禽流感H5N1亚型病毒对五个不同品系小鼠致病性的比较(英文)

目的比较了不同遗传背景小鼠对禽流感H5N1亚型病毒的致病敏感性,为H5N1禽流感模型制作和机理研究提供依据。方法近交系BALB/c、C57BL/6和封闭群ICR、NIHSwiss和KMSwiss共五个不同品系小鼠。每个品系实验动物30只,分接毒组20只,空白对照组10只,每组雌雄各半。病毒株为A/Goose/Guangdong/NH/2003(H5N1),经测定TCID50为10-4.875/mL。接毒组通过鼻腔接种0.1mL病毒液,对照组接种正常鸡胚尿囊液。小鼠接毒后连续观察14d,观察记录临床症状、体温、体重变化,对在实验期间死亡和实验14d结束后仍然存活的小鼠均进行组织器官病理取材,进行RT-PCR病毒分离检测、HE染色及H5N1抗原特异性免疫组化染色。结果①临床症状:H5N1禽流感病毒能感染五个品系的小鼠,引起呼吸急促等症状和一过性体重、体温下降。②死亡情况:小鼠在接毒后第1天即出现死亡,死亡的高峰期集中在接毒后第3～6天。五个品系小鼠死亡率存在差异,BALB/c为70%,ICR为50%,NIHSwiss为40%,C57BL/6为25%,KMSwiss为10%;③病毒分离:各组接毒小鼠在死亡后均进行了病毒分离,死亡小鼠的肺脏均分离到病毒,其他脏器未分离到病毒。④病理变化:实验期间五个品系死亡小鼠肺脏病理改变相近。大体观:死亡小鼠肺部淤血,呈暗红色,体积增大,局部肺组织实变。镜下观:死亡小鼠的共同病理改变为间质性肺炎,具体表现为肺泡腔及间质出血、炎性细胞浸润;间质增生,肺泡隔增宽;肺泡腔中见纤维素性渗出,透明膜形成。⑤免疫组化结果 :在死亡小鼠的气管上皮细胞和肺巨噬细胞可观察到H5N1禽流感病毒阳性表达。结论小鼠作为H5N1禽流感病毒模型具有普适性,不同品系小鼠感染鹅源H5N1禽流感病毒的临床症状、病程和病理变化与人禽流感病例相似。不同品系小鼠的死亡比例有明显差别,可以根据不同的实验目的 ,选择不同品系的小鼠制作H5N1禽流感动物模型。不同品系的遗传特性对禽流感易感性产生明显的影响,遗传背景可能与H5N1禽流感病毒感染应答机理存在联系:BALB/c和C57BL/6均为近交系,其中BALB/c小鼠的品系特征之一表现为干扰素产量低,接种H5N1病毒后表现为高死亡率(70%),而C57BL/6小鼠的干扰素产量高,接种H5N1病毒后表现为低死亡率(25%),提示不同遗传背景小鼠的干扰素水平与H5N1感染致死具相关性。为进一步研究H5N1禽流感病毒易感性相关基因以及其与宿主免疫反应的关系提供了一个研究基础。     

三个品系小鼠流感病毒气溶胶感染模型的比较

目的通过气雾攻击产生气溶胶的感染方式对三个品系的小鼠分别进行感染,比较三个品系小鼠在感染过程中的感染差异,从而对三个品系小鼠流感模型的特点进行分析,为流感发病机制的研究及疫苗和药物的开发选择合适的感染模型提供参考。方法选用A/Puerto Rico/8/34(H1N1)病毒株,采用气雾攻击的方法感染近交系C57BL/6、BALB/c和远交群ICR三个品系的小鼠,每日称小鼠体重,肉眼观察小鼠状态,分别于感染后3、7、14 d处死小鼠,取肺脏称其湿重,进行肺脏的病毒测定及病理观察。结果三个品系小鼠均可感染,其中C57BL/6小鼠的存活率低于其他两个品系,3 d的肺指数和病毒载量均明显高于ICR小鼠(P0.05),镜下病理结果显示较其他两个品系也更明显。BALB/c小鼠与其他两个品系小鼠相比,体重在后期的恢复最慢,存活率比C57BL/6高但比ICR低;肺指数和病毒载量与其他两个品系相比差异无显著性;镜下病理改变相似,但弱于C57BL/6强于ICR。ICR小鼠的发病进程与其他两个品系小鼠基本相似,但体重、存活率、肺指数、病毒载量及镜下病理改变等指标均弱于其他两个品系。结论三个品系小鼠均可建立流感气溶胶模型,但感染后的三个模型各有特点,在实验中可以根据不同的研究目的来选用合适的小鼠品系建立模型。     

