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Abstract
Emerging and well-known viral diseases remain one the most important global public health threats. A better understanding of their pathogenesis and mechanisms of transmission requires animal models that accurately reproduce these aspects of the disease. Here we review the role of ferrets as an animal model for the pathogenesis of different respiratory viruses with an emphasis on influenza and paramyxoviruses. We will describe the anatomic and physiologic characteristics that contribute to the natural susceptibility of ferrets to these viruses, and provide an overview of the approaches available to analyze their immune responses. Recent insights gained using this model will be highlighted, including the development of new prophylactic and therapeutic approaches. To provide decision criteria for the use of this animal model, its strengths and limitations will be discussed. Ferrets as models for respiratory virus pathogenesis. Ferrets as models for vaccine and drug efficacy assessment. Immunological tools for ferrets. Housing and handling of ferrets.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Enkirch
- Veterinary Medicine Division, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedicines, Paul-Ehrlich-Straße 51-59, 63225 Langen, Germany
| | - V von Messling
- Veterinary Medicine Division, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedicines, Paul-Ehrlich-Straße 51-59, 63225 Langen, Germany.
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2
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Ludlow M, Nguyen DT, Silin D, Lyubomska O, de Vries RD, von Messling V, McQuaid S, De Swart RL, Duprex WP. Recombinant canine distemper virus strain Snyder Hill expressing green or red fluorescent proteins causes meningoencephalitis in the ferret. J Virol 2012; 86:7508-19. [PMID: 22553334 PMCID: PMC3416283 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.06725-11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2011] [Accepted: 04/25/2012] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The propensity of canine distemper virus (CDV) to spread to the central nervous system is one of the primary features of distemper. Therefore, we developed a reverse genetics system based on the neurovirulent Snyder Hill (SH) strain of CDV (CDV(SH)) and show that this virus rapidly circumvents the blood-brain and blood-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barriers to spread into the subarachnoid space to induce dramatic viral meningoencephalitis. The use of recombinant CDV(SH) (rCDV(SH)) expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) or red fluorescent protein (dTomato) facilitated the sensitive pathological assessment of routes of virus spread in vivo. Infection of ferrets with these viruses led to the full spectrum of clinical signs typically associated with distemper in dogs during a rapid, fatal disease course of approximately 2 weeks. Comparison with the ferret-adapted CDV(5804P) and the prototypic wild-type CDV(R252) showed that hematogenous infection of the choroid plexus is not a significant route of virus spread into the CSF. Instead, viral spread into the subarachnoid space in rCDV(SH)-infected animals was triggered by infection of vascular endothelial cells and the hematogenous spread of virus-infected leukocytes from meningeal blood vessels into the subarachnoid space. This resulted in widespread infection of cells of the pia and arachnoid mater of the leptomeninges over large areas of the cerebral hemispheres. The ability to sensitively assess the in vivo spread of a neurovirulent strain of CDV provides a novel model system to study the mechanisms of virus spread into the CSF and the pathogenesis of acute viral meningitis.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. Ludlow
- Department of Microbiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - D. T. Nguyen
- Department of Virology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - D. Silin
- School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
| | - O. Lyubomska
- Department of Microbiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - R. D. de Vries
- Department of Virology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - V. von Messling
- INRS—Institut Armand-Frappier, University of Quebec, Laval, QC, Canada
| | - S. McQuaid
- School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
- Tissue Pathology Laboratories, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
| | - R. L. De Swart
- Department of Virology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - W. P. Duprex
- Department of Microbiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
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Meunier I, von Messling V. NS1-mediated delay of immune activation contributes to influenza A virulence in ferrets. BMC Proc 2011. [DOI: 10.1186/1753-6561-5-s1-02] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
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Meunier I, von Messling V. NS1-mediated delay of immune activation contributes to influenza A virulence in ferrets. BMC Proc 2011. [PMCID: PMC3019405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- I Meunier
- INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier, University of Quebec, Laval, Quebec H7V 1B7, Canada
| | - V von Messling
- INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier, University of Quebec, Laval, Quebec H7V 1B7, Canada
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Klauschies F, Gützkow T, Hinkelmann S, von Messling V, Vaske B, Herrler G, Haas L. Viral infectivity and intracellular distribution of matrix (M) protein of canine distemper virus are affected by actin filaments. Arch Virol 2010; 155:1503-8. [DOI: 10.1007/s00705-010-0737-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2010] [Accepted: 06/23/2010] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Abstract
