Infection with murine gammaherpesvirus 68 exacerbates inflammatory bowel disease in IL-10-deficient mice.
OBJECTIVE
We questioned whether infection with murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (HV-68) might exacerbate inflammatory bowel disease using mice deficient in IL-10 (IL-10-/-) as a model of developing colitis.


METHODS
Groups of C57BL/6 mice and IL-10-/- mice were mock-treated or infected with HV-68. Two months following infection, mice were euthanized and a variety of parameters were measured to quantify the extent of inflammation and the presence of virus. Measurements included survival, body weight, splenomegaly, colonic disease scores, liver histopathology, viable bacteria in the liver, and splenic viral burden.


RESULTS
IL-10-/- mice infected with HV-68 displayed reduced survival, lower body weights, increased splenomegaly, exacerbated colonic disease scores, increased numbers of viable bacteria in the liver, and increased leukocyte liver infiltration when compared to mock-treated IL-10-/- mice or HV-68 infected C57BL/6 mice. Surprisingly, levels of infectious or latent virus were not significantly different between the groups of mice exposed to HV-68.


CONCLUSIONS
The presence of HV-68 in IL-10-/- mice exacerbates the developing clinical disease in this animal model of colitis.
Nelson
D A
DA
Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 28223, USA.
Petty
C C
CC
Bost
Kenneth L
KL
D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D003106:Colon / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D008099:Liver / Q000382:microbiology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D018144:Rhadinovirus / Q000276:immunology* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D013154:Spleen / Q000473:pathology; D015996:Survival Rate; D019562:Viral Load; D017735:Virus Latency
D016753:Interleukin-10