Inhibition of dendritic cell maturation by herpes simplex virus

Maturation of dendritic cells (DC), leading to migration and increased T ce ll stimulatory capacity, is essential for the initiation of immune response s. This process is triggered by a variety of stimuli, such as inflammatory cytokines, bacterial and viral products. Using a recombinant disabled infec tious single cycle herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) encoding green fluorescen t protein, we show that the infected DC are defective in up-regulating cost imulatory molecules, do not produce cytokines, and do not acquire responsiv eness to chemokines required for migration to secondary lymphoid organs. Th ese results reveal yet another strategy used by HSV-1 to evade the immune r esponse, namely the inhibition of signaling pathways involved in DC maturat ion.