REGULATED EXPRESSION OF GALECTIN-1 AFTER IN VITRO PRODUCTIVE INFECTION WITH HERPES SIMPLEX VIRUS TYPE-1: IMPLICATIONS FOR T-CELL APOPTOSIS

MARÍA I. GONZALEZ,; NATALIA RUBINSTEIN,; JUAN M. ILARREGUI,; MARTA A. TOSCANO,; NORBERTO SANJUAN,; GABRIEL A. RABINOVICH

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF IMMUNOPATHOLOGY AND PHARMACOLOGY

Biolife

Lugar: Chieti, Italia; Año: 2005 vol. 18 p. 615 - 623

0394-6320

Apoptosis of cytotoxic T lymphocytes by herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) has been reported to be a relevant mechanism of viral immune evasion. Galectin-1 (Gal-1), an endogenous lectin involved in T-cell apoptosis, has recently gained considerable attention as a novel mechanism of tumor-immune evasion. Here we investigated whether infection of cells with HSV-1 can modulate the expression of Gal-1. Results show that pro-apoptotic Gal-1, but not Gal-3, is remarkably up-regulated in cell cultures infected with HSV-1. In addition, this protein is secreted to the extracellular milieu, where it contributes to apoptosis of activated T cells in a carbohydrate-dependent manner. Since many viruses have evolved mechanisms to counteract the antiviral response raised by the infected host, our results suggest that HSV-1 may use galectin-1 as a weapon to kill activated T cells and evade specific immune responses.