Abstract
West Nile virus (WNV) causes neurological diseases by penetrating the central nervous system (CNS)—an immune-privileged system. Although the CNS residential cells can produce antiviral immune responses, the blood leukocytes are required to contain virus spread. However, infiltrating leukocytes may also contribute to immunopathology if they overreact. Thus analyses of WNV infectivity and leukocyte numbers in the CNS are critical for understanding of WNV pathogenesis in experimental mouse models. Here I describe two basic assays for quantification of viral titers and infiltrating leukocytes in the mouse brain after WNV infection.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsSpringer Nature is developing a new tool to find and evaluate Protocols. Learn more
References
Lazear HM, Diamond MS (2014) New insights into innate immune restriction of West Nile virus infection. Curr Opin Virol 11C:1–6
Colpitts TM, Conway MJ, Montgomery RR et al (2012) West Nile virus: biology, transmission, and human infection. Clin Microbiol Rev 25:635–648
Suthar MS, Diamond MS, Gale M Jr (2013) West Nile virus infection and immunity. Nat Rev Microbiol 11:115–128
Arjona A, Wang P, Montgomery RR et al (2011) Innate immune control of West Nile virus infection. Cell Microbiol 13:1648–1658
Wang P, Dai J, Bai F et al (2008) Matrix metalloproteinase 9 facilitates West Nile virus entry into the brain. J Virol 82:8978–8985
Dai J, Wang P, Bai F et al (2008) Icam-1 participates in the entry of west nile virus into the central nervous system. J Virol 82:4164–4168
Wang P, Arjona A, Zhang Y et al (2010) Caspase-12 controls West Nile virus infection via the viral RNA receptor RIG-I. Nat Immunol 11:912–919
Wang P, Bai F, Zenewicz LA et al (2012) IL-22 signaling contributes to West Nile encephalitis pathogenesis. PLoS One 7, e44153
You F, Wang P, Yang L et al (2013) ELF4 is critical for induction of type I interferon and the host antiviral response. Nat Immunol 14:1237–1246
Bai F, Kong KF, Dai J et al (2010) A paradoxical role for neutrophils in the pathogenesis of West Nile virus. J Infect Dis 202:1804–1812
Daep CA, Munoz-Jordan JL, Eugenin EA (2014) Flaviviruses, an expanding threat in public health: focus on dengue, West Nile, and Japanese encephalitis virus. J Neurovirol 20:539–560
Gage GJ, Kipke DR, Shain W (2012) Whole animal perfusion fixation for rodents. J Vis Exp 65, e3564
Brehin AC, Mouries J, Frenkiel MP et al (2008) Dynamics of immune cell recruitment during West Nile encephalitis and identification of a new CD19 + B220-BST-2+ leukocyte population. J Immunol 180:6760–6767
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this protocol
Cite this protocol
Wang, P. (2016). Exploration of West Nile Virus Infection in Mouse Models. In: Colpitts, T. (eds) West Nile Virus. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1435. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3670-0_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3670-0_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-3668-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-3670-0
eBook Packages: Springer Protocols