Abstract
The pathogenesis of cytomegalovirus-induced thrombocytopenia in neonatal cytomegalic inclusion disease is obscure, and the phenomenon has not previously been described in cytomegalovirus infections of other species. In these studies, 4-week-old female HA-ICR mice were infected i.p. with 105.0 plaque-forming units of murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) and their hemograms were serially determined over the succeeding 14 days. Mice infected similarly were sacrificed on appropriate days for histopathologic and fluorescent microscopic study of their spleens. Significant thrombocytopenia occurred uniformly on the 4th day of infection. This was correlated with distinctive histopathologic changes in megakaryocytes which included decrease in ratio of cytoplasm to nucleus, vacuolization of the nucleus, and appearance of markedly basophilic megakaryocytes suggesting increased turnover. Direct immunofluorescent staining for MCMV antigen, using hyperimmune anti-MCMV mouse serum, revealed positive megakaryocytic intranuclear fluorescence on days 4 and 5 of infection. These pathologic alterations gradually reverted to normal between days 7 and 14, concomitant with a return to normal control levels of circulating platelets. MCMV-induced megakaryocyte destruction is suggested as a useful model for exploration of the pathogenesis of human virus-induced thrombocytopenia.
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Osborn, J., Shahidi, N. Thrombocytopenia in murine cytomegalovirus infection. Pediatr Res 5, 409 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197108000-00160
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197108000-00160