title: Experimental herpes simplex virus encephalitis: a long-term study of interleukin-6 expression in mouse brain tissue.
abstract: This study aimed to investigate the expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in acute and chronic herpes simplex virus encephalitis. In the brain of 15 SJL mice infected with herpes simplex virus type 1, strain F, and 14 control animals we performed a sequential quantitative analysis of expression of IL-6 mRNA with reverse transcription real-time polymerase chain reaction. The viral burden peaked in the acute disease, and then returned to a low baseline value. At day 7 following infection, IL-6 expression was significantly (2.05-fold) increased as compared with the baseline expression in uninfected animals. Twenty-one days after infection the mRNA expression still was significantly (1.78-fold) upregulated. No significant differences of IL-6 mRNA expression between infected and control mice were found after 2 and 6 months. We observed a 2.5-fold increase of IL-6 mRNA expression in control mice with increasing age of animals. We have additionally studied the clinical evolution of HSVE in IL-6 deficient mice. In experimental herpes simplex virus encephalitis IL-6, as a potent mediator of neuronal injury, is upregulated in the acute but not in the chronic disease. IL-6 deficient mice presented early and severe clinical signs of HSVE as compared to the wild-type C57/bl6 mice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Heidelberg, INF 400, 69120, Germany.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dvorak
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Martinez-Torres
authors.forename: Johann
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sellner
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Haas
authors.forename: Peter D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Schellinger
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schwaninger
authors.forename: Uta K
authors.initials: UK
authors.lastname: Meyding-Lamadé
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000821:virology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D020803:Encephalitis, Herpes Simplex / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000378:metabolism; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D018139:Simplexvirus; D013997:Time Factors; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6; D012333:RNA, Messenger