Binding studies on diploid human fibroblasts with human immunoglobulin G (IgG) demonstrate the existence of a specific receptor for this class of immunoglobulin. The receptor preferentially binds aggregated human IgG and recognizes these complexes via the Fc portion of the molecule. Cytomegalovirus infection of diploid human fibroblasts results in a more than 100-fold increase in the number of IgG-receptors present on the cell surface. We have previously demonstrated that fibroblasts express a receptor with high specificity for human IgG (J. Frey and E. G. Afting unpublished results). It has recently been shown that peripheral tissues, e. g. skin and muscle, account for the highest proportion of IgG catabolism [19]. These tissues contain a high proportion of fibroblasts. The following study was performed in order to investigate IgG receptors on human fibroblasts after virus infection. Here we describe the induction of an Fc-receptor on human fibroblasts following infection with cytomegalovirus (CMV). The induced receptor shows a high affinity for the aggregated Fc domain of human IgG.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Cell cultureHuman diploid fibroblasts were obtained from young healthy volunteers by skin biopsy and grown in Dulbecco's minimal essential medium (DMEM, Gibco Wiesbaden, FRG) supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum (Gibco), 2% pyruvate, 2mM glutamine, and non-essential amino acids [20].The cells were maintained at 37 "C in 10 % COz. CMV were propagated in human fibroblasts [21]. For binding studies using infected cells, subconfluent or confluent cells growing in 6 cm petri-dishes were washed twice with serum-free DMEM and subsequently infected with 4 -5 TCIDSO of CMV per cell in 3 ml serum free mcdium for 2 h. After two washing steps the cells were further kept in complete medium. The cell viability was determined by trypan blue exclusion [22].