常用小鼠、大鼠肠道菌群比较研究

目的 对6种常用品系小鼠和大鼠肠道菌群进行比较研究.方法 采集3家实验动物生产单位150只SPF级小鼠和大鼠的210份粪便或肠道内容物样本,依据细菌16S rDNA V3-V4区域通用引物对样本进行PCR扩增,并采用Illumina Hiseq 2500高通量测序平台进行测序.基于动物来源、品种品系、性别、年龄和肠道分...     

我国实验小鼠群中巨细胞病毒自然感染情况的调查

迄今为止,有关MCMV在实验小鼠群中的自然感染情况报道极少。我们在MCMV实验感染的基础上对国内常用的小鼠品系进行MCMV自然感染的调查。结果发现在334份不同品系小鼠颌下腺中无1份分离出MCMV,而特异性抗体存在于所检查的10个品系中,阳性率为10.9—87.5％。抗体阳性率与鼠龄有关,随鼠龄的增长而上升。对全国部分省市40家实验动物机构的556份小鼠血清的调查结果表明MCMV的抗体阳性率达61.0％,提示在我国实验小鼠群中MCMV的自物感染是相当普遍的。这种病毒分离阴性而抗体阳性的状态表明隐性感染和潜伏感染是MCMV自然感染的主要方式。     

近交系小鼠遗传质量监测新方法的建立——染色体Q—H分带技术及其应用

本研究利用最新的Quinacrine Mustard and 33258 Hoechst(Q—H)复合荧光染色技术对10个品系的近交系小鼠的核型进行分析。在同一细胞内,按各号染色体着丝粒带大小排列、分组,建立该10个品系近交系小鼠特有的染色体着丝粒带核型,作为各品系小鼠遗传质量监测的染色体标记指标。本研究还对615小鼠品系的生化标汜检测与染色体标记检测的结果进行比较,同时比较了不同来源615小鼠的染色体标记,从而进一步阐明了该方法作为实验动物遗传监测方法之一与其他方法间的互补性及其自身特点。     

我国商业化SPF级小鼠病原体污染分析

目的按现行国标《实验动物微生物学检测方法》和《实验动物寄生虫学检测方法》对我国商品化的无特殊病原体（specific pathogen free,SPF）小鼠进行微生物状况检测,为生产高质量的实验动物提供依据。方法对五家主要实验动物生产单位生产的ICR、KM、C57BL/6、BALB/c及BALB/c-nu品系的SPF级小鼠进行随机抽检。检测抽检小鼠所携带的微生物和寄生虫情况。结果在抽检的SPF级小鼠中,病毒污染主要包括呼肠孤病毒Ⅲ型（Reo-3）、小鼠肺炎病毒（PVM）和多瘤病毒（POLY）;主要细菌污染为肺炎克雷伯杆菌、金黄色葡萄球菌和绿脓杆菌。这些微生物病原体中,除条件性致病菌绿脓杆菌外,其他病原体对小鼠本身和实验研究均具有一定的影响。     

不同日龄小鼠的超排、体外授精及二细胞胚胎移植的比较研究(简报)

小鼠是现代生物医学中应用最为广泛的实验动物,特别是随着基因工程动物的大量开发,对小鼠卵母细胞和小鼠胚胎的需求量将日趋增多。但是如果单纯依靠动物的自然排卵,一方面所得到的卵母细胞数或胚胎数较少,一方面又消耗大量的时间和浪费较多的动物。因此,研究者期望使用较少的动物但仍能得到较多的、正常的卵母细胞或胚胎来满足生命科学研究的需要。Onadera,M等的研究表明,小鼠卵母细胞的发育与年龄有关,同一品系小鼠不同日龄间的自然排卵数差异不显著,出现异常卵的比例有显著性差异。但对不同日龄、不同品系小鼠的超排的效果尚     

10个品系小鼠的RAPD 分析

小鼠是应用最为广泛的实验动物,预先了解品系或近交系的遗传纯度或系间遗传距离,对于试验材料的选取和实验结果分析都有很大帮助.传统的实验动物遗传监测多限于基因表型的检测,检测位点在整个基因组中所占比例小,分布不均.由于RAPD方法的优势,用一系列引物可检测出覆盖整个基因组的遗传改变,在动、植物品系鉴定和遗传监测方面已取得大量成果(陈洪等,1994;沈曦等,1999),但对多品系小鼠的研究报道较少.因此,本研究选用10个常用小鼠品系,筛选较好的多态标记,建立各品系的RAPD图谱,以区分不同品系的小鼠,为今后的质量监测工作提供参照标准;同时根据RAPD扩增结果计算出各品系间的相对遗传距离,在DNA水平探讨不同品系小鼠间的亲缘关系.     

