Effect of Chlorovirus ATCV-1 infection on behavior of C57Bl/6 mice.

Neuroinflammation induced during immune responses to viral infections in the brain affect behavior. Unexpected evidence that oral gavage of an algal virus in its host algal cells could alter cognition was further examined by directly injecting purified algal virus ATCV-1 intracranially into C57BL/6 mice. After 4weeks, the ATCV-1 infection impaired delayed location recognition memory, and also reduced and anxiety. Corresponding to these effects, heightened ATCV-1, IL-6, iNOS, IFN-γ, and CD11b expression in brains was observed 3-days and/or 8-weeks post infection compared with control mice. These results imply that ATCV-1 infection damages the hippocampus via induction of inflammatory factors.