Inhibition of NF-κB Activation In Vivo Impairs Establishment of Gammaherpesvirus Latency

A critical determinant in chronic gammaherpesvirus infections is the ability of these viruses to establish latency in a lymphocyte reservoir. The nuclear factor (NF)-κB family of transcription factors represent key players in B-cell biology and are targeted by gammaherpesviruses to promote host cell survival, proliferation, and transformation. However, the role of NF-κB signaling in the establishment of latency in vivo has not been addressed. Here we report the generation and in vivo characterization of a recombinant murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (γHV68) that expresses a constitutively active form of the NF-κB inhibitor, IκBαM. Inhibition of NF-κB signaling upon infection with γHV68-IκBαM did not affect lytic replication in cell culture or in the lung following intranasal inoculation. However, there was a substantial decrease in the frequency of latently infected lymphocytes in the lung (90% reduction) and spleens (97% reduction) 16 d post intranasal inoculation. Importantly, the defect in establishment of latency in lung B cells could not be overcome by increasing the dose of virus 100-fold. The observed decrease in establishment of viral latency correlated with a loss of activated, CD69(hi) B cells in both the lungs and spleen at day 16 postinfection, which was not apparent by 6 wk postinfection. Constitutive expression of Bcl-2 in B cells did not rescue the defect in the establishment of latency observed with γHV68-IκBαM, indicating that NF-κB–mediated functions apart from Bcl-2–mediated B-cell survival are critical for the efficient establishment of gammaherpesvirus latency in vivo. In contrast to the results obtained following intranasal inoculation, infection of mice with γHV68-IκBαM by the intraperitoneal route had only a modest impact on splenic latency, suggesting that route of inoculation may alter requirements for establishment of virus latency in B cells. Finally, analyses of the pathogenesis of γHV68-IκBαM provides evidence that NF-κB signaling plays an important role during multiple stages of γHV68 infection in vivo and, as such, represents a key host regulatory pathway that is likely manipulated by the virus to establish latency in B cells.