Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus infection of SJL/J and C57BL/6J mice: Models for multiple sclerosis and epilepsy.

Mouse models are great tools to study the mechanisms of disease development. Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus is used in two distinct viral infection mouse models to study the human diseases multiple sclerosis (MS) and epilepsy. Intracerebral (i.c.) infection of the SJL/J mouse strain results in persistent viral infection of the central nervous system and a MS-like disease, while i.c. infection of the C57BL/6J mouse strain results in acute seizures and epilepsy. Our understanding of how the immune system contributes to the development of two disparate diseases caused by the same virus is presented.