Abstract:
The interaction of Herpes Simplex Virus type 1 (HSV-1) with human fetal foreskin fibroblast (HFFF) cell was studied using a recent isolate of HSV-1 which was propagated in Hep-2 cells. HFFF cells were challenged with HSV-1 with a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 1 virus/cell for 24 hours. Flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that HSV-1 challenged HFFF cells expressed increased levels of α2β1, α3β1 (a collagen and laminin receptor) and LFA-1 (a β2 integrin, ligand for intercellular adhesion molecule-1, ICAM-1) integrins without a significant change in the expression of α5b1 (a fibronectin receptor) as compared to the mock-challenged cells. In addition, virus challenged HFFF cells showed increased expression of ICAM-1 and HLA class I antigen when compared to mock-infected cells. These results suggest that HSV-1 is capable of inducing functional changes in human foreskin fibroblast cells. The altered expression of cell-matrix and cell-cell adhesion molecules resulting from HSV-1 infection could contribute to the immunopathological diseases associated with HSV-1 infection in vivo.