Borna Disease Virus Antibody and RNA from Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Race Horses and Jockeys in Korea

OBJECTIVE: During the last two decades, Borna disease virus (BDV) has received much attention as a possible zoonotic agent, particularly as a cause of psychiatric disease. Although several studies have shown that BDV is present in Asia, BDV has not been detected in Korea. This study was designed to further investigate the presence of BDV infection in Korea. METHODS: Blood samples were taken from 39 race horses and 48 jockeys. Antibody to BDV was detected by indirect immunofluorescence antibody test and RNA of BDV by real time reverse transcriptase PCR (rRT-PCR). RESULTS: No evidence of BDV was detected in either the horses or the jockeys group. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that BDV infection may not be endemic in Korea. Further studies with novel diagnostic tools are required to clarify the prevalence of BDV infection in Korea.

Research on the association between Borna disease virus infection and the viral encephalitis / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the infection of Borna disease virus (BDV) in unidentified viral encephalitis patients in Ningxia in order to explore if the nucleotide sequence and amino acid sequence in BDV p24 were homophylic with the overseas standard strain. We also intended to investigate the correlation between BDV infection and the unidentified viral encephalitis patients from Ningxia to lay an experimental basis for etiological diagnosis, prevention and treatment on certain human neuropsychiatric disorders.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>BDV p24 gene fragment was detected by nested reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction with fluorescence quantitative PCR (FQ-nRT-PCR) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Samples were from 59 unidentified viral encephalitis patients and 60 normal controls. For those positive products, gene sequence and amino acid sequence were then analyzed by BLAST and DNAsist 5.0.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The positive rate of the BDV p24 gene fragment in PBMCs from the unidentified viral encephalitis (10.17%) was significantly higher than from the controls (0%) (P < 0.05). Data from the gene sequence on those positive products showed BDV p24 fragment in the patients with unidentified viral encephalitis from Ningxia was homophylic with strain H3915 detected from ill horses (97.67%), as well as with the strain H1766 (96.51%) and strain V (95.35%). However, their amino acid sequences remained the same.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>BDV infection might probably have existed in the unidentified viral encephalitis patients of Ningxia. The gene sequence seemed to be homophylic with that of standard strain H1766 and strain V, especially with strain H3915.</p>

Failure to Detect Borna Disease Virus Antibody and RNA from Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Psychiatric Patients

OBJECTIVE: Borna disease virus (BDV) is a highly neurotropic agent causing various neuropsychiatric symptoms in animals. Over the past two decades, it has been suggested that BDV might be associated with human psychiatric diseases. We aimed to investigate whether BDV is associated with psychiatric patients in Korea. METHODS: We recruited 60 normal controls and 198 psychiatric patients (98 patients with depressive disorder, 60 with schizophrenia, and 40 with bipolar disorder). We used an indirect immunofluorescence antibody (IFA) test for the BDV antibody and a real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) assay for p24 and p40 RNA from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). RESULTS: Neither the BDV antibody nor p24, p40 RNA was detected in controls and patients groups. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that BDV might not be associated with psychiatric patients in Korea.

Failure to Detect Borna Disease Virus Antibody and RNA from Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Psychiatric Patients

OBJECTIVE: Borna disease virus (BDV) is a highly neurotropic agent causing various neuropsychiatric symptoms in animals. Over the past two decades, it has been suggested that BDV might be associated with human psychiatric diseases. We aimed to investigate whether BDV is associated with psychiatric patients in Korea. METHODS: We recruited 60 normal controls and 198 psychiatric patients (98 patients with depressive disorder, 60 with schizophrenia, and 40 with bipolar disorder). We used an indirect immunofluorescence antibody (IFA) test for the BDV antibody and a real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) assay for p24 and p40 RNA from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). RESULTS: Neither the BDV antibody nor p24, p40 RNA was detected in controls and patients groups. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that BDV might not be associated with psychiatric patients in Korea.

Study on molecular epidemiology of Borna disease virus in Ningxia and vicinal regions / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>In order to investigate the epidemics of borna disease virus (BDV) in Ningxia and its vicinal regions.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>p24 fragment of BDV from: (1) peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and cerebrospinal fluid mononuclear cells (CSFMC) from 52 patients with viral encephalitis (VE) and 32 healthy donors, (2) peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 53 patients with depressive disorder (DD) and from 360 sheep, were examined by nested reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction(PCR) with fluorescence quantitative PCR. Gene sequence and amino acid sequence were analysed for positive product and the molecular epidemiologic characteristics by drawing phylogenetic trees.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The positive rate of BDV p24 in CSFMC from VE (11.54%) and in PBMC from DD 11.32% was significantly higher than that in healthy donors (0%) (P < 0.05). The phylogenetic trees indicating the genetic relationship of the p24 fragment of BDV in both sheep and VE, DD in China and was similar to the nucleotide sequence of H1766 strain in Germany.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Data indicated that the BDV infection was possibly existing in VE, DD patients and health sheep in Ningxia and its vicinal regions with confined locality which called for further study.</p>

Detection of antibody against Borna disease virus-p24 in the plasma of Chinese patients with chronic fatigue syndrome by Western-blot analysis / 中华实验和临床病毒学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the prevalence of infection with Borna disease virus (BDV) in Chinese patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and control subjects, and to discuss the etiological association between CFS and infection with BDV.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The CDC (1994) diagnostic criteria for CFS were used for case definition. Sixty-one patients suffered from CFS were from 11 Provinces in China. To detect the antibody against BDV-p24 on the plasma samples from all cases and 73 healthy control subjects by Western-blotting analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>7 of the sixty-one cases and 0 of the controls were sero-positive for BDV-p24 antibody, there was a statistical significant difference between the two groups (11.48% vs 0%; P less than 0.010).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Chinese patients with CFS showed sero-positive identifying BDV infection, by comparison, anti.BDV-p24 antibody prevalence in patients was significantly higher than in controls. An etiological association may exist between CFS and BDV infection.</p>