FIG 7.

HCMV reduces MHC class II in Kasumi-3 cells by downregulating the expression of CIITA. (A and B) Quantitative PCR analysis of HLA-DRα (A) or CIITA (B) transcript levels in uninfected (UI) and HCMV-infected samples at 24 and 72 hpi. The values shown are relative to those for uninfected samples after normalization to the value for GAPDH. (C) Quantitative PCR analysis of CIITA transcripts derived from promoter I, III, or IV (PI, PIII, or PIV, respectively) in uninfected and HCMV-infected samples at 24 and 72 hpi. Values are the absolute numbers of transcripts per 10⁵ copies of GAPDH. ND, not detected. (D) Quantification of the geometric mean fluorescence for surface HLA-DR in Kasumi-3 cells electroporated with a DNA control (Vector) or pSVH. (E) Quantitative PCR analysis of CIITA transcripts following electroporation of a DNA control (Vector) or pSVH into Kasumi-3 cells. (F) (Left) Quantification of the geometric mean fluorescence for surface HLA-DR in Kasumi-3 cells electroporated with the pCDH vector, pCDH-IE1, or pCDH-IE2. (Right) Western blots of the samples for which the results are shown in panels D and F, showing the expression of IE1 and IE2 after transfection of the pSVH, pCDH-IE1, and pCDH-IE2 plasmids. All values in panels A to F are averages from at least three independent experiments. *, P < 0.05; ns, not statistically significant.