In vivo imaging reveals novel replication sites of a highly oncogenic avian herpesvirus in chickens.
PLoS Pathog
; 18(8): e1010745, 2022 08.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2039442
ABSTRACT
In vivo bioluminescence imaging facilitates the non-invasive visualization of biological processes in living animals. This system has been used to track virus infections mostly in mice and ferrets; however, until now this approach has not been applied to pathogens in avian species. To visualize the infection of an important avian pathogen, we generated Marek's disease virus (MDV) recombinants expressing firefly luciferase during lytic replication. Upon characterization of the recombinant viruses in vitro, chickens were infected and the infection visualized in live animals over the course of 14 days. The luminescence signal was consistent with the known spatiotemporal kinetics of infection and the life cycle of MDV, and correlated well with the viral load measured by qPCR. Intriguingly, this in vivo bioimaging approach revealed two novel sites of MDV replication, the beak and the skin of the feet covered in scales. Feet skin infection was confirmed using a complementary fluorescence bioimaging approach with MDV recombinants expressing mRFP or GFP. Infection was detected in the intermediate epidermal layers of the feet skin that was also shown to produce infectious virus, regardless of the animals' age at and the route of infection. Taken together, this study highlights the value of in vivo whole body bioimaging in avian species by identifying previously overlooked sites of replication and shedding of MDV in the chicken host.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Marek Disease
/
Herpesvirus 2, Gallid
/
Herpesviridae
Type of study:
Prognostic study
Limits:
Animals
Language:
English
Journal:
PLoS Pathog
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Journal.ppat.1010745
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