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Posted on 7/8/2003, 1:03:37 AM by blam
Virus causes mental illness symptoms in mice
22:00 07 July 03
NewScientist.com news service
A single viral protein causes behavioural changes in mice similar to those experienced by people with mental illness, reveals a study by Japanese researchers
The effects of the protein, produced by a common pathogen called the Borna disease virus (BDV), may help scientists understand how viruses could contribute to psychiatric disease in humans.
Viruses like BDV, influenza and HIV are suspected of playing a role in the development of psychiatric disorders, but so far no specific link has been shown. While one in three healthy people are infected with BDV - which attacks the central nervous system nearly 100 per cent of people with severe mood disorders have the virus, found a study in 2001. Animal models have revealed a more direct link between viruses and altered behaviour - mice infected with different viruses develop hyperactivity and cognitive deficits.
Keizo Tomonaga and colleagues at Osaka University in Japan inserted a gene for a single protein produced by BDV into mouse embryos. Mice which grew up to express the viral protein in their brains were more aggressive and hyperactive compared with normal mice - much like mice with traditional BDV infection, says the team.
Support cells
Only glial cells expressed the BDV protein. These non-neuronal cells are involved in forming and maintaining nerve junctions in the brain. That suggests the protein alters behaviour by affecting the function of these cells, says Tomonaga.
Major psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia are also characterised by the dysfunction of these special support cells.
"Our results suggest that viral infection may play a role in the development of neurobehavioural dysfunctions," says the team. "Although the role of BDV infection in the induction of psychiatric disorders remains controversial, this work should promote further investigation regarding this question." Ian Lipkin, an epidemiologist at Columbia University in New York, believes the mouse findings will be helpful if the results of a large scale epidemiological study due out in December, 2003 confirms the suggested link between schizophrenia and BDV. However, he adds that most human studies linking virus and disease have found that infection must occur at a specific point in development to have behavioural consequences. In the Tomonaga¹s study, the protein was expressed throughout development, which could be a problem in pinpointing the mechanism, he says.
Journal reference: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1531155100)
Emily Singer
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Islamic mice?
There is also another organism which causes mice to lose their fear of cats (and the smell of cats). The better to be eaten and--again--pass through the digestive system of the cat as a phase in its life cycle.
--Boris
I'm waiting the the article headlined, "Virus Causes Obesity In Mice."I have often wondered if some obesity is caused by a virus.
See, I knew that modern science would eventually come up with an explanation for my ex-wife!
GDS (glazed donut syndrome)
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