Human herpesvirus 6 infection of human epidermal cell line: Pathogenesis of skin manifestations

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Abstract
In order to elucidate the pathogenesis of variant B human herpesvirus 6 (HHV‐6) infection in skin tissues, an A431 cell line was inoculated with variant B HHV‐6. HHV‐6 causes abortive infection in the A431 cells, because neither late antigen (OHV‐3 antigen) nor progeny virus is produced. Maximum levels of HHV‐6 antigen (IEA/ex3 antigen)‐positive cells (36.4%) were observed 48 hr after viral infection. Cocultivation of HHV‐6‐infected cord blood mononuclear cells with A431 cells was necessary for the establishment of a sufficient level of viral infection. Cell‐to‐cell contact between the infected cord blood mononuclear cells and A431 cells was crucial for increasing infection efficiency. To determine the biological effect of HHV‐6 infection, flow cytometric analysis was carried out in HHV‐6‐ and mock‐infected A431 cells. Although no alteration was observed in VCAM‐1 and ELAM‐1 expression, that of HLA‐ABC, HLA‐DR, and ICAM‐1 was upregulated after infection with HHV‐6. J. Med. Virol. 71:62–68, 2003.