Rapid and sequential quantitation of salivary gland-associated mouse cytomegalovirus in oral lavage

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) establishes a persistent infection in the salivary glands and transmits to other hosts. Mouse cytomegalovirus (MCMV) is a well-characterized model for studying the mechanisms of host responses against CMV. The viral load in salivary glands has been measured traditionally because it has been considered to reflect the consequence of anti-virus responses by T cells and natural killer (NK) cells. However, the standard plaque assay is cumbersome and it is impossible to monitor sequentially the viral load in same host. Hence, the goal of this study was to develop a real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR)-based procedure to measure the viral load in oral lavage. This report demonstrates that the viral load in oral lavage correlates well with viral titers in the salivary glands. This method allows sequential quantitation of viral loads without sacrificing mice and provides a technique that will facilitate kinetic studies of anti-viral immunity mediated by the innate and adaptive immune systems.