title: Investigation of the impact of the common animal facility contaminant murine norovirus on experimental murine cytomegalovirus infection.
abstract: Murine norovirus (MNV) is a recently discovered pathogen that has become a common contaminant of specific pathogen-free mouse colonies. MNV-1 induces a robust interferon-beta response and causes histopathology in some mouse strains, suggesting that it may impact other mouse models of infection. Despite many concerns about MNV-1 contamination, there is little information about its impact on immune responses to other infections. This study addresses whether MNV-1 infection has an effect on a model of murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) infection. Exposure to MNV-1 resulted in a decreased CD8 T cell response to immunodominant MCMV epitopes in both BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice. However, MNV-1 did not impact MCMV titers in either mouse strain, nor did it stimulate reactivation of latent MCMV. These data suggest that while MNV-1 has a mild impact on the immune response to MCMV, it is not likely to affect most experimental outcomes in immunocompetent mice in the MCMV model.
authors: Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland OR 97229, USA.
authors: Carmen M
authors: CM
authors: Doom
authors: Holly M
authors: HM
authors: Turula
authors: Ann B
authors: AB
authors: Hill
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D041702:BALB 3T3 Cells; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D017250:Caliciviridae Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000662:veterinary / Q000821:virology; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary / Q000821:virology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006799:Housing, Animal; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018146:Muromegalovirus / Q000276:immunology*; D029322:Norovirus / Q000276:immunology*; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; D010948:Viral Plaque Assay; D014775:Virus Activation