Propagation of virulent and avirulent turkey hemorrhagic enteritis virus in cell culture

Virulent and apathogenic isolates of turkey hemorrhagic enteritis virus (HEV) were successfully propagated in lymphoblastoid cell lines of turkey origin, whereas spleen and kidney cell cultures from HEV-infected turkeys failed to replicate the virus. The lymphoblastoid cell lines used were MDTC-RP16 and MDTC-RP19, which were previously established from tumors induced by Marek's disease virus in turkeys. Virus replication followed co-cultivation of lymphoblastoid cells with spleen cells from HEV-infected turkeys. Virus replication was demonstrated by immunofluorescence, by agar-gel-precipitin tests, and by electron microscopy. Supernatant fluid of cultures infected with virulent HEV caused death and specific lesions in turkey poults. Poults vaccinated with apathogenic HEV were protected against death and lesions after challenge with pathogenic HEV, which was recovered from infected cultures. The MDTC-RP19 cell line appeared far more susceptible than the MDTC-RP16 cell line to infection with HEV.     

Quantitation of hemorrhagic enteritis virus antigen and antibody using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were developed to quantitate hemorrhagic enteritis virus (HEV) antibodies in turkey sera and HEV antigens in tissue extracts. These assays were more sensitive than the commonly used agar-gel precipitin tests in detecting antigen and antibody. The antibody-ELISA was used to monitor the presence and decline of passive antibodies in turkey poults and the seroconversion of turkeys infected with HEV. The antigen-ELISA was carried out using a monoclonal antibody; this test was used to quantitate HEV antigen in experimentally infected turkeys in a time-sequence experiment. Both ELISAs measured a strong antigenic relationship between an avirulent strain (HEV-A) and a virulent strain (HEV-V).     

HVT国内株的分离鉴定

用来自国内某火鸡饲养场的健康火鸡血白细胞 ,接种于鸡胚成纤维细胞 ,分离到一株火鸡疱疹病毒的野毒—SY8_2。电镜下可观察到分离株SY8_2的鸡胚成纤维细胞培养物中存在典型的火鸡疱疹病毒粒子 ;分离株SY8_2的细胞培养物经卵黄囊途径接种 4日龄鸡胚 ,14天后在绒毛尿囊膜上形成痘斑 ;用分离物SY8_2细胞培养物接种 1日龄SPF雏鸡 ,感染雏鸡可产生病毒血症 ,并能从感染雏鸡的血液白细胞中重新分离到病毒 ;经 2个月的临床观察人工感染鸡无不良反应 ,剖检无任何病理解剖学变化 ;用HVT特异性单克隆抗体L78(3型 )做间接免疫荧光染色试验证实分离株SY8_2为MD血清 3型病毒—HVT。     

Evidence for bursal involvement in the pathogenesis of hemorrhagic enteritis of turkeys

The pathogenesis of hemorrhagic enteritis in turkey poults infected with hemorrhagic enteritis virus (HEV) at 3 days or at 2 or 5 weeks of age was compared with pathogenesis in poults that had been chemically bursectomized neonatally and exposed to cell-culture-propagated virus at 2 or 5 weeks of age. Conventional poults exposed to HEV at 2 or 5 weeks developed clinical disease, and mortality ranged from 38% to 100%. In addition to the splenic and intestinal lesions usually seen with HEV infection, the pancreas, bursa of Fabricius, and thymus were also affected. In contrast, although they were free from detectable maternal antibody, poults infected with HEV at 3 days of age failed to develop clinical disease or mortality; however, virus was demonstrated by histological and electron microscopic examinations in spleens of these poults. Neonatal chemical bursectomy completely prevented the clinical signs, gross lesions, and mortality induced by HEV in poults at 2 or 5 weeks of age. These findings strongly suggest that an intact bursa is necessary for HEV to induce disease in turkeys.     

Hemorrhagic enteritis in turkeys: purification and quantification of the virus

Two methods for purifying the virus of hemorrhagic enteritis from infected turkey spleens are described. One procedure utilized precipitation with polyethylene glycol, and the other consisted of trichlorotrifluoroethane extraction. Both procedures included sucrose-cesium chloride gradient centrifugation in the final purification step. The buoyant density of the viral fraction was 1.34 g/cm3, typical for adenoviral particles, and the size and morphologic characteristics of the virions observed by transmission electron microscopy suggested that the purified virus belongs to the family Adenoviridae. The biologic activity of the purified virus was titrated by inoculating 10-fold dilutions of the viral suspension into turkey poults. Mortality and hemorrhagic diarrhea proved to be inconsistent parameters of infection, and the degree of splenomegaly was proportional to the virus dose. The body/spleen ratio was the parameter selected for measuring viral activity, and the body/spleen ratio 50% was adopted as the unit for the titration of the virus. By using the same system it was demonstrated that the infectivity of the virus could be neutralized with antiserum produced in turkeys.     

