Up-Regulation of Integrins a2B1 and a3B1 Expression Expression in Human Foreskin Fibroblast Cells after In-Vitro Infection with Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1.

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 a2b1, a3b1 (a collagen and laminin receptor) and LFA-1 (a b2 integrin, ligand for intercellular adhesion molecule-1, ICAM-1) integrins without a significant change in the expression of a5b1 (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. Iran. Biomed. J. 5 (2 & 3): 55-59, 2001