The interaction of infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) with the blue mussel,Mytilus edulis

Integrated multi‐trophic aquaculture (IMTA) is an alternative approach to mono‐culture aquaculture that reduces environmental impacts of commercial aquaculture systems by combining the cultivation of fed species with extractive species. Shellfish play a critical role in IMTA systems by filter‐feeding particulate‐bound organic nutrients. They may also increase or decrease disease risk on farms by serving as reservoirs or barriers for important finfish pathogens such as infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV). This study aimed to optimize culture and molecular assays in shellfish tissues and to determine the fate of ISAV in mussels, Mytilus edulis. To determine detection limits, qRT‐PCR and culture assays in both CHSE‐ and ASK cells were optimized in ISAV‐inoculated mussel tissue homogenates. Both qRT‐PCR and culture assays performed in ASK cells had comparable detection limits of 10^2.8 TCID₅₀ mL^?1. The ISAV RNA genome was consistently detected in digestive gland tissue of ISAV‐exposed mussels. Viable ISAV was not detected in mussel tissues by culture analysis in CHSE‐ and ASK cells. The fact that qRT‐PCR analysis resulted in positive cycle threshold (CT) values that corresponded to the detectable range of ISAV in ASK culture assays suggests that little to no viable ISAV particles are present in the mussel tissues.     

First evidence of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) in the Netherlands

In spring 2008, infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) was detected for the first time in the Netherlands. The virus was isolated from rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), from a put‐and‐take fishery with angling ponds. IHNV is the causative agent of a serious fish disease, infectious hematopoietic necrosis (IHN). From 2008 to 2011, we diagnosed eight IHNV infections in rainbow trout originating from six put‐and‐take fisheries (symptomatic and asymptomatic fish), and four IHNV infections from three rainbow trout farms (of which two were co‐infected by infectious pancreatic necrosis virus, IPNV), at water temperatures between 5 and 15 °C. At least one farm delivered trout to four of these eight IHNV‐positive farms. Mortalities related to IHNV were mostly <40%, but increased to nearly 100% in case of IHNV and IPNV co‐infection. Subsequent phylogenetic analysis revealed that these 12 isolates clustered into two different monophyletic groups within the European IHNV genogroup E. One of these two groups indicates a virus‐introduction event by a German trout import, whereas the second group indicates that IHNV was already (several years) in the Netherlands before its discovery in 2008.     

同步检测7种鱼类病毒的扩增子拯救多重PCR(Arm-PCR)方法的建立和应用

淋巴囊肿病毒(LCDV)、肿大细胞病毒属虹彩病毒(Mega)、赤点石斑鱼神经坏死病毒(RGNNV)、传染性造血器官坏死病毒(IHNV)、传染性胰脏坏死病毒(IPNV)、病毒性出血败血症病毒(VHSV)和传染性鲑鱼贫血症病毒(ISAV)是养殖鱼类主要的病毒性病原,危害巨大。为实现这7种病原的高通量、同步检测,本研究在分析这7种病毒基因序列的基础上,设计了9组扩增子拯救多重PCR(Arm-PCR)引物,并对扩增体系中的Taq酶、Mg2+、dNTP、Primer Mix浓度及退火温度等参数进行调整和优化,结合基因芯片检测技术,建立了同步检测7种鱼类病毒的Arm-PCR方法。优化后的Arm-PCR方法第一步PCR体系为：Taq酶(2.5 U/μl)1.0μl,10×PCR Buffer(含20 mmol/L的Mg2+)5μl,dNTP(各2.5 mmol/L)5μl,10×Primer Mix(各2μmol/L)9μl,模板1μl,ddH2O补足至50μl,退火温度为56℃。研究结果显示,该方法可以在1支反应管内对上述7种病毒的9个致病基因同步进行扩增和检测,检测灵敏度分别为101 copies/μl (RGNNV、VHSV、ISAV-NS、ISAV-MA)、102 copies/μl (LCDV、Mega、IHNV、IPNV)和103 copies/μl (大菱鲆红体病虹彩病毒,TRBIV)。该方法特异性强,与半滑舌鳎、石斑鱼、大菱鲆和牙鲆基因组DNA不产生交叉反应。本研究建立的可同步检测7种鱼类病毒的Arm-PCR方法具有高通量、高灵敏度、高准确性的优势,能有效提高工作效率,在鱼类病毒的筛查和流行病学调查领域有广泛的应用前景。     

Enhanced detection of infectious salmon anaemia virus using a low‐speed centrifugation technique in three fish cell lines

