Isolation and genetic analysis of Japanese encephalitis virus from a diseased horse in Japan

Japanese encephalitis (JE) developed in an unvaccinated half-bred horse kept in Tottori Prefecture, Japan. The animal showed ataxia with pyrexia and low appetite, and ultimately died. A viral strain was isolated from the cerebrum of the horse and was identified as JE virus (JEV) by RT-PCR using JEV specific primers. The isolated JEV was classified into genotype I by nucleotide sequence analysis of the viral envelope gene. We believe that this is the first report of the genotype I strain being isolated from a horse.     

日本脑炎病毒及其疫苗的研究

乙型脑炎病毒又称日本脑炎病毒(Japanese encephalitis virus，JEV)，简称乙脑病毒，属于黄病毒科(Flaviridae)黄病毒属。由乙脑病毒引起的疾病乙型脑炎(简称乙脑)是严重威胁人畜健康的一种中枢神经系统的急性传染病。以蚊为媒介而传播，以高热和狂暴或沉郁等神经症状为特征。具有明显的季节性和一定的地理分布区，多发生于蚊虫较多的夏秋季节，属于自然疫源性疾病，病毒通常在蚊-猪-蚊等动物间循环。猪被认为是JEV最重要的自然增殖动物。怀孕母猪感染后导致流产和死胎，公猪感染后睾丸有急性炎症反应。     

Efficacy of Japanese encephalitis vaccine in horses.

The efficacy of Japanese encephalitis vaccine in horses has been described from the effect of mass vaccination on the local prevalence of the disease in horses in each district of Hokkaido, Japan.     

日本脑炎病毒弱毒疫苗株全长cDNA的体外合成及恢复病毒的拯救

将病毒的全基因组分成3个重叠的区段分别扩增出来,把这3个片段连接到载体中。以这3个片段为模板,通过融合PCR方法,获得JEV的全长cDNA。以cDNA为体外转录的模板,体外转录获得病毒mRNA,转染BHK-21细胞,拯救JEV病毒。通过生物学特性、分子生物学、蛋白水平等几个方面对恢复病毒进行鉴定,并测定恢复病毒的生长曲线和LD50。结果显示,获得了全长cDNA,体外转录获得的病毒RNA转染BHK-21细胞后,二代恢复病毒可引起明显的细胞病变,间接免疫荧光试验和RT-PCR均为阳性。空斑试验表明,拯救病毒与原病毒空斑表型类似;恢复病毒与亲本毒相比在BHK-21细胞上生长更快;恢复病毒的LD50与亲本毒类似。     

日本乙型脑炎病毒的分离与鉴定

收集一例疑为乙型脑炎病毒感染的种公猪肿大的睾丸病料,并将其处理制成匀浆过滤后,用乳鼠脑内接毒和细胞接毒相结合的方法盲传并分离病毒,然后设计一对PrM/E基因的特异性引物,采用RT-PCR方法对所分离的病毒进行鉴定,并将其PrM/E基因扩增产物测序,测序结果与乙型脑炎GenBank登陆的SA14-14-2株(AF315119)和SA14株(U14163)进行比较。结果表明,所分离病毒的PrM/E基因序列与JEV强毒株SA14和弱毒株SA14-14-2相应序列同源性分别为98.1%和97.1%,证实分离毒株为乙型脑炎病毒。     

Tunicamycin enhances neuroinvasion and encephalitis in mice infected with Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus

Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE) viruses cause natural outbreaks in humans and horses and represent a significant biothreat agent. The effect of tunicamycin on the course of the disease in mice with VEE was investigated, and the combined effects of these agents was characterized. CD-1 mice given 2.5 microg of tunicamycin had >1,000-fold more virus in the brain 48 hours after infection with the virulent VEE strain V3000 and > or =100-fold of the attenuated strain V3034 at all tested times than did untreated mice, indicating enhanced neuroinvasion. Tunicamycin did not alter the viremia profiles of these viruses nor the replication of V3000 in the brain itself. Tunicamycin alone caused ultrastructural blood-brain barrier damage, yet neuroinvasion by V3000 in treated mice appeared to occur via the olfactory system rather than the blood-brain barrier. Tunicamycin-treated, V3000-infected mice also exhibited earlier and more severe weight loss, neurological signs, neuronal infection, neuronal necrosis and apoptosis, and inflammation than untreated, V3000-infected mice. The mean survival time of tunicamycin-treated, V3000-infected mice was 7.3 days versus 9.9 days for untreated, V3000-infected mice. These studies imply that animals that ingest toxins similar to tunicamycin, including the agent of annual ryegrass toxicity in livestock, are conceivably at greater risk from infections by encephalitis viruses and that humans and horses exposed to agents acting similar to tunicamycin may be more susceptible to encephalitis caused by VEE viruses. The exact mechanism of tunicamycin-enhanced neuroinvasion by VEE viruses requires further study.     