The ferret is a standard laboratory animal that can be accommodated in most animal facilities. While not susceptible to measles, ferrets are a natural host of canine distemper virus (CDV), the closely related carnivore morbillivirus. CDV infection in ferrets reproduces all clinical signs associated with measles in humans, including the typical rash, fever, general immunosuppression, gastrointestinal and respiratory involvement, and neurological complications. Due to this similarity, experimental CDV infection of ferrets is frequently used to assess the efficacy of novel vaccines, and to characterize pathogenesis mechanisms. In addition, direct intracranial inoculation of measles isolates from subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) patients results in an SSPE-like disease in animals that survive the acute phase. Since the advent of reverse genetics systems that allow the targeted manipulation of viral genomes, the model has been used to evaluate the contribution of the accessory proteins C and V, and signalling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM)-binding to immunosuppression and overall pathogenesis. Similarly produced green fluorescent protein-expressing derivatives that maintain parental virulence have been instrumental in the direct visualization of systemic dissemination and neuroinvasion. As more immunological tools become available for this model, its contribution to our understanding of morbillivirus-host interactions is expected to increase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diane E. Griffin
- grid.21107.350000000121719311Department of Molecular Microbiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205 USA
| | - Michael B. A. Oldstone
- grid.214007.00000000122199231Department of Immunology and Microbial Science, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 N. Torrey Pines, La Jolla, CA 92037 USA
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Abstract
The study of negative-strand RNA viruses has suggested new strategies to produce more attenuated viruses. Reverse genetics has allowed the implementation of the strategies, and new or improved monovalent vaccines are being developed. In addition, recombinant viruses expressing foreign proteins or epitopes have been produced with the aim of developing multivalent vaccines capable of stimulating humoral and cellular immune responses against more than one pathogen. Finally, recombinant viruses that selectively enter cells expressing tumor markers or the HIV envelope protein have been engineered and shown to lyse target cells. Preclinical and clinical trials of improved and multivalent vaccines and therapeutic (oncolytic) viruses are ongoing.
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Affiliation(s)
- V von Messling
- Molecular Medicine Program, Mayo Foundation, 200 1st Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA
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Abstract
Canine distemper virus (CDV) and measles virus (MV) cause severe illnesses in their respective hosts. The viruses display a characteristic cytopathic effect by forming syncytia in susceptible cells. For CDV, the proficiency of syncytium formation varies among different strains and correlates with the degree of viral attenuation. In this study, we examined the determinants for the differential fusogenicity of the wild-type CDV isolate 5804Han89 (CDV(5804)), the small- and large-plaque-forming variants of the CDV vaccine strain Onderstepoort (CDV(OS) and CDV(OL), respectively), and the MV vaccine strain Edmonston B (MV(Edm)). The cotransfection of different combinations of fusion (F) and hemagglutinin (H) genes in Vero cells indicated that the H protein is the main determinant of fusion efficiency. To verify the significance of this observation in the viral context, a reverse genetic system to generate recombinant CDVs was established. This system is based on a plasmid containing the full-length antigenomic sequence of CDV(OS). The coding regions of the H proteins of all CDV strains and MV(Edm) were introduced into the CDV and MV genetic backgrounds, and recombinant viruses rCDV-H(5804), rCDV-H(OL), rCDV-H(Edm), rMV-H(5804), rMV-H(OL), and rMV-H(OS) were recovered. Thus, the H proteins of the two morbilliviruses are interchangeable and fully functional in a heterologous complex. This is in contrast with the glycoproteins of other members of the family Paramyxoviridae, which do not function efficiently with heterologous partners. The fusogenicity, growth characteristics, and tropism of the recombinant viruses were examined and compared with those of the parental strains. All these characteristics were found to be predominantly mediated by the H protein regardless of the viral backbone used.
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Affiliation(s)
- V von Messling
- Molecular Medicine Program, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA
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Haas L, Liermann H, Harder TC, Barrett T, Löchelt M, von Messling V, Baumgärtner W, Greiser-Wilke I. Analysis of the H gene, the central untranslated region and the proximal coding part of the F gene of wild-type and vaccine canine distemper viruses. Vet Microbiol 1999; 69:15-8. [PMID: 10515263 DOI: 10.1016/s0378-1135(99)00081-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
This paper summarizes the results of the genetic analysis of several parts of the genome of canine distemper virus (CDV) field isolates and vaccine viruses. The haemagglutinin (H) gene analysis showed that recent viruses did not differ significantly from vaccine strains. The analysis of the long untranslated region between the matrix (M) and fusion (F) gene revealed distinct genetic heterogeneity. The putative F protein start codon AUG461 of vaccine strain Onderstepoort was found to be mutated in all wild-type isolates and in another vaccine strain. The proximal coding part of the F gene was well conserved. Phylogenetic analysis of this segment showed the presence of several cocirculating CDV genotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Haas
- Institute of Virology, Veterinary School Hannover, Germany.
