Abstract
The genus Henipavirus in the family Paramyxoviridae contains two viruses, Hendra virus (HeV) and Nipah virus (NiV) for which pteropid bats act as the main natural reservoir. Each virus also causes serious and commonly lethal infection of people as well as various species of domestic animals, however little is known about the associated mechanisms of pathogenesis. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of a new paramyxovirus from pteropid bats, Cedar virus (CedPV), which shares significant features with the known henipaviruses. The genome size (18,162 nt) and organization of CedPV is very similar to that of HeV and NiV; its nucleocapsid protein displays antigenic cross-reactivity with henipaviruses; and it uses the same receptor molecule (ephrin- B2) for entry during infection. Preliminary challenge studies with CedPV in ferrets and guinea pigs, both susceptible to infection and disease with known henipaviruses, confirmed virus replication and production of neutralizing antibodies although clinical disease was not observed. In this context, it is interesting to note that the major genetic difference between CedPV and HeV or NiV lies within the coding strategy of the P gene, which is known to play an important role in evading the host innate immune system. Unlike HeV, NiV, and almost all known paramyxoviruses, the CedPV P gene lacks both RNA editing and also the coding capacity for the highly conserved V protein. Preliminary study indicated that CedPV infection of human cells induces a more robust IFN-β response than HeV.
Highlights
Henipaviruses were first discovered in the 1990s following investigation of serious disease outbreaks in horses, pigs and humans in Australia and Malaysia [1,2] and comprise the only known Biosafety Level 4 (BSL4) agents in the family Paramyxoviridae [3]
This paper reports the isolation of a novel paramyxovirus, named Cedar virus, from fruit bats in Australia
Virus isolation from pooled bat urine samples As part of our on-going field studies on Hendra virus (HeV) genetic diversity and infection dynamics in the Queensland flying fox populations, urine samples were collected on a regular basis for PCR and virus isolation
Summary
Henipaviruses were first discovered in the 1990s following investigation of serious disease outbreaks in horses, pigs and humans in Australia and Malaysia [1,2] and comprise the only known Biosafety Level 4 (BSL4) agents in the family Paramyxoviridae [3]. Despite this close relationship, when Cedar virus was tested in experimental challenge models in ferrets and guinea pigs, we identified virus replication and generation of neutralizing antibodies, but no clinical disease was observed As such, this virus provides a useful reference for future reverse genetics experiments to determine the molecular basis of the pathogenicity of the henipaviruses. We report the isolation and characterization of a new bat henipavirus which, based on preliminary infection studies, is nonpathogenic in two of the small animal infection models currently used in henipavirus research We believe that this new virus will provide a powerful tool to facilitate our future study into different aspects of henipaviruses, especially in the less advanced area of pathogenesis
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