Mechanisms of injury to the central nervous system following experimental cytomegalovirus infection.
A guinea pig model was used to determine the mechanisms of injury to the central nervous system by cytomegalovirus. Focal, well-contained, histopathologic responses included the microglial nodule without residua, and the ependymitis with focal residual glial scarring. Higher virus dose infection in the brain resulted in inflammatory necrosis with an astrocytic response to injury. However, monocytes and microglia were the predominant responding cells of host defense. A vasogenic pathogenesis was suggested by the involvement of the vascular endothelium, and separately by central nervous system vasculitis, demonstrated here for the first time in this model. Hence, our studies suggest four potential mechanisms of injury to the central nervous system by cytomegalovirus: viral cytopathology, inflammatory mediators from cells of the monocyte series, two separate types of vascular impairment, and astroglial scarring.
Booss
J
J
Virology Laboratories, VA Medical Center, West Haven, CT.
Dann
P R
PR
Winkler
S R
SR
Griffith
B P
BP
Kim
J H
JH
D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000473:pathology; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D008581:Meningitis / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D008590:Meningoencephalitis / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D014657:Vasculitis / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology