Fig. 1

Tropism of mouse cytomegalovirus in the brain. A-C Newborn C57BL/6 mice were infected with MCMV. A Viral titers in the cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum were determined by plaque assay at the indicated days post-infection (dpi) (n = 10–13 mice/time point). Results for individual mice are shown (circles, squares, and triangles). Black horizontal lines indicate the median values. D.L., detection limit. Kruskal–Wallis test was used. B GFAP (astrocyte marker), IBA1 (microglia marker) or MAP2 (neuron marker, all cells stain brown) and MCMV IE1 protein (red) co-staining of paraffin-embedded brain sections on 11 dpi. Arrows point to MCMV-infected cells. Representative images are shown (40x magnification, 100x magnification insert). C MCMV genome-equivalent copy numbers per gram of tissue in indicated brain regions determined by qPCR at 180 dpi (n = 10 mice/time point). Mock, mock-infected mice. Results for individual mice are shown (circles, squares, and triangles). Black horizontal lines indicate the median values. D.L., detection limit. Kruskal–Wallis test was used. p values indicate statistically significant differences