Abstract
Encephalomyocarditis virus (EMC) possesses many of the biological and pathogenetic features of the human Group B coxsackieviruses which have been implicated in the aetiology of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus1,2. The M variant of EMC produces a diabetes-like disease when inoculated into some strains of mice. In these animals, cytolysis of β-cells is prominent, and there is an accompanying mononuclear inflammatory cell response (insulitis). Hyperglycaemia is observed during the acute stages of infection followed by varying degrees of carbohydrate intolerance3–5. In other mouse strains, β-cell lesions are less prominent and insulitis fails to occur, even though the animals develop a systemic infection. In these animals diabetes is observed either infrequently or not at all. Although the susceptibility of mice to the diabetogenic effect of the virus is believed to be influenced by one or more recessive genes, the pathogenetic basis for differences between the strains has not been defined6,7. The basis for the unique tropism of the M variant for β-cells also is uncertain because other serotypically similar strains of this virus cause pancreatic acinar cell necrosis, but lack a diabetogenic effect3,5. We have studied mouse pancreatic β-cells in tissue culture to determine whether or not these cells are uniquely susceptible to the M variant of EMC. Additionally, we examined the viral susceptibility of cultured β-cells derived from mouse strains that varied in their resistance to the diabetogenic effects of the M variant. The results show that cultured mouse β-cells can be infected by a variety of EMC viruses, and β-cells from different strains of mice are susceptible to infection by the M variant of EMC.
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Wilson, G., D'Andrea, B., Bellomo, S. et al. Encephalomyocarditis virus infection of cultured murine pancreatic β- cells. Nature 285, 112–113 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/285112a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/285112a0
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