不同品系小鼠的体外受精、胚胎冷冻及移植的比较研究

目的　探讨不同品系小鼠的体外受精、胚胎和精子的低温保存效果。方法　本实验分别在中国科学院上海实验动物中心 (SLAC)和日本熊本大学动物资源开发中心 (CARD)对 13个品系小鼠 (C57BL 6J、BALB c、C3H HeJ、ICR、KM、FVB、MRL、NOD、CBA、DBA 2、CD 1、BDF1、B6C3F1)的体外受精 (IVF)率、胚胎培养及移植成绩进行了比较研究。结果　各品系小鼠新鲜精子的IVF率 15 1%～ 87 9% ,冻融精子的IVF率 8%～ 80 % ;冷冻胚胎的复苏率4 2 6 %～ 83 9% ;冻融胚胎移植后的产仔率在 17 8%～ 5 1 8%。结论　遗传背景不同的小鼠体外受精率、冷冻胚胎复苏率和胚胎移植的产仔率差异有显著性。但同一品系两个实验室间的新鲜精子的IVF率、冷冻胚胎的复苏率及移植产仔率差异无显著性 (P >0 0 5 ) ;冻融精子的体外受精率CARD明显高于SLAC(P <0 0 1)。     

不同品系小鼠对实验感染念珠状链杆菌敏感性的观察

本文通过念珠状链杆菌（Ｓｔｒｅｐｔｏｂａｃｉｌｕｓｍｏｎｉｌｉｆｏｒｍｉｓ,Ｓ．ｍ．）实验感染昆明、Ｃ５７ＢＬ／６Ｊ、ＢＡＬＢ／ｃ、ＩＣＲ、ＮＩＨ、ＤＢＡ共６个品系小鼠,观察其对Ｓ．ｍ．敏感性的差异。其中昆明、Ｃ５７ＢＬ／６Ｊ两个品系在腹腔接种后表现出明显的临床、病理改变。昆明小鼠发病率和死亡率分别为９２％和８０％;Ｃ５７ＢＬ／６Ｊ分别是８０％和１２％。昆明小鼠较之Ｃ５７ＢＬ／６Ｊ小鼠起病急、病情严重,多数动物死于感染的急性期。其余品系的发病率为：ＮＩＨ８％、ＢＡＬＢ／ｃ和ＤＢＡ４％,没有动物死亡;ＩＣＲ在接种后无任何临床病理改变。在实验感染后临床病理改变方面,昆明小鼠和Ｃ５７ＢＬ／６Ｊ小鼠间有较大不同。昆明小鼠以末梢血管淤血、四肢尾部水肿、关节炎、截瘫、腹泻为主,而Ｃ５７ＢＬ／６Ｊ小鼠则以注射部位和其它部位皮下脓肿、化脓性关节炎为主。本研究提示,中国昆明小鼠对Ｓ．ｍ．敏感性最高,可以将其作为“哨兵动物”用于实验大鼠Ｓ．ｍ．的常规监测;不同品系小鼠不仅对实验感染Ｓ．ｍ．的敏感性不同,而且表现出不同的临床病理改变。     

禽流感病毒与人流感的关系

禽流感病毒 (AIV)是甲 (A)型流感病毒 ,常引起禽类全身性感染或主要限于呼吸器官传染病 ,带来巨大的经济损失并严重威胁人类健康。对AIV的基因组、所编码的蛋白质及其功能、AIV毒力变异的分子基础、禽流感疫苗以及AIV与人流感的关系等进行概述。     

