Korte beschrijving

Alphaherpesviruses are extremely successful pathogens that have the ability to establish lifelong infections of their natural host, which is the result of diverse viral strategies to evade the immune response. Pseudorabies virus (PRV) is a member of the alphaherpesviruses and causes reproductive problems, respiratory problems and mortality in pigs. Innate interferons (IFNs), consisting of type I and type III IFNs, are potent antiviral cytokines that are secreted by infected host cells and specialized dendritic cells in response to virus infections. The interaction of type I IFN and alphaherpesviruses has been widely investigated, particularly in the context of the human pathogen herpes simplex virus (HSV). Type III IFN has been discovered much more recently, and very little is known about whether and how alphaherpesviruses interact with type III IFN. In the current thesis, we sought to generate new insights in the production of type I and III IFNs in response to PRV infection of different porcine epithelial cells, the antiviral effect of type I versus type III IFNs against PRV in these cell types, and whether PRV interferes with type I and type III IFN-induced antiviral signaling in infected epithelial cells.