Comparative studies on the expression of Fc-receptors, Ia antigens, and beta 2-microglobulin following in vitro herpes simplex virus infection of human lymphoid cells.

Characteristics of the specificity and affinity of surface Fc-receptors induced on Raji (a Burkitt's lymphoma derived B cell line) and Molt-4 (a T cell line derived from a leukaemic patient) after herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection were studied, together with the expression of other surface markers. Inhibition experiments of EA-rosetting suggested that Raji cells infected by HSV had a higher affinity for soluble aggregated IgG than for IgG serologically adsorbed onto erythrocytes; an opposite pattern was noted with Molt-4, a non-Burkitt's lymphoma cell line. Using radiometric and microspectrofluorometric techniques, the expression of Fc-receptors, as detected by their capacity to fix aggregated IgG, paralleled the expression of serologically detectable Fc-receptors and Ia determinants. In contrast to beta 2-microglobulin, both Fc-receptor and Ia antigen expression increased following Hsv infection: this suggests a specific induction of these markers on human lymphoid cells following HSV infection. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing a specific induction of both Fc-receptors and Ia antigens by HSV following in vitro infection of human lymphoid cells.