title: The Israeli strain IS-98-ST1 of West Nile virus as viral model for West Nile encephalitis in the Old World.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Unité des Interactions Moléculaires Flavivirus-Hôtes, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France. mlucas@pasteur.fr
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lucas
authors.forename: Marie-Pascale
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Frenkiel
authors.forename: Tomoji
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mashimo
authors.forename: Jean-Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Guénet
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Deubel
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Desprès
authors.forename: Pierre-Emmanuel
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Ceccaldi
mesh_terms: 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*