To evaluate the role of host shutoff during later stages of the viral lifecycle, mice were infected intranasally with 5610 4 pfu of MHV68.WT, MHV68.DHS, or MHV68.MR, and the spleens were harvested at 17 dpi, during the peak of latency establishment. Interestingly, mice infected with MHV68.DHS did not display the characteristic splenomegaly and had spleens three to four times smaller than MHV68.WT and MHV68.MR infected mice ( Figure 7A) , indicating a role for host shutoff in viral pathogenesis.