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Vaccine Jan 2024The viral proteins VP1-1, VP2, VP4, VP7 and NS3, of African horse sickness virus serotype 4 (AHSV4), have previously been identified to contain CD8+ T cell epitopes. In...
The viral proteins VP1-1, VP2, VP4, VP7 and NS3, of African horse sickness virus serotype 4 (AHSV4), have previously been identified to contain CD8+ T cell epitopes. In this study, overlapping peptides spanning the entire sequences of these AHSV4 proteins were synthesized and used to map epitopes. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) isolated from five horses immunized with an attenuated AHSV4 were stimulated in vitro with the synthesized peptides. Various memory immune assays were used to identify the individual peptides that contain CD8+ T cell epitopes, CD4+ T cell epitopes and linear B cell epitopes. The newly discovered individual peptides of AHSV4 proteins VP1-1, VP4, VP7 and/or NS3 that contain CD8+ T cell, CD4+ T cell or linear B cell epitopes could contribute to the design and development of new generation AHS peptide-based vaccines and therapeutics.
Topics: Animals; Horses; African Horse Sickness Virus; Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte; Leukocytes, Mononuclear; Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte; Serogroup; Capsid Proteins; Peptides; African Horse Sickness
PubMed: 38097459
DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.12.028 -
Journal of Medical Entomology Mar 2024Culicoides Latreille (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) biting midges are hematophagous flies that feed on wild and domestic ruminants. They can transmit arboviruses, such as...
Culicoides Latreille (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) biting midges are hematophagous flies that feed on wild and domestic ruminants. They can transmit arboviruses, such as bluetongue virus (BTV) and epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV), which circulate in the United States. Larvae occupy a range of aquatic and semiaquatic habitats, and disperse short distances from their development sites. In the southeastern United States, there are limited studies on the abundance and diversity of Culicoides in wooded and adjacent livestock pasture habitats. In this study, we characterized Culicoides diversity and abundance within these distinct habitat types. BG-Sentinel and CDC miniature suction traps baited with CO2 or UV-light were placed in wooded and pasture habitats at 2 locations on a university beef farm in Savoy, Arkansas. Traps were set once per week for 9 wk during August-October of 2021 and 2022. Fifteen species were collected during this study, and the 2 most abundant species were Culicoides haematopotus Malloch and Culicoides stellifer Coquillett. There was a significant effect of site and location on C. haematopotus collections, and a significant effect and interaction of site and trap on C. stellifer collections. In the woods, significantly more C. stellifer were collected from CDC-UV traps, while in the pasture significantly more were collected in CDC-CO2 traps. These data suggest that C. stellifer, a putative vector of BTV and EHDV in the southeast, may be traveling into the pasture to host-seek, while C. haematopotus remains primarily in wooded areas. This study reveals community differences between these habitat types and implications for Culicoides control.
Topics: Humans; Cattle; Animals; Ceratopogonidae; Carbon Dioxide; Ecosystem; Forests; Ruminants; Bluetongue virus; Hemorrhagic Disease Virus, Epizootic
PubMed: 38085671
DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjad155 -
The Veterinary Record Dec 2023
Topics: Sheep; Animals; Bluetongue; Serogroup; Bluetongue virus; Sheep Diseases
PubMed: 38038316
DOI: 10.1002/vetr.3759 -
The Veterinary Record Dec 2023
Topics: Sheep; Animals; Humans; Hotlines; Bluetongue; Farmers; Bluetongue virus; Sheep Diseases
PubMed: 38038308
DOI: 10.1002/vetr.3729 -
Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 2024There is only limited information on the clinical presentation, medical management, and outcomes of hospitalized sheep diagnosed with bluetongue virus (BTV) disease.
BACKGROUND
There is only limited information on the clinical presentation, medical management, and outcomes of hospitalized sheep diagnosed with bluetongue virus (BTV) disease.
OBJECTIVES
To describe the signalment, history, clinical signs, clinicopathological findings, medical management, and clinical outcomes of sheep diagnosed with BTV disease.
ANIMALS
Thirty-five hospitalized sheep with BTV disease.
METHODS
Retrospective case series. Medical records from 1989 to 2021 were evaluated. History, signalment, clinical signs, laboratory test results, treatments, and outcomes were recorded.