Infectious salmon anaemia (ISA), caused by ISA virus (ISAV), is a serious disease of farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L. Recently, molecular‐ and immunofluorescent‐based techniques have become powerful diagnostic tools for ISAV detection, but culture‐based techniques remain the gold standard. A disadvantage of ISAV culture is that the incubation time required before cytopathic effect (CPE) is observed in cell monolayers. To decrease time until CPE is observed, a low‐speed centrifugation technique was applied to existing standard operating procedures for ISAV culture in three fish cell lines. Time until CPE observation was compared in CHSE, SHK and ASK cells, treated or not treated with low‐speed centrifugation after inoculation with ISAV. Low‐speed centrifugation treatment significantly enhanced observable cell infection. Compared to control cells, the length of time until ISAV CPE observation decreased in centrifuged ASK and CHSE cells. Low‐speed centrifugation was also incorporated into a modified clinical shell vial assay. At 48 h post‐inoculation with approximately 20 viral particles, ISAV was detected by an immunofluorescence antibody test in treated ASK and SHK1 cells but not in control cells. Finally, this enhanced viral adsorption assay performed in ASK cells demonstrated higher sensitivity than a real‐time RT‐PCR assay performed on RNA isolated from ISAV‐spiked salmon kidney homogenates.     

Development of a widely applicable positive control strategy to support detection of infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) using Taqman real-time PCR

Real-time PCR assays are being increasingly applied to the detection of fish pathogens due to their sensitivity, specificity and potential for high throughput sample processing. Such assays allow for the ready and efficient inclusion of appropriate quality controls which are fundamental to scientific integrity and to satisfying the demands of diagnostic test accreditation. In this article, we report development of a universal positive control strategy for real-time PCR assays, which has been used to support and improve a previously published method for detection of infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV). The strategy employed uses an RNA mimic template, which is based on the ISAV segment 8 target sequence but includes an artificial universal positive control sequence. Inclusion of this sequence, which is targeted by a second specific probe carrying a different fluorophore to the primary assay, allows for convenient screening of all real-time PCR reactions for the presence of contaminating positive control material. The development of readily distinguishable artificial positive control material offers distinct advantages to real-time PCR assays over using control material derived from clinical material.     

传染性造血器官坏死病毒微型基因组表达干扰素对病毒的抑制效应

为构建传染性造血器官坏死病毒(IHNV HLJ-09)微型基因组并表达虹鳟IFN,采用RT-PCR扩增IHNV HLJ-09株的N、P、L、G和NV蛋白基因并亚克隆入真核表达载体pCI中,构建辅助质粒pCI-N、pCI-P、pCI-L、pCI-G和pCI-NV;将扩增获得的IHNV基因组两末端序列、增强型绿色荧光蛋白(EGFP)报告基因、虹鳟I型干扰素(IFN)基因克隆到真核表达载体pCI中构建出表达EGFP的IHNV微型基因组pCI-LFGT和表达IFN的IHNV微型基因组pCI-LFIT;将pCI-LFIT质粒转染已接种IHNV HLJ-09毒株的EPC细胞,实时荧光定量PCR法测定细胞中IHNV G基因RNA。结果显示:构建的微型基因组不论与辅助病毒还是与5个辅助质粒共转染,外源基因均能正确表达;pCI-LFIT质粒转染已接种病毒的EPC细胞组与对照组相比其中的病毒核酸显著减少。     

Inhibition of infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus in cell cultures with peptide-conjugated morpholino oligomers

Delivery of phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers (PMO) into fish cells in vitro and tissues in vivo was examined. Uptake was evaluated by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry after treating cultured cells or live rainbow trout with 3' fluorescein-tagged PMO. Arginine-rich peptide conjugated to the 5' end of the PMO markedly enhanced cellular uptake in culture by 8- to 20-fold compared with non-peptide-conjugated PMO as determined by flow cytometry. Enhanced uptake of PMO conjugated to peptide was also observed in tissues of fish treated by immersion. The efficacy of PMO as inhibitors of infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) replication was determined in vitro. Peptide-conjugated PMOs targeting sequences within the IHNV genomic RNA (negative polarity) or antigenomic RNA (positive polarity) significantly inhibited replication in a dose-dependent and sequence-specific manner. A PMO complementary to sequence near the 5' end of IHNV genomic RNA was the most effective, diminishing titre by 97%, as measured by plaque assay and Western blot. These data demonstrate that replication of a negative-stranded non-segmented RNA virus can be inhibited by antisense compounds that target positive polarity viral RNA, or by a compound that targets negative polarity viral RNA.     

