Effect of NK1.1+ cell depletion on vaginal neutrophil gene expression during HSV-1 infection

Depletion of NK1.1+ cells from mice prior to intravaginal HSV-1 infection results in severely increased genital disease and mucosal tissue damage. We determined that this loss of host protection in the absence of NK1.1+ cells was dependent on neutrophils, suggesting that NK1.1+ cells may be modulating neutrophil behavior during infection. To obtain an unbiased view of the transcriptional changes occuring in neutrophils that might explain this difference in disease outcomes, we performed sequencing of total RNA from neutrophils isolated from vaginas of intact or NK1.1 depleted mice 5 days after HSV-1 infection. Overall design: Comparative gene expression profiling analysis of RNA-seq data for neutrophils sorted from vaginas of control or anti-NK1.1 treated mice 5 days after intravaginal HSV-1 infection.