No abstract

Poxviruses such as the causative agent of smallpox have developed multiple strategies to suppress immune responses, including the suppression of DC activation. Since poxviruses are large DNA viruses, we hypothesized that their detection by DCs may involve the endosomal DNA recognition receptor TLR9. Indeed, we have shown here that DC recognition of ectromelia virus (ECTV), the causative agent of mousepox, completely depended on TLR9. The importance of TLR9 was highlighted by the fact that mice lacking TLR9 showed drastically increased susceptibility to infection with ECTV. In contrast, we found that the strongly attenuated poxvirus modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) activated DCs by both TLR9-dependent and -independent pathways. We therefore tested whether we could use the broader induction of immune responses by MVA to protect mice from a lethal infection with ECTV. Indeed, MVA given at the same time as a lethal dose of ECTV protected mice from death. Importantly, MVA also rescued TLR9-deficient mice if administered 2 full days after an otherwise lethal infection with ECTV. Therefore, these data suggest an essential role for TLR9 in the defense against poxviruses. In addition, postexposure application of MVA may protect against lethal poxvirus infection.

ABSTRACT

No abstract

Modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) has a highly restricted host range in cell culture and is apathogenic in vivo. MVA was derived from the parental chorioallantois vaccinia virus Ankara (CVA) by more than 570 passages in chicken embryo fibroblast (CEF) cells. During CEF cell passaging, six major deletions comprising 24,668 nucleotides occurred in the CVA genome. We have cloned both the MVA and the parental CVA genome as bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) and have sequentially introduced the six major MVA deletions into the cloned CVA genome. Reconstituted mutant CVA viruses containing up to six major MVA deletions showed no detectable replication restriction in 12 of 14 mammalian cell lines tested; the exceptions were rabbit cell lines RK13 and SIRC. In mice, CVA mutants with up to three deletions showed slightly enhanced virulence, suggesting that gene deletion in replicating vaccinia virus (VACV) can result in gain of fitness in vivo. CVA mutants containing five or all six deletions were still pathogenic, with a moderate degree of attenuation. Deletion V was mainly responsible for the attenuated phenotype of these mutants. In conclusion, loss or truncation of all 31 open reading frames in the six major deletions is not sufficient to reproduce the specific MVA phenotype of strong attenuation and highly restricted host range. Mutations in viral genes outside or in association with the six major deletions appear to contribute significantly to this phenotype. Host range restriction and avirulence of MVA are most likely a cooperative effect of gene deletions and mutations involving the major deletions.