A non-cardiovirulent strain of coxsackievirus B3 causes myocarditis in mice with severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome.

The most extensively studied animal model of coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3)-induced inflammatory heart muscle disease is the murine model. In the acute and chronic phase of the disease, it has been suggested that autoimmune mechanisms play a major role in the pathogenesis of the disease. In this study, C3H mice without functional T- and B-lymphocytes (C3H SCID) were inoculated either with a cardiovirulent (CVB3/20) or a non-cardiovirulent (CVB3/0) strain of coxsackievirus B3. Both viruses caused myocarditis in SCID mice. Furthermore, it could be demonstrated, that CVB3/0 had mutated to a cardiovirulent phenotype, able to cause myocarditis in immunocompetent mice.