In contrast to what was observed with pDC activation and maturation, IFNa production was significantly reduced in NSP2 + pDCs ( Figure 5 ). NSP2bystander pDCs produced IFNa at a significantly increased frequency (p,0.0001; Wilcoxon signed rank test) compared to pDCs dim or bright for NSP2 ( Figure 5A and 5B). The percent of IFNa + pDCs was significantly increased in the NSP2 dim population compared to that in the NSP2 bright (p = 0.0006; Wilcoxon signed rank test), supporting the hypothesis that increased levels of RRV infection are inversely correlated with IFNa production. More significant was the sustained production of IFNa in uninfected (NSP2 -) pDCs following RRV stimulus. A similar correlation between NSP2 expression and IFNb production was also observed ( Figure 5C ). These data indicate that infection in a minor subset of pDCs results in the local suppression of the IFNa response in these specific cells.