Cell Mediated And Humoral Immune Responses To Mumps Virus: Recent Developments

Despite the extensive use of Mumps virus vaccines for almost forty years, there is still a paucity of knowledge concerning the Host-Pathogen Interaction. This paper reviews the advances in our knowledge of the antiviral immune response with particular reference to the selection of attenuated mumps virus strains used in different vaccine formulations. The ability of mumps viruses to evade the interferon component of the immune response is described in detail. This study also presents recent findings from our laboratory and others concerning the humoral and cell mediated responses to mumps virus. Particular attention is placed on mumps virus induction of interleukin-10 (IL-10) and the potential for this to be a novel immune evasion strategy is discussed. Finally, recent advances in our understanding of the immune response to mumps virus are placed in the broader context of our current understanding of this disease. INTRODUCTION: Mumps virus, like other members of the family Paramyxoviridae, is an enveloped virus with a non-segmented single stranded RNA genome of negative polarity. Mumps is an acute communicable disease usually characterised by fever and parotid swelling, although other organ systems, particularly the central nervous system (CNS) and glandular tissue, may be involved. Although the immune response to mumps virus has been explored in some detail, it is surprising how little definitive knowledge we possess. For example the precise roles of the antibody and cell mediated immune responses have not been fully elucidated [1, 2]. This review will place recent advances in our knowledge of the antiviral immune response in the broader context of our current understanding of this important childhood pathogen. HISTORY: The name “ mumps” may derive from an old English verb that means “ to grimace, grin, or mumble” , and was the name given to an epidemic illness, first described by Hippocrates in the 5 century B.C. [3]. He characterised this disease by swelling near the ears, which was occasionally accompanied by painful swelling of one or both testes. In 1790, Robert Hamiliton, an English physician was the first to associate the involvement of the CNS with mumps, describing the neuropathology of a fatal case [4]. However, it wasn’ t until 1935, that Johnson and Goodpasture convincingly demonstrated that mumps was the result of a viral infection. They showed that filtered parotid secretions from a number of patients infected with mumps could induce parotitis in Rhesus monkeys, when injected into the Stenson