No abstract

The cylindrical inclusion (CI) protein of potyviruses is involved in virus replication and cell-to-cell movement. These two processes should rely on multiple plant-virus interactions; however, little is known about the host factors that are involved in, or that may interfere with, CI functions. By using a yeast two-hybrid system, the CI protein from Plum pox virus (PPV) was found to interact with the photosystem I PSI-K protein, the product of the gene psaK, of Nicotiana benthamiana. Coexpression of PPV CI was shown to cause a decrease in the accumulation level of PSI-K transiently expressed in N. benthamiana leaves. To test the biological relevance of this interaction, we have analyzed the infection of PPV in N. benthamiana plants in which psaK gene expression has been silenced by RNA interference, as well as in Arabidopsis thaliana psaK knockout plants. Our results show that downregulation of the psaK gene leads to higher PPV accumulation, suggesting a role for the CI-PSI-K interaction in PPV infection.

Baculoviruses (BVs) are dsDNA viruses that are pathogenic for insects. They have been used worldwide as selective bioinsecticides and for producing recombinant proteins in insect cells. Surprisingly, despite their widespread use in research and industry and their dissemination in the environment, the potential effects of these insect viruses on the immune responses of mammals remain totally unknown. We show in this study that BVs have strong adjuvant properties in mice, promoting potent humoral and CD8+ T cell adaptive responses against coadministered Ag. BVs also induce the in vivo maturation of dendritic cells and the production of inflammatory cytokines. We demonstrate that BVs play a major role in the strong immunogenicity of virus-like particles produced in the BV-insect cell expression system. The presence of even small numbers of BVs among the recombinant proteins produced in the BV expression system may therefore strengthen the immunological properties of these proteins. This adjuvant behavior of BVs is mediated primarily by IFN-αβ, although mechanisms independent of type I IFN signaling are also involved. This study demonstrates that nonpathogenic insect viruses may have a strong effect on the mammalian immune system.

No abstract

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are considered to be the principal type-I IFN (IFN-I) source in response to viruses, whereas the contribution of conventional DCs (cDCs) has been underestimated because, on a per-cell basis, they are not considered professional IFN-I–producing cells. We have investigated their respective roles in the IFN-I response required for CTL activation. Using a nonreplicative virus, baculovirus, we show that despite the high IFN-I–producing abilities of pDCs, in vivo cDCs but not pDCs are the pivotal IFN-I producers upon viral injection, as demonstrated by selective pDC or cDC depletion. The pathway involved in the virus-triggered IFN-I response is dependent on TLR9/MyD88 in pDCs and on stimulator of IFN genes (STING) in cDCs. Importantly, STING is the key molecule for the systemic baculovirus-induced IFN-I response required for CTL priming. The supremacy of cDCs over pDCs in fostering the IFN-I response required for CTL activation was also verified in the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus model, in which IFN-β promoter stimulator 1 plays the role of STING. However, when the TLR-independent virus-triggered IFN-I production is impaired, the pDC-induced IFNs-I have a primary impact on CTL activation, as shown by the detrimental effect of pDC depletion and IFN-I signaling blockade on the residual lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus–triggered CTL response detected in IFN-β promoter stimulator 1−/− mice. Our findings reveal that cDCs play a major role in the TLR-independent virus-triggered IFN-I production required for CTL priming, whereas pDC-induced IFNs-I are dispensable but become relevant when the TLR-independent IFN-I response is impaired.