Genetic and immunological contributors to virus-induced paralysis

• Published in: Brain, behavior, & immunity. Health Vol. 18; p. 100395
• Main Authors: Perez Gomez, Aracely A., Karmakar, Moumita, Carroll, Raymond J., Lawley, Koedi S., Amstalden, Katia, Young, Colin R., Threadgill, David W., Welsh, C. Jane, Brinkmeyer-Langford, Candice
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01-12-2021; Elsevier
• Subjects: Chronic infection; Collaborative cross; Cytokine; Full Length; Host response; IL-1 α; Paralysis; RANTES; TMEV; Viral infection; Parkinson's disease; intraperitoneal; days post infection; RANTES; Epstein-Barr Virus; Cytokine; Chronic infection; plaque-forming units; Chromosome; IL-1 α; TMEV; Viral infection; Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus; receptor for IL-1 α; central nervous system; Host response; Multiple Sclerosis; blood brain barrier; experimental autoimmune encephalitis; Collaborative cross; Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis; phosphate buffered saline; Paralysis; central nervous system, (CNS); experimental autoimmune encephalitis, (EAE); days post infection, (dpi); Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus, (TMEV); Epstein-Barr Virus, (EBV); Multiple Sclerosis, (MS); Chromosome, (Chr); Collaborative Cross, (CC); intraperitoneal, (IP); phosphate buffered saline, (PBS); plaque-forming units, (PFU); blood brain barrier, (BBB); receptor for IL-1 α, (Il1r1); Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, (ALS); Parkinson's disease, (PD)
• ISSN: 2666-3546; 2666-3546
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bbih.2021.100395

Infection by a single virus can evoke diverse immune responses, resulting in different neurological outcomes, depending on the host's genetic background. To study heterogenous viral response, we use Theiler's Murine Encephalomyelitis Virus (TMEV) to model virally induced neurological phenotypes and immune responses in Collaborative Cross (CC) mice. The CC resource consists of genetically distinct and reproducible mouse lines, thus providing a population model with genetic heterogeneity similar to humans. We examined different CC strains for the effect of chronic stage TMEV-induced immune responses on neurological outcomes throughout 90 days post infection (dpi), with a particular focus on limb paralysis, by measuring serum levels of 23 different cytokines and chemokines. Each CC strain demonstrated a unique set of immune responses, regardless of presence or absence of TMEV RNA. Using stepwise regression, significant associations were identified between IL-1α, RANTES, and paralysis frequency scores. To better understand these interactions, we evaluated multiple aspects of the different CC genetic backgrounds, including haplotypes of genomic regions previously linked with TMEV pathogenesis and viral clearance or persistence, individual cytokine levels, and TMEV-relevant gene expression. These results demonstrate how loci previously associated with TMEV outcomes provide incomplete information regarding TMEV-induced paralysis in the CC strains. Overall, these findings provide insight into the complex roles of immune response in the pathogenesis of virus-associated neurological diseases influenced by host genetic background.
•Paralysis resulting from long-term TMEV infection varies by host genetic background.•For CC mice, no single immune environment causes paralysis following TMEV infection.•IL-1A and RANTES significantly influence the progression of paralysis over time.•H2 haplotype alone did not predict viral presence or TMEV-induced paralysis.•Paralysis severity is influenced by multiple TMEV- and immune-related loci.