Transient or persistent norovirus infection does not alter the pathology of Salmonella typhimurium induced intestinal inflammation and fibrosis in mice

Murine noroviruses (MNV) are currently the most prevalent viruses infecting mouse research colonies. Concurrent infection of research mice with these viruses can dramatically alter the experimental outcome in some research models, but not others. In this report, we investigated the effect of MNV1 and MNV4 on a murine model of intestinal inflammation and fibrosis induced by Salmonella typhimurium infection in C57BL/6 mice. Subsequent co-infection of these mice with MNV1 or MNV4 did not lead to major changes in histopathology, the inflammatory response, or the fibrotic response. Thus, MNV does not substantially alter all gastrointestinal research models, highlighting the importance of investigating potential alterations in the research outcome by MNV on an individual basis. We hypothesize that this is particularly important in cases of research models that use immunocompromised mice, which could be more sensitive to MNV infection-induced changes.