Immunosuppressive effect of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus on rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

The infectivity of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) for rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) mononuclear leukocyte subpopulations was investigated to determine the mechanisms of immunosuppression caused by the virus. IPNV was recovered from nylon wool-adherent, surface immunoglobulin (Ig)-positive leukocytes of head kidney, spleen and peripheral blood collected from virus-inoculated fish with higher titers than non-adherent, Ig-negative cells. Non-adherent cell population showed mitogenic response to phytohemagglutinin and concanavalin A but not to lipopolysaccharide. Conversely, the responses of adherent cells to these mitogens were weak. Mitogenic response and non-specific cytotoxicity of head kidney leukocytes significantly decreased by the inoculation of fish with the virus. These results suggest that the suppression of immune responses is involved in the establishment of carrier state in fish after infection with IPNV.     

Equine herpesvirus type 2: cell-virus relationship during persistent cell-associated viremia

Some aspects of the biology of equine herpesvirus type 2 (EHV-2) were investigated by examination of the persistent cell-associated viremia stage of the infection. The EHV-2 infection of leukocytes was latent, because free virus was not retrieved without first cultivating harvested leukocytes in vitro. A virus infective center (IC) assay was developed to enumerate latently infected cells in the leukocyte population. This assay proved to be simple and reproducible and revealed a linear relationship between IC plaques formed and the number of cells inoculated, except where large numbers of cells (greater than 4 X 10(6)) were inoculated per 10 cm2 dish. This reduction at high cell densities of IC/10(6) cells inoculated was dependent on cells obtained from an EHV-2-infected horse. There was considerable variation in the numbers of IC/10(6) leukocytes harvested from different horses, but little variation in the harvests from the same horse at different times. There seemed to be a direct relationship between serum-neutralization titers and IC numbers. Transfer of viable infected leukocytes to 2 fetuses failed to establish EHV-2 infection. Infection of equine fetal kidney cells with EHV-2 virus failed to produce detectable Fc receptors on the cell surface.     

Isolation of infectious bursal disease virus from turkeys with arthritic and respiratory symptoms in commercial farms in Quebec.

Infectious bursal disease viruses (IBDVs) were isolated from turkeys showing symptoms of arthritis and respiratory disease in commercial poultry farms in the province of Quebec, Canada. Synovial fluids collected from hock joints of arthritic birds and peripheral blood leukocytes obtained from the birds with respiratory problems were used for virus isolation in embryonated chicken eggs, and Vero and BGM-70 cell cultures. The infected cells were evaluated for the presence of IBDV by indirect immunofluorescence assay using monoclonal antibodies. The viruses were identified by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of viral genome and by electron microscopy. Although one of these turkey isolates tested was neutralized by serotype 1-specific commercial chicken antisera, preliminary results indicated that there are antigenic differences between the Quebec isolate, IBDV QT-1, and the existing strains of IBDV belonging to serotype 1.     

Interferon induction in porcine leukocytes with transmissible gastroenteritis virus

Leukocytes were harvested from the peripheral blood, mesenteric lymph node and small intestinal lamina propria from groups of three piglets before, and 1,2 and 3 weeks after infection with virulent transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) at 2 weeks of age. The donor piglets developed clinical signs of transmissible gastroenteritis which persisted for up to 3 days, and they developed peak serum titres of TGEV-neutralizing antibodies 2 weeks post-infection. The leukocytes were cultured in the presence of pokeweed mitogen (PWM), various dilutions of purified TGEV, or control media for 3 or 5 days, and the culture supernatants were tested for antiviral activity in MDBK cells challenged with vesicular stomatitis virus. The antiviral activity was characterized as porcine interferon (IFN)- or porcine IFN-τ on the basis of its stability at pH 2.0 and neutralization by anti-human IFN- antibodies. Viability of the leukocytes in culture, determined by trypan blue exclusion, was highest for the peripheral blood leukocytes and lowest for the mesenteric lymph node leukocytes. There were no consistent differences in antiviral activity between cultures incubated for 3 or 5 days. Porcine IFN- was found in the supernatants of the leukocyte cultures stimulated with TGEV antigen, harvested before or after infection of the donor piglets with TGEV. Porcine IFN-τ was demonstrated in the supernatants of the leukocyte cultures stimulated with PWM, more frequently when the leukocytes were harvested post-infection. This was the first demonstration of IFN induction in vitro in leukocytes from porcine gut-associated lymphoid tissue.     

