title: Sheep (Ovis aries) airway epithelial cells support ovine herpesvirus 2 lytic replication in vivo.
abstract: Ovine herpesvirus 2 (OvHV-2) is the causative agent of sheep-associated malignant catarrhal fever (SA-MCF), a frequently fatal disease of some members of the order Artiodactyla. OvHV-2 is carried as a lifelong subclinical infection in sheep (Ovis aries). To date OvHV-2 has not been propagated in vitro and this has hampered studies of viral pathogenesis and efforts to develop a vaccine to protect animals from SA-MCF. Lytic OvHV-2 replication occurs in the lungs of experimentally infected sheep at early times post-inoculation (PI) and in the nasal cavities of naturally infected sheep during virus shedding episodes. Identification of specific cell types supporting lytic virus replication in vivo provides information that can be used in the development of an in vitro propagation system for the virus. Using fluorescence immunohistochemical techniques, we identified lytically infected alveolar epithelial cells in the lungs of sheep early during infection. Lytically infected epithelial cells were also detected in samples of nasal secretions collected from naturally infected sheep during episodes of virus shedding. This is the first reported identification in the natural reservoir species of specific cell types that support OvHV-2 lytic replication in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Animal Diseases Research Unit, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA. tausns@vetmed.wsu.edu
authors.forename: Naomi S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Taus
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: J Lindsay
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Oaks
authors.forename: Huijun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Katherine L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Gailbreath
authors.forename: Donald P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Knowles
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D036022:Capsid Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D018142:Gammaherpesvirinae / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D008168:Lung / Q000821:virology; D008304:Malignant Catarrh / Q000821:virology*; D009297:Nasal Mucosa / Q000821:virology; D011650:Pulmonary Alveoli / Q000821:virology; D020545:Respiratory Mucosa / Q000821:virology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D012756:Sheep / Q000821:virology*; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D036022:Capsid Proteins