INTERACTIONS
OF HERPES VIRUSES WITH PHAGOCYTES
The nonspecific immune response and the inflammatory process are important immune mechanisms involved in the control of infectious agents and constitute one of the primary lines of defense against viral infection. They are rapidly activated to limit the spread of the virus during the first stages of infection through activation of effective cellular immune responses against the invading agents. While many soluble factors may contribute to the inflammatory response, it is well known that the interleukins (IL)-1, IL-8, IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), the macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1a, the granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and the arachidonic acid metabolites such as leukotrienes (LT) and prostaglandins (PG) are important inflammatory mediators produced by a wide range of cell types such as monocytes and neutrophils. Our field of research is focused on the interactions of herpes viruses with phagocytes in order to further understand the pathogenesis of these viruses during the early stages of infection. We also study the activation of proinflammatory cytokine gene expression in relation with specific viral genes.
These projects are supported by the Medical Research Council of Canada and the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec.
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