Science and Research

Organotypic brain slices as a model to study the neurotropism of the highly pathogenic Nipah and Ebola viruses

Nipah virus (NiV) and Ebola virus (EBOV) are highly pathogenic zoonotic viruses with case fatality rates of up to 90%. While the brain is a known target organ following NiV infection, involvement of the central nervous system in EBOV-infected patients only became more evident after the West African epidemic in 2013-2016. To gain a deeper comprehension of the neurotropism of NiV and EBOV with respect to target cells, affected brain regions and local inflammatory responses, murine organotypic brain slices (BS) were established and infected. Both NiV and EBOV demonstrated the capacity to infect BS from adult wt mice and mice lacking the receptor for type I IFNs (IFNAR(-/-)) and targeted various cell types. NiV was observed to replicate in BS derived from both mouse strains, yet no release of infectious particles was detected. In contrast, EBOV replication was limited in both BS models. The release of several pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, including eotaxin, IFN-

  • Gellhorn Serra, M.
  • Meier, L.
  • Sauerhering, L.
  • Wilhelm, J.
  • Kupke, A.

Keywords

  • Animals
  • *Ebolavirus/physiology/pathogenicity
  • *Nipah Virus/physiology/pathogenicity
  • Mice
  • *Brain/virology/pathology
  • *Cytokines/metabolism
  • *Viral Tropism
  • Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola/virology/pathology
  • Virus Replication
  • Henipavirus Infections/virology
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Humans
  • Mice, Knockout
  • Receptor, Interferon alpha-beta/genetics/metabolism
  • Ebov
  • NiV
  • chemokines
  • choroid plexus
  • cytokines
  • neurotropism
  • organotypic brain slices
Publication details
DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.002038
Journal: J Gen Virol
Number: 10
Work Type: Original
Location: UGMLC
Disease Area: PALI
Partner / Member: JLU, UMR
Access-Number: 39466030

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