Demonstration of Akabane virus antigen using immunohistochemistry in naturally infected newborn calves.

Eight newborn calves showing ataxia were necropsied and examined histologically. Six of seven cerebrospinal fluid samples collected from these animals had neutralizing antibody for Akabane virus (AKV). All examined calves had nonsuppurative encephalomyelitis, localized mainly in the midbrain and spinal cord. Corresponding to the encephalitic lesion, AKV antigen was demonstrated in neuroglial cells in the brain stem and neuronal cells in the ventral horn of the spinal cord. This is the first study to demonstrate AKV antigen by immunohistochemistry in naturally infected newborn calves.

Isolation of Aino virus from an aborted bovine fetus.

A male fetus of gestation day 187 was aborted from a Holstein-Friesian cow in an epizootic of the Aino virus (AINOV) in September 1995. Neutralizing antibody titers against AINOV were 1:128, 1:16 and 1:64 in the dam serum, fetal ascites and cerebrospinal fluid, respectively. A 10% brain suspension of the aborted fetus was prepared immediately after autopsy, rinsed three times and sonicated before centrifugation. The supernatant was then inoculated into HmLu-1 cell cultures. A cytopathic effect was noted on post-inoculation day 7. The isolated virus was identified as the AINOV based on the physicochemical properties and cross neutralization test. This is the first report on the isolation of AINOV from an aborted bovine fetus.

Aino virus antigen in brain lesions of a naturally aborted bovine fetus.

A bovine fetus aborted at 187 days of gestation was serologically and immunohistopathologically examined. Serum and cerebrospinal fluid samples had high titers of virus-neutralizing antibody for Aino virus. A severe necrotizing encephalopathy was noted. Aino virus antigen was demonstrated in neuroglial cells within the brain lesion. The destruction of developing neuronal cells appeared to be a significant feature of the pathogenesis of lesions due to Aino virus infection in the central nervous system.

Transgenic mouse expressing a full-length hepatitis C virus cDNA.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV), a major causative agent of post transfusion non-A, non-B hepatitis (NANBH), can only infect humans and chimpanzees. We produced nine transgenic mouse lines carrying a full-length HCV cDNA with the human serum amyloid P component (hSAP) promoter that can direct liver-specific expression. In one of these lines HCV mRNA and HCV core protein were detected in the liver of the transgenic mouse, although the levels of expression were very low. In addition, HCV-related antibody was detected in the serum.

Quantitative analyses of lesion areas of coronary atherosclerosis in cholesterol-fed rabbits.

A simple method to quantitatively evaluate atherosclerosis in the rabbit coronary arteries by measuring macroscopic lesion areas (%) was attempted in the present study. Sixteen rabbits were fed a 0.5% cholesterol diet for 15 weeks and then 9 rabbits were sacrificed whereas the remaining 7 rabbits were maintained for further 9 weeks on a normal chow (at week 24). The left circumflex coronary arteries (LCX) were excised from the rabbit hearts under stereoscopic observation. The prepared arterial strips of LCX were 38.7 +/- 7.1 mm long and all of them reached the cardiac apex from the orifice. At week 15, the lesion area in LCX was negligible (3.2 +/- 0.4%) whereas the aortic lesions significantly developed (50.0 +/- 7.6%). At week 24, atherosclerotic lesions in both LCX and aortas increased to 32.8 +/- 9.2% and 85.9 +/- 5.6%, respectively. This is the first report that determined the luminal surface areas of atherosclerotic lesions in rabbit coronary arteries. This method may be more practical and useful for quantitative evaluation of coronary atherosclerosis in a large number of rabbits than histological observations of serial sections of rabbit hearts.

Seroprevalence survey of Aino virus infection in dairy cattle of Fukuoka, Japan in 1990.

The seroprevalence and seroconversion to Aino virus infection were epidemiologically analyzed in Fukuoka Prefecture, by a cohort study, in 1990. Serum samples (872) were taken from 436 cattle of 128 farms in five different districts at twice sampling with four month-intervals and were tested by a serum neutralizing test with Aino virus. In the first sampling (May-July), 38.3% of sera and 40.6% of farms tested were positive and 33.3% of cattle and 40.6% of farms were sero-converted during the period of September-November in 1990. Significant differences were found in seroprevalence of farms and seroconversion of cattle/farms among five districts; there was, however, a highly significant correlation between seroprevalence and seroconversion of farm. Consequently, five districts of Fukuoka Prefecture were classified into four epidemic areas according to seroprevalence and seroconversion factors of a principal component analysis.

Susceptibility of ducks and duck-origin cell cultures to infectious bursal disease virus.

Specific-pathogen-free (SPF) ducks that were 1, 3, 4, 7, 10, 30, and 180 days old were inoculated experimentally orally or nasally with infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV). Attempts to induce clinical disease in ducks with strain J1 or FK-78 of IBDV were unsuccessful. Virus-recovery attempts from organ and intestinal contents were also unsuccessful. No significant gross or histopathological lesions were found in liver, spleen, kidney, heart, or bursa of Fabricius of 1- and 3-day-old ducks at 4 or 7 days postinoculation. The ratios of bursa weight to body weight of 1-, 10-, and 30-day-old inoculated and control ducks revealed no difference at 21 days postinoculation. The ducks responded serologically, however, by developing both virus-neutralizing and agar-gel-precipitin antibodies. Virus multiplied in embryonated duck eggs and duck embryo fibroblast cells but not in duck kidney cells.