Russian Spring Research Articles

Taxonomy of the virus family Flaviviridae

By 1960 it was recognized that eastern equine encephalitis, western equine encephalitis, and certain other arboviruses were related to each other. These were categorized as “Group A arboviruses”, now known as the genus Alphavirus of the family Togaviridae. As yellow fever virus (YFV), Japanese encephalitis, Murray Valley encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis, West Nile, Louping ill, Russian spring–summer encephalitis, and other viruses were also known to be interrelated antigenically, they were termed “Group B arboviruses,” now known as the genus Flavivirus of the family Flaviviridae. Current taxonomic placement of Flaviviruses comprises one of three genera within the virus family Flaviviridae. The other two are the genera Pestivirus and Hepacivirus. An insect virus known as Cell-Fusing Agent had also been placed informally and tentatively in the genus Flavivirus on the basis of its similar genome strategy and partial homology with these viruses. Genomic RNA of viruses of the three genera is similarly organized and is the only mRNA found in infected cells. It contains a single long open reading frame flanked by 50- and 30-terminal noncoding regions that form specific secondary stem–loop structures required for genome replication. In flaviviruses, translation initiation is cap–dependent, whereas internal ribosomal entry sites have been demonstrated for pestiviruses and hepaciviruses.

Evaluation of Tick-Borne Encephalitis DNA Vaccines in Monkeys

Tick-borne encephalitis is usually caused by infection with one of two flaviviruses: Russian spring summer encephalitis virus (RSSEV) or Central European encephalitis virus (CEEV). We previously demonstrated that gene gun inoculation of mice with naked DNA vaccines expressing the prM and E genes of these viruses resulted in long-lived homologous and heterologous protective immunity (Schmaljohn et al., 1997). To further evaluate these vaccines, we inoculated rhesus macaques by gene gun with the RSSEV or CEEV vaccines or with both DNA vaccines and compared resulting antibody titers with those obtained by vaccination with a commercial, formalin-inactivated vaccine administered at the human dose. Vaccinations were given at days 0, 30, and 70. All of the vaccines elicited antibodies detected by ELISA and by plaque-reduction neutralization tests. The neutralizing antibody responses persisted for at least 15 weeks after the final vaccination. Because monkeys are not uniformly susceptible to tick-borne encephalitis, the protective properties of the vaccines were assessed by passive transfer of monkey sera to mice and subsequent challenge of the mice with RSSEV or CEEV. One hour after transfer, mice that received 50 μl of sera from monkeys vaccinated with both DNA vaccines had circulating neutralizing antibody levels <20–80. All of these mice were protected from challenge with RSSEV or CEEV. Mice that received 10 μl of sera from monkeys vaccinated with the individual DNA vaccines, both DNA vaccines, or a commercial vaccine were partially to completely protected from RSSEV or CEEV challenge. These data suggest that DNA vaccines may offer protective immunity to primates similar to that obtained with a commercial inactivated-virus vaccine.

Epidemiology of tick-borne encephalitis in Japan

A tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) patient has not been reported for many years in Japan although a serological survey of domestic animal sera suggested the presence of TBE foci in Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan. In October 1993 in Hokkaido, a severe encephalitis case in a farm wife was diagnosed as tick-borne encephalitis. Serological examination of paired sera showed a rise of neutralization (NT) antibody titer to Russian spring summer encephalitis virus. A sero-epizootiological survey of dogs showed that the TBE-related virus was prevalent in the area. Three virus isolates were obtained from the blood of sentinel dogs and the antigenic analysis grouped the isolates into TBE-related viruses. Sequence analysis of envelope protein gene identified one of the isolates as the same subtype as Russian spring summer encephalitis (Far-Eastern TBE) virus. The results provide the evidence that TBE is endemic in a certain area of Japan.

Naked DNA vaccines expressing the prM and E genes of Russian spring summer encephalitis virus and Central European encephalitis virus protect mice from homologous and heterologous challenge.

Naked DNA vaccines expressing the prM and E genes of two tick-borne flaviviruses, Russian spring summer encephalitis (RSSE) virus and Central European encephalitis (CEE) virus were evaluated in mice. The vaccines were administered by particle bombardment of DNA-coated gold beads by Accell gene gun inoculation. Two immunizations of 0.5 to 1 microg of RSSE or CEE constructs/dose, delivered at 4-week intervals, elicited cross-reactive antibodies detectable by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and high-titer neutralizing antibodies to CEE virus. Cross-challenge experiments demonstrated that either vaccine induced protective immunity to homologous or heterologous RSSE or CEE virus challenge. The absence of antibody titer increases after challenge and the presence of antibodies to E and prM, but not NS1, both before and after challenge suggest that the vaccines prevented productive replication of the challenge virus. One vaccination with 0.5 microg of CEE virus DNA provided protective immunity for at least 2 months, and two vaccinations protected mice from challenge with CEE virus for at least 6 months.