Hemorrhagic enteritis of turkeys in California: serologic study of hemorrhagic enteritis virus antibody with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

The incidence of hemorrhagic enteritis (HE) infection in California turkeys was studied by testing 2220 turkey blood samples from 173 flocks for HE virus (HEV) antibody by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Maternal antibody was detected at 1 day of age in all flocks tested, and it vanished after 3 weeks. Acquired HEV antibody appeared at 8 to 10 weeks, and 100% of the meat and breeder turkey flocks were positive after 11 weeks of age. HEV infection occurred earlier in the meat flocks than in the breeder flocks, and it also occurred earlier during summer than during the fall and winter months.     

Localisation of swine hepatitis E virus in experimentally infected pigs

The distribution of intravenously inoculated swine hepatitis E virus (HEV) was assessed by in situ hybridisation for a period of 50 days. Evidence of apparent clinical disease was found in only one pig in the HEV infected group. The only gross lesion observed was mildly enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes at 50 days post infection (dpi). Histopathologically, mild lymphoplasmacytic infiltration and focal hepatocellular necrotic lesions were found in HEV-infected pigs. Swine HEV nucleic acids were detected by RT-PCR in the faeces at 3 dpi in 100% of the 18 pigs infected with the virus. Thereafter, the number of positives declined.The most consistent and intense signal was found in the liver of infected animals using in situ hybridisation. The positive cells were hepatocytes, Kupffer cells, bile epithelial cells and interstitial lymphocytes. Swine HEV RNA was localised in the cytoplasm of the hepatocytes, with a slightly granular pattern of staining, but hybridisation signals were not observed in degenerative or vacuolated hepatocytes. HEV was much less frequently detected in extrahepatic tissues such as lymph nodes, tonsil, spleen and small and large intestine. It was concluded that swine HEV had replicated primarily in the hepatocytes and infection resulted in subclinical infection with minimal histopathological changes in the liver.     

Cell Culture Studies of a Neonatal Calf Diarrhea Virus

The effects of a neonatal calf diarrhea virus on cell cultures were investigated. Bovine embryonic kidney cell cultures were the most satisfactory for production of virus. Cytoplasmic changes detected after inoculation with a high multiplicity of virus were: 1) cytoplasmic vacuoles; 2) some eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions; and 3) some degeneration of cells and detachment from the monolayer. Cultures stained with fluorescein-labeled antibody showed cytoplasmic fluorescence as early as four hr after infection with the maximum fluorescence at five days. No cross reactions were observed between the neonatal calf diarrhea virus and reovirus type 1 or type 3 by the fluorescent antibody technique. Plaques were small and were not produced consistently. The optimal adsorption time was one to two hr. The maximum titer was reached at 18 hr, with the cell-associated titer remaining higher than the cell-free titer until that time. An interferon was produced by cultures infected with either ultraviolet-inactivated or untreated virus.     

A double-antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of turkey hemorrhagic enteritis virus antibody and antigen

A highly sensitive and specific double-antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is described for the detection of antigen and antibody of turkey hemorrhagic enteritis virus (HEV). The assay utilizes a virus-neutralizing monoclonal antibody (MAb) to capture the antigen and turkey antiserum against HEV as the second antibody. Microtiter plates were first coated with a dilution of 1:3000 of the MAb (300 ng immunoglobulin/well) and are used for detection of both antigen and antibody. For antibody detection, MAb-coated plates were treated with an appropriate dilution of a cell-culture-propagated HEV antigen and then reacted with the test turkey serum. For detection of HEV antigen, MAb-coated plates were treated with appropriate dilutions of test antigens and then reacted with purified anti-HEV turkey immunoglobulins. The assay for HEV antibody detection was more sensitive and specific than previously described single-antibody ELISAs. Using the double-antibody ELISA, it was found that the spleen of HEV-infected turkeys harbors very high levels of antigen. Traces of HEV antigen are present in some other organs. Infectivity assay for HEV is found to be about two orders of magnitude more sensitive than the ELISA for detection of virus.     

Vitamin A deficiency impairs cytotoxic T lymphocyte activity in Newcastle disease virus-infected chickens

The effect of vitamin A deficiency on cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity was investigated during the acute phase of disease 7 days after primary inoculation and 1 day after secondary inoculation in chickens with or without Newcastle disease virus (NDV, La Sota strain) infection. Day-old chickens with limited vitamin A reserves were fed purified diets containing either marginal (ad libitum) or adequate (pair-fed) levels of vitamin A, and at 3 weeks of age half of the chickens in each group were infected with NDV. Cytotoxic activity was investigated during the acute phase of disease (7 days after primary inoculation) and 1 day after secondary inoculation, in an assay system with either peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) or nonadherent splenocytes as effector cells and adherent splenocytes from the same animal as target cells. After primary inoculation, cytotoxic activity could only be demonstrated in nonadherent splenocytes. Vitamin A deficiency resulted in significantly reduced CTL activity at all effector/target cell ratios tested. After reinfection CTL activity could also be demonstrated in PBL, but only from chickens fed the control diet, suggesting a diminished pool of CTL in vitamin A deficiency. The results of this study indicate that vitamin A deficiency impairs CTL activity - a part of the cell-mediated defense system - and this may have important implications for recovery from viral infection.     

