TRANSGENIC MICE EXPRESSING THE THYMUS LEUKEMIA ANTIGEN FAIL TO CONTROL CUTANEOUS HERPES-SIMPLEX VIRUS-INFECTION

TL-transgenic mice expressing the thymus leukemia antigen demonstrate a lack of viral clearance following cutaneous HSV infection of the foo tpad, In this study, both uninfected and HSV-infected TL-transgenic mi ce demonstrate increased concentrations of IL-4 as well as decreased c oncentrations of IFN-gamma which may possibly underlie the impairment of viral clearance. Furthermore, lymphocytes from HSV-infected nontran sgenic mice, adoptively transferred into HSV-infected TL-transgenic mi ce, promoted viral clearance and led to an increase in IFN-gamma produ ction, Transgenic mice which were subcutaneously injected with IFN-gam ma in the right footpad were also capable of clearing the viral challe nge; however, clearance was restricted solely to the right footpad, Th ese studies support the possibility of perturbations in the immune sys tem of TL-transgenic mice and effectively demonstrate the utility of t his model system in the study of HSV clearance, persistence, and poten tial spontaneous reactivation, Moreover, the TL-transgenic animals may provide a useful model system for additional studies requiring a host system skewed toward a Th2 phenotype. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.