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ICAM-1 Participates in the Entry of West Nile Virus into the Central Nervous System

Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine,¹ Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520,² Department of Biomedical Sciences and Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90048³

Received 10 December 2007/ Accepted 18 January 2008

Determining how West Nile virus crosses the blood-brain barrier is critical to understanding the pathogenesis of encephalitis. Here, we show that ICAM-1^–/– mice are more resistant than control animals to lethal West Nile encephalitis. ICAM-1^–/– mice have a lower viral load, reduced leukocyte infiltration, and diminished neuronal damage in the brain compared to control animals. This is associated with decreased blood-brain barrier leakage after viral infection. These data suggest that ICAM-1 plays an important role in West Nile virus neuroinvasion and that targeting ICAM-1 signaling may help control viral encephalitis.

Published ahead of print on 6 February 2008.