In situ hybridization for the detection and localization of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus in the intestinal tissues from naturally infected piglets.
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Detection and localization of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) was studied by in situ hybridization with a nonradioactive digoxigenin-labeled probe in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues from 10 naturally infected piglets. A 377-base pair cDNA probe for viral RNA encoding the membrane proteins of PEDV cell-culture-adapted strain V215/78 was generated by the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. In the retrospective study of pigs from herds with diarrhea, the 10 piglets naturally infected with PEDV had positive signals for PEDV by in situ hybridization. When intestinal tissues were hybridized with the PEDV probe, a strong signal was seen in the villus enterocytes of jejunum and ileum but not in the cecum and colon. Positive cells typically had dark brown reaction products in the cytoplasm. Scattered epithelial cells along the ileal Peyer's patches dome areas contained viral RNA. In one piglet, hybridization signal was also found in the duodenum. PEDV was not demonstrated in tissues outside of the intestinal tract. These findings indicate that jejunal and ileal villus enterocytes are the main target of PEDV replication during epizootic outbreaks of the disease. (+info)
Viremia-associated ana-aki-byo, a new viral disease in color carp Cyprinus carpio in Japan.
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A new virus disease that displays dermal ulceration and high mortality has been occurring since 1996 in color carp Cyprinus carpio reared in warm water in Japan. In histological examinations, initial erosive lesions displayed necrosis, hemorrhage and fibrin deposition in the dermal loose connective tissue and were accompanied by the partial destruction of the epidermis. Developed ulcerative lesions involved the lateral musculature with bacterial invasions. In visceral organs, necrotic cells were observed in the hematopoietic tissue, the spleen and the intestinal tissues as well as in cardiac muscle fibers which showed no signs of bacterial invasion. Electron microscopy revealed corona-like virus particles in these necrotic cells. The necrotic cells of the hematopoietic tissue and the spleen were accompanied by the formation of tubular structures and crystalline inclusions. The putative virus was isolated and cultured in epithelioma papillosum cyprini (EPC) cells. Carp experimentally inoculated with the cultured virus showed virus transmission, and the same pathological signs of the disease and mortalities as in natural infections. (+info)
The effects of coronavirus on human nasal ciliated respiratory epithelium.
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Human coronavirus (HCoV) accounts for 15-30% of common colds, but only one case report has described the effect of a coronavirus infection, that was asymptomatic, on human respiratory epithelium. The authors examined the effects of infection with HCoV on ciliary structure and function in healthy volunteers infected by intranasal inoculation with HCoV 229E. A further four volunteers were sham infected with ultraviolet-inactivated virus. Immediately before inoculation (day 0) and 3 days later (day 3), ciliated epithelium was obtained by brushing the inferior nasal turbinate. Ciliary beat frequency was determined and beat pattern analysed for evidence of dyskinesia (0=normal, 3=severely dyskinetic) using digital high-speed video photography. Ciliary ultrastructure was examined by transmission electron microscopy. Symptom diaries were kept for the duration of the study. All subjects inoculated with HCoV, including the three who did not develop symptoms of an upper respiratory tract infection, had disruption of their respiratory epithelium on day 3. Although there was no difference in the mean ciliary beat frequency between day 0 (11.3 Hz (95% confidence interval (CI): 8.6-14.0) and day 3 (9.4 Hz (95% CI 7.2-11.6)), there was a significant increase (p<0.05) in the ciliary dyskinesia score between day 0 (0.2 (95% CI 0-0.5)) and day 3 (1.1 (95% CI 0.5-1.7). In sham-infected subjects, no differences in epithelial integrity, or ciliary structure and function were found between day 0 and day 3. Inoculation of healthy volunteers with human coronavirus caused disruption of the ciliated epithelium and ciliary dyskinesia. This is likely to impair mucociliary clearance. Damage to the respiratory epithelium, due to human coronavirus infection, may occur without overt clinical symptoms. (+info)
Monoclonal antibody-based immunohistochemical detection of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus antigen in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded intestinal tissues.
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An immunohistochemistry technique was developed for the diagnosis of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV). The technique was tested on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded intestinal tissues from piglets naturally infected with PEDV. Five different monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were tested in this study. PEDV antigen was consistently detected in the PLP (4% paraformaldehyde, 100 mM L-lysine dihydrochloride, 10 mM sodium m-periodate in phosphate-buffered saline)-fixed PEDV-infected Vero cells or formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded intestinal tissues from piglets naturally infected with PEDV. The C9-2-2 MAb gave the strongest reactivity and least background staining, detecting 10 of 10 infected pigs. The positive reaction was cytoplasmic. Positive enterocytes were distributed over the tip and along the sides of atrophied or fused villi in the jejunum and ileum. Positive-staining cells were not detected in the crypts. No staining was observed in cecum and colon. No positive cells were observed when the C9-2-2 MAb was reacted with the tissue sections from noninfected piglets or from transmissible gastroenteritus virus (TGEV)- and rotavirus-infected piglets. The selected anti-PEDV MAbs tested on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections are useful for diagnosis when virus isolation is not available. This method would be of particular value in countries where both PEDV and TGEV are epizootic and would aid in differentiating between PEDV and TGEV infection. (+info)
Redistribution and reduction of interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein during ocular coronavirus infection.