乙型脑炎病毒NS1蛋白的可溶性表达与抗原性分析

为获得可溶性表达的乙型脑炎病毒(JEV)NS1蛋白,将编码JEV SA14-14-2株NS1蛋白基因克隆至原核表达载体pMAL-c5X中,构建重组融合表达质粒pc5X-NS1;用重组质粒转化宿主菌ER2523后,经IPTG诱导得到可溶性的融合蛋白MBP-NS1;优化诱导表达条件,于28℃、0.3 mmol/L IPTG诱导4 h;最后融合蛋白经直链淀粉树脂柱纯化。结果表明:重组融合蛋白MBP-NS1具有良好的抗原性和特异性。     

Experimental infection of Japanese encephalitis virus in dogs

A previous serosurvey of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) among dogs suggested that dogs are well suited for use as sentinels for assessing the risk of JEV transmission to humans. To examine the clinical symptoms and duration of anti-JEV antibodies in dogs, three dogs were experimentally challenged with JEV. All JEV-infected dogs did not show any clinical signs or abnormal blood tests, except for C-reactive protein. Virus-neutralization titers rapidly increased and were maintained until 70 days postinfection, and neither the virus nor the viral genome was detected in blood. Thus, since dogs live in close proximity to humans as companion animals, they are well suited for use as sentinels for surveying the human risk of JEV infection.     

猪日本脑炎病毒的致病机理研究进展

日本脑炎病毒是一种严重威胁人畜健康的虫媒病毒。文章介绍了国内外关于猪日本脑炎病毒的毒力与致病机理方面的研究进展情况及其分子生物学特性,并着重阐述了猪日本脑炎病毒的致病机理,为今后探索对本病的新型预防与治疗措施提供重要的理论依据。     

Morphometric analysis of the retina from horses infected with the Borna disease virus

Borna disease (BD) is a fatal disorder of horses, often characterized by blindness. Although degeneration of retinal neurons has been demonstrated in a rat model, there are controversial data concerning whether a similar degeneration occurs in the retina of infected horses. To investigate whether BD may cause degeneration of photoreceptors and possibly of other neuronal cells at least at later stages of the disease, we performed a detailed quantitative morphologic study of retinal tissue from Borna-diseased horses. BD was diagnosed by detection of pathognomonic Joest-Degen inclusion bodies in the postmortem brains. Paraffin sections of paraformaldehyde-fixed retinae were used for histologic and immunohistochemical stainings. Numbers of neurons and Müller glial cells were counted, and neuron-to-Müller cell ratios were calculated. Among tissues from 9 horses with BD, we found retinae with strongly altered histologic appearance as well as retinae with only minor changes. The neuron-to-Müller cell ratio for the whole retina was significantly smaller in diseased animals (8.5 +/- 0.4; P < .01) as compared with controls (17.6 +/- 0.8). It can be concluded that BD in horses causes alterations of the retinal histology of a variable degree. The study provides new data about the pathogenesis of BD concerning the retina and demonstrates that a loss of photoreceptors may explain the observed blindness in infected horses.     

Rapid and specific serodiagnosis of western equine encephalitis virus infection in horses

Paired sera from 28 nonvaccinated horses with serologically confirmed western equine encephalitis (WEE) virus infections were evaluated for immunoglobulin (Ig)M and IgG directed against WEE virus, by use of enzyme immunoassay. Twenty-one of the horses developed greater than or equal to 4-fold increases or decreases in serum IgM titers in paired serum samples, confirming the diagnosis of WEE in these horses. Of the remaining 7 horses, 1 had stable IgM titers, 1 had a 2-fold increase in IgM titer between paired sera, 2 had 2-fold decreases in IgM titer, and for 3 horses adequate volumes were not available for both sera of the pair. Twenty-nine of 56 blood samples collected from these 28 horses had been collected within the first 3 days after clinical disease was recognized; all 28 horses and 48 of 53 available serum samples had IgM antibody to WEE virus. Immunoglobulin M also was detected in sera of 27 of 45 other nonvaccinated horses that had illnesses clinically compatible with WEE. Sera with IgM did not have cross-reacting IgM against eastern equine encephalitis virus. Therefore, the sensitivity, specificity, and lack of persistence of IgM was useful in the rapid diagnosis of WEE virus infections in horses.     

