Altered Spatial and Temporal Gait Parameters in Mice Infected with Ross River Virus

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Author(s)
Abeyratne, Eranga
Reshamwala, Ronak
Shelper, Todd
Liu, Xiang
Zaid, Ali
Mahalingam, Suresh
Taylor, Adam
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2021
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Abstract

Infection with mosquito-borne arthritogenic alphaviruses, such as Ross River virus (RRV) and Barmah Forest virus (BFV), can lead to long-lasting rheumatic disease. Existing mouse models that recapitulate the disease signs and immunopathogenesis of acute RRV and BFV infection have consistently shown relevance to human disease. However, these mouse models, which chiefly model hindlimb dysfunction, may be prone to subjective interpretation when scoring disease. Assessment is therefore time-consuming and requires experienced users. The DigiGait system provides video-based measurements of movement, behavior, and gait dynamics in mice and small animals. Previous studies have shown DigiGait to be a reliable system to objectively quantify changes in gait in other models of pain and inflammation. Here, for the first time, we determine measurable differences in the gait of mice with infectious arthritis using the DigiGait system. Statistically significant differences in paw area and paw angle were detected during peak disease in RRV-infected mice. Significant differences in temporal gait parameters were also identified during the period of peak disease in RRV-infected mice. These trends were less obvious or absent in BFV-infected mice, which typically present with milder disease signs than RRV-infected mice. The DigiGait system therefore provides an objective model of variations in gait dynamics in mice acutely infected with RRV. DigiGait is likely to have further utility for murine models that develop severe forms of infectious arthritis resulting in hindlimb dysfunction like RRV. IMPORTANCE Mouse models that accurately replicate the immunopathogenesis and clinical disease of alphavirus infection are vital to the preclinical development of therapeutic strategies that target alphavirus infection and disease. Current models rely on subjective scoring made through experienced observation of infected mice. Here, we demonstrate how the DigiGait system, and interventions on mice to use this system, can make an efficient objective assessment of acute disease progression and changes in gait in alphavirus-infected mice. Our study highlights the importance of measuring gait parameters in the assessment of models of infectious arthritis.

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mSphere

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NHMRC

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GNT1122897

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© 2021 Abeyratne et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license, which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, providing that the work is properly cited.

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This publication has been entered in Griffith Research Online as an advanced online version.

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Virology

Microbiology

Barmah Forest virus

Ross River virus

alphavirus

arbovirus

gait

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Abeyratne, E; Reshamwala, R; Shelper, T; Liu, X; Zaid, A; Mahalingam, S; Taylor, A, Altered Spatial and Temporal Gait Parameters in Mice Infected with Ross River Virus., mSphere, 2021, pp. e00659-21

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