Abstract
H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) of clade 2.3.2 has been circulating in waterfowl in Southern China since 2003. Our previous studies showed that certain H5N1 HPAIV isolates within clade 2.3.2 from Southern China had high pathogenicity in different birds. Guinea pigs have been successfully used as models to evaluate the transmissibility of AIVs and other species of influenza viruses in mammalian hosts. However, few studies have reported pathogenicity and transmissibility of H5N1 HPAIVs of this clade in guinea pigs. In this study, we selected an H5N1 HPAIV isolate, A/duck/Guangdong/357/2008, to investigate the pathogenicity and transmissibility of the virus in guinea pigs. The virus had high pathogenicity in mice; additionally, it only replicated in some tissues of the guinea pigs without production of clinical signs, but was transmissible among guinea pigs. Interestingly, virus isolates from co-caged guinea pigs had the D701N mutation in the PB2 protein. These mutant viruses showed higher pathogenicity in mice and higher replication capability in guinea pigs but did not demonstrate enhanced the transmissibility among guinea pigs. These findings indicate the transmission of the H5N1 virus between mammals could induce virus mutations, and the mutant viruses might have higher pathogenicity in mammals without higher transmissibility. Therefore, the continued evaluation of the pathogenicity and transmissibility of avian influenza virus (AIVs) in mammals is critical to the understanding of the evolutionary characteristics of AIVs and the emergence of potential pandemic strains.
Highlights
Avian influenza viruses (AIVs) are enveloped RNA viruses with an eight-segmented, single-stranded, negative-sense genome, and belong to the family Orthomyxoviridae (Webster et al, 1992)
Virus isolates from co-caged guinea pigs had the D701N mutation in the PB2 protein. These mutant viruses showed higher pathogenicity in mice and higher replication capability in guinea pigs but did not demonstrate enhanced the transmissibility among guinea pigs.These findings indicate the transmission of the H5N1 virus between mammals could induce virus mutations, and the mutant viruses might have higher pathogenicity in mammals without higher transmissibility
VIRUS PATHOGENICITY AND ORGAN TROPISM IN THE MOUSE MODEL In the mouse experiment, clinical signs of illness were observed in the experimental group as early as 3 days post-inoculation (DPI), and all mice exposed to the virus were dead by 7 DPI (Figure 1)
Summary
Avian influenza viruses (AIVs) are enveloped RNA viruses with an eight-segmented, single-stranded, negative-sense genome, and belong to the family Orthomyxoviridae (Webster et al, 1992). H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) isolates derived from the goose/Guangdong/1/96 (Gs/GD) lineage have been found in over sixty countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa (Li et al, 2004). They cause high mortality in birds and serious damage to the poultry industry; they occasionally infect humans and are feared to have be the potential source of a new pandemic flu (Chen et al, 2004; Guan et al, 2004; Li et al, 2004; Peiris et al, 2007; Wang et al, 2008). Viruses of clade 2.3.2 have been circulating widely in China since 2008 and could cause a new wave of cross-continental spread of the disease from Asia to Europe (Smith et al, 2009; Jiang et al, 2010; Li et al, 2010; Sun et al, 2011)
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