RESULTS
BTV disease was diagnosed from July to December, with a peak proportion (43%; 15/35) of diagnoses recorded in October. Pyrexia and anorexia, respiratory disease, vasculitis, coronitis and lameness, and ulcerative mucosal lesions were present in 71%, 71%, 66%, 49%, and 22% of sheep, respectively. BTV serotypes 10, 11, 13, and 17 were identified, with serotype 17 (75%) being the most frequent. Management of cases included administration of antimicrobials (89%), anti-inflammatories (77%), IV fluids (60%), vitamins (20%), proton-pump inhibitors (14%), diuretics (9%), and antioxidants (9%). Six ewes were pregnant on presentation, but none aborted. Six (17%) sheep died or were euthanized because of clinical deterioration, whereas 83% were discharged.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE
The proportion of sheep that survived BTV disease after treatment was relatively high. Serotyping of BTV is recommended because of the mismatch between frequently identified serotypes and the serotype present in the vaccine.
Topics: Pregnancy; Sheep; Animals; Female; Bluetongue virus; Retrospective Studies; Bluetongue; Serogroup; Sheep Diseases
PubMed: 38038181
DOI: 10.1111/jvim.16944 -
Bulletin of Entomological Research Dec 2023Habitat selection of spp. (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) is influenced by the physicochemical factors such as temperature, pH, salinity, moisture, conductivity, organic and...
Habitat selection of spp. (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) is influenced by the physicochemical factors such as temperature, pH, salinity, moisture, conductivity, organic and inorganic compounds of substrates. These factors determine the life history traits of the vectors. We studied the influence of substrate salinity (0-40 parts per thousand, ppt) and pH (pH 1-13) on oviposition, egg hatching, larval survivability, and adult emergence of Kieffer under laboratory conditions. Most eggs (80.74%) were laid in 0 ppt and 95% in pH 7 but lowered with increased salinity and pH levels. It was observed that the females did not lay eggs in 30 ppt to 40 ppt salinity; pH 1 and pH 13 but interestingly up to 95% of the eggs were retained within the abdomen. Little effect of salinity and pH on egg hatching was observed up to 5 ppt and 10 ppt except at the extreme values of 40 ppt and pH 1, pH 13. Pupation did not occur in rearing plates with high salinities, 30 ppt and 40 ppt, although the few eggs hatched when exposed to such salinity. In low salinity (0 to 2 ppt), occurrence of adult emergence was more and then decreased with increasing salinity. Maximum emergence was seen when the rearing media was alkaline. This study deals with the suitability of breeding substrate of when exposed to salinity and pH ranges. Our study suggests the ambient salinity and pH ranges to be maintained during laboratory rearing of this vector species.
Topics: Female; Animals; Bluetongue virus; Ceratopogonidae; Life History Traits; Salinity; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
PubMed: 37997803
DOI: 10.1017/S0007485323000512 -
Scientific Reports Nov 2023African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a highly lethal pathogen of domestic and wild pigs. Due to no vaccines or drugs available, early accurate diagnosis and eradication...
African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a highly lethal pathogen of domestic and wild pigs. Due to no vaccines or drugs available, early accurate diagnosis and eradication of infected animals are the most important measures for ASFV prevention and control. Bluetongue virus (BTV) core-like particles (CLPs) are non-infectious hollow nanoparticles assembled from the BTV VP3 and VP7 proteins, which could be used as a platform for presenting foreign epitopes. In this study, the secondary structure of BTV VP7 protein was analyzed and predicted using the IEDB Analysis resource. Based on the prediction results of the VP7 protein, the chimeric CLPs with an ASFV P54 epitope were successfully prepared through the BAC-to-BAC baculovirus expression system and sucrose gradient centrifugation. Based on the chimeric CLPs and mAb 2E4 against AFSV P54 epitope, a blocking ELISA for detecting AFSV antibodies was established, and its reaction conditions were optimized. Through comprehensive evaluation of the method, the results showed the chimeric CLPs-based blocking ELISA displayed the best detection performance, with an AUC of 0.9961, a sensitivity of 97.65%, and a specificity of 95.24% in ROC analysis. Compared with western blot and a commercial c-ELISA for detecting anti-ASFV antibodies, this method had an excellent agreement of 96.35% (kappa value = 0.911) and 97.76% (kappa value = 0.946) with the other tests, respectively. This ELISA also had high repeatability, with CV < 10%, and no cross-reaction with the serum antibodies against other swine viruses or Orbivirus. In brief, this was the first report on developing a blocking ELISA based on virus-like nanoparticles chimerized with an antigenic epitope of ASFV P54 for serological diagnosis of ASFV.
