Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) recipients are at risk for substantial morbidity and mortality from human adenovirus infections, often in the setting of reactivation of persistent virus. Human adenovirus persistence in mucosal lymphocytes has been described, but specific cellular reservoirs of persistence and effects of persistence on host responses to unrelated stimuli are not completely understood. We used mouse adenovirus type 1 (MAV-1) to characterize persistence of an adenovirus in its natural host and test the hypothesis that persistence increases complications of BMT. Following intranasal infection of C57BL/6J mice, MAV-1 DNA was detected in lung, mediastinal lymph nodes, and liver during acute infection at 7 days postinfection (dpi), and at lower levels at 28 dpi that remained stable through 150 dpi. Expression of early and late viral transcripts was detected in those organs at 7 dpi but not at later time points. MAV-1 persistence was not affected by deficiency of IFN-γ. We detected no evidence of MAV-1 reactivation in vivo following allogeneic BMT of persistently infected mice. Persistent infection did not substantially affect mortality, weight loss, or pulmonary inflammation following BMT. However, T cell infiltration and increased expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines consistent with graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) were more pronounced in livers of persistently infected BMT mice than in uninfected BMT mice. These results suggest that MAV-1 persists in multiple sites without detectable evidence of ongoing replication. Our results indicate that MAV-1 persistence alters host responses to an unrelated challenge, even in the absence of detectable reactivation. IMPORTANCE Long-term persistence in an infected host is an essential step in the life cycle of DNA viruses. Adenoviruses persist in their host following acute infection, but the nature of adenovirus persistence remains incompletely understood. Following intranasal infection of mice, we found that MAV-1 persists for a prolonged period in multiple organs, although we did not detect evidence of ongoing replication. Because BMT recipients are at risk for substantial morbidity and mortality from human adenovirus infections, often in the setting of reactivation of persistent virus in the recipient, we extended our findings using MAV-1 infection in a mouse model of BMT. MAV-1 persistence exacerbated GVHD-like inflammation following allogeneic BMT, even in the absence of virus reactivation. This novel finding suggests that adenovirus persistence has consequences, and it highlights the potential for a persistent adenovirus to influence host responses to unrelated challenges.
Keywords: adenoviruses; bone marrow transplantation; graft-versus-host disease; persistence.