鱼类传染性造血器官坏死病毒糖蛋白的酵母表面展示

糖蛋白(glycoprotein,G)是鱼类传染性造血器官坏死病毒的主要表面抗原,是病毒检测及疫苗研制的主要靶基因。为了对其进行酵母表面展示,本研究利用本实验室保存的含有IHNV-Sn1203毒株G基因的质粒为模板,PCR扩增富含抗原表位的糖蛋白基因片段后,连接酵母表面展示载体p YD1,构建重组质粒p YD1-G。将p YD1-G转化酿酒酵母EBY100细胞后,利用半乳糖诱导G蛋白的表达。利用细胞免疫荧光、Western Blotting及流式细胞仪检测酵母表面G蛋白的表达情况。细胞免疫荧光结果显示,转化了p YD1-G重组质粒的酵母细胞表面呈现出特异性荧光;Western Blotting结果显示,经半乳糖诱导后G蛋白在酵母细胞表面获得了成功表达;流式细胞仪检测结果表明,随着半乳糖诱导时间的增加,G蛋白的表达量随之增加,并在诱导48 h时达到峰值。以上研究表明G蛋白在酵母细胞表面获得了成功表达,本研究为以酵母为活载体的新型口服疫苗的研制奠定了基础。     

Immersion challenge with low and highly virulent infectious salmon anaemia virus reveals different pathogenesis in Atlantic salmon,Salmo salar L.

The salmonid orthomyxovirus infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) causes disease of varying severity in farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L. Field observations suggest that host factors, the environment and differences between ISAV strains attribute to the large variation in disease progression. Variation in host mortality and dissemination of ISAV isolates with high and low virulence (based on a previously published injection challenge) were investigated using immersion challenge. Virus dissemination was determined using real‐time PCR and immunohistochemistry in several organs, including blood. Surprisingly, the low virulent virus (LVI) replicated and produced nucleoprotein at earlier time points post‐infection compared to the virus of high virulence (HVI). This was particularly noticeable in the gills as indicated by different viral load profiles. However, the HVI reached a higher maximum viral load in all tested organs and full blood. This was associated with a higher mortality of 100% as compared to 20% in the LVI group by day 23 post‐infection. Immersion challenge represented a more natural infection method and suggested that specific entry routes into the fish may be of key importance between ISAV strains. The results suggest that a difference in virulence is important for variations in virus dissemination and pathogenesis (disease development).     

Inactivated infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) vaccines

The inactivation dynamics of infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) by b-propiolactone (BPL), binary ethylenimine (BEI), formaldehyde or heat and the antigenic and immunogenic properties of the inactivated vaccines were evaluated. Chemical treatment of IHNV with 2.7 mm BPL, 1.5 mm BEI or 50 mm formaldehyde abolished virus infectivity within 48 h whereas heat treatment at 50 or 100 degrees C rendered the virus innocuous within 30 min. The inactivated IHNV vaccines were recognized by rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, IHNV-specific antibodies and were differentially recognized by antigenic site I or antigenic site II IHNV glycoprotein-specific neutralizing monoclonal antibodies. The BPL inactivated whole virus vaccine was highly efficacious in vaccinated rainbow trout challenged by waterborne exposure to IHNV 7, 28, 42 or 56 days (15 degrees C) after immunization. The formaldehyde inactivated whole virus vaccine was efficacious 7 or 11 days after vaccination of rainbow trout but performed inconsistently when tested at later time points. The other vaccines tested were not efficacious.     

Antiviral activity of casein and αs2 casein hydrolysates against the infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus,a rhabdovirus from salmonid fish

Salmonid fish viruses, such as infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV), are responsible for serious losses in the rainbow trout and salmon‐farming industries, and they have been the subject of intense research in the field of aquaculture. Thus, the aim of this work is to study the antiviral effect of milk‐derived proteins as bovine caseins or casein‐derived peptides at different stages during the course of IHNV infection. The results indicate that the 3‐h fraction of casein and α_S2‐casein hydrolysates reduced the yield of infectious IHNV in a dose‐dependent manner and impaired the production of IHNV‐specific antigens. Hydrolysates of total casein and α_S2‐casein target the initial and later stages of viral infection, as demonstrated by the reduction in the infective titre observed throughout multiple stages and cycles. In vivo, more than 50% protection was observed in the casein‐treated fish, and the kidney sections exhibited none of the histopathological characteristics of IHNV infection. The active fractions from casein were identified, as well as one of the individual IHNV‐inhibiting peptides. Further studies will be required to determine which other peptides possess this activity. These findings provide a basis for future investigations on the efficacy of these compounds in treating other viral diseases in farmed fish and to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms of action. However, the present results provide convincing evidence in support of a role for several milk casein fractions as suitable candidates to prevent and treat some fish viral infections.     

