Murine gammaherpesvirus-68 infection of mice: A new model for human cerebral Epstein-Barr virus infection.

Häusler, Martin; Sellhaus, Bernd; Scheithauer, Simone; Engler, Matthias; Alberg, Evelyn; Teubner, Andreas; Ritter, Klaus; Kleines, Michael · Ann Neurol · 2005

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Epstein-Barr virus infection may cause severe neurological complications that are not mirrored by animal models. Here, we show that nasal inoculation of newborn BALB/c wild-type mice with MHV-68, a murine gammaherpesvirus, causes cerebral infection with inflammation in 50% of the animals. The inflammatory patterns are strikingly similar to those known from Epstein-Barr virus, including hydrocephalus, meningitis, cerebellitis, focal or diffuse encephalitis, and temporal lobe encephalitis. This offers a new powerful tool to study the virological and immunological characteristics of cerebral gammaherpesvirus infections.

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