Lipid profiling of rabies virus infection in mice and cell lines

The lipid profile of rabies virus infection in hosts remains unknown. Based on the histopathology and neuroinvasiveness, one Flury-LEP of three rabies virus strains was selected and utilized in vitro and in vivo studies. Samples (tissue, plasma and cell pellet) were collected from a mouse model and cell model infected with Flury-LEP strain, and analyzed using a semi-quantitative, untargeted method based on liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS). The resulting lipidomics data were then subjected to statistical analysis. The lipid profile for specific tissues (brain, heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, intestines, spinal cord, testes and ovaries), plasma (male and female) and cell lines (BHK21 and N2a) were obtained. In mice, the histopathological changes in the tissues, might be associated with changes of the local and circulating lipid profile. Overall, lipid profiling of mice and cells infected with Flury-LEP strain has been achieved, contributing to the understanding of host lipid metabolism and rabies virus-host interactions.