Porcine parvovirus: frequency of naturally occurring transplacental infection and viral contamination of fetal porcine kidney cell cultures.

The frequency of naturally occurring transplacental infection of swine with porcine parvovirus (PPV) and one of the possible consequences of such infection--the presence of PPV in cell cultures prepared from fetal tissues--were investigated. Transplacental infection was indicated by the presence of high titers of hemagglutination inhibiting (HI) antibody for PPV in serums of 0-day-old, hysterectomy-derived, colostrum-deprived pigs of 3 of 82 litters. All letters were farm-raised dams. Moreover, cell cultures prepared from 3 of 49 lots of fetal porcine kidneys (FPK) collected from an abattoir during an interval of 14 months were found contaminated with PPV. Because each lot was usually comprised of kidneys from 2 litters, the latter finding suggests that 3 of approximately 98 litters were infected. Prior infection of FPK cell cultures with PPV resulted in only slight interference of replication of other selected viruses; i.e., porcine enterovirus (PEV), pseudorabies virus (PRV), vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), and hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis virus (HEV). Moreover, PPV and HEV were propagated in the same cell cultures during 5 serial passages of the viruses. In contrast, when copropagation of PPV and VSV was attempted, PPV was not detected after the 2nd serial passage.     

A reovirus-like agent (rotavirus) associated with diarrhoea in neonatal pigs

Reovirus-like particles were detected by electron microscopy in the faeces of pigs with diarrhoea. Attempts to adapt the virus to grow in pig kidney cell cultures were unsuccessful. By immunofluorescent staining techniques the pig virus was shown to be antigenically related to the calf rotavirus. Colostrum-deprived piglets were readily infected with the virus. Viral replication occurred in villous epithelial cells in the small intestines of infected pigs, and virus was detected in the faeces for at least 7 days post infection. All infected piglets developed diarrhoea whereas uninfected controls did not.     

Testing the susceptibility of cultured cells to infection with bovine leukemia virus

Different cell cultures were studied for their susceptibility to bovine leucosis virus infection. Syncytial assay was used for this study. The FLS/BLV+ cell line served as virus source. Cell lines BHK-21 and ZP-1/58 were found to be susceptible to syncytium formation. Large cells with one to three large nuclei, and loose nuclei reaching the size of syncytium were observed to occur in the BHK-21 and ZP-1/58 cell lines, apart from the syncytial formations. The virus specificity of the syncytia arising in these two cell lines was confirmed by the immunofluorescence assay. In the case of the immunoperoxidase assay, a positive result was obtained only in the BHK-21 cell line. The occurrence of syncytia and large nuclei was observed even in the cases when the BHK-21 cells were infected with the lymphocytes of leucotic cows.     

Ultrastructure and protein A-gold immunolabelling of HRT-18 cells infected with turkey enteric coronavirus

The Minnesota strain of turkey enteric coronavirus (TCV) was propagated in HRT-18 cells, a cell line derived from human rectum adenocarcinoma. A productive non-cytopathic infection was established, without a previous adaptation, in these cells as shown by the specific hemagglutinating activity in cell culture supernatants. A post-embedding immunochemical technique, using specific antiserum directed against the original egg-adapted virus and colloidal-gold-labelled protein A as the electron-dense marker, was used for the identification of the virus and related antigens in the cells by electron microscopy. Budding of typical coronavirus particles, through intracytoplasmic membranes and accumulation of complete virus within cytoplasmic vesicles or the lumen of rough endoplasmic reticulum, were the main features of the viral morphogenesis. Late in infection, numerous progeny viral particles were shown at the outer surface of infected cells, but budding could not be demonstrated at this level. Two different types of surface projections were observed on the extracellular particles of this avian coronavirus. These morphological characteristics have been thus far described only for mammalian hemagglutinating coronaviruses.     

Structural polypeptides of type II avian adenoviruses analyzed by monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies.

Polypeptides of hemorrhagic enteritis virus (HEV) of turkeys and marble spleen disease virus (MSDV) of pheasants were analyzed by immune precipitation and immunoblot assays. A total of 11 polypeptides ranging in molecular weight from 14,000 to 97,000 were detected in lysates of HEV-infected turkey cells analyzed by immunoblot assay using a polyclonal antibody against HEV. Identical patterns were observed with preparations of MSDV. Five monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against HEV were chosen based on their virus neutralization activity and used for identification of neutralizing epitopes of these two viruses. Three MAbs precipitated a single 97,000-molecular-weight hexon polypeptide in an immune precipitation assay.