| First Author | Wu AG | Year | 2018 |
| Journal | Pediatr Res | Volume | 83 |
| Issue | 5 | Pages | 1057-1066 |
| PubMed ID | 29364865 | Mgi Jnum | J:319298 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6863592 | Doi | 10.1038/pr.2018.13 |
| Citation | Wu AG, et al. (2018) Age-dependent susceptibility to reovirus encephalitis in mice is influenced by maturation of the type-I interferon response. Pediatr Res 83(5):1057-1066 |
| abstractText | BackgroundInfants and young children are particularly susceptible to viral encephalitis; however, the mechanisms are unknown. We determined the age-dependent contribution of innate and adaptive immune functions to reovirus-induced encephalitis in mice.MethodsNewborn wild-type mice, 2-20 days of age, were inoculated with reovirus or diluent and monitored for mortality, weight gain, and viral load. Four- and fifteen-day-old IFNAR(-/-) and RAG2(-/-) mice were inoculated with reovirus and similarly monitored.ResultsWeight gain was impaired in mice inoculated with reovirus at 8 days of age or less. Clinical signs of encephalitis were detected in mice inoculated at 10 days of age or less. Mortality decreased when mice were inoculated after 6 days of age. Survival was </=15% in wild type (WT), RAG2(-/-), and IFNAR(-/-) mice inoculated at 4 days of age. All WT mice, 92% of RAG2(-/-) mice, and only 48% of IFNAR(-/-) mice survived following inoculation at 15 days of age.ConclusionsSusceptibility of mice to reovirus-induced disease decreases between 6 and 8 days of age. Enhanced reovirus virulence in IFNAR(-/-) mice relative to WT and RAG2(-/-) mice inoculated at 15 days of age suggests that maturation of the type-I interferon response contributes to age-related mortality following reovirus infection. |