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Inoculation of the neurotropic coronavirus mouse hepatitis virus strain JHM intravitreally or into the anterior chamber causes acute infection of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and neural retina. Weeks later, many retinas have foci of moderate to severe atrophy. The effect of coronavirus infection (after intravitreal inoculation) was examined on interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP), the glycolipoprotein in the interphotoreceptor matrix (IPM) thought to transport retinoids between the photoreceptors and the RPE. Changes in IRBP distribution accompanied virus-associated retinal pathology, including photoreceptor loss and RPE abnormalities. Immunohistochemistry on days 3 and 6 showed that IRBP had diffused into the neural retina away from the IPM. The IRBP became localized abnormally in the same areas as virus-induced lesions, shown by staining adjacent sections with a monoclonal antibody specific for the viral nucleocapsid protein. Moreover, the level of IRBP in isolated retinas, measured in an immunoslot-blot assay, decreased significantly by day 3 and remained low through day 23. This decrease was confirmed in eyecups isolated on day 6. It may be caused in part by loss of photoreceptors and diffusion of IRBP through the retina into the vitreous. These studies show that a virus may induce an acute, limited infection in the retina that can be cleared by the host. However, the infection initiated a series of events resulting in long-term reduction and redistribution of a critical photoreceptor protein. (+info)
Epithelia-damaging virus infections affect vitamin A status in chickens.
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The effect of infection with infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) and reovirus (RV) on vitamin A status was investigated in chickens with a normal or marginal intake of vitamin A. At the age of 4 wk, chickens were infected with either IBV or RV, primarily affecting the respiratory or intestinal tract, respectively. Both viruses lowered plasma retinol levels significantly. The effect was more pronounced in chickens fed a diet marginally deficient in vitamin A than in those fed a diet adequate in vitamin A. Concentrations of retinol-binding protein, transthyretin and albumin in RV-infected chickens were also significantly lower than in noninfected chickens fed the same diets; in chickens infected with IBV, there was no effect. These results suggest that the reduced vitamin A status of IBV-infected chickens could be attributed to increased rate of utilization by tissues. In RV infection, this mechanism could be involved but impaired absorption of nutrients (including vitamin A) and direct loss of nutrients via the intestinal tract could also be important. (+info)
Seroconversion of pigs in contact with dogs exposed to canine coronavirus.
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In order to determine if canine coronavirus (CCV) could be transmitted to pigs, two dogs were inoculated orally with virulent CCV. After 24 h, the dogs were moved to an isolation room that contained three three-day-old pigs. A wire mesh fence, allowing close contact between the animals, separated the dogs from the pigs. The dogs and pigs were observed for 14 days for clinical signs of disease. Samples of blood were obtained from dogs and pigs immediately before the dogs were inoculated with virus and 14 and 28 days later. The dogs developed mild clinical signs of an infection, but the pigs remained normal throughout the observation period. The dogs shed CCV for eight days after exposure. All three pigs developed neutralizing antibodies against CCV and transmissible gastroenteritis virus by 14 days after they were exposed to the dogs. (+info)
Bovine coronavirus uses N-acetyl-9-O-acetylneuraminic acid as a receptor determinant to initiate the infection of cultured cells.
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The importance of N-acetyl-9-O-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5,9Ac2) as a receptor determinant for bovine coronavirus (BCV) on cultured cells was analysed. Pretreatment of MDCK I (Madin Darby canine kidney) cells with neuraminidase or acetylesterase rendered the cells resistant to infection by BCV. The receptors on a human (CaCo-2) and a porcine (LLC-PK1) epithelial cell line were also found to be sensitive to neuraminidase treatment. The susceptibility to infection by BCV was restored after resialylation of asialo-MDCK I cells with Neu5,9Ac2. Transfer of sialic acid lacking a 9-O-acetyl group was ineffective in this respect. These results demonstrate that 9-O-acetylated sialic acid is used as a receptor determinant by BCV to infect cultured cells. The possibility is discussed that the initiation of a BCV infection involves the recognition of different types of receptors, a first receptor for primary attachment and a second receptor to mediate the fusion between the viral envelope and the cellular membrane. (+info)