Kinetics of replication of lactate dehydrogenase-elevating virus in age-dependent polioencephalomyelitis.

The kinetics of replication of lactate dehydrogenase-elevating virus (LDV) in age-dependent polioencephalomyelitis was studied in genetically susceptible (C58/J) and resistant (C57BL/6J) mice. The peripheral replication pattern (plasma concentration) for LDV was similar in both strains. However, the concentration of virus within the central nervous system was strikingly different. In nonsusceptible C57BL/6J mice, little or no virus was found within the central nervous system. In the lumbar cord of susceptible C58/J mice, an increase in the concentration of LDV began 5 days postinfection and continued during the preclinical stages of disease. A direct correlation was shown between the concentration of LDV in spinal cord and the appearance of motor neuron disease but not the degree of inflammatory reaction.