Regulation of MHC Class I and II Antigens on Cerebral Endothelial Cells and Astrocytes Following MHV-4 Infection

The direct induction of major histocompatibility complex coded molecules following virus infection of cerebral endothelial cells and astrocytes may play an important role in the pathogenesis of organ specific CNS disease. Mouse hepatitis virus type 4 (MHV-4)(JHM strain), a member of the Coronavirus family, causes a spectrum of disease ranging from fatal acute encephalomyelitis to demyelination in susceptible murine hosts (Bailey et al., 1949). Massa et al. , (1986, 1987a) demonstrated the ability of MHV-4 to directly induce la (class II) antigen expression on Lewis rat astrocytes in vitro. In contrast in the C57BL/6 mouse, Suzumura et al., (1986) showed that a related Coronavirus, MHV-A59, induced class I but not class II antigens on mouse astrocytes and oligodendrocytes.