Massa P T, Dörries R, ter Meulen V
Nature. 1986;320(6062):543-6. doi: 10.1038/320543a0.
Recent studies have shown that gamma-interferon (IFN-gamma) induces the expression of Ia antigen on astrocytes. This observation is of immunological significance because such activated astrocytes can act as antigen-presenting cells, as demonstrated with myelin basic protein for antigen-specific encephalitogenic T-cell lines. However, the lack of lymphatic drainage in brain and the presence of the so-called blood-brain barrier restricting traffic of cells and macromolecules suggests that IFN-gamma may not be readily available, at least during the initial phases of viral infections. The question therefore arises as to whether astrocytes can be induced to express Ia antigens by other signals directly related to viral infection and possibly independent of IFN-gamma. In the present report we demonstrate that a neurotropic murine hepatitis virus induces expression of Ia antigen on astrocytes in tissue culture without infection, rendering these brain cells competent to participate directly in the immune response to a viral infection.
最近的研究表明，γ干扰素（IFN-γ）可诱导星形胶质细胞表达Ia抗原。这一观察结果具有免疫学意义，因为这种活化的星形胶质细胞可作为抗原呈递细胞，以髓鞘碱性蛋白为例，它能向抗原特异性致脑炎性T细胞系呈递抗原。然而，由于脑内缺乏淋巴引流，且存在所谓的血脑屏障限制细胞和大分子的流通，这表明至少在病毒感染的初始阶段，IFN-γ可能难以获取。因此，问题在于星形胶质细胞是否能被与病毒感染直接相关且可能独立于IFN-γ的其他信号诱导表达Ia抗原。在本报告中，我们证明一种嗜神经性鼠肝炎病毒可在组织培养中诱导星形胶质细胞表达Ia抗原，且无需感染，从而使这些脑细胞能够直接参与针对病毒感染的免疫反应。
