Interferon-alpha Production and Tissue Localization of Interferon-alpha/beta Producing Cells after Intradermal Administration of Aujeszky's Disease Virus-Infected Cells in Pigs

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Abstract
Intradermal administration of glutaraldehyde–fixed Aujeszky's disease virus (ADV) infected autologous or allogeneic cells resulted in the induction of an interferon(IFN)–α/β response in pigs. Using a sensitive dissociation–enhanced lanthanide fluoroimmunoassay (DELFIA), IFN–α/β was detected in blood at 8 and 24 h after injection of ADV–infected cells. In parallel, by means of in situ hybridization, IFN–α/β mRNA containing cells were demonstrated in regional lymph nodes. Occasional IFN–α/β mRNA positive cells were also seen in injected dermal areas, but not in contralateral lymph nodes, spleen, bone marrow, blood or liver. The ability of leucocytes in whole blood cultures to produce IFN–α/β upon stimulation by ADV was markedly diminished 3–7 days after intradermal injection of ADV–infected cells. In contrast, cultures of purified peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) had intact IFN–α/β responses. Further, serum from ADV–injected pigs inhibited the in vitro ADV–induced IFN-α/β responses in PBMC from control pigs, most likely due to the demonstrated presence of anti–ADV antibodies. We suggest that the IFN-α/β producing cells in lymph nodes may participate in the development of antiviral immunity and could be equivalent to Natural IFN–α/β producing (NIP) cells.

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