The Israeli strain IS-98-ST1 of West Nile virus as viral model for West Nile encephalitis in the Old World.
West Nile virus (WNV) recently became a major public health concern in North America, the Middle East, and Europe. In contrast with the investigations of the North-American isolates, the neurovirulence properties of Middle-Eastern strains of WNV have not been extensively characterized. Israeli WNV strain IS-98-ST1 that has been isolated from a white stork in 1998, was found to be highly neuroinvasive in adult C57BL/6 mice. Strain IS-98-ST1 infects primary neuronal cells from mouse cortex, causing neuronal death. These results demonstrate that Israeli strain IS-98-ST1 provides a suitable viral model for WNV-induced disease associated with recent WNV outbreaks in the Old World.
Lucas
Marianne
M
Unité des Interactions Moléculaires Flavivirus-Hôtes, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France. mlucas@pasteur.fr
Frenkiel
Marie-Pascale
MP
Mashimo
Tomoji
T
Guénet
Jean-Louis
JL
Deubel
Vincent
V
Desprès
Philippe
P
Ceccaldi
Pierre-Emmanuel
PE
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D007557:Israel; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D014901:West Nile Fever / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology*; D014902:West Nile virus / Q000145:classification* / Q000472:pathogenicity*