A Hamster-Derived West Nile Virus Isolate Induces Persistent Renal Infection in Mice

Details

• Alternative Title:
  PLoS Negl Trop Dis
• Personal Author:
  Saxena, Vandana ; Xie, Guorui ; Li, Bei ; Farris, Tierra ; Welte, Thomas ; Gong, Bin ; Boor, Paul ; Wu, Ping ; Tang, Shao-Jun ; Tesh, Robert ; Wang, Tian
• Description:
  Background
  
  West Nile virus (WNV) can persist long term in the brain and kidney tissues of humans, non-human primates, and hamsters. In this study, mice were infected with WNV strain H8912, previously cultured from the urine of a persistently infected hamster, to determine its pathogenesis in a murine host.
  
  Methodology/Principal Findings
  
  We found that WNV H8912 was highly attenuated for neuroinvasiveness in mice. Following a systemic infection, viral RNA could be detected quickly in blood and spleen and much later in kidneys. WNV H8912 induced constitutive IL-10 production, upregulation of IFN-β and IL-1β expression, and a specific IgM response on day 10 post-infection. WNV H8912 persisted preferentially in kidneys with mild renal inflammation, and less frequently in spleen for up to 2.5 months post infection. This was concurrent with detectable serum WNV-specific IgM and IgG production. There were also significantly fewer WNV- specific T cells and lower inflammatory responses in kidneys than in spleen. Previous studies have shown that systemic wild-type WNV NY99 infection induced virus persistence preferentially in spleen than in mouse kidneys. Here, we noted that splenocytes of WNV H8912-infected mice produced significantly less IL-10 than those of WNV NY99-infected mice. Finally, WNV H8912 was also attenuated in neurovirulence. Following intracranial inoculation, WNV persisted in the brain at a low frequency, concurrent with neither inflammatory responses nor neuronal damage in the brain.
  
  Conclusions
  
  WNV H8912 is highly attenuated in both neuroinvasiveness and neurovirulence in mice. It induces a low and delayed anti-viral response in mice and preferentially persists in the kidneys.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Animals Animal Structures Antibodies, Viral Chronic Disease Cricetinae Cytokines Disease Models, Animal Female Immunoglobulin G Immunoglobulin M Male Mice Mice, Inbred C57BL Nephritis RNA, Viral West Nile Fever West Nile Virus

  More +
• Source:
  PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2013; 7(6).
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Volume:
  7
• Issue:
  6
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:fcecd28493dd322c7d796f3ce65ca92d475a5391db400eff28cfde1455547f5b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/13657/cdc_13657_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.10 MB ]