PS-47-6 Epilepsia partialls continua in a patient with Russian spring summer encephalitis

PS-47-6 Epilepsia partialls continua in a patient with Russian spring summer encephalitis

Khrushchev and the First Russian Spring: The Era of Khrushchev through the Eyes of His Adviser

(1993). Khrushchev and the First Russian Spring: The Era of Khrushchev through the Eyes of His Adviser. History: Reviews of New Books: Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 39-39.

Binomial Regression Models for Spring and Summer Infestations of the Russian Wheat Aphid (Homoptera: Aphididae) in the Southern and Western Plains States and Rocky Mountain Region of the United States

Counts of Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko), on winter and spring wheat, Triticum vulgare Vill. aestivum L., and spring barley, Hordeum vulgare L, from six states were described by the negative binomial distribution. These data were fitted to develop three negative binomial-based binomial regression models. Results indicated that the negative binomial model that relied upon a kmle − X¯ (average Russian wheat aphids per tiller) relationship (maximum likelihood model) minimized prediction error for P1 the proportion of infested tillers, and X¯ in two of three crops whereas models that relied upon Taylor’s power law or the k2 − X¯ relation minimized prediction errors in just one crop. When prediction errors from the Nachman and logit models were compared with the best NBD-based models, the logit model consistently minimized prediction error for PI whereas the Nachman model minimized prediction error for X on winter wheat. The maximum likelihood model minimized prediction error for X¯ in spring wheat and spring barley. These models are suggested for use when predicting P1 from X¯ or vice versa. An iterative algorithm is provided for predicting X with the maximum likelihood model.

GROWTH OF RUSSIAN SPRING SUMMER ENCEPHALITIS (RSSE) VIRUS IN MONOLAYER CELL CULTURES OF PORCINE KIDNEY, BOVINE EMBRYO KIDNEY AND CHICKEN EMBRYO.

The Parker strain of Russian spring-summer encephalitis virus was maintained by serial passage in cell cultures of pig kidney, bovine embryo kidney and chick embryo. In pig kidney cell culture the virus proliferated and produced cytopathic changes. Bovine embryo kidney cell culture supported the proliferation of the virus but no cytopathic effect was produced. In chick embryo cell culture cytopathic changes, which were not shown in the early stages of passage, appeared after several passages. The virus adapted to this host system produced more acids in this culture under certain conditions. The virus interfered with Newcastle disease virus in cell cultures of swine kidney and bovine embryo kidney but not in chick embryo cell culture. The cytopathogenesis in chick embryo or pig kidney cell culture, the interference phenomenon with Newcastle disease virus in bovine embryo or pig kidney cell culture and the pH change in chick embryo cell culture could be employed as criteria for detecting and measuring the virus and its neutralizing antibody.

EXPERIMENTAL TRANSOVARIAL TRANSMISSION OF KYASANUR FOREST DISEASE VIRUS IN HAEMAPHYSALIS SPINIGERA.

TRANSOVAJRIAJL passage in ticks has been investigated for several viruses of the tick-borne encephalitis complex. Russian workers have reported that Russian spring–summer encephalitis virus can pass transovarially in Ixodes persulcatus, I. ricinus, Dermacentor silvarum and Haemaphysalis concinna1. Benda2, working with Ixodes ricinus and the European strain of tick-borne encephalitis in Czechoslovakia, demonstrated transovarial transmission in only 6 per cent of ticks, while Smorodintsev3 in the U.S.S.R. reported that it occurred in 5–25 per cent of ticks. In an investigation confirming transovarial transmission of tick-borne encephalitis virus in I. ricinus, Rehacek4 found that it occurred in 2 per cent of ticks infected by feeding and in 20 per cent of ticks infected by inoculation after feeding. Laboratory studies with a third member of the complex, Kyasanur forest disease virus, and its vector Haemaphysalis spinigera are reported here.

AKABANE, A NEW ARBOR VIRUS ISOLATED IN JAPAN

Arthropod-borne animal viruses (arbor viruses) are known to be widely distributed throughout the world. In Japan, Japanese B encephalitis (JBE) virus has been most frequently isolated from mosquitoes as well as from human infected cases. Dengue type I virus was isolated out of the human blood during epidemics which occurred in the World War II (Sabin, 1952) . In the summer of 1948, 2 strains of virus were isolated from encephalitic patients and one of those, Negishi strain, was recently identified as a member of Russian spring summer encephalitis (RSSE) subgroup arbor virus (Ando et al., 1952; Okuno et al., 1961) . More recently, a group A virus, Sagiyama, was reported to have been isolated from mosquitoes caught at Kanto plain (Scherer, 1958) .Since 1959, a long term project to investigate the ecology of arbor viruses in Japan was set out by our hand and interesting findings are having been accumulated including the isolation of hitherto undescribed arbor virus (Matsuyama et al., 1964) . The present report reveals the biological and immunological properties of this new virus.

