关键词: 病毒性疾病, CD4⁺T淋巴细胞, 心肌炎, 小鼠

Abstract: ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of the CD4⁺ T lymphocyte in the development of experimental coxsackievirus B₃(CVB₃) myocarditis in mice. MethodsA total of 70 BALB/c mice used in the experiments, were randomly divided into the control group and the CVB3 infection group. The mice in the CVB₃ infection group were intraperitoneally inoculated with 0.15ml TCID50 109/ml CVB3 and the mice in the control group with 0.15ml eagle reagent. The mice were sacrificed on 7, 10, 14, 21 and 28 days post-inoculation and then the hearts were aseptically removed. Pathological changes in the myocardium were observed by light microscopy and the expression of the CD4⁺ T lymphocyte in the myocardium was determined by immunohistochemistry. ResultsThe CD4⁺ T lymphocyte was found in the myocardium in the CVB₃ infection group. There was a significantly positive correlation between the expression of the CD4⁺ T lymphocyte and changes of myocardial histopathological scores（r=0.98, P＜0.01). The expression of the CD4⁺ T lymphocyte reached a peak during 10 to 14 days（P＜0.01). ConclusionThe CD4⁺ T lymphocyte leads to myocardial damage while cleaning the virus in experimental CVB3 myocarditis.

Key words: Mice, Myocarditis, Viral diseases, CD4⁺ T lymphocyte