Does immunosuppression alter the clinical course or muscle necrosis in mice with Ross River virus myositis?
Muscle necrosis in Ross River virus myositis appears to result from direct viral lysis of muscle fibers rather than immune-mediated mechanisms.
Ross River virus (RRV) causes an age-dependent myositis in mice. Infected 4-week-old mice develop no clinical signs, but 1-week-old mice develop weakness and myositis. Humoral and cell-mediated immune responses to RRV in the two age groups are comparable, and immunosuppression does not alter age-dependent resistance to clinical disease. Immunosuppression of 1-week-old mice protracts clinical signs and reduces muscle inflammation but does not alter muscle necrosis or regeneration. These studies suggest that immune responses do not determine age dependency of RRV myositis and that muscle necrosis results from direct viral lysis of muscle fibers.
Seay et al. (Mon,) studied this question.
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