Autocrine Interferon Priming in Macrophages but Not Dendritic Cells Results in Enhanced Cytokine and Chemokine Production after Coronavirus Infection

Zhou, Haixia; Zhao, Jincun; Perlman, Stanley

The relative importance of IFN production by macrophages compared to pDC is not known in MHV-infected mice. Cervantes-Barragan et al. showed that pDC depletion diminished IFN-␣ production by approximately 10-fold in mice with MHVinduced hepatitis (23) . Type I IFN-mediated protection of MHVinfected mice occurred via effects on macrophages and conventional dendritic cells (cDC) because deletion of IFNAR from macrophages and cDC but not nonhematopoietic or other hematopoietic cells resulted in severe liver disease (49) . Thus, it is possible that IFN produced by infected macrophages at sites of infection is critical in protecting neighboring macrophages and DC from infection and in priming all cells in the CNS and other sites of infection for subsequent IFN and cytokine production.