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Viral expression in experimental canine distemper demyelinating encephalitis.
W J Mitchell1, B A Summers, M J Appel
1J. A. Baker Institute for Animal Health, Department of Microbiology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
Journal of Comparative Pathology
|January 1, 1991
Summary
Canine distemper virus (CDV) proteins are expressed within demyelinating lesions in dogs with CDV encephalitis. This viral gene expression at the lesion site is key to the demyelination process.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Neurology
- Neurovirology
- Pathology
Background:
- Canine distemper virus (CDV) is a significant pathogen causing neurological disease in dogs.
- Demyelination is a hallmark of CDV-induced encephalitis, but the precise role of viral gene expression within lesions remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between CDV protein expression and demyelinating lesions in the canine cerebellum.
- To determine if infectious CDV can be recovered from affected brain tissue.
Main Methods:
- Experimental infection of dogs with CDV.
- Detection of viral proteins (N, P, F, H) using monoclonal antibodies and immunocytochemistry.
- Recovery of infectious virus from brain tissue.
Main Results:
- CDV proteins were detected within demyelinating lesions in the cerebellum of infected dogs.
- Infectious CDV was recovered from brain tissue of dogs with lesions.
- Viral antigens were found in various cell types, including glial cells, astrocytes, neurons, and inflammatory cells, both within and outside detectable lesions.
Conclusions:
- The expression of canine distemper virus gene products at the lesion site is integral to the mechanism of demyelination in CDV encephalitis.
- CDV infects a wide range of cell types within the central nervous system during encephalitis.