A Systems Biology Approach Reveals that Tissue Tropism to West Nile Virus Is Regulated by Antiviral Genes and Innate Immune Cellular Processes
Figure 2
WNV replication in permissive and nonpermissive tissues is controlled by RLR and type I IFN signaling.
Viral burden analysis of spleen (permissive) and liver (nonpermissive) tissues from WT, Mavs−/−, Ifnar−/−, and Mavs−/−×Ifnar−/− (DKO) mice infected subcutaneously in the footpad with 100 PFU of WNV-TX. Viral burden in the (A) spleen and (B) liver were determined by plaque assay. Data are represented as PFU per gram (n = 4 mice per timepoint). (C) Viral burden in WT infected livers determined by qRT-PCR using virus-specific primers and represented as a relative ratio of WNV to GAPDH RNA (n = 3–4) mice per timepoint). Graphs show the mean +/− standard deviation for each measurement. Asterisk denotes P<0.05. The horizontal line indicates the lower limit of assay sensitivity. BLD = below limit of detection. n.a. = not applicable.