In antibody knockout mice infected with Sindbis virus, T cells utilized interferon-gamma to clear the virus from spinal cord and brain stem neurons, but not cortical neurons.
T cells utilize interferon-gamma to clear alphavirus from specific CNS neurons, revealing that neuronal populations differ in their responsiveness to this immune effector pathway.
Recovery from viral encephalomyelitis requires immune-mediated noncytolytic clearance from neurons by mechanisms assumed to be the same for all neurons. In alphavirus encephalomyelitis, antibody clears infectious virus from neurons in all regions of the central nervous system (CNS), but CD8 T cells contribute to elimination of viral RNA. To understand the role of T cells in clearance, we infected antibody knockout mice with Sindbis virus. Virus was cleared from spinal cord and brain stem neurons, but not from cortical neurons, and required both CD4 and CD8 T cells. Infection with cytokine-expressing recombinant viruses suggested that T cells used interferon-gamma, but not tumor necrosis factor alpha, in clearing virus and that populations of neurons differ in responsiveness to this effector pathway.
Binder et al. (2001) studied Alphavirus encephalomyelitis. Sindbis virus infection was evaluated on Viral clearance from CNS neurons. In antibody knockout mice infected with Sindbis virus, T cells utilized interferon-gamma to clear the virus from spinal cord and brain stem neurons, but not cortical neurons.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: