Differences between BALB/c and C57BL/6 Mice in Mouse Hepatitis Virus Replication in Primary Hepatocyte Culture

• Published in: Experimental Animals Vol. 52; no. 1; pp. 81 - 84
• Main Authors: KYUWA, Shigeru, KAWAMURA, Seiji, TAGAWA, Yoh-ichi, IWAKURA, Yoichiroh, URANO, Toru, YOSHIKAWA, Yasuhiro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan Japanese Association for Laboratory Animal Science 2003
• Subjects: Animals; Cells, Cultured; Coronavirus Infections - genetics; Coronavirus Infections - prevention & control; Coronavirus Infections - virology; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; hepatocyte; Hepatocytes - virology; Interferon-gamma - administration & dosage; Interferon-gamma - genetics; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C - genetics; Mice, Inbred BALB C - virology; Mice, Inbred C57BL - genetics; Mice, Inbred C57BL - virology; mouse hepatitis virus; Murine hepatitis virus - pathogenicity; Murine hepatitis virus - physiology; Recombinant Proteins - administration & dosage; viral replication; Virus Replication
• ISSN: 1341-1357; 1881-7122
• DOI: 10.1538/expanim.52.81

We previously showed that an intraperitoneal infection with mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) resulted in acute hepatic failure accompanying extremely elevated viral growth in the liver in interferon-γ-deficient BALB/c (BALB-GKO), but not C57BL/6 (B6-GKO) mice. To examine the basis of the strain difference against MHV infection in interferon-γ-deficient mice, viral replication in primary hepatocyte cultures from BALB/c and B6 mice with or without the IFN-γ gene was compared in vitro. The MHV replication in BALB/c hepatocytes with or without the IFN-γ gene was significantly higher than that in B6 hepatocytes with or without the IFN-γ gene, suggesting that there is a strain difference in MHV replication in hepatocytes. Since a significant difference in MHV replication in hepatocytes was not observed between wild type and IFN-γ-deficient mice of the same genetic background, the phenomenon is thought to be independent of IFN-γ. However, pretreatment of hepatocytes with recombinant mouse interferon-γ inhibited MHV replication in a dose-dependent fashion. The results are discussed with respect to the pathology of MHV infection in mice with or without the IFN-γ gene.