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Olfactory neural pathway in mouse hepatitis virus nasoencephalitis.
1Section of Comparative Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510.
Acta Neuropathologica
|January 1, 1988
Summary
Mouse hepatitis virus-JHM infects the brain through direct spread along olfactory nerves. This study details the nose-to-brain viral pathway and clearance dynamics in mice.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Virology
- Immunology
Background:
- Mouse hepatitis virus-JHM (MHV-JHM) is a neurotropic coronavirus.
- Understanding viral entry into the central nervous system (CNS) is crucial for developing treatments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the mechanism of MHV-JHM brain infection following intranasal inoculation.
- To track the sequential spread of the virus from the nose to the brain.
Main Methods:
- BALB/cByJ mice were intranasally inoculated with MHV-JHM.
- Infection was monitored using microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and virus quantification.
- Viral spread was traced from the nasal cavity to the brain.
Main Results:
- MHV-JHM spread directly along olfactory nerves into the olfactory bulbs.
- Viral antigen and lesions appeared in the olfactory bulb and anterior brain within 2 days, and posterior brain by 4 days.
- Virus was cleared from the nose by 10 days and anterior brain by 20 days, but persisted in the posterior brain for 20 days.
Conclusions:
- Intranasal inoculation leads to direct MHV-JHM spread to the brain via the olfactory pathway.
- Brain infection did not correlate with viremia.
- Oral inoculation did not result in encephalitis, suggesting route-specific infection patterns.