The Spike Glycoprotein of Murine Coronavirus MHV-JHM Mediates Receptor-Independent Infection and Spread in the Central Nervous Systems ofCeacam1a−/−Mice

Abstract

The MHV-JHM strain of the murine coronavirus mouse hepatitis virus is much more neurovirulent than the MHV-A59 strain, although both strains use murine CEACAM1a (mCEACAM1a) as the receptor to infect murine cells. We previously showed thatCeacam1a^−/−mice are completely resistant to MHV-A59 infection (E. Hemmila et al., J. Virol. 78:10156-10165, 2004). In vitro, MHV-JHM, but not MHV-A59, can spread from infected murine cells to cells that lack mCEACAM1a, a phenomenon called receptor-independent spread. To determine whether MHV-JHM could infect and spread in the brain independent of mCEACAM1a, we inoculatedCeacam1a^−/−mice. AlthoughCeacam1a^−/−mice were completely resistant to i.c. inoculation with 10⁶PFU of recombinant wild-type MHV-A59 (RA59) virus, these mice were killed by recombinant MHV-JHM (RJHM) and a chimeric virus containing the spike of MHV-JHM in the MHV-A59 genome (SJHM/RA59). Immunohistochemistry showed that RJHM and SJHM/RA59 infected all neural cell types and induced severe microgliosis in bothCeacam1a^−/−and wild-type mice. For RJHM, the 50% lethal dose (LD₅₀) is 1.3in wild-type mice and 10^3.1inCeacam1a^−/−mice. For SJHM/RA59, the LD₅₀is 1.3in wild-type mice and 10^3.6inCeacam1a^−/−mice. This study shows that infection and spread of MHV-JHM in the brain are dependent upon the viral spike glycoprotein. RJHM can initiate infection in the brains ofCeacam1a^−/−mice, but expression of mCEACAM1a increases susceptibility to infection. The spread of infection in the brain is mCEACAM1a independent. Thus, the ability of the MHV-JHM spike to mediate mCEACAM1a-independent spread in the brain is likely an important factor in the severe neurovirulence of MHV-JHM in wild-type mice.