title: Transmission of hepatitis E virus from rabbits to cynomolgus macaques.
abstract: The recent discovery of hepatitis E virus (HEV) strains in rabbits in the People's Republic of China and the United States revealed that rabbits are another noteworthy reservoir of HEV. However, whether HEV from rabbits can infect humans is unclear. To study the zoonotic potential for and pathogenesis of rabbit HEV, we infected 2 cynomolgus macaques and 2 rabbits with an HEV strain from rabbits in China. Typical hepatitis developed in both monkeys; they exhibited elevated liver enzymes, viremia, virus shedding in fecal specimens, and seroconversion. Comparison of the complete genome sequence of HEV passed in the macaques with that of the inoculum showed 99.8% nucleotide identity. Rabbit HEV RNA (positive- and negative-stranded) was detectable in various tissues from the experimentally infected rabbits, indicating that extrahepatic replication may be common. Thus, HEV is transmissible from rabbits to cynomolgus macaques, which suggests that rabbits may be a new source of human HEV infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Qiu-Ning
authors.initials: QN
authors.lastname: Bu
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Ren-Jie
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Ya-Xin
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.forename: Yu-Qing
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Ouyang
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yong-Hong
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Feng-Min
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhuang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000097:blood / Q000635:transmission* / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D016752:Hepatitis E virus / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008252:Macaca fascicularis / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics; D011817:Rabbits / Q000821:virology*; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral
keywords: Cynomolgus macaques; cross-species transmission; extrahepatic replication, viruses; rabbit hepatitis E virus; zoonoses