Sensitive Test for Detection of Early Viral Myocarditis in Mice 1

Abstract

Summary

The electrocardiogram was used to study the myocardial effects of viral infection in mice. Thirty-seven adult mice were infected with a cardiotropic Coxsackie B₁ virus. The tracings of the infected animals were not unlike those obtained from uninfected controls, however, following the infusion of glucose and insulin, the virus infected animals exhibited significant prolongation in the P-R interval as compared with that of 38 uninfected controls (p < 0.005). The calculated P-R index 60 min after infusion was greater than 1.30 (mean P-R index: 1.01 ± 0.128 SD) in more than 60% of the virus-infected mice as compared to less than 15% in the uninfected controls. The difference observed was probably due to cell membrane damage related to viral infection which was exaggerated by the glucose-insulin infusion.