ADHESION MOLECULE EXPRESSION AND LYMPHOCYTE ADHESION TO CEREBRAL ENDOTHELIUM - EFFECTS OF MEASLES-VIRUS AND HERPES-SIMPLEX-1 VIRUS

Expression of endothelial cell (EC) adhesion molecules is increased in inflammatory neurological disorders and this may regulate lymphocyte homing to the central nervous system (CNS). Viral encephalitis is char acterised by lymphocytic infiltration of the CNS and one mechanism of this response may be EC adhesion molecule induction with consequent in flammatory cell/EC binding. This report characterises the effects of h erpes simplex 1 (HSV1) or measles virus (MV) infection of BALB/c brain microvascular EC in vitro on adhesion of naive syngenic splenocytes a nd levels of ICAM-1. Adhesion was enhanced by 42% for MV-infected cell s and by 73% for HSV-1-infected EC. At the multiplicities of infection employed, levels of ICAM-1 were upregulated on HSV-1-infected EC, but not on MV-infected EC. It is concluded that ICAM-1/ligand interaction s do not play a role in mediation of MV enhancement of adherence, but represent one mechanism responsible for increased lymphocyte adherence to HSV-1-infected cerebral EC.