Sequence analysis of the genome of porcine lymphotropic herpesvirus 1 and gene expression during posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease of pigs.
The porcine lymphotropic herpesvirus 1 (PLHV-1), the first gammaherpesvirus of pigs, has been detected at a high prevalence in healthy pig populations. A porcine gammaherpesvirus has also been detected at high copy numbers in animals suffering from posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD). While human PTLD is a EBV-associated complication following clinical transplantation, porcine PTLD is a disease recently described in pigs undergoing experimental allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Here we demonstrate that PLHV-1 and the virus present in porcine PTLD are indistinguishable, and present the characterization of 73 kbp of the genome of PLHV-1. We identified homologs of cellular genes, including a putative G protein-coupled receptor (GCR) as well as a viral homolog of the bcl-2 oncogene (v-bcl-2) and show significant transcription of these genes as well as of several other PLHV-1 genes in lymph nodes of a PTLD-affected pig. These data indicate that PLHV-1 is active during PTLD and may be involved in the etiology of this lymphoproliferative disease.
Goltz
Michael
M
Robert Koch-Institut, Nordufer 20, Berlin, 13353, Germany. goltzm@rki.de
Ericsson
Thomas
T
Patience
Clive
C
Huang
Christene A
CA
Noack
Stefanie
S
Sachs
David H
DH
Ehlers
Bernhard
B
D000818:Animals; D018142:Gammaherpesvirinae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D015870:Gene Expression; D005814:Genes, Viral / Q000502:physiology; D016679:Genome, Viral; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000821:virology; D008232:Lymphoproliferative Disorders / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013552:Swine / Q000821:virology*; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic