Chronic restraint stress during early Theiler's virus infection exacerbates the subsequent demyelinating disease in SJL mice: II. CNS disease severity

Young, Erin E.; Sieve, Amy N.; Vichaya, Elisabeth G.; Carcoba, Luis M.; Young, Colin R.; Ambrus, Andrew; Storts, Ralph; Welsh, C. Jane R.; Meagher, Mary W.

doi:10.1016/j.jneuroim.2010.01.015

« Previous Next »Journal of Neuroimmunology
Volume 220, Issue 1 , Pages 79-89, 30 March 2010

Chronic restraint stress during early Theiler's virus infection exacerbates the subsequent demyelinating disease in SJL mice: II. CNS disease severity

Erin E. Young
- Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts, Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843, United States
- Corresponding author. Department of Psychology, Texas A&M University, Mailstop 4235, College Station, TX 77843-4235, United States. Tel.: +1 979 458 1312; fax: +1 979 845 4727.
Amy N. Sieve
- Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts, Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843, United States
Elisabeth G. Vichaya
- Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts, Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843, United States
Luis M. Carcoba
- Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts, Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843, United States
Colin R. Young
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843, United States
Andrew Ambrus
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843, United States
Ralph Storts
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843, United States
C. Jane R. Welsh
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843, United States
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843, United States
Mary W. Meagher
- Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts, Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843, United States

Received 16 July 2009; received in revised form 22 January 2010; accepted 22 January 2010. published online 18 February 2010.

Abstract

Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) infection is a well-characterized model of multiple sclerosis (MS). Previous research has shown that chronic restraint stress (RS) during early TMEV infection exacerbates behavioral signs of the disease. The present data suggest that RS-induced increases in CNS inflammation, demyelination, and axonal degeneration may underlie this exacerbation. In addition, we report that males exhibit greater CNS inflammation and higher numbers of demyelinating lesions while females show greater susceptibility to RS-induced exacerbation. These findings indicate that RS during early TMEV infection increases CNS lesion formation during the late phase and suggest that the effects of RS are sex-dependent.

Keywords: Multiple sclerosis, Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus, Demyelination, Inflammation, Axonal degeneration, CNS disease severity