Infant mouse brain passaged Dengue serotype 2 virus induces non-neurological disease with inflammatory spleen collapse in AG129 mice after splenic adaptation

AG129 mice are known to be permissive to infection by multiple serotypes of Dengue virus (DENV). There exists a concern that mouse passaged strains of the virus may induce neurological complications rather than increased vascular permeability in these mice, hence the use of human clinical isolates of the virus to develop the AG129 mouse model of Dengue disease with increased vascular permeability. The present study evaluated four mouse brain passaged DENV strains, each belonging to a different serotype and three of them having an original isolation history in India, for their suitability to serve as candidates to induce rapid lethal disease in AG129 mice. While all the viruses were able to establish a productive infection in the spleen, none of them induced paralysis despite their mouse brain passage history. Only the type-2 virus acquired the ability to induce a lethal disease after a single round of spleen to spleen passage, and became highly virulent after five more rounds. This apparently non-neurological lethal disease was characterized by high viral burden, elevated vascular permeability, serum TNF-α surge immediately before moribund stage, transient leukocytosis followed by severe leukopenia, lymphopenia throughout the course of the infection, and transient thrombocytopenia. The disease was also characterized by inflammatory splenic collapse during moribund stage, reminiscent of spontaneous splenic rupture reported in rare cases of severe Dengue in humans.

► AG129 mouse spleen to spleen passaging of infant mouse brain derived Dengue viruses types 1–4. ► Spleen passaged Dengue 2 induces non-neurological lethal disease. ► Spleen passaged Dengue 2 induces vascular leak, thrombocytopenia, hemorrhage and spleen collapse. ► Spleen passaged non-type 2 Dengue viruses fail to induce the kind of disease induced by the type 2 virus.