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Published on: June 11, 2011
Antibody-mediated immune control of a retrovirus does not require the microbiota
Jessica Wilks1, Helen Beilinson, Betty Theriault
1Department of Microbiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Abstract:
Commensal microbes are often required to control viral infection by facilitating host immune defenses. However, we found that this does not hold true for retroviral infection. We report that retrovirus-resistant mice control the pathogen with virus-neutralizing antibodies independently of commensal microbiota. This is in contrast to orthomyxoviruses and arenaviruses, where resistance is ablated in animals depleted of microbiota. Clearly, when it comes to antiviral immunity, the role of the microbiota cannot be generalized.
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