STUDIES OF VIRUS-INDUCED MYOCARDIAL INJURY IN MICE - VALUE OF THE SCID MUTATION ON DIFFERENT GENETIC BACKGROUNDS AND COMBINED WITH OTHER MUTATIONS

The mechanism of cardiac muscle damage in virus-induced myocarditis re mains to be fully understood. In particular, a direct role for viral r eplication has been obscured by evidence of immune-mediated injury. Th e combined use of severe combined immunodeficient (scid) and doubly mu tant scid/beige mice of different genetic backgrounds has provided a u nique opportunity to study the consequences of viral proliferation apa rt from the influence of immunologic responses. In these immunodeficie nt animals, inoculation with coxsackievirus B3 caused severe myocardia l injury, indicating a profound and direct pathogenic potential of vir al infection. These studies, in turn, serve to illustrate the value of the scid mutation in experimental biology, as defined among different genetic backgrounds and combined with other mutations.