Pathogenesis of K virus infection in mice.

The interaction of a murine papovavirus, K virus, with its natural host, the mouse, has been studied as a possible means of gaining insight into papovavirus infections of man. These investigations have delineated the pathogenesis of K virus infection in suckling, weanling, and adult animals, have demonstrated that the virus does not produce transplacental infection, and have shown that the virus has a strong affinity for vascular endothelium but does not appear to replicate in epithelial cells in kidneys, ureters, or bladder. Preliminary work suggests that, within brains, the virus replicates not only in capillary endothelial cells but also in astrocytes and perineuronal satellite cells. In animals surviving acute infection, K virus produces protracted infection of scattered cells within multiple organs including brains and is capable of persisting despite high titers of circulating antibody. K virus infection of mice provides a useful model of acute and persistent infection by a member of the papovavirus group.