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Morphological features of Murray Valley encephalitis virus infection in the central nervous system of swiss mice
Author(s) -
Matthews Vance,
Robertson Terry,
Kendrick Tulene,
Abdo Michael,
Papadimitriou John,
Mcminn Peter
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
international journal of experimental pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.671
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1365-2613
pISSN - 0959-9673
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2613.2000.00135.x
Subject(s) - endoplasmic reticulum , olfactory bulb , biology , golgi apparatus , central nervous system , virus , fragmentation (computing) , ultrastructure , cytoplasm , population , necrosis , pathology , hippocampus , microbiology and biotechnology , virology , anatomy , medicine , ecology , genetics , environmental health , neuroscience
We have examined the histological and ultrastructural features of CNS infection with Murray Valley encephalitis (MVE) virus in mice inoculated with a virulent parental strain (BH3479). Light microscopic examination revealed neuronal necrosis in the olfactory bulb and hippocampus of MVE‐infected brains by 5 days post‐infection (pi). Electron microscopy of these regions showed endoplasmic reticulum membrane proliferation, and tubular and spherical structures in the cisternae of the endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi complex and nuclear envelope. At seven to eight days pi, infected neurones exhibited chromatin condensation and extrusion, nuclear fragmentation, loss of segments of the nuclear envelope, reduced surface contact with adjacent cells and loss of cytoplasmic organelles. This cell injury was particularly noticeable in the proximal CA3 and distal CA1 regions of the hippocampus. The inflammatory cell profile consisted of macrophages, lymphocytes and especially neutrophils, and many of these inflammatory cells were apoptotic. High mortality rates in the BH3479‐infected population of mice correlated with the intense polymorphonuclear and mononuclear leucocyte inflammatory infiltrate in the CNS.