title: Sustained viral load and late death in Rag2-/- mice after influenza A virus infection.
abstract: The importance of the adaptive immune response for secondary influenza infections and protection from a lethal challenge after vaccination has been well documented. However, some controversy still exists concerning the specific involvement of B and T cells during a primary infection. Here, we have followed the survival, weight loss, viral load and lung pathology in Rag2-/- knock-out mice after infection with influenza A virus (H1N1). Infected wild type mice initially lost weight early after infection but then cleared the virus and recovered. Rag2-/- mice, however, showed similar weight loss kinetics in the early stages after infection but weight loss continued post infection and culminated in death. In contrast to wild type mice, Rag2-/- mice were not able to clear the virus, despite an increased inflammatory response. Furthermore, they did not recruit virus-specific lymphocytes into the lung in the later stages after infection and exhibited sustained pulmonary lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infection Genetics, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research and University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Inhoffenstr 7, D-38124 Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Haiya
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Verena
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Haist
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Baumgärtner
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schughart
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053118:Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000276:immunology / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D008168:Lung / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D019562:Viral Load; D015431:Weight Loss
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C499308:Rag2 protein, mouse