Avian Influenza Infection Alters Fecal Odor in Mallards

Changes in body odor are known to be a consequence of many diseases. Much of the published work on disease-related and body odor changes has involved parasites and certain cancers. Much less studied have been viral diseases, possibly due to an absence of good animal model systems. Here we studied possible alteration of fecal odors in animals infected with avian influenza viruses (AIV). In a behavioral study, inbred C57BL/6 mice were trained in a standard Y-maze to discriminate odors emanating from feces collected from mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) infected with low-pathogenic avian influenza virus compared to fecal odors from non-infected controls. Mice could discriminate odors from non-infected compared to infected individual ducks on the basis of fecal odors when feces from post-infection periods were paired with feces from pre-infection periods. Prompted by this indication of odor change, fecal samples were subjected to dynamic headspace and solvent extraction analyses employing gas chromatography/mass spectrometry to identify chemical markers indicative of AIV infection. Chemical analyses indicated that AIV infection was associated with a marked increase of acetoin (3-hydroxy-2-butanone) in feces. These experiments demonstrate that information regarding viral infection exists via volatile metabolites present in feces. Further, they suggest that odor changes following virus infection could play a role in regulating behavior of conspecifics exposed to infected individuals.     

Little Evidence of Avian or Equine Influenza Virus Infection among a Cohort of Mongolian Adults with Animal Exposures, 2010–2011

Avian (AIV) and equine influenza virus (EIV) have been repeatedly shown to circulate among Mongolia’s migrating birds or domestic horses. In 2009, 439 Mongolian adults, many with occupational exposure to animals, were enrolled in a prospective cohort study of zoonotic influenza transmission. Sera were drawn upon enrollment and again at 12 and 24 months. Participants were contacted monthly for 24 months and queried regarding episodes of acute influenza-like illnesses (ILI). Cohort members confirmed to have acute influenza A infections, permitted respiratory swab collections which were studied with rRT-PCR for influenza A. Serologic assays were performed against equine, avian, and human influenza viruses. Over the 2 yrs of follow-up, 100 ILI investigations in the cohort were conducted. Thirty-six ILI cases (36%) were identified as influenza A infections by rRT-PCR; none yielded evidence for AIV or EIV. Serological examination of 12 mo and 24 mo annual sera revealed 37 participants had detectable antibody titers (≥1∶10) against studied viruses during the course of study follow-up: 21 against A/Equine/Mongolia/01/2008(H3N8); 4 against an avian A/Teal/Hong Kong/w3129(H6N1), 11 against an avian-like A/Hong Kong/1073/1999(H9N2), and 1 against an avian A/Migrating duck/Hong Kong/MPD268/2007(H10N4) virus. However, all such titers were <1∶80 and none were statistically associated with avian or horse exposures. A number of subjects had evidence of seroconversion to zoonotic viruses, but the 4-fold titer changes were again not associated with avian or horse exposures. As elevated antibodies against seasonal influenza viruses were high during the study period, it seems likely that cross-reacting antibodies against seasonal human influenza viruses were a cause of the low-level seroreactivity against AIV or EIV. Despite the presence of AIV and EIV circulating among wild birds and horses in Mongolia, there was little evidence of AIV or EIV infection in this prospective study of Mongolians with animal exposures.     

禽流感疫苗研究进展

禽流感是由正黏病毒科流感病毒属的A型流感病毒引起的 ,发生于各种家禽和野鸟的一种急性传染病。由于其重要的经济和公共卫生学意义 ,使得禽流感的防治显得突出重要。疫苗的使用是控制禽流感的主要手段。目前实际应用中仍以禽流感全病毒灭活疫苗为主 ,但由于其潜在的缺点使得人们将目光转向其它类型疫苗的研制。从常规疫苗、新型疫苗和交叉保护性疫苗三个方面对禽流感疫苗研究进展加以阐述。常规疫苗包括基因工程亚单位疫苗和重组活载体疫苗 :新型疫苗主要有冷适应流感弱毒疫苗 ,基因工程活流感病毒疫苗 ,复制缺陷型病毒疫苗 ,DNA疫苗 ,RNA复制子疫苗 ,表位疫苗等 :交叉保护性疫苗主要依据流感病毒表面的保守蛋白M和NP的特性 ,构建疫苗来达到交叉保护的目的。     

