Enterotropic mouse hepatitis virus infection in nude mice

Area of Science:

• Virology
• Immunology
• Mouse Models

Background:

• Athymic nude mice are susceptible to various infections.
• Mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) is a common pathogen in mice, with different strains causing distinct diseases.
• Enterotropic MHV strains are known to cause enteric infections.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the cause of emaciation and diarrhea in athymic nude mice.
• To characterize the enteric disease caused by an enterotropic MHV strain in nude mice.
• To compare this enteric disease with the more common MHV wasting syndrome.

Main Methods:

• Experimental inoculation of athymic nude mice with intestinal homogenates and cell culture-derived enterotropic MHV.
• Passage of the virus into neonatal Swiss mice to assess pathogenicity.
• Viral titration in various cell lines, including NCTC-1469, 17Cl-1, and CMT 93.

Main Results:

• Enterotropic MHV infection caused hyperplastic typhlocolitis, leading to emaciation and diarrhea in nude mice.
• The disease was reproducible through experimental inoculation and serial passage.
• The enterotropic MHV strain showed limited growth in standard permissive cell lines but replicated in CMT 93 cells.

Conclusions:

• An enterotropic strain of MHV is responsible for a distinct chronic enteric disease in athymic nude mice.
• This MHV-induced typhlocolitis pattern differs significantly from the non-enteric MHV wasting syndrome observed in nude mice.