Comparison of monocytic cells from naïve mice and day 14 LCMV Armstrong and day 14 LCMV Clone 13 infected mice

Infection with acute and chronic strains of LCMV (Armstrong (ARM) and Clone 13 (C13), respectively) leads to massive proliferation of monocytic cells contemporaneously with peak of the anti-viral CD8+ T cell response. These cells return to naïve levels following ARM infection. However, during C13 infection these cells are sustained at high levels and gain a T cell suppressive function at day 14 post infection. The mechanisms by which these cells are induced to proliferate and impair T cell function during chronic LCMV infection are largely unknown. To address this, we analyzed gene expression profiles using microarray analysis of purified splenic monocytic cells (CD11b+ Ly6Chi Gr-1low) from naïve mice, or day 14 LCMV ARM or LCMV C13 infected mice. We sought to determine the unique genetic profile of monocytic cells from either acutely or chronically infected mice relative to that of monocytic cells from naïve mice. We performed a meta-analysis using the expression profiles of naïve splenic monocytic cells (CD11b+ Ly6Chi Gr-1low), splenic monocytic cells from day 14 post LCMV ARM infection, and splenic monocytic cells from day 14 post LCMV C13 infection.