title: Poliomyelitis in MuLV-infected ICR-SCID mice after injection of basement membrane matrix contaminated with lactate dehydrogenase-elevating virus.
abstract: The arterivirus lactate dehydrogenase-elevating virus (LDV) causes life-long viremia in mice. Although LDV infection generally does not cause disease, infected mice that are homozygous for the Fv1(n) allele are prone to develop poliomyelitis when immunosuppressed, a  condition known as age-dependent poliomyelitis. The development of age-dependent poliomyelitis requires coinfection with endogenous murine leukemia virus. Even though LDV is a common contaminant of transplantable tumors, clinical signs of poliomyelitis after inadvertent exposure to LDV have  not been described in recent literature. In addition, LDV-induced poliomyelitis has not been reported in SCID or ICR mice. Here we describe the occurrence of poliomyelitis in ICR-SCID mice resulting from injection of LDV-contaminated basement membrane matrix. After exposure to LDV, a subset  of mice presented with clinical signs including paresis, which was associated with atrophy of the hindlimb musculature, and tachypnea; in addition, some mice died suddenly with or without premonitory signs. Mice presenting within the first 6 mo after infection had regions of spongiosis, neuronal  necrosis and astrocytosis of the ventral spinal cord, and less commonly, brainstem. Axonal degeneration of ventral roots prevailed in more chronically infected mice. LDV was identified by RT-PCR in 12 of 15 mice with typical neuropathology; positive antiLDV immunolabeling was identified in  all PCR-positive animals (n = 7) tested. Three of 8 mice with neuropathology but no clinical signs were LDV negative by RT-PCR. RT-PCR yielded murine leukemia virus in spinal cords of all mice tested, regardless of clinical presentation or neuropathology.
authors.affiliation: Section of Comparative Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. jodi.carlson@yale.edu
authors.forename: Jodi A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Carlson Scholz
authors.forename: Rohit
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Garg
authors.forename: Susan R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Compton
authors.forename: Heather G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Allore
authors.forename: Caroline J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Zeiss
authors.forename: Edward M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Uchio
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001485:Basement Membrane / Q000821:virology; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000662:veterinary; D007772:Lactate dehydrogenase-elevating virus; D009052:Leukemia Virus, Murine; D051379:Mice; D016513:Mice, SCID; D011051:Poliomyelitis / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers