Figure 7.
rVSV viral titers and NO production following intranasal infection: A) Viral titers at 1 × 103 pfu: Cohorts of N = 6, 6 week old male BALB/c mice were infected in with 1 × 103 pfu of VSV23, VSVST, or VSVXN2. Brains were harvested on days 1, and 3 p.i., divided into hemispheres sagitally, and one half was homogenized. Samples were serially diluted and plated on L929 cells. Plaque assays were performed cells to determine viral titers. Data points represent titers in individual mice. Horizontal bars indicate the geometric mean titer of the cohorts. VSV23 titers as represented by the geometric mean were at least 1 log lower than all other viral treatment groups at both time points. B) Viral titers at 1 × 106 pfu: The experiment out lined above was repeated, but mice were infected in with 1 × 106 pfu of VSV23, VSVST, or VSVXN2. Results were similar for all infections at both time points. Data shown are representative of 3 identical experiments. C) NO levels in the central nervous system: Brains were harvested on days 1, 3, 6, and 9 p.i. after infection with VSV23 (solid bars), VSVST (stipled bars), VSVXN2 (slashed bars), or mock infected (plaid bars) and homogenates were tested for the presence of NO using the Greiss assay. VSV23 induces greater amounts of NO compared to other rVSVs and does so at earlier time points. Data shown are means ± standard deviations. ANOVA analysis of days 3 and 6 data reject the null hypothesis with p < 0.05. This figure is representative of data from three identical experiments.
Abbreviation: NO, nitric oxide.