The roles of tumour necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1 and interleukin-12 in murine cytomegalovirus infection

Abstract

The roles of the inflammatory cytokines tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1 (IL-1) and IL-12, in murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) disease were investigated in susceptible BALB/c and resistant C57BL/6 mice. MCMV infection induced IL-1 and TNF-alpha production by peritoneal cells from BALB/c mice, as demonstrated previously in C57BL/6 mice. Overt ill-health and viral replication in the spleens of BALB/c mice were increased by in vivo treatment with soluble TNF-alpha receptors to inhibit the activity of this cytokine, whilst antibodies to IL-12 had a similar but more restricted effect C57BL/6 mice were not affected by either treatment, suggesting TNF-alpha and IL-12 are not cri..