Japanese encephalitis virus neurotropism is dependent on the degree of neuronal maturity

In a study on Fischer rats, all animals infected with Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) before the age of 13 days died, but animals infected after the age of 14 days did not die, confirming the age-dependent resistance to JEV infection in the rat brain. A study of the kinetics of JEV infection in the developing rat brain disclosed that JEV antigen disappeared in a particular pattern, i.e., from the deeper layers to the upper layers of the motor cortex, which paralleled neuronal maturation in the cortex. Fifteen-day-old rats, which were resistant to JEV infection, received intracerebral transplants of neurons taken from 19-day embryos. When these animals were infected with JEV after transplantation, viral antigen was detected only in the embryonal neurons soon after transplantation. Thus, it can be concluded that the susceptibility to JEV infection in the rat brain is closely associated with neuronal immaturity.