Abstract
Alcelaphine herpesvirus 1 (AlHV-1), carried by wildebeest asymptomatically, causes malignant catarrhal fever (WD-MCF) when cross-species transmitted to a variety of susceptible species of the Artiodactyla order. Experimentally, WD-MCF can be induced in rabbits. The lesions observed are very similar to those described in natural host species. Here, we used the rabbit model and in vivo 5-Bromo-2′-Deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation to study WD-MCF pathogenesis. The results obtained can be summarized as follows. (i) AlHV-1 infection induces CD8+ T cell proliferation detectable as early as 15 days post-inoculation. (ii) While the viral load in peripheral blood mononuclear cells remains below the detection level during most of the incubation period, it increases drastically few days before death. At that time, at least 10% of CD8+ cells carry the viral genome; while CD11b+, IgM+ and CD4+ cells do not. (iii) RT-PCR analyses of mononuclear cells isolated from the spleen and the popliteal lymph node of infected rabbits revealed no expression of ORF25 and ORF9, low or no expression of ORF50, and high or no expression of ORF73. Based on these data, we propose a new model for the pathogenesis of WD-MCF. This model relies on proliferation of infected CD8+ cells supporting a predominantly latent infection.
Highlights
Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) has been described as a fatal lymphoproliferative disease of a variety of species of the Artiodactyla order that includes cattle
We propose a new model for the pathogenesis of wildebeestderived form of MCF (WD-MCF)
One can not claim that WD-MCF pathogenesis is strictly identical in rabbits and in natural susceptible species
Summary
Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) has been described as a fatal lymphoproliferative disease of a variety of species of the Artiodactyla order that includes cattle. The main causative agents of MCF are two closely-related gammaherpesviruses of the rhadinovirus genus, ovine herpesvirus 2 (OvHV-2) and alcelaphine herpesvirus 1 (AlHV-1). These viruses cause no apparent disease in their natural host species. Sheep are naturally infected by OvHV-2 which is responsible for the sheep-associated form of MCF when crossspecies transmitted to susceptible hosts such as cattle. In sub-Saharan Africa, cross-species transmission of AlHV-1 to susceptible host species occurs throughout wildebeest grazing areas and largely affects cattle. The lesions observed are very similar to those described in natural host species
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