title: Pathogenesis of canine distemper virus in experimentally infected raccoon dogs, foxes, and minks.
abstract: Canine distemper virus (CDV) infects a broad range of carnivores and causes a highly contagious disease with severe immunosuppression. The disease severity markedly varies in different species. To investigate the pathogenesis of CDV in raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides), fox (Vulpes vulpes) and mink (Neovison vison) species, three groups of CDV sero-negative animals were infected with CDV strain LN(10)1. This CDV strain belongs to the Asia-1 genotype, which is epidemiologically predominant in carnivores in China. CDV infection provoked marked differences in virulence in the three species that were studied. Raccoon dogs developed fever, severe conjunctivitis, and pathological lesions, with 100% (5/5) mortality and with high viral RNA loads in organs within 15 days post infection (dpi). In infected foxes, the onset of the disease was delayed, with 40% (2/5) mortality by 21 dpi. Infected minks developed only mild clinical signs and pathological lesions, and mortality was not observed. Raccoon dogs and foxes showed more severe immune suppression (lymphopenia, decreased lymphocyte proliferation, viremia and low-level virus neutralizing antibodies) than minks. We also observed a distinct pattern of cytokine mRNA transcripts at different times after infection. Decreased IFN-γ and IL-4 mRNA responses were evident in the animals with fatal disease, while up-regulation of these cytokines was observed in the animals surviving the infection. Increased TNF-α response was detected in animals with mild or severe clinical signs. Based on the results, we could distinguish three different patterns of disease after experimental CDV infection, e.g. a mild form in minks, a moderate form in foxes and a severe disease in raccoon dogs. The observed differences in susceptibility to CDV could be related to distinct host cytokine profiles. Comparative evaluation of CDV pathogenesis in various animal species is pivotal to generate models suitable for the evaluation of CDV-host interactions and of vaccine response.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases of Special Animal, Institute of Special Animal and Plant Sciences, The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, PR China; State Key Laboratory for Molecular Biology of Special Economic Animal, Institute of Special Animal and Plant Sciences, The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, PR China. Electronic address: zhaojianjun@caas.cn.
authors.forename: Jianjun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases of Special Animal, Institute of Special Animal and Plant Sciences, The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, PR China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases of Special Animal, Institute of Special Animal and Plant Sciences, The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, PR China.
authors.forename: Yangang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Vito
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Martella
authors.affiliation: Boehringer Ingelheim Veterinary Research Center GmbH & Co. KG, Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Veljko
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nikolin
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases of Special Animal, Institute of Special Animal and Plant Sciences, The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, PR China.
authors.forename: Chunsheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases of Special Animal, Institute of Special Animal and Plant Sciences, The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, PR China.
authors.forename: Hailing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases of Special Animal, Institute of Special Animal and Plant Sciences, The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, PR China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases of Special Animal, Institute of Special Animal and Plant Sciences, The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, PR China.
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases of Special Animal, Institute of Special Animal and Plant Sciences, The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, PR China; State Key Laboratory for Molecular Biology of Special Economic Animal, Institute of Special Animal and Plant Sciences, The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, PR China. Electronic address: yanxijun@caas.cn.
authors.forename: Xijun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D001921:Brain / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002681:China; D016207:Cytokines / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004216:Distemper / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000821:virology; D004217:Distemper Virus, Canine / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D005589:Foxes; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy / Q000662:veterinary*; D008168:Lung / Q000648:ultrastructure / Q000821:virology; D008907:Mink; D010802:Phylogeny; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D046031:Raccoon Dogs; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D015854:Up-Regulation; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D016207:Cytokines; D012367:RNA, Viral; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
keywords: Canine distemper virus; Fox; Mink; Pathogenesis; Raccoon dog