Cytomegalovirus interleukin-10 expression in infected cells does not impair MHC class I restricted peptide presentation on bystanding antigen-presenting cells.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) has evolved strategies to counteract its surveillance by the immune system. Mitigation of antiviral immune responses is considered critical for establishment of viral latency and for spread. Recently, a gene encoding an interleukin-10 homologue (cmvIL-10) has been discovered in the HCMV genome. Using recombinant cmvIL-10, several mostly immunosuppressive functions of the molecule have been described. However, the role of cmvIL-10 in the context of viral infection was not addressed. To be able to analyze this issue, we generated cmvIL- 10-negative viral mutants. Using these mutants, we tested whether the expression of cmvIL-10 by infected cells would render bystander antigen-presenting cells less efficient in their capacity to present antigenic peptides in the context of MHC class I. To test this, CTL clones specific for the viral nonapeptides P65(495-503) and IE1(297-305) were used as tools. Culture supernatant from fibroblasts infected with cmv-IL10-negative viruses was supplemented with increasing concentrations of recombinant cmvIL-10. Treatment of human THP-1 cells with these conditioned media did not impair their capacity to present HCMV-derived nonapeptides in the context of MHC-class I, even when high concentrations of cmvIL-10 were used. To investigate whether close cell contact was important, fibroblasts were infected with either wild-type HCMV or cmvIL-10 null mutants and were cocultured with nonpermissive lymphoblastoid cell lines, serving as target cells. No correlation was found between the ability of HCMV strains to express the cmvIL-10 gene and the capacity of neighboring LCL to present peptides in the context of MHC class I. Consequently, we propose that cmvIL- 10 expressed in the context of HCMV infection has no direct impact on MHC class I-restricted antigen presentation of noninfected bystander cells.