ウシ胎児腎臓組織培養におけるロシヤ春夏脳炎ウイルスのニユーカッスル病ウイルスにたいする干渉

The virus of Russian spring summer encephalitis (RSSE) multiplied without any cytopathogenic effect (CPE) in cell culture of bovine embryonic kidney. Newcastle disease (ND) virus proliferated with CPE in this cell culture, but was not able to proliferate and produce CPE in cell culture previously infected with RSSE virus. With small doses of RSSE virus it took about 4 days for the majority of cells in culture to acquire the ability to interfere with ND virus. Interfering activity of RSSE virus could be detected earlier with a smaller inoculum of ND virus than with a larger one, but the inoculum size of ND virus did not affected the result when ND virus was given at a certain interval following RSSE virus inoculation or later.Interference between these two viruses were observed in renal cell cultures of the swine, cat, rabbit, and guinea pig, and not in cell cultures of hamster and chicken kidneys or chick embryo tissues. RSSE virus interfered with fowl plague virus and almost or entirely not with viruses of vaccinia, herpes, equine abortion, Venesuelan equine encephalitis, and bovine infectious rhinotracheitis, and HVJ (hemagglutinating virus of Japan).Japanese encephalitis virus and Negishi virus also interfered with ND virus in bovine embryonic renal cell culture.Interference of RSSE virus with ND virus was specifically neutralized by immune serum to RSSE virus.Based on these findings a procedure was established for detecting and measuring RSSE virus and its neutralizing antibody.

数種ウイルスの各種動物胎児組織培養における増殖と細胞変性作用について

In order to elucidate host-virus-relationship, especially cytopathogenicity of viruses in tissue culture by using embryonic skinmuscle tissue, comparative studies on the cytopathogenic effects of western equine encephalomyelitis (WEE), eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE), Venezuelan (equine encephalomyelitis (VEE), Columbia SK (Col. SKO, Mengo encephalitis (Mengo) and both pantropic and neurotropic Rift Valley fever (PRY and NRV respectively) viruses were undertaken by means of morphological check on Giemsa's stained preparates under microscope and titration of virus in culture fluid in mice daily after their inoculation into the 6-7 day tissue culture of human-, pig-, ox-, mouse- and chickembryos. On the other hand the effect of each immune rabbit serum was investigated upon the cytopathogenicity of the homologous virus. The results obtained were briefly summarized as follows:1) The marked cytopathogenic effect of WEE, EEE and VEE viruses were observed on fibroblasts of human-, pig-, ox-, mouse- and chickembryos, and Col. SK, Mengo viruses and both PRV and NRV viruses gave the same findings as the viruses mentioned above except on chick embryo tissue culture.The cytopathogenic effect was found to be caused by the virus growth in tissue culture because of exsistence of parallelism between the titer of virus and the grade of cytopathogenicity which had been inhibited by the homologous immune rabbit serum.2) The viruses mentioned above might be classified on the morphological changes of the fibroblast at the early stage of tissue culture, into 3 groups, that is, equine encephalomyelitis group, Col. SK-Mengo group and RV groups. In equine encephalomyelitis group, the round, deep stained and pyknotic nucleus was found more often in the normaly stained protoplasma infected with VEE than with both WEE and EEE, and in the Col. SK-Mengo group, the elongated and deep staine pyknotic nucleus was recognized in infected cells while the characteristic karyorrhexis was found in cells infected with RV group.3) In spite of the growth of virus no cytopathogenic effect was confirmed in tissue culture infected with yellow fever 17D and Russian spring summer encephalitis viruses under our tissue culture conditions.4) The immune rabbit serum was added to the infected tissue culture within 1 to 8 hours after inoculation with heavy dosis. No cytopathogenic effect was observed but it did occur after replacement of culture media without antiserum 4 days thereafter. That means, the high potent immune serum could not completely inhibit the cytopathogenicity of the virus 8 hours after inoculation with the virus into tissue culture. Furthermore, it was confirmed that cytopathogenic effect could no more be inhibited by adding the immune serum into the infected tissue culture 8 hours or later after inoculation of the virus.

A virus resembling Russian spring-summer encephalitis virus from an ixodid tick in Malaya.

A virus resembling Russian spring-summer encephalitis virus from an ixodid tick in Malaya.

Effect of 2,6-diaminopurine on virus of Russian spring summner encephalitis in tissue culture.

Summary and Conclusions(1) The multiplication of the virus of Russian Spring Summer Encephalitis in tissue culture is inhibited by 2,6-diaminopurine. (2) The action can be blocked as well as reversed by the addition of equimolar concentration of adenine. Guanine is not effective.

Russian Spring

Journal Article Russian Spring Get access 74. Russian Spring. By Peter Stucley. 1937. (London: Selwyn and Blount. 8vo. 286 pp. 12s. 6d.) Violet Conolly Violet Conolly Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar International Affairs, Volume 17, Issue 3, May-June 1938, Page 456, https://doi.org/10.2307/3019225 Published: 01 May 1938