Journal of neurovirology
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Journal of neurovirology · Dec 2000
Alterations in neurotrophin and neurotrophin receptor gene expression patterns in the rat central nervous system following perinatal Borna disease virus infection.
Infection of newborn rats with Borna disease virus (BDV) leads to persistence in the absence of overt signs of inflammation. BDV persistence, however, causes cerebellar hypoplasia and hippocampal dentate gyrus neuronal cell loss, which are accompanied by diverse neurobehavioral abnormalities. Neurotrophins and their receptors play important roles in the differentiation and survival of hippocampal and cerebellar neurons. ⋯ Increased numbers of apoptotic cells were also detected in the cerebellar granular layer of infected rats after 8 days p.i. Moreover, a dramatic loss of cerebellar Purkinje cells was seen after day 27 p.i. Our results support the hypothesis, that BDV-induced alterations in neurotrophin systems might contribute to selective neuronal cell death.