A group of hamsters (n = 25) was intranasally infected with equine herpesvirus-9 (EHV-9) and mRNA transcription levels of several proinflammatory (IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-6) and anti-inflammatory (IL-4, IL-10 and TGF-β) cytokines were investigated in brain tissue using RT-qPCR. These levels were correlated with the severity of sequential histopathological changes and intensity of immunohistochemical labelling of virus antigen in brain. Early and progressive upregulation of all the proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines investigated (P < 0.05) was correlated with increasing severity of encephalitis and viral antigen expression from 2 days post infection (dpi) with a peak at 4–5 dpi (P <0.05).

一组仓鼠（n = 25）鼻内感染马疱疹病毒9（EHV-9）和几种促炎（IFN-γ，TNF-α和IL-6）和抗炎（IL-4）的mRNA转录水平、IL-10 和 TGF-β) 细胞因子在脑组织中使用 RT-qPCR 进行了研究。这些水平与连续组织病理学变化的严重程度和脑中病毒抗原的免疫组织化学标记强度相关。研究的所有促炎和抗炎细胞因子的早期和渐进性上调（P < 0.05）与脑炎的严重程度和感染后 2 天（dpi）的病毒抗原表达相关，在 4-5 dpi 达到峰值（P <0.05） ）。