engleski

CELL BIOLOGY OF MCMV INFECTED MICROGLIA - THE MODEL ESTABLISHMENT

The central nervous system (CNS) is one of the principal target organs for cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection during neurodevelopment and immunosuppression. Current concept regarding the pathogenesis of neurological injury caused by CMV includes glial cell-mediated defenses. Among glia, microglia cells, the resident immune cells in the brain, are sensors of viral infection. They initiate a cascade of neuroimmune responses that result in defense of damaged brain. In response to CNS infections, microglial cells can quickly transform from a quiescent (ramified) state into an activated (amoeboid) state, acquiring macrophage phenotype and critical effector functions required to launch effective immune responses. Our investigations recently turned from studies on antigen presenting properties of murine CMV (MCMV)-infected primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) to MCMV-infected murine microglia cells’ model. For the purposes of these experiments, we established cell culture system model which implies MCMV-infected murine microglia BV-2 cell line. This microglial cell line is widely used whereas analysis on characterisation revealed a high similarity to primary microglial cells. Since BV-2 cells are easy to culture, they are a valuable tool to study inflammatory processes and neuroimmune response. Results from our recent study with MCMV show that BV-2 cells are fully permissive to MCMV replication but expression of early viral immunoevasion gene products (m152, m04, m06) is relatively postponed to well establish model on MEF’s. Upon the viral exposure, microglia suddenly assumes an activated phenotype by changing shape from a spider like resting state to a round blob as a macrophage. The established model of MCMV-infected microglial cells offers the possibility to study the nature of microglial immune response as subsequently orchestrated process greatly dependent on the nature of the immune stimulus.

murine cytomegalovirus; microglia; BV-2 cell line

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