Immunomodulation and immunosuppression by human herpesvirus 6A and 6B

http://www.futuremedicine.com/doi/abs/10.2217/fvl.13.7

Lorenzo Dagna Joshua C Pritchett & Paolo Lusso

Vol. 8, No. 3, Pages 273-287 , DOI 10.2217/fvl.13.7
(doi:10.2217/fvl.13.7) 
 
"Like other members of the Herpesviridae family, human herpesvirus (HHV)-6A and HHV-6B have developed a wide variety of strategies to modulate or suppress host immune responses and, thereby, facilitate their own spread and persistence in vivo. Long considered two variants of the same virus, HHV-6A and HHV-6B have recently been reclassified as distinct viral species, although the established nomenclature has been maintained. In this review, we summarize the distinctive profiles of interaction of these two viruses with the human immune system. Both HHV-6A and HHV-6B display a tropism for CD4+ T lymphocytes, but they can also infect, in a productive or nonproductive fashion, other cells of the immune system. However, there are important differences regarding the ability of each virus to infect cytotoxic effector cells, as HHV-6A has been shown to productively infect several of these cells, whereas HHV-6B infects them inefficiently at best. In addition to direct cytopathic effects, both HHV-6A and HHV-6B can interfere with immunologic functions to varying degrees via cytokine modulation, including blockade of IL-12 production by professional antigen-presenting cells, modulation of cell-surface molecules essential for T-cell activation, and expression of viral chemokines and chemokine receptors. Some of these effects are related to signaling through and downregulation of the viral receptor, CD46, a key molecule linking innate and adaptive immune responses. Increasing attention has recently been focused on the importance of viral interactions with dendritic cells, which may serve both as targets of virus-mediated immunosuppression and as vehicles for viral transfer to CD4+ T cells. Our deepening knowledge of the mechanisms developed by HHV-6A and HHV-6B to evade immunologic control may lead to new strategies for the prevention and treatment of the diseases associated with these viruses. Moreover, elucidation of these viral mechanisms may uncover new avenues to therapeutically manipulate or modulate the immune system in immunologically mediated human diseases."

Popular Posts in the Last 7 Days

Perplexity on why HHV-8 may be a red herring In K.S.

Perplexity A.I. on the potential impact of Rebecca Culshaw Smith

Perplexity on Rebecca Culshaw Smith, David Ho, and "zombie science."

Perplexity on Rebecca Culshaw Smith and Fauci's original thinking about AIDS

Perplexity on the possibility Rebecca Culshaw Smith could get a Nobel Prize

Perplexity on AIDS and K.S.

Perplexity on Rebecca Culshaw and "The Noble Lie"

August 13, 2016 Editorial: HHV-6 and CFS on a leash.

Perplexity on Rebecca Culshaw Smith, and PrEP as Genocide

Perplexity on the irony of debunking David Ho's HIV research

Popular Post in the Last 30 Days

Oral Kaposi's Sarcoma looks like the Crimson Crescents in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients.

Perplexity on the Nosology of AIDS

Perplexity on Rebecca Culshaw, AIDS and CFS

Perplexity on the AIDS paradigm

From Perplexity: A list of 20 things Rebecca Culshaw could say to a new generation of AIDS doctors and scientists to get them to go back to ground zero in 1981, start from scratch, and rethink everything about AIDS including the nosology, the epidemiology, causation, the virology, the demonization of critics, the demonization and scapegoating and criminalization of patients.

Perplexity on the implications of Rebecca Culshaw Smith's critique of HIV

Perplexity on David Ho

Perplexity on why HHV-8 may be a red herring In K.S.

From Perplexity: Here are 20 ways the pharmaceutical industry should reorient their AIDS efforts based on Rebecca Culshaw’s Substack critique of the HIV paradigm:

Popular Posts from the Last Year

Oral Kaposi's Sarcoma looks like the Crimson Crescents in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients.

Ablashi discusses HHV-6, AIDS, Alzheimer's, and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Why HIV should be referred to as "a red herring."

Dr. Rebecca Culshaw Smith's book is discussed on Twitter

All Time Most Popular Posts

Dr. Bhupesh Prusty and Professor Thomas Rudel discuss their HHV-6 research

Anthony Fauci was part of the gang that silenced and destroyed Judy Mikovits.

Was Judy Mikovits destroyed because her XMRV work would have ultimately shown HIV is a total fraud?

Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome the other AIDS epidemic in the gay community?