Korean J Anat.  2005 Jun;38(3):259-264.

Apoptotic Neuronal Death in the Mouse Brain Induced by Experimental Japanese Encephalitis Virus Infection

• Kang TH
• Chae SL
• Choi WY
• Park C
• Nam JH
• Joo YR
• Park KY

Abstract

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV)may cause acute encephalitis in humans and induce severe cytopathic effects in various types of cultured cells. To investigate whether JEV infection induces apoptosis, we examined DNA fragmentation and apoptosis in the specific region of the JEV infected mouse brain by DNA oligonucleosomal laddering and in situ terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL)technique and immunohistochemical study. JEV infections in the mouse brain were detected in the telencephalon, the diencephalons, and the brain stem, but not in the cerebellum and the hippocampus. Fragmentation of cellular DNA into oligonucleosome-length ladders was only observed in tissue samples prepared from the cerebral cortex. In addition, the large number of TUNEL-positive cells was observed in the cerebral cortex. Double-labeling experiment with TUNEL staining and immunostaining for the JEV showed that TUNEL-positive neurons containing JEV immunoreactivity. These results suggest that JEV infection may evoke apoptotic neuronal death in the mouse brain, which plays an important role in the pathogenesis of Japanese encephalitis.

Keyword

Apoptosis; JEV; Immunohistochemistry; TUNEL; in vivo model; Mouse

MeSH Terms

Animals
Apoptosis
Asian Continental Ancestry Group*
Brain Stem
Brain*
Cells, Cultured
Cerebellum
Cerebral Cortex
Diencephalon
DNA
DNA Fragmentation
Encephalitis
Encephalitis Virus, Japanese*
Encephalitis, Japanese*
Hippocampus
Humans
Immunohistochemistry
In Situ Nick-End Labeling
Mice*
Neurons*
Telencephalon
DNA