Ultrastructure of peripheral nerves of mice inoculated with rabies virus

Abstract

40 adult female albino mice were inoculated in the right hind leg with rabies viruses of the street type. The mice were sacrificed with an interval of 24 hours each, starting the day after inoculation. From the 10th day ownwards the animals started presenting signs of paralysis, first on the leg where the viruses were inoculated and later in the other ones. 24 hours after the initial signs, ultrastuctural abnormalities were found in peripheral nerves compatible with axonal degeneration with secondary demyelination but the rabies viruses were not found in the axoplasm, myelin sheath, Schwann cell cytoplasm, endoneural or the epineural structures.