The immunobiology of murine interleukin-1 alpha encoded by recombinant vaccinia virus

Initiation of primary anti-vaccinia virus immunity in vivo

The primary focus of our work is the initiation of an antiviral immune response. While we employ many experimental systems to address this fundamental issue, much of our work revolves around the use of vaccinia virus. Concerns over the negative effects of vaccination have prevented the return of the smallpox immunization program to the general population and underscored the importance of understanding the primary immune response to vaccinia virus. This response is comprised of a complex symphony of immune system components employing a variety of different mechanisms. In this review, we will both highlight the roles of many of these components and touch on the applications of vaccinia virus in the laboratory and the clinic.

CD40 ligand has potent antiviral activity

For B cells to make antibodies against most antigens, they require help from T cells. T cell help is delivered as two signals to the B cell, one of which is via CD40 and the other can be through receptors for any of a variety of soluble cytokines. We have constructed recombinant vaccinia viruses that express the ligand for CD40 and have shown that the growth of these viruses is dramatically controlled in vivo, even in mice that lack T or B cells. In this paper, we also describe our attempts to analyse the CD40 ligand-mediated antiviral activity by studying the clearance of these viruses in mice that are deficient in important antiviral mechanisms. Thus, the antiviral activity of CD40L may represent a surprising and potent effector mechanism of T cells activated during a virus infection.