Nephrotropic properties demonstrated by A/chicken/Alabama/75 (H4N8) following intravenous challenge of chickens.
Tissue tropism properties of A/chicken/Alabama/75 (H4N8) were examined after intravenous inoculation of 5-week-old specific-pathogen-free chickens. From 14 clinically normal chickens euthanatized on days 1-20 postinoculation, the frequencies of virus recovery were highest for cloacal swabs (86%), bursal swabs (64%), and kidney tissues (64%) and lowest for tracheal swabs (14%), thymus tissues (14%), bone-marrow swabs (7%), and brain tissues (0%). Evidence that the high frequency of virus recovery from kidney tissues was associated with virus replication in the kidney tissues was provided by high virus titers, ranging up to 10(9.5) mean embryo infectious dose per gram of kidney tissue, and by identification of intranuclear and intracytoplasmic type A influenza nucleoprotein in kidney cells using immunohistochemistry. Virus-recovery and virus titer results from three chickens that died on days 4 and 5 postinoculation paralleled the results from the clinically normal chickens. These findings indicate that A/chicken/Alabama/75 has nephrotropic properties similar to nephrotropic properties previously reported for waterfowl-origin type A influenza viruses and provide evidence that kidney lesions could be manifestations of systemic influenza infections in commercial laying chickens.
Slemons
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Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Ohio State University, Columbus 43210.
Swayne
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DE
D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000382:microbiology*; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005585:Influenza in Birds / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology*; D007275:Injections, Intravenous / Q000662:veterinary; D007668:Kidney / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins; D009698:Nucleoproteins / Q000032:analysis; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D014758:Viral Core Proteins / Q000032:analysis
C048842:NP protein, Influenza A virus; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins; D009698:Nucleoproteins; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D014758:Viral Core Proteins