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von Messling V, Harder TC, Moennig V, Rautenberg P, Nolte I, Haas L. Rapid and sensitive detection of immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG antibodies against canine distemper virus by a new recombinant nucleocapsid protein-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. J Clin Microbiol 1999; 37:1049-56. [PMID: 10074525 PMCID: PMC88648 DOI: 10.1128/jcm.37.4.1049-1056.1999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Canine distemper morbillivirus (CDV) infection causes a frequently fatal systemic disease in a broad range of carnivore species, including domestic dogs. In CDV infection, classical serology provides data of diagnostic and prognostic values (kinetics of seroconversion) and is also used to predict the optimal vaccination age of pups. Routine CDV serology is still based on time- and cost-intensive virus neutralization assays (V-NA). Here, we describe a new capture-sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) that uses recombinant baculovirus-expressed nucleocapsid (N) protein of a recent CDV wild-type isolate (2544/Han95) for the detection of CDV-specific antibodies in canine sera. Recombinant antigen was produced with high efficacy in Heliothis virescens larvae. The capture-sandwich ELISA enabled a clear-cut qualitative evaluation of the CDV-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM serostatuses of 196 and 35 dog sera, respectively. Inter-rater agreement analysis (kappa = 0.988) indicated that the ELISA can be used unrestrictedly as a substitute for the V-NA for the qualitative determination of CDV-specific IgG serostatus. In an attempt to semiquantify N-specific antibodies, a one-step-dilution (alpha method) IgG-specific ELISA was implemented. Alpha values of >/=50% showed very good inter-rater agreement (kappa = 0.968) with V-NA titers of >/=1/100 50% neutralizing dose (ND50) as measured against the central European CDV wild-type isolate 2544/Han95 in canine sera originating from northern Germany. An ND50 titer of 1/100 is considered a threshold, and titers of >/=1/100 indicate a resilient, protective immunity. CDV N-specific antibodies of the IgM class were detected by the newly developed ELISA in 9 of 15 sera obtained from dogs with symptoms of acute distemper. In leucocytes of 5 of the 15 dogs (all of which were also IgM positive) CDV RNA was detected by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR. The recombinant capture-sandwich ELISA detecting N-specific antibodies of the IgG class provided superior sensitivity and specificity and thus represents a rapid and cost-effective alternative to classical CDV V-NA. By detection of specific IgM antibodies, the ELISA will be complementary to RT-PCR and V-NA in the diagnosis of acute distemper infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- V von Messling
- Institute of Virology, Hannover Veterinary School, D-30559 Hannover, Germany
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Liermann H, Harder TC, Löchelt M, von Messling V, Baumgärtner W, Moennig V, Haas L. Genetic analysis of the central untranslated genome region and the proximal coding part of the F gene of wild-type and vaccine canine distemper morbilliviruses. Virus Genes 1999; 17:259-70. [PMID: 9926401 DOI: 10.1023/a:1008069805011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Located between the open reading frames encoding the matrix (M) and the fusion (F) protein the morbillivirus genome contains an unusually large non-coding intercistronic region (M-F UTR) of up to 5.6% of the full length genome. Any function(s) of this region have largely remained obscure. Here, we analyze the M-F UTR and the proximal coding part of the downstream F gene of several recent canine distemper morbillivirus (CDV) wild-type (wt) isolates and vaccine strains. While the F gene coding part appeared to be highly conserved (about 93% homology), a considerable degree of strain-specific variation of up to 21.4% was evident when comparing the M-F UTR. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a co-circulation of several contemporary CDV genotypes within a close geographic range (central Europe). A remarkably distinct CDV wt lineage, so far detected only in mustelids, is displayed. A rather non-scattered pattern of mutations within the M-F UTR suggested superimposition of RNA sequence and/or secondary structure constraints. Extensive folding in the long (460 nt) and moderately GC-rich 5'-UTR of the F mRNA was evident, particularly around the putative F protein translation initiation codon (AUG461 of the Onderstepoort vaccine strain). The region immediately preceding the putative F initiation site also harbored the only mutation unique to both vaccine strains within the F-5'UTR (position 455: Awt vs. Cvac). The putative F protein start codon, AUG461, was found to be mutated to AUA or GUA in all wt isolates analyzed and in another vaccine strain (Rockborn). Possible consequences for F protein translation initiation in wt CDV are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Liermann
- Institute of Virology, Hannover Veterinary School, FRG
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