Enteroviral and immune mediated myocarditis in SCID mice.

Severe combined immune deficiency (SCID) mice have been used as an animal model to study both the direct cytopathic effect of enteroviruses on the heart in the absence of an effective immune system and to investigate the role of immune mediated processes in the pathogenesis of human myocarditis. The infection of SCID mice with coxsackievirus B3 resulted in severe myocarditis with very high titers of the virus in the myocardium and severe necrosis of myocytes. This direct cytopathic effect caused an impairment of the myocardial function and resulted in a high mortality rate of the infected animals.