Potentiation of neurovirulence of canine distemper virus in guinea pigs by sensitization with neural antigen.
Establishment of animal model of virus-induced encephalomyelitis was attempted in strain 13 guinea pigs sensitized with the homologous spinal cord antigen. Intracerebral inoculation of canine distemper virus alone or sensitization with the neural antigen alone did not induce significant clinical signs. Mild histological lesions were found in both the meninges and parenchyma of the central nervous system (CNS) of virus-infected animals, and in the meninges of the sensitized ones. In contrast, combination of virus infection and sensitization resulted in development of neurological signs of CNS disease as well as of marked histological lesions involving both the meninges and parenchyma. The potentiated CNS disease was successfully transferred by the lymph node cells of the sensitized animals into virus-infected ones. These results suggested that the virus-induced lesions in the CNS were potentiated by the lymphocytes sensitized with neural antigen. Depending on the time schedule of the sensitization and virus infection, different courses of CNS diseases including acute, subacute, and/or recurrent ones were induced, indicating the usefulness of this animal model for immunological and virological analysis of virus-induced CNS diseases.
D000818:Animals; D000941:Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D002493:Central Nervous System Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D004216:Distemper / Q000473:pathology; D004217:Distemper Virus, Canine / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D004676:Myelin Basic Protein / Q000276:immunology; D009474:Neurons / Q000276:immunology*; D010948:Viral Plaque Assay
D000941:Antigens; D004676:Myelin Basic Protein