title: Ultrastructural study of cell injury induced by coxsackievirus B3 in pancreatic and cardiac tissues.
abstract: Balb/c weanling mice were intraperitoneally inoculated with a myocarditic variant of coxsackievirus B3, with the aim of characterizing more thoroughly the features of virus-induced cell injury in pancreas and heart, as well as to compare ultrastructural alterations with histological and virological findings. During the first week post-infection (pi), all animals developed acinar pancreatitis, followed by focal myocarditis. At electron microscopy, acinar cells showed patent distortion, including marked loss of organelles and zymogen granules, together with gross dilatation of rough endoplasmic reticulum. Cardiac cells presented severe cytoskeletal changes, as myofibrillar collapse with a haphazard arrangement, concomitant with a decrease in myofibril number; besides, irregular pattern of nuclear chromatin and increased presence of swollen mitochondria were often observed. As the few initially detected lymphocytes tended to disappear in necrotic foci, there was an increase in fibroblast number concurrent with progressive scarring. Ultrastructural changes in both pancreas and heart correlated with local viral replication, suggesting that cell damage is attributable to direct viral action.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Gómez
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Lopez Costa
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pecci Saavedra
authors.forename: M I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Berria
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000473:pathology*; D003384:Coxsackievirus Infections / Q000473:pathology*; D029822:Enterovirus B, Human / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D010182:Pancreatic Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D014779:Virus Replication