Reovirus serotype 1 intestinal infection: a novel replicative cycle with ileal disease

After oral inoculation, reovirus serotype 1 strain Lang was shown to specifically infect the epithelial cells of the ileum, while sparing the epithelial cells in the duodenum, jejunum, and colon. The initial site of replication was localized in cells of the crypts of Lieberkühn adjacent to Peyer's patches. Virus was subsequently found by immunoperoxidase staining in cells migrating up the crypt-villus complex throughout the ileum. The severity of the pathological changes in the ileum was proportional to the concentration of the viral inoculum. This site-specific infection of the ileum by reovirus may provide a model for diseases that are restricted to specific sites in the intestine.