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Analysis of virus host interactions following infection with bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1)

Luciane Teresinha Lovato, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Abstract

Bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1) is an important pathogen of cattle that causes respiratory and reproductive disease. BHV-1 induces latency in sensory ganglia that innervate the site of primary infection. The latency-related (LR) gene is the only BHV-1 gene abundantly expressed during latency, suggesting that LR gene products regulate the latency/reactivation cycle. A mutant virus with three stop codons at the beginning of the open reading frames within the LR gene has been constructed in our laboratory (Inman, M, Lovato, L, Doster, A, Jones, C. J. Virol. 75:8507–8515, 2001). To determine the effects of LR gene products on distinct aspects of BHV-1 pathogenesis, calves were infected with the LR mutant virus or wt BHV-1 and virological and molecular studies performed. In situ hybridization demonstrated that the LR mutant virus does not efficiently colonize the trigeminal ganglia (TG) or conjunctiva of infected calves when compared to the wt BHV-1. Apoptosis analysis by TUNEL assay and immunohistochemistry for cleaved capase 3 indicated that the LR mutant virus induced higher amounts of apoptosis in TG when compared to wt. The ability of the virus to induce latency in lymphoreticular tissues was also examined. Viral DNA was consistently detected in peripheral mononuclear cells (PBMC) of calves infected with wt BHV-1 or LR mutant virus after acute infection, suggesting viral DNA persisted in these cell types. The levels of heat shock proteins (hsp) were examined in cultured cells following infection with wt BHV-1 or the LR mutant virus. Hsps 60, 70, 90, and 25, protein levels were not dramatically altered after infection. In summary, a mutation in the LR gene of BHV-1 impaired establishment and reactivation from latency, in part, because LR gene products inhibit apoptosis. In contrast, the LR gene mutation does not appear to affect viral persistence in PBMC.

Subject Area

Microbiology

Recommended Citation

Lovato, Luciane Teresinha, "Analysis of virus host interactions following infection with bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1)" (2002). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI3059957.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI3059957

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