日本乙型脑炎病毒ELISA抗体检测试剂盒的研制及初步应用

采用日本乙型脑炎病毒单克隆抗体预包被酶标板,将纯化的日本乙型脑炎病毒(JEV)作为检测用抗原,利用包被捕获法建立了用于检测猪乙型脑炎抗体的间接ELISA法。采用建立的ELISA法对50份已知阴性血清样本检测,临界OD450nm值为0.343,ELISA与IFA对200份血清进行平行检测,总符合率为92.9%,与商品化的同类国产试剂盒的符合率为95%。与其他常见的猪病毒阳性血清抗体无交叉反应,2~8℃保存12个月稳定。研制的ELISA抗体检测试剂盒为临床JEV血清抗体检测及其疫苗的免疫效果评价提供了技术手段。     

Japanese encephalitis virus immunoglobulin M antibodies in porcine sera

A solid-phase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for detection of porcine immunoglobulin (Ig)M antibodies to Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV). Antibodies in sera were captured onto the solid phase of Microtiter plates sensitized with mouse monoclonal antibodies to porcine mu heavy chain. Virus antigen binding to the lawn of IgM was quantitated by subsequent binding of peroxidase-labeled human hyperimmune anti-JEV IgG, which in the final step, catalyzed a substrate color change. In sucrose density-gradient fractionated sera from recently infected pigs, the peak of ELISA JEV IgM activity corresponded to the peak of 18-S, 2-mercaptoethanol-sensitive hemagglutination-inhibiting (HAI) antibody activity. Within 2 to 3 days, JEV-infected sentinel pigs developed high JEV IgM activity; this activity decreased within 2 weeks. Among specimens collected from 99 random swine at abattoirs in Thailand during a period of low JEV transmission, none of 25 JEV HAI-negative sera had JEV IgM activity, 7 of 74 JEV HAI-positive sera did have JEV IgM activity, and the remaining 67 sera had readily detectable JEV HAI antibodies, but lacked JEV IgM. The JEV IgM solid-phase ELISA was useful for rapidly diagnosing active or recent JEV infections in swine.     

Oxidant-antioxidant imbalance in horses infected with equine infectious anaemia virus

This study assesses the impact of equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV) infection on the oxidant/antioxidant equilibrium of horses. Blood samples from 96 Romanian horses aged 1-25 years, were divided into different groups according to their EIAV-infection status, age, and time post-seroconversion. The effect of infection on oxidative stress was estimated by measuring enzymatic antioxidants (superoxide dismutase [SOD], glutathione peroxidase [GPx] and catalase), non-enzymatic antioxidants (uric acid and carotenoids), and lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde [MDA]). Infection modified the oxidant/antioxidant equilibrium in the horses, influencing GPx and uric acid levels (P<0.05). Time post-seroconversion also contributed to oxidative stress imbalance, exhibiting a significant influence on both SOD and MDA concentrations in the blood (P<0.05). Animal age did not have a significant influence on oxidative stress. Recently infected horses (<1 year following seroconversion), and horses >5 years old, represented the most vulnerable category in terms of oxidative stress, followed by recently infected animals <5 years old. The results of this study are novel in implicating EIAV infection in the development of oxidative stress in horses.     

Meteorological factors involved in Japanese encephalitis virus infection in cattle

From 1982 to 1987 a total of 4,371 dairy cattle in Saitama Prefecture, were examined for levels of hemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibody to Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) and the correlation with meteorological factors and an antibody positive rate was studied. Positivity rates of HI antibody from July to October each year (Yi) ranged from 58.8 to 88.0% with a considerable annual variation. Simple regression analysis of Yi with the comparative meteorological value (Xi) was determined from mean temperatures (Ti, j-1), rainfalls (Ri, j-1) for 10-day-periods each, and the number of days showing 25 degrees C or above (ti, j-1) from June to September, which yielded a correlation coefficient of 0.8147 (p less than 0.05) and an equation for estimated HI antibody positivity rate: Yi = -0.04Xi+79.9 (p less than 0.05). Multiple regression analysis with the power values of three meteorological parameters as independent variables and Yi as the dependent variable, showed a multiple correlation coefficient of 0.987 (p less than 0.05) and a multiple regression equation: Yi = -3991T1/13-0.0035R-12+1978t1/9+4187 (p less than 0.05), giving estimated positivity rates almost equal to the values from the observations. Therefore, a predictive equation was formulated reflecting positive and negative correlations of sero-positivity with the temperature and the precipitation, respectively.