Herpes simplex virus type 1 infection of rat astrocytes in primary culture: effects of dibutyryl cyclic AMP

J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 1990 Jan;49(1):3-20. doi: 10.1097/00005072-199001000-00002.

Abstract

Monolayer cultures of primary rat astrocytes grown with or without dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dBcAMP) for two weeks or longer were infected with round plaque-forming (Rd) or syncytia-forming (Syn) variants of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). Infection with HSV-1 did not stimulate synthesis of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) or alter the general organization of the intermediate (glial) filaments in astrocyte cultures. However, the dBcAMP-treated astrocytes produced 10- to 100-fold lower titers of cell-free progeny HSV-1 than the untreated astrocyte cultures. Radiolabeled amino acid or glucosamine incorporated into acid precipitable cellular or viral glycoproteins was decreased by 10-25% in dBcAMP-treated astrocytes. Distinctive cell-rounding or syncytial cytopathology was produced by HSV-1 strains infecting untreated astrocytes, but the infected dBcAMP-treated astrocytes displayed only cell-rounding cytopathology. The dBcAMP-related effects on HSV-1 infection were specific to primary astrocyte cultures; they were not observed in HSV-1-infected human fibroblast cultures treated with dBcAMP. Comparison of HSV-1 infection of untreated versus dBcAMP-treated astrocytes suggests that the dBcAMP-induced "reactive" or differentiated state of the astrocyte can affect expression of virus-induced cytopathology and virus-specific polypeptide synthesis. The dBcAMP-treated primary astrocyte culture may afford a non-neoplastic, differentiated in vitro system for studying HSV-neural cell interactions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antigens, Viral / analysis
  • Astrocytes / drug effects
  • Astrocytes / microbiology*
  • Astrocytes / ultrastructure
  • Bucladesine / pharmacology*
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / analysis
  • Glycoproteins / biosynthesis
  • Microscopy, Electron
  • Rats
  • Rats, Inbred F344
  • Simplexvirus / metabolism*
  • Vimentin / analysis

Substances

  • Antigens, Viral
  • Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein
  • Glycoproteins
  • Vimentin
  • Bucladesine