Widespread, restricted low-level measles virus infection of brain in a case of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis.
In situ reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction amplification with labeled-probe hybridization (in situ RT-PCR/LPH) was used to detect measles virus RNA within formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded brain tissue sections from a patient who died with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE). Many more infected neurons and oligodendrocytes were detected by in situ RT-PCR/LPH than by immunohistochemistry or by in situ hybridization alone. In addition, infection of vascular endothelial cells was demonstrated only by in situ RT-PCR/LPH. The observation that many cells contained only a few copies of viral RNA without detectable antigen is consistent with a persistent viral infection of the central nervous system. In situ RT-PCR/LPH, combining the sensitivity of PCR with the tissue localization of in situ hybridization, should prove useful in further studies to detect nucleic acids in situ in the central nervous system.
Isaacson
S H
SH
Laboratory of Central Nervous System Studies, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Asher
D M
DM
Godec
M S
MS
Gibbs
C J
CJ
Gajdusek
D C
DC
D000293:Adolescent; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008457:Measles / Q000473:pathology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013344:Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis / Q000473:pathology*