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Interferon Gamma as a Biomarker of Exposure to Enteric Viruses
Citation:
LI, L. AND A. P. DUFOUR. Interferon Gamma as a Biomarker of Exposure to Enteric Viruses. Presented at 2008 Joint ISEE-ISEA Conference, Pasenda, CA, October 12 - 16, 2008.
Impact/Purpose:
Presentation at the 2008 Joint ISEE-ISEA Conference in Pasenda, CA on October 12-16, 2008
Description:
Interferon gamma (IFN-γ) was selected as a biomarker for viral exposure. Twelve-week-old BALB/c mice were intraperitoneally injected with Coxsackievirus B3 or B4 diluted in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Control mice were injected with PBS only. Four months after viral infection, T lymphocytes were isolated from mouse thymus and spleen. T lymphocyte release of IFN-γ was examined after in vitro incubation with viral antigens, a mitogen, PHA and PBS respectively. The level of IFN-γ released by T lymphocytes was examined by antibody-capture chemiluminescent ELISA. A marked increase in level of IFN-γ was observed when T cells from Coxsackievirus B3-infected mice were incubated with B3 virus but not B4 or PBS. This indicated that Coxsackievirus B3- sensitized T cell receptor recognized only T cell epitope from B3 virus not B4. Coxsackievirus B4 primed mouse T cells did not release IFN-γ when they were incubated with B3 virus or PBS. Our results showed that IFN-γ produced by primed memory T cells is virus-specific. The data also show that memory T cells can distinguish very structurally related Coxsackievirus B3 and B4 when the sensitized T cells were directly stimulated by the viruses in vitro. The results of this study may be extended to human exposure studies related to microbial pathogens.