Early weaning of piglets fails to exclude porcine lymphotropic herpesvirus.
BACKGROUND
Xenotransplantation using pigs as source species carries a risk for the activation of latent herpesviruses from the porcine donor and potential transmission to the recipient. In pig-to-baboon xenotransplantation, activation of porcine cytomegalovirus (PCMV) has been associated with xenograft injury and an increased incidence of consumptive coagulopathy and graft loss. Activation of porcine lymphotropic herpesvirus (PLHV)-1 was not observed in pig-to-baboon solid organ xenotransplantation, but was associated with a syndrome of post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) after allogeneic stem cell transplantation in pigs.


METHODS
Early weaning of piglets was used to try to reduce the viral burden of xenograft donors. This consisted of separating the piglets of a litter from the sow within the first 2 weeks after birth and raising them in isolation from the remaining herd.


RESULTS
We have previously demonstrated that PCMV could be excluded from source animals by early weaning of piglets. However, early weaning failed to exclude PLHV-1 from source pigs.


CONCLUSIONS
This disparity between PCMV and PLHV-1 reflects differing pathogenesis of infection of these herpesviruses. New approaches will be needed to exclude PLHV-1 from pig colonies.
Mueller
Nicolas J
NJ
Infectious Diseases Division, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Kuwaki
Kenji
K
Knosalla
Christoph
C
Dor
Frank J M F
FJ
Gollackner
Bernd
B
Wilkinson
Robert A
RA
Arn
Scott
S
Sachs
David H
DH
Cooper
David K C
DK
Fishman
Jay A
JA
D000818:Animals; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000635:transmission; D018142:Gammaherpesvirinae; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D008232:Lymphoproliferative Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D010215:Papio; D034421:Sus scrofa; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous; D014886:Weaning