IMR Press / FBL / Volume 13 / Issue 12 / DOI: 10.2741/3021

Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Article
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis infection of the central nervous system
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1 Molecular and Integrative Neurosciences Department, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037
2 Department of Immunology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037
3 Harold L. Dorris Neurological Research Institute, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

 

Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2008, 13(12), 4529–4543; https://doi.org/10.2741/3021
Published: 1 May 2008
Abstract

Viral infection of the central nervous system (CNS) can result in a multitude of responses including pathology, persistence or immune clearance. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) is a powerful model system to explore these potential outcomes of CNS infection due to the diversity of responses that can be achieved after viral inoculation. Several factors including tropism, timing, dose and variant of LCMV in combination with the development or suppression of the corresponding immune response dictates whether lethal meningitis, chronic infection or clearance of LCMV in the CNS will occur. Importantly, the functionality and positioning of the LCMV-specific CD8+ T cell response are critical in directing the subsequent outcome of CNS LCMV infection. Although a basic understanding of LCMV and immune interactions in the brain exists, the molecular machinery that shapes the balance between pathogenesis and clearance in the LCMV-infected CNS remains to be elucidated. This review covers the various outcomes of LCMV infection in the CNS and what is currently known about the impact of the virus itself versus the immune response in the development of disease or clearance.

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