Abstract
Meningoencephalitis of unknown origin (MUO) describes a group of meningoencephalitides in dogs with a hitherto unknown trigger. An infectious agent has been suggested as one possible trigger of MUO but has not been proven so far. A relatively new method to screen for viral RNA or DNA is next-generation sequencing (NGS) or deep sequencing. In this study, a metagenomics analysis of the virome in a sample is analyzed and scanned for known or unknown viruses. We examined fresh-frozen CSF of 6 dogs with MUO via NGS using a modified sequence-independent, single-primer amplification protocol to detect a possible infectious trigger. Analysis of sequencing reads obtained from the six CSF samples showed no evidence of a virus infection. The inability to detect a viral trigger which could be implicated in the development of MUO in the examined population of European dogs, suggests that the current techniques are not sufficiently sensitive to identify a possible virus infection, that the virus is already eliminated at the time-point of disease outbreak, the trigger might be non-infectious or that there is no external trigger responsible for initiating MUO in dogs.
Highlights
Meningoencephalomyelitis without detectable infectious etiology is a well-known disease entity in dogs [1, 2]
Second-strand complementary DNA (cDNA) synthesis was performed on deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) samples and newly synthesized cDNA samples using 3′ -5′ Klenow DNA polymerase (2.5U) (NEB, Ipswich, Massachusetts, USA) with the resulting dsDNA mixed at a 1:1 concentration
Six dogs with clinically suspected Meningoencephalitis of unknown origin (MUO) were included in this study (Table 1)
Summary
Meningoencephalomyelitis without detectable infectious etiology is a well-known disease entity in dogs [1, 2]. Today’s knowledge allows several interpretations: MUO might be a primary immune-mediated entity or alternatively a multifactorial disease in which an infectious agent or other trigger induces an inflammatory response according to the “hit and run principle” [10]. This principle describes a phenomenon, in which the primary pathogen is no longer detectable, when clinical signs are recognized. The pathogen is novel and is difficult to identify using conventional techniques [5] In such circumstances, the use of advanced techniques for virus discovery may
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
