期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：2017
卷号：114
期号：7
页码：1625-1630
DOI：10.1073/pnas.1700231114
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：Natural killer (NK) cells are key mediators in the control of cytomegalovirus infection. Here, we show that Epstein–Barr virus-induced 3 (EBI3) is expressed by human NK cells after NKG2D or IL-12 plus IL-18 stimulation and by mouse NK cells during mouse cytomegalovirus (MCMV) infection. The induction of EBI3 protein expression in mouse NK cells is a late activation event. Thus, early activation events of NK cells, such as IFNγ production and CD69 expression, were not affected in EBI3-deficient ( Ebi3 −/− ) C57BL/6 (B6) mice during MCMV infection. Furthermore, comparable levels of early viral replication in spleen and liver were observed in MCMV-infected Ebi3 −/− and wild-type (WT) B6 mice. Interestingly, the viral load in salivary glands and oral lavage was strongly decreased in the MCMV-infected Ebi3 −/− B6 mice, suggesting that EBI3 plays a role in the establishment of MCMV latency. We detected a decrease in the sustained IL-10 production by NK cells and lower serum levels of IL-10 in the MCMV-infected Ebi3 −/− B6 mice. Furthermore, we observed an increase in dendritic cell maturation markers and an increase in activated CD8+ T cells. Thus, EBI3 dampens the immune response against MCMV infection, resulting in prolonged viral persistence.
