Morphological characteristics of the infection of animals with tick-borne encephalitis virus persisting for a long time in cell cultures.
The pathogenicity of the Soph-K strain of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus produced by the persistently infected HEp-2-Soph cell culture was investigated in monkeys, white mice and hamsters. The persistent infection of this culture with TBE virus has been maintained for 17 years. The Soph-K strain was shown to retain its pathogenic properties for mice of different ages and hamsters. Morphological examinations of the brains and spinal cords of these animals infected with the Soph-K strain revealed acute and subacute forms of encephalitis. Monkeys inoculated with the Soph-K strain intracerebrally showed an asymptomatic infection with the pathomorphological picture of subacute disseminated meningoencephalitis with a progredient course for 3 months of observation. This chronic TBE infection in monkeys offers an interesting model for investigations on progressive degenerative disease of the nervous system.
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D002460:Cell Line; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006224:Cricetinae; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004669:Encephalitis Viruses, Tick-Borne / Q000254:growth & development / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D004675:Encephalitis, Tick-Borne / Q000473:pathology*; D000882:Haplorhini; D008251:Macaca; D051379:Mice; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology