Peripheral and intracerebral T cell immune response in cats naturally infected with Borna disease virus.
Borna disease virus (BDV) is a neurotropic agent with capacity to cause encephalomyelitis in a wide range of animal species, including horses and cats. Recent studies also point to a link between BDV and human neuropsychiatric disorders. The pathogenesis of Borna disease (BD) has been proposed to be immune-mediated, mainly through the effects of cytotoxic T cells. We used flow cytometric analysis in order to characterize the peripheral and intracerebral T cell immune response in cats naturally infected with BDV. Our results show the presence of two different CD8+ cell populations (CD8+low and CD8+high) in the blood, spleen and brain of these cats. In the brain, CD8+low cells predominated over CD8+high cells. Since CD8+low cells have been suggested to represent a non-MHC-restricted T cell population, the recruitment of such cells to the brains of BDV-infected cats could possibly be of importance for the clearance of virus from neurones.
Berg
A L
AL
Department of Pathology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala. anna-lena.berg@pat.slu.se
Johannisson
A
A
Johansson
M
M
Hein
A
A
Berg
M
M
Dörries
R
R
D000818:Animals; D001890:Borna Disease / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D001891:Borna disease virus; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D002415:Cats; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000662:veterinary; D016130:Immunophenotyping / Q000662:veterinary; D008297:Male; D008590:Meningoencephalitis / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D013154:Spleen / Q000473:pathology; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*