title: SPF rabbits infected with rabbit hepatitis E virus isolate experimentally showing the chronicity of hepatitis.
abstract: This study focused on investigating the pathogenesis seen in specific-pathogen-free (SPF) rabbits following infection with a homologous rabbit HEV isolate (CHN-BJ-rb14) and comparing it to that seen following infection with a heterologous swine genotype 4 HEV isolate (CHN-XJ-SW13). Three of the four animals inoculated with the homologous rabbit HEV became infected, exhibiting an intermittent viremia, obvious fluctuations of liver function biomarkers alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and persistent fecal virus shedding throughout the nine month study. In addition, liver histopathology showed both chronic inflammation and some degree of fibrosis. Both positive and negative-stranded HEV RNA and HEV antigen expression were detected in liver, brain, stomach, duodenum and kidney from the necropsied rabbits. Inflammation of extrahepatic tissue (duodenum and kidney) was also observed. Three of the four rabbits inoculated with the heterologous genotype 4 swine HEV also became infected, showing similar levels of anti-HEV antibody to that generated following infection with the homologous virus isolate. The duration of both viremia and fecal shedding of virus was however shorter following infection with the heterologous virus and there was no significant elevation of liver function biomarkers. These results suggest that rabbit HEV infection may cause more severe hepatitis and prolong the course of the disease, with a possible chronic trend of hepatitis in SPF rabbits.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yaxin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Junke
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yulin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Hang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhuang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D004386:Duodenum / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology; D016752:Hepatitis E virus / Q000502:physiology*; D006521:Hepatitis, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000662:veterinary*; D006524:Hepatitis, Viral, Animal / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D007668:Kidney / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D008099:Liver / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D011817:Rabbits; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; D013270:Stomach / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D014779:Virus Replication; D017201:Virus Shedding
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral