Absence of host-cell influence on binding specificity of herpes simplex virus type 1 induced Fc receptor

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infected cells express on their surface a receptor with affinity to the Fc portion of immunoglobulin G (IgG). The influence of the infected host cell on the specificity of the receptor was investigated with radiolabeled human IgG Fc fragment and four animal IgGs (rabbit, dog, cow, and rat) and eight human and animal (primate, rabbit, dog, cow, and rat) fibroblastoid and epithelioid cell lines. Human IgG Fc, rabbit IgG and cow IgG bound to all cell lines infected with HSV type 1 strain F (HSV-1 F), whereas dog IgG and rat IgG did not bind to any of these cells. The same binding pattern was seen when two additional HSV-1 strains infected rabbit epithelial (GMK AH1) cells. The results support the view that the specificity of the HSV Fc receptor is mainly under viral control and not primarily influenced by the species of the host cell.