Interferon lambda restricts herpes simplex virus skin disease by suppressing neutrophil-mediated pathology.

ABSTRACT: Type III interferons (IFN-λ) are antiviral and immunomodulatory cytokines that have been best characterized in respiratory and gastrointestinal infections, but the effects of IFN-λ against skin infections have not been extensively investigated. We sought to define the skin-specific effects of IFN-λ against the highly prevalent human pathogen herpes simplex virus (HSV). We infected mice lacking the IFN-λ receptor (Ifnlr1^-/-), both the IFN-λ and the IFN-αβ receptor (Ifnar1^-/- Ifnlr1^-/-), or IFN-λ cytokines (Ifnl2/3^-/-) and found that IFN-λ restricts the severity of HSV-1 and HSV-2 skin lesions, independent of a direct effect on viral load. Using conditional knockout mice, we found that IFN-λ signaling in both keratinocyt

SUBMITTER: Philip DT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10515813 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature