The growth of cell culture-attenuated rinderpest virus in bovine lymphoblasts with B cell, CD4+ and CD8+ alpha/beta T cell and gamma/delta T cell phenotypes

Induction of apoptotic cellular death in lymphatic tissues of cattle experimentally infected with different strains of rinderpest virus

The presence, type, and extent of cellular death in lymphatic tissues of cattle experimentally infected with rinderpest virus strains of different virulence was investigated morphologically. Cells with DNA strand breaks were identified in histological sections of palatine tonsil, spleen, and mesenteric and mandibular lymph nodes by the TUNEL (terminal desoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labelling) assay. In addition, representative samples of lymphatic tissues were examined by transmission electron microscopy. The results indicated that cellular disassembly in lymphatic tissues was caused by both apoptosis and oncosis. Cells with DNA strand breaks were observed in follicular and parafollicular areas of lymphatic tissues and their numbers were determined. A significant correlation was found between the number of TUNEL-positive cells and viral virulence. These results suggest that, in addition to oncosis, apoptotic cellular death in lymphatic tissues contributes substantially to the pathogenesis of rinderpest.

Morbilliviruses use signaling lymphocyte activation molecules (CD150) as cellular receptors

Morbilliviruses comprise measles virus, canine distemper virus, rinderpest virus, and several other viruses that cause devastating human and animal diseases accompanied by severe immunosuppression and lymphopenia. Recently, we have shown that human signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM) is a cellular receptor for measles virus. In this study, we examined whether canine distemper and rinderpest viruses also use canine and bovine SLAMs, respectively, as cellular receptors. The Onderstepoort vaccine strain and two B95a (marmoset B cell line)-isolated strains of canine distemper virus caused extensive cytopathic effects in normally resistant CHO (Chinese hamster ovary) cells after expression of canine SLAM. The Ako vaccine strain of rinderpest virus produced strong cytopathic effects in bovine SLAM-expressing CHO cells. The data on entry with vesicular stomatitis virus pseudotypes bearing measles, canine distemper, or rinderpest virus envelope proteins were consistent with development of cytopathic effects in SLAM-expressing CHO cell clones after infection with the respective viruses, confirming that SLAM acts at the virus entry step (as a cellular receptor). Furthermore, most measles, canine distemper, and rinderpest virus strains examined could any use of the human, canine, and bovine SLAMs to infect cells. Our findings suggest that the use of SLAM as a cellular receptor may be a property common to most, if not all, morbilliviruses and explain the lymphotropism and immunosuppressive nature of morbilliviruses.

Vaccination of cattle with attenuated rinderpest virus stimulates CD4(+) T cell responses with broad viral antigen specificity

The immune responses of cattle inoculated with either a virulent or an attenuated vaccine strain of rinderpest virus (RPV) were examined by measuring the proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) to whole RPV antigen preparations and to individual RPV major structural proteins expressed using recombinant adenoviruses. Responses to the T cell mitogen concanavalin A (ConA) were also measured as a control to monitor non-specific effects of infection with RPV on T cell responses. Infection with the vaccine strain of RPV was found to induce a strong CD4(+) T cell response. A specific response was detected to all RPV proteins tested, namely the haemagglutinin (H), fusion (F), nucleocapsid (N) and matrix (M) proteins, in animals vaccinated with the attenuated strain of the virus. No one protein was found to be dominant with respect to the induction of T cell proliferative responses. As expected, vaccination of cattle with an unrelated virus vaccine, a capripox vaccine, failed to produce a response to RPV antigens. While profound suppression of T cell responses was observed following infection with the virulent strain of RPV, no evidence of impairment of T cell responsiveness was observed following RPV vaccination, or on subsequent challenge of vaccinated animals with virulent virus.

Rinderpest vaccination and the incidence and development of trypanosomosis in cattle

An investigation was made into whether recent vaccination of cattle with tissue culture rinderpest virus would cause immunosuppression and lead to more frequent or more severe infection with trypanosomes in animals grazing in tsetse-infested areas. Herds of cattle on Galana Ranch in Kenya were divided, with approximately half of each herd being vaccinated with tissue culture rinderpest virus strain Kabete 'O', while the rest remained unvaccinated. The herds were then exposed to the risk of natural infection with trypanosomes on the ranch. Three experiments were performed during different seasons. Infections with Trypanosoma congolense and Trypanosoma vivax were frequently detected but there was no evidence that vaccinated animals were more likely to acquire trypanosome infections or to show a more severe disease than unvaccinated cattle. It is concluded that tissue culture rinderpest vaccine does not cause immunosuppression and can safely be used in cattle likely to be exposed to tsetse flies and trypanosomosis.

Relative ability of different bovine leukocyte populations to support active replication of rinderpest virus

Bovine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were infected with the pathogenic Saudi isolate of rinderpest virus (RPV) in order to identify the cell subpopulation(s) susceptible to active replication of this virus. Flow cytometry analysis, using a monoclonal antibody recognizing the H glycoprotein of RPV, showed that monocytes were the main subpopulation in which the virus replicated, whereas <2% of lymphocytes expressed viral antigen. The activation of PBMC with concanavalin A before infection resulted in an increase in the capacity of lymphocytes to support RPV replication; >90% of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes expressed viral antigen at 3 days postinfection, although < or = 40% of gamma/delta T cells were productively infected. B-lymphocyte activation with pokeweed mitogen also resulted in increased replication of this virus in these cells, involving up to 40% of B lymphocytes. An enhancement of lymphocyte susceptibility to infection and active replication by RPV was observed upon coculture of RPV-infected PBMC on bovine endothelial cells. Such enhancement was most marked with the B-cell and CD4+ T-cell subpopulations. Contact between lymphocytes and extracellular matrix components did not alter the capacity of RPV to replicate in lymphocytes. This intercellular contact with endothelial cells increased the viability of certain lymphocyte subpopulations, but it alone could not explain the increased sensitivity to RPV. Intercellular signalling, which resulted in interleukin-2 receptor upregulation, probably played a role. In summary, monocytes are the main target for active, productive infection by RPV. Similar replication in lymphocytes depends on their activation state and on contact with accessory cells such as endothelial cells. These characteristics have important implications for virus traffic in vivo and the pathogenesis of this disease.

Immunohistochemical studies of lymphoid tissues of rabbits infected with rinderpest virus

The pathogenesis of infection with the L-strain of rinderpest virus (RPV) in rabbits was investigated. Of several lymphoid tissues examined, those associated with the gut showed the most marked virus growth. The virus titres were maximal 4 days after inoculation but had declined at day 6. The distribution of viral antigen was examined immunohistochemically with the recently established anti-rabbit CD5 monoclonal antibody (MoAb), which is a pan-T-cell marker, and the anti-RPV-nucleoprotein MoAb. The virus antigen was localized in the CD5+ area at the initial stage of infection but spread to all areas of the lymphoid tissues at the later stages. By flow cytometric analysis with both rabbit CD5 and CD4 MoAbs, a decrease of the CD4+ and CD5+ subpopulations was observed in the spleen and mesenteric lymph nodes.