Topics: Animals; Swine; African Swine Fever Virus; Epitopes; Antibodies, Viral; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; African Swine Fever
PubMed: 37968284
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47068-x -
Frontiers in Immunology 2023Bluetongue virus (BTV) is an arbovirus transmitted by the bite of infected midges that affects domestic and wild ruminants producing great economic losses. The...
Bluetongue virus (BTV) is an arbovirus transmitted by the bite of infected midges that affects domestic and wild ruminants producing great economic losses. The infection induces an IFN response, followed by an adaptive immune response that is essential in disease clearance. BTV can nonetheless impair IFN and humoral responses. The main goal of this study was to gain a more detailed understanding of BTV pathogenesis and its effects on immune cell populations. To this end, we combined flow cytometry and transcriptomic analyses of several immune cells at different times post-infection (pi). Four sheep were infected with BTV serotype 8 and blood samples collected at days 0, 3, 7 and 15pi to perform transcriptomic analysis of B-cell marker, CD4, CD8, and CD14 sorted peripheral mononuclear cells. The maximum number of differentially expressed genes occurred at day 7pi, which coincided with the peak of infection. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis indicated that genes belonging to virus sensing and immune response initiation pathways were enriched at day 3 and 7 pi in all 4 cell population analyzed. Transcriptomic analysis also showed that at day 7pi T cell exhaustion pathway was enriched in CD4 cells, while CD8 cells downregulated immune response initiation pathways. T cell functional studies demonstrated that BTV produced an acute inhibition of CD4 and CD8 T cell activation at the peak of replication. This coincided with PD-L1 upregulation on the surface of CD4 and CD8 T cells as well as monocytes. Taken together, these data indicate that BTV could exploit the PD1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint to impair T cell responses. These findings identify several mechanisms in the interaction between host and BTV, which could help develop better tools to combat the disease.
Topics: Sheep; Animals; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes; B7-H1 Antigen; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes; Bluetongue virus; Immunosuppression Therapy
PubMed: 37920474
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1255803 -
Journal of Medical Entomology Nov 2023Orbiviruses are of significant importance to the health of wildlife and domestic animals worldwide; the major orbiviruses transmitted by multiple biting midge...
Orbiviruses are of significant importance to the health of wildlife and domestic animals worldwide; the major orbiviruses transmitted by multiple biting midge (Culicoides) species include bluetongue virus, epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus, and African horse sickness virus. The viruses, insect vectors, and hosts are anticipated to be impacted by global climate change, altering established Orbivirus epidemiology. Changes in global climate have the potential to alter the vector competence and extrinsic incubation period of certain biting midge species, affect local and long-distance dispersal dynamics, lead to range expansion in the geographic distribution of vector species, and increase transmission period duration (earlier spring onset and later fall transmission). If transmission intensity is associated with weather anomalies such as droughts and wind speeds, there may be changes in the number of outbreaks and periods between outbreaks for some regions. Warmer temperatures and changing climates may impact the viral genome by facilitating reassortment and through the emergence of novel viral mutations. As the climate changes, Orbivirus epidemiology will be inextricably altered as has been seen with recent outbreaks of bluetongue, epizootic hemorrhagic disease, and African horse sickness outside of endemic areas, and requires interdisciplinary teams and approaches to assess and mitigate future outbreak threats.
Topics: Horses; Animals; Orbivirus; Ceratopogonidae; African Horse Sickness Virus; African Horse Sickness; Climate Change; Horse Diseases
PubMed: 37862060
DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjad098 -
The Veterinary Record Oct 2023
Topics: Animals; Sheep; Bluetongue virus; Europe; Disease Outbreaks; Bluetongue; Ceratopogonidae; Sheep Diseases
PubMed: 37861165
DOI: 10.1002/vetr.3571