Blocking VIP-signaling improved survival and enhanced viral clearance following mCMV infection.

<p>VIP-KO mice and WT littermate with VIPhyb (7 daily subcutaneous doses starting one day before mCMV infection) or WT littermate with PBS were given low-dose 4×10³ PFU and high-dose 5×10⁴ PFU (BALB/c), and low-dose 1×10⁵ PFU and high-dose 1×10⁶ PFU mCMV (C57BL/6) by intra-peritoneal injection. Body-weights were checked twice weekly and survival checked daily. Mice receiving lower doses of mCMV were euthanized at 3, 10 and 17 days post infection and liver viral load was measured by plaque assay. A. Survival of BALB/c mice from higher dose mCMV infection. Data are pooled from 2 replicate experiments, n = 10 mice per group. B. Survival of C57BL/6 mice from higher dose of mCMV infection. Data are pooled from 3 replicate experiments, n = 15 mice per group. C. Liver viral load of BALB/c mice from lower dose of mCMV infection (mean ± SEM). Data are pooled from 3 replicate experiments, n = 12 mice per time point and per group. D. Liver viral load of C57BL/6 mice from lower dose of mCMV infection (mean ± SEM). Data are pooled from 5 replicate experiments with a total of 25 mice per experimental group at each time point. *p<0.05, **p<0.01, and ***p<0.001 denote significant differences between VIP-KO mice or VIPhyb-treated mice vs. PBS-treated WT mice.