Murine gammaherpesvirus-68 infection of mice: A new model for human cerebral Epstein-Barr virus infection.
Epstein-Barr virus infection may cause severe neurological complications that are not mirrored by animal models. Here, we show that nasal inoculation of newborn BALB/c wild-type mice with MHV-68, a murine gammaherpesvirus, causes cerebral infection with inflammation in 50% of the animals. The inflammatory patterns are strikingly similar to those known from Epstein-Barr virus, including hydrocephalus, meningitis, cerebellitis, focal or diffuse encephalitis, and temporal lobe encephalitis. This offers a new powerful tool to study the virological and immunological characteristics of cerebral gammaherpesvirus infections.
Häusler
Martin
M
Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany. haeusler@rwth-aachen.de
Sellhaus
Bernd
B
Scheithauer
Simone
S
Engler
Matthias
M
Alberg
Evelyn
E
Teubner
Andreas
A
Ritter
Klaus
K
Kleines
Michael
M
D000281:Administration, Intranasal; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D020031:Epstein-Barr Virus Infections / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D018142:Gammaherpesvirinae; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D051379:Mice; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
D004279:DNA, Viral