Cleavage of the NS2-3 protein in the cells of cattle persistently infected with non-cytopathogenic bovine viral diarrhea virus

The NS2-3 of BVDV is cleaved in cultured cells infected with cp BVDV but not in those infected with ncp BVDV when tested more than 10 hours post infection. However, it is not known whether cleavage of NS2-3 occurs in vivo. In the present study, cleavage of NS2-3 in cattle persistently infected with BVDV was investigated. All BVDV isolated from PI animals were of the ncp biotype, and NS2-3 proteins were detected in bovine fetal muscular cells infected with these viruses. On the other hand, in the leukocytes of those PI animals, NS3 proteins, products of the cleavage of NS2-3 proteins, were detected. In addition, the NS3 proteins were also detected in leukocytes artificially infected with ncp BVDV. These results reveal that the NS2-3 protein of BVDV is cleaved in leukocytes. Furthermore, NS3 proteins were detected in many tissues of PI cattle, such as lymphoid tissue, brain, thyroid, lung, and kidney. These results suggest that the NS2-3 protein of ncp BVDV cleaves in vivo.     

Laboratory diagnosis of bovine viral diarrhea virus

The control and eventual eradication of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) have been defined as objectives to reduce the economic losses due to the presence of this virus in the cattle population. These goals could not be envisioned without the significant achievements in the diagnostic procedures employed to detect the infection in its various manifestations. The tests that are currently available are fully capable of supporting the ACVIM consensus statement for the control and eradication of BVDV. In point of fact diagnostic testing is the essential component of any control program. What is now currently lacking is full implementation of the ACVIM recommendations.     

A sensitive and efficient detection method for bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) in single preimplantation bovine embryos

The objective was to develop a method to accurately and efficiently detect minute amounts of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) associated with a single embryo. There are two major challenges for BVDV detection in a single embryo: the test sensitivity and the efficiency of viral molecule recovery. These become even more critical when attempts are made to detect BVDV infections that occurred naturally, not through artificial exposure of the embryos to high affinity BVDV strains. We have developed a one-step sample preparation method that has increased the viral molecule recovery rate compared to the standard RNA isolation procedure by 7-100-fold. Instead of using the traditional virus exposure approach, we generated BVDV positive embryos via somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) technology using BVDV positive donor cells. By combining the highly efficient sample preparation procedure with a sensitive one-step, real-time PCR system, we have developed a sensitive test that allows detection of as low as two copies of BVDV in a single embryo. This method will allow systematic risk assessment for BVDV transmission during in vitro embryo production via IVF or SCNT procedures.     

Dynamics of plaque formation in Alzheimer's disease

Plaques that form in the brains of Alzheimer patients are made of deposits of the amyloid-beta peptide. We analyze the time evolution of amyloid-beta deposition in immunostained brain slices from transgenic mice. We find that amyloid-beta deposits appear in clusters whose characteristic size increases from 14 microm in 8-month-old mice to 22 microm in 12-month-old mice. We show that the clustering has implications for the biological growth of amyloid-beta by presenting a growth model that accounts for the experimentally observed structure of individual deposits and predicts the formation of clusters of deposits and their time evolution.     

Characterization of bovine viral diarrhea virus proteins.

Virus-specific proteins were examined in cultured cells infected with bovine viral diarrhea virus. By using antisera obtained from virus-infected animals, three major virus-specific polypeptides with molecular weights of 115,000 (115K), 80K, and 55K were observed. Minor proteins of 45,000 and 38,000 daltons were also noted. Tryptic peptide mapping indicated that the 115K and the 80K polypeptides were structurally related. The 55K protein was glycosylated and appeared not to be related to the 115K and 80K proteins. Pulse-chase experiments failed to demonstrate any procursor-product relationship among any of these proteins, and all three polypeptides were found in purified virion preparations. The significance of these findings with respect to the replication of bovine viral diarrhea virus is discussed.     

Characterization of bovine viral diarrhea virus RNA.

RNA extracted from isopycnically banded [3-H]uridine-labeled bovine viral diarrhea virus with sodium dodecyl sulfate was resolved into one major and two minor components by both sedimentation analysis and electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gels. The major RNA component was estimated to have a 38S sedimentation coefficient. The minor RNA components were estimated to have S values of 31 and 24. The approximate colecular weights were calculated to be 3.22 times 10-6 (38S), 2.09 times 10-6 (31S), and 1.22 times 10-6 (24S). A single broad peak of radioactivity, maximum at 24S, was obtained when sedimentation was conducted under conditions of low ionic strength. All three RNA components were found to be susceptible to digestion with RNase. The presence of multiple RNA components in heterogeneous populations of infectious virus is discussed.     

Transdominant inhibition of bovine viral diarrhea virus entry

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is a positive-strand RNA virus and a member of the genus Pestivirus in the family Flaviviridae. To identify and characterize essential factors required for BVDV replication, a library expressing random fragments of the BVDV genome was screened for sequences that act as transdominant inhibitors of viral replication by conferring resistance to cytopathic BVDV-induced cell death. We isolated a BVDV-nonpermissive MDBK cell clone that harbored a 1.2-kb insertion spanning the carboxy terminus of the envelope glycoprotein 1 (E1), the envelope glycoprotein E2, and the amino terminus of p7. Confirming the resistance phenotype conferred by this library clone, naïve MDBK cells expressing this fragment were found to be 100- to 1,000-fold less permissive to both cytopathic and noncytopathic BVDV infection compared to parental MDBK cells, although these cells remained fully permissive to vesicular stomatitis virus. This restriction could be overcome by electroporation of BVDV RNA, indicating a block at one or more steps in viral entry prior to translation of the viral RNA. We determined that the E2 ectodomain was responsible for the inhibition to BVDV entry and that this block occurred downstream from BVDV interaction with the cellular receptor CD46 and virus binding, suggesting interference with a yet-unidentified BVDV entry factor.     

The persistence of bovine viral diarrhea virus.

Bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) has a unique capacity to cause persistent infections of foetuses exposed within the first 150 days of gestation. Preventing foetal BVDV infection will aid in improved control. This unique ability gives BVDV a selective advantage allowing continual mutation and antigenic variation within cattle populations. Therefore, BVDV has become widespread and causes economic losses due to respiratory, reproductive and enteric disease. Vaccination (modified-live or killed) can provide some protection from acute disease and the development of persistently infected foetuses. However, vaccination programmes alone cannot control or eliminate BVDV. In naturally exposed and vaccinated herds, BVDV infections are not self-limiting and may persistent over time. This underscores the ability of the BVDV genome to remain fluid and adapt under selective pressures. Factors influencing persistence of BVDV infections in cattle populations include: non-lytic infections; evasion of host immune responses; foetal infections; acute infections; management practices; contaminated biologics; secondary hosts; defective replicated intermediates; antigenic variation; and replication in privileged anatomical sites.