Characterizing the Pathogenesis and Immune Response of Equine Herpesvirus 8 Infection in Lung of Mice.
Animals (Basel) 2022;
12:ani12192495. [PMID:
36230234 PMCID:
PMC9559255 DOI:
10.3390/ani12192495]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Revised: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary
Equine herpesvirus 8 (EHV-8) is an important pathogen primarily affecting the horse and donkey industry, but there is little information about the pathogenicity and immune response of EHV-8 in a mouse model. We aim to investigate the pathogenicity and immune response in the lung during EHV-8 infection in BALB/c mice. The results showed that EHV-8 could effectively replicate and elicits a strong proinflammatory response in the lung tissues of a mouse model. The mouse model of viral respiratory disease proposed here will also be useful for studying the underlying mechanisms of the pathology of respiration.
Abstract
Equine herpesvirus type 8 (EHV-8), associated with abortion and severe respiratory disease in donkeys and horses, causes significant economic losses in the global equine industry. However, the pathogenicity of EHV-8 is still unknown. Mice are widely used as an animal model to evaluate virus replication and virulence. The present study aimed to evaluate the pathogenicity of the EHV-8 SDLC66 strain in BALB/c mice. Mice were used to test for infection-associated parameters (such as clinical signs, body weights, virus replication in tissues, viremia, and cytokines) and sacrificed at 0, 2, 4, and 6 days post-infection (dpi). The mice inoculated with EHV-8 exhibited lethargy, dyspnea signs, loss in body weight, and viremia. EHV-8 was detected in the liver, spleen, brain, and lung by PCR at 4 dpi and 6 dpi, effectively replicating these tissues detected by TCID50 at 6 dpi. Proinflammatory cytokines, including IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α, were significantly increased at the 4 dpi and 6 dpi in the lung than in the control group. However, IFN-γ was only increased at 6 dpi in the EHV-8-infected group. These data showed that EHV-8 could enter the lungs of mice and cause respiratory disease in the mouse model, which helps reveal the pathogenicity of EHV-8.
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