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Detection of West Nile Virus Envelope Protein in Brain Tissue with an Immunohistochemical Assay

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West Nile Virus

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2585))

Abstract

Immunohistochemistry is a valuable tool for probing not only scientific questions but also clinical diagnoses. It provides power from localization of a protein within the milieu of a tissue section that may reflect positioning within or beyond the boundaries of a cell that is representative of the tissue at a discrete moment in time. The method can be applied broadly, including to tissues under normal, developmental, chemically, or genetically altered conditions and disease states.

Disease manifesting from West Nile virus infection ranges from acute, systemic febrile symptoms to compromise of central nervous system function. Immunohistochemistry has been used to assess WNV infection in the nervous system in postmortem and experimental conditions, despite the lack of understanding of the precise route of viral entry. In addition to imprecise knowledge of initial viral entry into cells and whether entry is even the same between cell types, the fact that spontaneous viral mutations and environmental pressures from climate change may alter the prevalence of the disease state across geographical and climatological boundaries highlights the need for continued assessment of infection. Immunohistochemistry is a useful way to assess these aspects of WNV infection with the aim being to better understand the organs and cell types that are compromised by WNV infection. This chapter outlines how this can be carried out on brain tissue, but the procedures discussed can also be applied more broadly on tissue outside of the central nervous system.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Fengwei Bai and Farzana Nazneen at the University of Southern Mississippi for providing West Nile virus-infected tissue. This work was supported by the American Otological Society (DEV, KTY), the American Hearing Research Foundation (KTY) and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number P20GM121334 (KTY). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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  1. Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA

    Kathleen T. Yee & Douglas E. Vetter

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  1. Kathleen T. Yee
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  2. Douglas E. Vetter
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Correspondence to Kathleen T. Yee .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Center for Molecular and Cellular Biosciences The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA

    Fengwei Bai

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Yee, K.T., Vetter, D.E. (2023). Detection of West Nile Virus Envelope Protein in Brain Tissue with an Immunohistochemical Assay. In: Bai, F. (eds) West Nile Virus. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2585. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2760-0_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2760-0_7

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

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