[Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) enhances the expression of MCP-1, CD68 and NF-κB in infected mouse brain tissue].

Objective To investigate the expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein 1(MCP-1), CD68 and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) in mice infected by tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). Methods One-week-old BALB/c mice were randomly divided into control group and infection group with 4 mice in each group. PBS and TBEV was intracranially injected to the control and infection groups, respectively. The mice were sacrificed and half of the brain in each group was fixed after 8 days of infection. HE staining was performed to observe the pathological changes. The expression of MCP-1, NF-κB and CD68 in the brain tissue were detected by immunohistochemical staining and the number of positive cells was counted under a microscope. Immunofluorescence technique combined with laser scanning confocal microscope was used to detect the co-expression of MCP-1 and CD68. Results Compared with the control group, the number of positive cells that expressed MCP-1, NF-κB and CD68 significantly increased in the TBEV infection group and MCP-1 was expressed in both CD68-positive and non-CD68-positive cells. Conclusion TBEV can enhance the expression of MCP-1, CD68 and NF-κB in mouse brain tissue.