A/H6N1亚型禽流感病毒致病性评估及与2009 A/H1N1亚型流感病毒在哺乳动物体内的遗传兼容性

目的探讨人、禽流感病毒在哺乳动物体内的遗传兼容性,为下一步研究H6亚型禽流感病毒重配和致病性变异的分子机制奠定基础。方法野鸭源A/H6N1亚型禽流感病毒A/Mallard/SanJiang/275/2007以101EID50～106EID50的攻毒剂量经鼻内途径感染小鼠,通过临床症状观察、病毒滴定和病理切片观察进行病毒学和组织学两方面检测对小鼠的致病性;同时,将此病毒与2009年A/H1N1流感病毒A/Changchun/01/2009(H1N1)混合感染豚鼠,分析两株病毒在哺乳动物体内的遗传兼容性。每天采集豚鼠鼻洗液并用噬斑纯化技术获得重配病毒,对获得的重配病毒进行全基因组序列的测定。结果 H6N1亚型禽流感病毒能直接感染小鼠,但对小鼠不致死。106EID50的攻毒剂量可有效感染小鼠,攻毒后第5天,小鼠表现出被毛较粗乱、活动减少、体重下降、呼吸急促的临床症状,但至攻毒后第10天开始康复,而对照组(MOCK)小鼠在14 d的观察期内无明显临床症状。病毒滴定结果表明,该病毒主要在小鼠肺脏和鼻甲骨中复制,病毒滴度可达104.5EID50/mL。病理学观察发现感染小鼠肺泡壁增厚,有大量炎性细胞浸润,纤维蛋白渗出并伴有轻微出血;在A/H6N1和A/H1N1混合感染豚鼠的重配实验中,经过三轮噬斑纯化从豚鼠鼻洗液中分离到6株重配病毒,说明A/H6N1亚型禽流感病毒与A/H1N1亚型流感病毒具有很好的遗传兼容性,能在豚鼠体内能发生重配。结论野鸭源A/H6N1亚型流感病毒无需适应就能够感染哺乳动物;该病毒与A/H1N1流感病毒具有很好的遗传兼容性,在哺乳动物体内能够发生基因重配,产生新的重配病毒,其公共卫生意义应引起高度关注。     

禽流感特异性转移因子的制备及其免疫作用

目的制备禽流感病毒特异性转移因子并探讨其对禽流感灭活疫苗的免疫增效作用。方法用禽流感病毒H5N1血清亚型灭活疫苗免疫鸡,用国标血凝抑制方法检测病毒特异性血凝抑制抗体效价。当抗体效价达到高峰时,翅静脉采取外周血,分离淋巴细胞并制备细胞单层、传代后获得禽流感病毒H5N1血清亚型特异性转移因子。用所获得的特异性转移因子进行疫苗免疫增效试验。结果采用本法可获得禽流感病毒特异性转移因子。免疫增效试验表明,在进行禽流感病毒灭活疫苗免疫的同时使用禽流感病毒特异性转移因子,可在一定幅度内提高禽流感病毒抗体水平并能延长抗体维持时间。不同给药途径比较试验表明,口服途径给药的疫苗增效作用优于注射途径给药。结论通过淋巴细胞体外培养可以制备禽流感病毒特异性转移因子。禽流感病毒H5N1血清亚型特异性转移因子对禽流感病毒灭活疫苗具有明显的增效作用,且口服途径给药的疫苗免疫增效作用优于注射途径给药。     

表达禽流感病毒M2基因的重组马立克氏病病毒的构建

将禽流感病毒M2基因克隆于真核表达质粒pIRES-EGFP中,使其位于pCMV启动子的调控下,并与绿色荧光蛋白基因（EGFP）串联后,将上述串联基因插入到含MDV CVI988的非必需区US基因的重组质粒pUS2中,构建带标记的重组质粒,然后将此重组质粒转染感染了MDV CVI988的鸡胚成纤维细胞,利用同源重组的方法,筛选了表达禽流感病毒M2基因的重组病毒MDV1。经PCR、Dot-blotting,Western-blotting等实验的结果表明,禽流感病毒M2基因的确插入到MDV1（CVI988）基因组中并获得表达。重组MDV1免疫1日龄SPF鸡21天后,用ELISA可检测到M2蛋白的特异性抗体。接种了重组病毒rMDV的鸡体内针对H9N2疫苗血凝素的抗体滴度(p<0.05)明显提高,以禽流感病毒AIV A/Chicken/Guangdong/00（H9N2）攻毒后进行病毒重分离试验的结果发现,重组病毒能有效地降低病毒的排出量(p<0.01),说明该重组病毒可以用于防制禽流感的免疫。     

Investigation of Avian Influenza Infections in Wild Birds,Poultry and Humans in Eastern Dongting Lake,China

