract
Human herpesvirus 6A (HHV-6A) causes ubiquitous infections and has been associated with several diseases in immunosuppressed and immune dysregulated individuals. Although considered a lymphotropic virus, HHV-6A has the potential to infect many cell types, inducing important alterations in the infected cell. In our search for additional potential targets for HHV-6A infection, we analyzed the susceptibility of human mesothelial cells to viral infection. HHV-6A infection was performed and analyzed on primary human mesothelial cells isolated from serous cavity fluid, infected in vitro with a cell-free HHV-6A inoculum. The results demonstrated that mesothelial cells are susceptible to in vitro HHV-6A infection, and more importantly, that the virus induces an alteration of HLA expression on the cell surface, inducing HLA class II and HLA-G de novo expression. Since mesothelial cells play a pivotal role in many processes, including inflammation and antigen presentation, we speculate that, in vivo, this virus-induced perturbation might be correlated to alterations in mesothelium functions.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by grants from the University of Ferrara (FAR). We thank Linda M. Sartor for revision of the English in the manuscript.
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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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Caselli, E., Campioni, D., Cavazzini, F. et al. Acute human herpesvirus-6A infection of human mesothelial cells modulates HLA molecules. Arch Virol 160, 2141–2149 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-015-2490-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-015-2490-3