Visna-maedi virus-induced expression of interleukin-8 gene in sheep alveolar cells following experimental in vitro and in vivo infection

• Published in: Research in virology (Paris) Vol. 147; no. 2; pp. 191 - 197
• Main Authors: Legastelois, I., Cordier, G., Cozon, G., Cadoré, J.-L., Guiguen, F., Greenland, T., Mornex, J.-F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: France Elsevier B.V 01.03.1996
• Subjects: AIDS/HIV; Animals; Base Sequence; Blotting, Northern; Bronchoalveolar lavage cells; CELLS; Cells, Cultured; CELLULE; CELULAS; Chemokine; DNA, Complementary; EXPERIMENTACION IN VITRO; EXPERIMENTACION IN VIVO; EXPERIMENTAL INFECTION; EXPERIMENTATION IN VITRO; EXPERIMENTATION IN VIVO; EXPRESION GENICA; EXPRESSION DES GENES; GENE EXPRESSION; Gene Expression Regulation; IL8; IN VITRO EXPERIMENTATION; IN VIVO EXPERIMENTATION; INFECCION EXPERIMENTAL; INFECTION EXPERIMENTALE; INFLAMACION; INFLAMMATION; Interleukin-8 - genetics; INTERLEUKINE; INTERLEUKINS; INTERLEUQUINAS; Interstitial lung disease; Lentivirus; Lung - immunology; LUNGS; Macrophage; Macrophages, Alveolar - immunology; Molecular Sequence Data; OVIN; OVINOS; Pneumonia, Progressive Interstitial, of Sheep - immunology; Pneumonia, Progressive Interstitial, of Sheep - pathology; Polymerase Chain Reaction; POUMON; PULMONES; RNA, Messenger - biosynthesis; SHEEP; VIRUS VISNA MAEDI; VISNA MAEDI VIRUS; visna virus; Chemokine; Bronchoalveolar lavage cells; IL8; Sheep; Inflammation; Interstitial lung disease; Lentivirus; Visna-maedi virus; Macrophage
• ISSN: 0923-2516
• DOI: 10.1016/0923-2516(96)80234-2

Visna-maedi virus is a lentivirus which causes inflammatory disorders in sheep, including a chronic interstitial lung disease resembling that observed in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV1) infection. In view of our previous demonstration of the production of neutrophil chemotactic activity by alveolar macrophages, and given the lymphocytic and neutrophilic nature of the alveolar cell infiltrate in both naturally and experimentally infected animals, we hypothesized that interleukin-8 (IL8) could be a candidate for at least part of the chemotactic activity we described. In this study, we investigated IL8 mRNA expression following visna-maedi virus infection. Northern analysis of total RNA using an ovine IL8-specific probe demonstrated that the IL8 gene is upregulated in alveolar macrophages as a consequence of in vitro infection and in alveolar cells from experimentally infected animals. Using a semi-quantitative RT-PCR method, we showed that various levels of IL8 mRNA are expressed by alveolar cells from infected animals and that they correlate with the intensity of the lesions. In conclusion, visna-maedi virus is able to induce IL8 mRNA expression in sheep alveolar cells. Results from in vivo infected animals suggest that IL8 could play a role in the early build-up of visna-maedi virus-induced lesions.