Estimating immunoregulatory gene networks in human herpesvirus type 6-infected T cells

The immune response to viral infection involves complex network of dynamic gene and protein interactions. We present here the dynamic gene network of the host immune response during human herpesvirus type 6 (HHV-6) infection in an adult T-cell leukemia cell line. Using a pathway-focused oligonucleotide DNA microarray, we found a possible association between chemokine genes regulating Th1/Th2 balance and genes regulating T-cell proliferation during HHV-6B infection. Gene network analysis using an integrated comprehensive workbench, VoyaGene, revealed that a gene encoding a TEC-family kinase, ITK, might be a putative modulator in the host immune response against HHV-6B infection. We conclude that Th2-dominated inflammatory reaction in host cells may play an important role in HHV-6B-infected T cells, thereby suggesting the possibility that ITK might be a therapeutic target in diseases related to dysregulation of Th1/Th2 balance. This study describes a novel approach to find genes related with the complex host-virus interaction using microarray data employing the Bayesian statistical framework.