Acute Human Herpesvirus-6A infection of human mesothelial cells modulates HLA molecules

Human herpesvirus 6A (HHV-6A) causes ubiquitous infections, and has been associated with several diseases in immunosuppressed and immune dysregulated individuals. Although considered a lymphotropic virus, HHV-6A has the potential to infect many cell types, inducing important cell alterations in the infected cell. In our search for additional potential targets for HHV-6A infection, we analyzed the susceptibility of human mesothelial cells to viral infection. HHV-6A infection was performed and analyzed on primary human mesothelial cells isolated from serous cavity fluid, infected in vitro with a cell-free HHV-6A inoculum. The results demonstrated that mesothelial cells are susceptible to in vitro HHV-6A infection and more importantly the virus induces a remodulation of HLA expression on cell surface, inducing HLA class II and HLA-G de novo expression. Since mesothelial cells play a pivotal role in many processes including inflammation and antigen presentation, we speculate that in vivo this virus-induced perturbation might be correlated to alterations in mesothelium functions.