A novel porcine gammaherpesvirus.
A novel porcine gammaherpesvirus was detected in the blood of domestic pigs by PCR. With degenerate-primer PCR and subsequent long-distance PCR approaches a 60-kbp genome stretch was amplified. Sequence analysis revealed the presence of the gammaherpesvirus ORFs 03 to 46 as well as a putative chemokine receptor and a v-bcl-2 gene. The 60-kbp sequence was compared with the corresponding sequence of the porcine lymphotropic herpesvirus 1 (PLHV-1) published recently and the sequence of PLHV-2, which was amplified from porcine tonsil. Considerable sequence differences (amino acid identities: 49-89%) were found between the novel virus and PLHV-1 as well as PLHV-2, which were very closely related to each other (amino acid identities: 85-98%). The novel virus had essentially the same genome organization as PLHV-1 and -2 and was therefore designated PLHV-3. Like PLHV-1 and -2, PLHV-3 was frequently found in the blood and in lymphoid organs of domestic and feral pigs from different geographic locations. In the blood, the PLHVs were detected predominantly in B-cells. Indication for latent as well as productive PLHV-3 infection was found in the porcine B-cell line L23. It can be concluded that the PLHVs are widespread and are likely to cause a persistent B-lymphotropic infection. Since PLHV-1 has been implicated in the development of porcine posttransplantation lymphoproliferative disease, all porcine lymphotropic gammaherpesviruses are of concern when pigs are used as donors in xenotransplantation.
Chmielewicz
Barbara
B
Robert Koch-Institut, Nordufer 20, D-13353 Berlin, Germany.
Goltz
Michael
M
Franz
Tatjana
T
Bauer
Cindy
C
Brema
Susanne
S
Ellerbrok
Heinz
H
Beckmann
Sabine
S
Rziha
Hanns-Joachim
HJ
Lahrmann
Karl-Heinz
KH
Romero
Carlos
C
Ehlers
Bernhard
B
D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000821:virology; D002460:Cell Line; D018142:Gammaherpesvirinae / Q000235:genetics*; D016679:Genome, Viral; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000821:virology; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013552:Swine