Persistent infection of a gammaherpesvirus in the central nervous system

  • Hye Ri Kang
  • , Hye Jeong Cho
  • , Sungbum Kim
  • , In Ho Song
  • , Tae Sup Lee
  • , Seungmin Hwang
  • , Ren Sun
  • , Moon Jung Song*
  • *Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    13 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Human gammaherpesvirus infections of the central nervous system (CNS) have been linked to various neurological diseases. Murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV-68), genetically related and biologically similar to human gammaherpesviruses, infects the CNS in laboratory mice. However, viral persistency of MHV-68 has not been studied following CNS infection. In this study, we undertook the noninvasive bioluminescence imaging of a recombinant MHV-68 expressing the firefly luciferase (M3FL) to monitor virus progression after CNS infection. The M3FL virus inoculated in the brain systemically spread to the abdominal area in bioluminescence imaging, which was further confirmed by detection of viral genome and transcripts. The disseminated wild-type virus established latency in the spleen. Moreover, the treatment of the infected mice with CsA induced reactivation of latent MHV-68 from the brain and the spleen. Our results suggest that MHV-68 may persist both inside and outside the CNS once it gains access to the CNS.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)23-29
    Number of pages7
    JournalVirology
    Volume423
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2012 Feb 5

    Bibliographical note

    Funding Information:
    This work was supported by grants from the National R&D Program for Cancer Control, Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs, Republic of Korea ( 0920170 ) and from Mid-career Researcher Program through NRF grant funded by the MEST ( NRF-2010-0000484 ) to M.J.S.

    UN SDGs

    This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    1. SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
      SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

    Keywords

    • Bioluminescence imaging
    • Central nervous system
    • Gammaherpesvirus
    • Persistent infection

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Virology

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