Experimental infection of guinea pigs with Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever virus (Guanarito): a model of human disease.

Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever (VHF), a newly described disease caused by an arenavirus (Guanarito), has resulted in multiple human deaths in Venezuela. To develop an animal model of this disease, strain 13 and Hartley strain guinea pigs were inoculated subcutaneously with Guananto strain 95551 of arenavirus in a pilot study to determine susceptibility of the species to the virus. All animals were killed when moribund 12-14 days following inoculation. Animals were necropsied and tissues were fixed and examined by both light and electron microscopy. Viral antigen was demonstrated in the tissues by immunohistochemistry at both the light and electron microscopic levels. Lesions were characterized by single cell necrosis of epithelium of the gastrointestinal tract, interstitial pneumonia, lymphoid and hematopoietic cell necrosis, and the presence of platelet thrombi in occasional blood vessels associated with hemorrhage. Viral antigen was demonstrated in lymphoid tissues and macrophages, endothelial cells of multiple organs, pulmonary epithelium, epithelium of the gastrointestinal tract, and in miscellaneous other tissues and cells. Intact virions and typical arenavirus inclusions were demonstrated by immunoelectron microscopy in these tissues. Based on these findings, the guinea pig appears to be a valid animal model of the human disease.

Ribavirin prophylaxis and therapy for experimental argentine hemorrhagic fever.

Junin virus-infected rhesus macaques received prophylactic and therapeutic ribavirin to assess the potential of this drug for treating humans with Argentine hemorrhagic fever. When ribavirin was administered intramuscularly at the time of experimental infection with the lethal P3790 strain of Junin virus, all animals were protected from clinical disease. A delay in the initiation of therapy until after the onset of illness resulted in improvement and resolution of systemic signs of disease; however, survivors subsequently developed a late-onset central nervous system infection which was fatal in two of three animals. Side effects of ribavirin included thrombocytosis and severe anemia, both of which resolved promptly on withdrawal of drug therapy. Results of this study suggest that ribavirin may prove useful in treating humans with Argentine hemorrhagic fever.

Characterization of the binding of the TC-83 strain of Venezuelan Equine encephalomyelitis virus to BW-J-M, a mouse macrophage-like cell line.

The first step in virus replication is attachment of the virus to the host cell surface. To investigate this process, the binding of TC-83 (the attenuated strain of Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis virus) to BW-J-M (a macrophage-like murine cell culture line) has been characterized. The binding of radiolabelled virus can be blocked by excess unlabelled virus and has a pH optimum in the physiological range. Binding is saturable; analysis using Scatchard plots or the computerized binding data analysis program, LIGAND, yielded estimates of a single class of 4 X 10(5) binding sites per cell and an equilibrium binding constant of 2.0 +/- 0.7 X 10(12) M-1. Virus bound to the cell could be visualized by transmission electron microscopy and was localized primarily in coated regions of the membrane. Virus, bound under optimum conditions at 0 degrees C, was internalized upon warming and infected cells productively. Treatment of BW-J-M cells with low concentrations (1 to 10 micrograms/ml) of the proteolytic enzymes trypsin, Pronase or proteinase K caused a dose-dependent reduction in binding capacity. Trypsin-treated cells, upon return to culture, progressively regained their binding capacity within 24 h. As a further characterization of the virus binding site, several lectins were studied for their ability to inhibit TC-83 binding to BW-J-M cells. Canavalia ensiformis agglutinin, Glycine max agglutinin and Triticum vulgaris agglutinin were potent inhibitors of virus binding. This evidence suggests that TC-83 binds to a specific receptor on the BW-J-M cell and that the receptor may be glycoprotein.