Modified Vaccinia virus Ankara but not vaccinia virus induces chemokine expression in cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage

Background The orthopoxvirus strain Modified Vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) rapidly induces innate immune responses. Previously, we demonstrated that CCL2 and CCR1 are important players in MVA induced recruitment of leukocytes to the lung. Alveolar macrophages are sentinel cells in the lung, which are likely amongst the first cells of the immune system to encounter and respond to virus during respiratory infection. Therefore we examined the potential of the murine alveolar macrophage MH-S cell line as a model to study chemokine expression during infection with MVA and vaccinia virus (VACV) strain Western Reserve (WR).