Oral DNA vaccination of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), against infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus using PLGA [Poly(D,L-Lactic-Co-Glycolic Acid)] nanoparticles

A DNA vaccine against infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) is effective at protecting rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, against disease, but intramuscular injection is required and makes the vaccine impractical for use in the freshwater rainbow trout farming industry. Poly (D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) is a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved polymer that can be used to deliver DNA vaccines. We evaluated the in vivo absorption of PLGA nanoparticles containing coumarin-6 when added to a fish food pellet. We demonstrated that rainbow trout will eat PLGA nanoparticle coated feed and that these nanoparticles can be detected in the epithelial cells of the lower intestine within 96 h after feeding. We also detected low levels of gene expression and anti-IHNV neutralizing antibodies when fish were fed or intubated with PLGA nanoparticles containing IHNV G gene plasmid. A virus challenge evaluation suggested a slight increase in survival at 6 weeks post-vaccination in fish that received a high dose of the oral vaccine, but there was no difference when additional fish were challenged at 10 weeks post-vaccination. The results of this study suggest that it is possible to induce an immune response using an orally delivered DNA vaccine, but the current system needs improvement.     

Multiple passage of infectious salmon anaemia virus in rainbow trout,Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), did not induce increased virus load

The infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) has not been observed to cause natural disease in farmed rainbow trout, Onchorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), but may cause high mortality in farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L. In this study, ISAV was passaged 10 times in succession by intraperitoneal injections of serum from previous passage into naïve rainbow trout. The serum viraemia was monitored by real‐time qPCR. The rainbow trout in this study became infected but did not develop ISA. No clinical signs were observed in the rainbow trout in any passage, but replication of ISAV was detected from Day 4 post‐infection (p.i.). Neither increased relative virus loads nor histopathological and immunohistochemical findings consistent with ISA were observed. However, the expression of interferon type I and Mx genes were slightly up‐regulated in the hearts of some individual fish at day 17 p.i. Sequencing of all open reading frames in the ISAV genome of the 10th passage revealed two nucleotide mutations, one in segment 6 coding for the haemagglutinin–esterase (HE) and one in segment 1 coding for the basic polymerase 2 (PB2). The mutation in HE resulted in an amino acid substitution T/K₃₁₂.     

An alkaline phosphatase-based method for the detection of infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) in tissue culture and tissue imprints

Currently, the presence of infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) is often detected in Atlantic salmon by the use of an indirect fluorescent antibody test. This test is limited by the poor stability of fluorescein isothiocyanate which fades after about a week in storage, preventing the development of stained archive material as a reference source. One possible alternative would be the use of immunohistochemical staining methods to detect ISAV. An immunohistochemical method is presented that uses alkaline phosphatase‐conjugated antibodies and Vector^® Red as a substrate, to detect ISAV in kidney imprints. This paper also describes a procedure where Bouin's fluid is used to successfully inhibit endogenous alkaline phosphatase in tissue samples, prior to immunohistochemical processing. This method provides a stable stain that can be read for many weeks after staining or archived for future reference.     

In vivo virulence and genomic comparison of infectious Salmon Anaemia Virus isolates from Atlantic Canada

The infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) is capable of causing a significant disease in Atlantic salmon, which has resulted in considerable financial losses for salmon farmers around the world. Since the first detection of ISAV in Canada in 1996, it has been a high priority for aquatic animal health management and surveillance programmes have led to the identification of many genetically distinct ISAV isolates of variable virulence. In this study, we evaluated the virulence of three ISAV isolates detected in Atlantic Canada in 2012 by doing in vivo‐controlled disease challenges with two sources of Atlantic salmon. We measured viral loads in fish tissues during the course of infection. Sequences of the full viral RNA genomes of these three ISAV isolates were obtained and compared to a high‐virulence and previously characterized isolate detected in the Bay of Fundy in 2004, as well as a newly identified ISAV NA‐HPR0 isolate. All three ISAV isolates studied were shown to be of low to mid‐virulence with fish from source A having a lower mortality rate than fish from source B. Viral load estimation using an RT‐qPCR assay targeting viral segment 8 showed a high degree of similarity between tissues. Through genomic comparison, we identified various amino acid substitutions unique to some isolates, including a stop codon in the segment 8 ORF2 not previously reported in ISAV, present in the isolate with the lowest observed virulence.