Pseudorabies virus can be classified into five genotypes using partial sequences of UL44

Suid herpesvirus 1 (SuHV-1) is the causative agent of pseudorabies (PR), a disease of great importance due to the huge losses it causes in the swine industry. The aim of this study was to determine a method for genotyping SuHV-1 based on partial sequences of the gene coding for glycoprotein C (gC) and to elucidate the possible reasons for the variability of this region. A total of 109 gCsequences collected from GenBank were divided into five major groups after reconstruction of a phylogenetic tree by Bayesian inference. The analysis showed that a portion of gC (approximately 671 bp) is under selective pressure at various points that coincide with regions of protein disorder. It was also possible to divide SuHV-1 into five genotypes that evolved under different selective pressures. These genotypes are not specific to countries or continents, perhaps due to multiple introduction events related to the importation of swine.

Caracterizaçäo parcial de uma amostra brasileira do vírus da doença de Aujeszky isolada / Partial characterization of a Brazilian strain of Aujeszky's disease virus recovered from a pig with subclinical infection

Uma amostra brasileira do vírus da doença de Aujeszky, isolada de um leitäo, foi estudada quanto à virulência para suínos e seu genoma analisado no que se refere ao padräo de fragmentaçäo pela enzima de restriçäo Bam HI. Leitöes com 50 dias de idade, sorologicamente negativos, expostos a essa amostra, näo mostraram sinais de doença e o vírus foi detectado na regiäo orofaríngeana durante pelo menos três dias após exposiçäo. Com base no padräo de migraçäo dos fragmentos de restriçäo, o isolamento foi classificado como pertencente ao grupo I da classificaçäo proposta por Herrmann. Infecçäo latente foi detectada por PCR em todos os suínos. Algumas variaçöes foram identificadas no mapa físico de Bam HI da amostra ASB Piau quando se comparou com o mapa obtido da amostra virulenta brasileira LA03l

Inhibition of three alphaherpesviruses (Herpes simplex 1 and 2 and pseudorabies virus) by heparin, heparan and other sulfated polyelectrolytes

The first step of the herpes virus infection is the attachment to heparan sulfate molecules on the cellular membrane. In order to improve the characterization of this phenomenon, we compared the inhibitory effect of six sulfated polyelectrolytes (PE): heparin, heparan, low molecular wight heparin, chondroitin, dextran and protamine on plaque formation by pseudorabies virus (PRV) were compared. The PE with the highest antiherpetic effect was heparin, followed by dextran sulfate. Heparan sulfate, which has been proposed as the initial receptor of herpes virus on the cell surface showed and effect 100-fold lower than heparin. Comparative inhibition curves of heparin and heparan sulfate against three herpes viruses: herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), HSV 2 and PRV showed similar kinetics of inhibition of plaque formation, suggesting these viruses could share similar cell adsorption mechanisms