Fig. 6

SLEV infection causes brain damage in mice. Adult female C57BL/6 mice were inoculated i.c. with 1 LD₁₀₀ of SLEV and euthanized at days 3, 5, and 7 p.i. for perfusion and collection of brains. Histological sections were stained in H&E and analyzed under an optical microscope. Images of the cerebral cortex/meninges are shown on the left (a, c, e, g) (magnification ×400) and the hippocampus on the right (b, d, f, h) (magnification ×200). a, b Brain histological sections representative of a Mock-infected mouse, followed by images from infected animals at day 3 (c, d), day 5 (e, f), and day 7 p.i. (g, h). Images show the development of meningitis (asterisk, c, e, g) and meningoencephalitis with microgliosis (g). Tissue damage/degeneration (arrows) and (asterisk) inflammation in the hippocampus are observed in (f, h). N = 3 mice per group. Mock = injected with saline