We investigated avian influenza infections in wild birds, poultry, and humans at Eastern Dongting Lake, China. We analyzed 6,621 environmental samples, including fresh fecal and water samples, from wild birds and domestic ducks that were collected from the Eastern Dongting Lake area from November 2011 to April 2012. We also conducted two cross-sectional serological studies in November 2011 and April 2012, with 1,050 serum samples collected from people exposed to wild birds and/or domestic ducks. Environmental samples were tested for the presence of avian influenza virus (AIV) using quantitative PCR assays and virus isolation techniques. Hemagglutination inhibition assays were used to detect antibodies against AIV H5N1, and microneutralization assays were used to confirm these results. Among the environmental samples from wild birds and domestic ducks, AIV prevalence was 5.19 and 5.32%, respectively. We isolated 39 and 5 AIVs from the fecal samples of wild birds and domestic ducks, respectively. Our analysis indicated 12 subtypes of AIV were present, suggesting that wild birds in the Eastern Dongting Lake area carried a diverse array of AIVs with low pathogenicity. We were unable to detect any antibodies against AIV H5N1 in humans, suggesting that human infection with H5N1 was rare in this region.     

Newcastle disease virus-based live attenuated vaccine completely protects chickens and mice from lethal challenge of homologous and heterologous H5N1 avian influenza viruses

H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) has continued to spread and poses a significant threat to both animal and human health. Current influenza vaccine strategies have limitations that prevent their effective use for widespread inoculation of animals in the field. Vaccine strains of Newcastle disease virus (NDV), however, have been used successfully to easily vaccinate large numbers of animals. In this study, we used reverse genetics to construct a NDV that expressed an H5 subtype avian influenza virus (AIV) hemagglutinin (HA). Both a wild-type and a mutated HA open reading frame (ORF) from the HPAIV wild bird isolate, A/Bar-headed goose/Qinghai/3/2005 (H5N1), were inserted into the intergenic region between the P and M genes of the LaSota NDV vaccine strain. The recombinant viruses stably expressing the wild-type and mutant HA genes were found to be innocuous after intracerebral inoculation of 1-day-old chickens. A single dose of the recombinant viruses in chickens induced both NDV- and AIV H5-specific antibodies and completely protected chickens from challenge with a lethal dose of both velogenic NDV and homologous and heterologous H5N1 HPAIV. In addition, BALB/c mice immunized with the recombinant NDV-based vaccine produced H5 AIV-specific antibodies and were completely protected from homologous and heterologous lethal virus challenge. Our results indicate that recombinant NDV is suitable as a bivalent live attenuated vaccine against both NDV and AIV infection in poultry. The recombinant NDV vaccine may also have potential use in high-risk human individuals to control the pandemic spread of lethal avian influenza.     

Comparative Pathogenesis of an Avian H5N2 and a Swine H1N1 Influenza Virus in Pigs

Pigs are considered intermediate hosts for the transmission of avian influenza viruses (AIVs) to humans but the basic organ pathogenesis of AIVs in pigs has been barely studied. We have used 42 four-week-old influenza naive pigs and two different inoculation routes (intranasal and intratracheal) to compare the pathogenesis of a low pathogenic (LP) H5N2 AIV with that of an H1N1 swine influenza virus. The respiratory tract and selected extra-respiratory tissues were examined for virus replication by titration, immunofluorescence and RT-PCR throughout the course of infection. Both viruses caused a productive infection of the entire respiratory tract and epithelial cells in the lungs were the major target. Compared to the swine virus, the AIV produced lower virus titers and fewer antigen positive cells at all levels of the respiratory tract. The respiratory part of the nasal mucosa in particular showed only rare AIV positive cells and this was associated with reduced nasal shedding of the avian compared to the swine virus. The titers and distribution of the AIV varied extremely between individual pigs and were strongly affected by the route of inoculation. Gross lung lesions and clinical signs were milder with the avian than with the swine virus, corresponding with lower viral loads in the lungs. The brainstem was the single extra-respiratory tissue found positive for virus and viral RNA with both viruses. Our data do not reject the theory of the pig as an intermediate host for AIVs, but they suggest that AIVs need to undergo genetic changes to establish full replication potential in pigs. From a biomedical perspective, experimental LP H5 AIV infection of pigs may be useful to examine heterologous protection provided by H5 vaccines or other immunization strategies, as well as for further studies on the molecular pathogenesis and neurotropism of AIVs in mammals.