The neuropathology observed in wild-type mice inoculated with human poliovirus mirrors human paralytic poliomyelitis

• Published in: Microbial pathogenesis Vol. 33; no. 3; pp. 97 - 107
• Main Authors: Ford, Dayton, Ropka, Stacie, Collins, George, Jubelt, Burk
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier India Pvt Ltd 01.09.2002; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animals; Bacterial diseases; Bacteriology; Biological and medical sciences; Brain - pathology; Disease Models, Animal; Experimental bacterial diseases and models; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Human, poliomyelitis, poliovirus, mice, pathology; Humans; Infectious diseases; Male; Medical sciences; Mice; Microbiology; Motor Neurons - pathology; Motor Neurons - virology; Paralysis; Pathogenicity, virulence, toxins, bacteriocins, pyrogens, host-bacteria relations, miscellaneous strains; Poliomyelitis - pathology; Poliomyelitis - virology; Poliovirus - physiology; Human, poliomyelitis, poliovirus, mice, pathology; Animal model; Spinal cord; Picornaviridae; Motor system disorder; Central nervous system; Monkey; Transgenic animal; Enterovirus; Primates; Paralysis; Neurological disorder; Human; Nervous system diseases; Rodentia; Acute anterior poliomyelitis; Poliovirus; Infection; Virus; Pathology; Vertebrata; Experimental disease; Mammalia; Neuron; Mouse; Viral disease; Central nervous system disease; Spinal cord disease
• ISSN: 0882-4010; 1096-1208
• DOI: 10.1006/mpat.2002.0512

Human paralytic poliomyelitis results from the destruction of spinal cord anterior horn motor neurons by human poliovirus (PV). CNS disease pathology similar to human poliomyelitis has been observed in experimentally infected chimpanzees, monkeys and wild-type mice. In this study we present a detailed examination of the clinical and histopathological features in the wild-type mouse after intracranial (i.c.) and novel intramuscular (i.m.) injection of poliovirus. Either route of poliovirus administration results in a clinical disease characterized predominately by flaccid paralysis. The observed histopathological features are compared with the histopathology reported for human paralytic poliomyelitis, experimentally infected chimpanzees, monkeys and transgenic mice expressing the human poliovirus receptor (hPVR). The observation of flaccid paralysis and anterior horn motor neuron destruction mirrors what is observed in human paralytic poliomyelitis. Our results suggest that the neuropathology observed in the wild-type mouse model is similar to what has been observed in both the human disease and in other experimental animal models, with the possible exception of the transgenic mouse model. The observed neuropathology of the wild-type mouse model more closely reflects what has been observed in human poliomyelitis, as well as in experimentally infected chimpanzees and monkeys, than does the hPVR transgenic mouse model. The previously reported poliovirus-induced white matter demyelinating disease was not observed.