title: Regeneration and characterization of a recombinant bovine viral diarrhea virus and determination of its efficacy to cross the bovine placenta.
abstract: The capacity of different bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) strains to cause transplacental infection is variable. BVDV strain SD-1 was isolated from a persistently infected heifer. Its genome represents the only reported nucleotide sequence of a noncytopathic viral isolate determined without cell culture passage in the laboratory. Thus, SD-1 might possess biological advantages over other NCP BVDV strains to be used as a model virus for investigation of viral transplacental transmission. To evaluate if a molecularly generated BVDV SD-1 is capable of crossing the bovine placenta efficiently, a full-length cDNA clone of SD-1 was constructed using RT-PCR amplification and standard molecular techniques. In vitro transcripts synthesized from the cDNA template directed the generation of infectious virus in MDBK cells with a transfection efficiency as high as 4.7 x 10(5) FFU/mug RNA. The recovered virus termed ASD1 harbored five silent point mutations engineered as genetic markers and was similar to wild type (wt) SD-1 in viral growth kinetics. As evaluated in the pregnant heifers, ASD1 was capable of crossing the bovine placenta efficiently, suggesting that NCP BVDV SD-1 is a suitable viral backbone for investigation of the role of viral genetic element(s) in viral transplacental transmission by allowing for evaluation of newly created viral mutants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849-5519, USA. fanzhen@auburn.edu
authors.forename: Zhen-Chuan
authors.initials: ZC
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Hai-Hong
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology; D002460:Cell Line; D030241:Diarrhea Virus 1, Bovine Viral / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D005260:Female; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D018182:Pestivirus Infections / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D010920:Placenta / Q000821:virology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000821:virology; D011995:Recombination, Genetic