Abstract
Simian hemorrhagic fever virus (SHFV) causes a fatal hemorrhagic fever in macaques but an asymptomatic, persistent infection in baboons. To investigate factors contributing to this differential infection outcome, the targets of SHFV infection, macrophages (MΦs) and myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs), were differentiated from macaque and baboon peripheral blood monocytes and used to compare viral replication and cell responses. SHFV replicated in >90% of macaque MΦs but in only ∼10% of baboon MΦs. Although SHFV infected ∼50% of macaque and baboon mDCs, virus replication was efficient in macaque but not in baboon mDCs. Both types of macaque cultures produced higher virus yields than baboon cultures. A more efficient type I interferon response and the production of proinflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, IL-12/23(p40), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and macrophage inflammatory protein 1α (MIP-1α), in response to SHFV infection were observed in macaque but not baboon cultures, suggesting less efficient counteraction of these responses by viral proteins in macaque cells. Baboon cultures produced higher levels of IL-10 than macaque cultures both prior to and after SHFV infection. In baboon but not macaque cell cultures, SHFV infection upregulated IL-10R1, a subunit of the IL-10 receptor (IL-10R), and also SOCS3, a negative regulator of proinflammatory cytokine production. Incubation of macaque cultures with human IL-10 before and/or after SHFV infection decreased production of IL-6, IL-1β, and MIP-1α but not TNF-α, suggesting a role for IL-10 in suppressing SHFV-induced proinflammatory cytokine production in macaques.