Alterations in cytokine but not chemokine mRNA expression during three distinct Theiler's virus infections

DA, GDVII and H101 are neurovirulent strains of Theiler's murine encephalom yelitis virus that cause very different neuropathology and CNS disease when inoculated into SJL/J mice. DA virus causes a chronic demyelinating diseas e, GDVII virus causes an acute fatal polioencephalomyelitis, and H101 virus causes an acute pachymeningitis with hydrocephalus. Performing RNase prote ction assays, we detected the same pattern of chemokine (RANTES, MCP-1, IP- 10, MIP-1 beta, MIP-1 alpha and MIP-2) mRNA expression in brain and spinal cord during all three infections. In contrast, IFN-beta and IL-6 mRNA were highly expressed only in GDVII virus infection, whereas high levels of LT-a lpha mRNA were only found during DA virus infection. Our study demonstrates that proinflammatory cytokines are involved in the neuropathogenesis of CN S disease and modulate the acute and chronic process underlying different p athologic features of disease. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights re served.