- Hello Jeff - I now believe that an altered, virulent
strain of smallpox is going to be the genetic weapon released soon. The
scientist who was killed in the airlock worked for CSIRO lab, same lab
that did the mousepox research. See Journal Of Virology article below:
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- (Also see story: Dead And Missing Scientists, Armageddon
And Genetic Bioweapons -ed)
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- Journal of Virology, February 2001, p. 1205-1210, Vol.
75, No. 3 0022-538X/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.75.3.1205-1210.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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- Expression of Mouse Interleukin-4 by a Recombinant Ectromelia
Virus Suppresses Cytolytic Lymphocyte Responses and Overcomes Genetic Resistance
to Mousepox
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- *** Ronald J. Jackson,1,2,* Alistair J. Ramsay,2, Carina
D. Christensen,2 Sandra Beaton,1 Diana F. Hall,1, and Ian A. Ramshaw2 Pest
Animal Control Cooperative Research Centre, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems,1
and Division of Immunology and Cell Biology, John Curtin School of Medical
Research, Australian National University,2 Canberra, Australia
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- Received 25 July 2000/Accepted 13 November 2000
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- Genetic resistance to clinical mousepox (ectromelia virus)
varies among inbred laboratory mice and is characterized by an effective
natural killer (NK) response and the early onset of a strong CD8+ cytotoxic
T-lymphocyte (CTL) response in resistant mice. We have investigated the
influence of virus-expressed mouse interleukin-4 (IL-4) on the cell-mediated
response during infection. It was observed that expression of IL-4 by a
thymidine kinase-positive ectromelia virus suppressed cytolytic responses
of NK and CTL and the expression of gamma interferon by the latter. Genetically
resistant mice infected with the IL-4-expressing virus developed symptoms
of acute mousepox accompanied by high mortality, similar to the disease
seen when genetically sensitive mice are infected with the virulent Moscow
strain. Strikingly, infection of recently immunized genetically resistant
mice with the virus expressing IL-4 also resulted in significant mortality
due to fulminant mousepox. These data therefore suggest that virus-encoded
IL-4 not only suppresses primary antiviral cell-mediated immune responses
but also can inhibit the expression of immune memory responses.
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- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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- * Corresponding author. Mailing address: CSIRO Sustainable
Ecosystems, GPO Box 284, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia. Phone: 61 (02) 6242
1717. Fax: 61 (02) 6242 1511. E-mail: R.Jackson@cse.csiro.au.
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- Present address: Centre for Biomolecular Vaccine Technology,
Discipline of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Newcastle, Newcastle,
New South Wales, Australia.
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- Present address: CSIRO Plant Industry, Canberra ACT,
Australia.
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- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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- Journal of Virology, February 2001, p. 1205-1210, Vol.
75, No. 3 0022-538X/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.75.3.1205-1210.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
-
- This article has been cited by other articles:
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- Mahalingam, S., Karupiah, G., Takeda, K., Akira, S.,
Matthaei, K. I., Foster, P. S. (2001). Enhanced resistance in STAT6-deficient
mice to infection with ectromelia virus. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A.
10.1073/pnas.111151098v1 [Abstract] [Full Text] Mahalingam, S., Karupiah,
G., Takeda, K., Akira, S., Matthaei, K. I., Foster, P. S. (2001). Enhanced
resistance in STAT6-deficient mice to infection with ectromelia virus.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 98: 6812-6817 [Abstract] [Full Text] Mullbacher,
A., Lobigs, M. (2001). Creation of Killer Poxvirus Could Have Been Predicted.
J. Virol. 75: 8353-8355 [Full Text] Ghiasi, H., Osorio, Y., Perng, G.-C.,
Nesburn, A. B., Wechsler, S. L. (2001). Recombinant Herpes Simplex Virus
Type 1 Expressing Murine Interleukin-4 Is Less Virulent than Wild-Type
Virus in Mice. J. Virol. 75: 9029-9036 [Abstract] [Full Text] Ada, G. (2001).
Vaccines and Vaccination. N Engl J Med 345: 1042-1053 [Full Text]
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