Abstract
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play an essential role in initiating intracellular type I interferon (IFN)-mediated innate immunity against viral infections. We examined whether human neuronal cells (primary human neurons, NT2-N and CHP-212 cells) express TLRs and mount type I IFN-mediated innate immunity against herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) infection. Human neuronal cells expressed TLR family members 1-10 and IFN-α/β. The activation of TLR3 or TLR8 by double-stranded RNA (poly-I:C) or single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) induced IFN-α/β expression. In addition, HSV-1 infection of human neuronal cells induced IFN-α expression. Investigation of the mechanisms showed that poly-I:C or ssRNA treatment enhanced the expression of several IFN regulatory factors. Importantly, the activation of TLR3 or TLR8 by poly-I:C or ssRNA prior to HSV-1 infection reduced the susceptibility of the neuronal cells to infection. These observations indicate that human neuronal cells possess intracellular TLR-mediated innate immune protection against HSV-1 infection.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 2916-2925 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Journal of Neuroscience Research |
Volume | 87 |
Issue number | 13 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 2009 |
Keywords
- Herpes simplex virus-1
- Human neuronal cells
- Poly-I:C
- Toll-like receptor
- Type I interferons
- ssRNA