Molecular characterisation of a novel avian rotavirus A strain detected from a gull species ( sp.).

A recent study demonstrated the possibility that migratory birds are responsible for the global spread of avian rotavirus A (RVA). However, little is known about what types of RVAs are retained in migratory birds. In this study, to obtain information on RVA strains in migratory birds, we characterised an RVA strain, Ho374, that was detected in a faecal sample from a gull species ( sp.

Epidemiological evidence for early-onset of enzootic bovine leukosis by L233-Tax-carrying bovine leukemia virus in Japanese Black cattle.

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is the causative agent of enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL), of which annual number has rapidly increased in Japan, and it can be divided into two categories based on the amino acid at position 233 in the Tax protein. Here, we conducted a nationwide surveillance of Japanese Black cattle between 2008 and 2021 in Japan. Among 237 tumor samples, 131 (55.

A novel nairovirus associated with acute febrile illness in Hokkaido, Japan.

The increasing burden of tick-borne orthonairovirus infections, such as Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, is becoming a global concern for public health. In the present study, we identify a novel orthonairovirus, designated Yezo virus (YEZV), from two patients showing acute febrile illness with thrombocytopenia and leukopenia after tick bite in Hokkaido, Japan, in 2019 and 2020, respectively. YEZV is phylogenetically grouped with Sulina virus detected in Ixodes ricinus ticks in Romania.

L233P mutation in the bovine leukemia virus Tax protein has impact on annexin A3 and type I collagen secretion by host cells.

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is the causative agent of enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL) and can be classified into two types based on the amino acid at position 233 in Tax protein, which probably plays crucial roles in leukemogenesis. We previously revealed that L233-Tax-expressing cells secreted chemoattractants for endothelial cells and formed significantly larger tumors accompanying neovascularization than P233-Tax-expressing cells in athymic mice. In the present study, comparative proteomic analysis of the culture medium of Tax-expressing cells revealed that annexin A3 and probably extracellular matrix protein 1 served as chemoattractants.

BoLA-DRB3 Polymorphism is Associated with Differential Susceptibility to Bovine Leukemia Virus-Induced Lymphoma and Proviral Load.

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is the causative agent of enzootic bovine leucosis. However, less than 5% of BLV-infected cattle will develop lymphoma, suggesting that, in addition to viral infection, host genetic polymorphisms might play a role in disease susceptibility. Bovine leukocyte antigen (BoLA) is a highly polymorphic gene associated with BLV proviral load (PVL) susceptibility.

L233P mutation in the bovine leukemia virus Tax protein depresses endothelial cell recruitment and tumorigenesis in athymic nude mice.

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) can be divided into two categories based on the amino acid at position 233 in the Tax protein, which probably plays a crucial role in leukemogenesis. We show here that a rat fibroblast cell line stably expressing L233-Tax formed significantly larger tumors than P233-Tax-expressing cells in a murine xenograft study. Although the microvessel density was comparable in both tumors, visible blood vessel invasion was observed only on tumors from L233-Tax-expressing cells.

Infection of newly identified phleboviruses in ticks and wild animals in Hokkaido, Japan indicating tick-borne life cycles.

Recent discoveries of tick-borne pathogens have raised public health concerns on tick-borne infectious diseases and emphasize the need to assess potential risks of unrecognized tick-borne pathogens. First, to determine the existence of tick-borne phleboviruses (TBPVs), genetic surveillance of phleboviruses in ticks was conducted mainly in Hokkaido, the northernmost island in Japan from 2013 to 2015. Genes of two TBPVs, previously reported as Mukawa virus (MKWV) and a newly identified relative of MKWV, Kuriyama virus (KURV), were detected and the viruses were isolated from Ixodes persulcatus collected in Hokkaido, but not in I.

Isolation of a sp. nov. Ljungan virus from wild birds in Japan.

Ljungan virus (LV) has been isolated/detected from rodents in a limited area including European countries and the USA. In this study, we isolated an LV strain from faecal samples of wild birds that had been collected in Japan, and determined the nearly complete sequence of the genome. Sequence analyses showed that the isolate possesses an LV-like genomic organization: 5UTR-VP0-VP3-VP1-2A1-2A2-2B-2C-3A-3B-3C-3D-3UTR.

Delayed-onset enzootic bovine leukosis possibly caused by superinfection with bovine leukemia virus mutated in the pol gene.

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is the causative agent of enzootic bovine leucosis (EBL), to which animals are most susceptible at 4-8 years of age. In this study, we examined tumor cells associated with EBL in an 18-year-old cow to reveal that the cells carried at least two different copies of the virus, one of which was predicted to encode a reverse transcriptase (RT) lacking ribonuclease H activity and no integrase. Such a deficient enzyme may exhibit a dominant negative effect on the wild-type RT and cause insufficient viral replication, resulting in delayed tumor development in this cow.

An NA-deficient 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza virus mutant can efficiently replicate in cultured cells.

We identified a novel neuraminidase (NA)-deficient virus that was a 2009 pandemic influenza H1N1 virus mutant. The mutant virus had a deletion of 1,009 nt in the NA gene and lacked an enzymatic domain. Although the yield of the NA-deficient virus was limited, it formed large plaques when applied to MDCK cell cultures, indicating that the virus was able to spread to adjacent cells.

L233P mutation of the Tax protein strongly correlated with leukemogenicity of bovine leukemia virus.

The bovine leukemia virus (BLV) Tax protein is believed to play a crucial role in leukemogenesis by the virus. BLV usually causes asymptomatic infections in cattle, but only one-third develop persistent lymphocytosis that rarely progress after a long incubation period to lymphoid tumors, namely enzootic bovine leucosis (EBL). In the present study, we demonstrated that the BLV tax genes could be divided into two alleles and developed multiplex PCR detecting an L233P mutation of the Tax protein.

Phylogenetic analyses of pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus in university students at Tobetsu, Hokkaido, Japan.

Pandemic influenza H1N1 virus (A[H1N1]pdm09) emerged in 2009. To determine the phylogeography of A(H1N1)pdm09 in a single population, 70 strains of the virus were isolated from university students or trainee doctors at Tobetsu, Hokkaido, Japan, between September and December 2009. The nucleotide sequences of the HA1 region of the HA genes and described phylogenetic relationships of the strains circulating among them were analyzed.

Genetic heterogeneity among bovine leukemia viruses in Japan and their relationship to leukemogenicity.

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) infection in cattle causes persistent lymphocytosis, and a few percent of infected animals develop lymphoid tumors, namely enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL). In this study, a 440-bp fragment of the env gene was amplified from 204 tumor samples collected from different regions of Japan and analyzed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) to determine the association of BLV with EBL. Of the seven RFLP types defined, types I, II, and III were dominant and found in 12.

Molecular epidemiology of bovine leukemia virus associated with enzootic bovine leukosis in Japan.

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) infection of cattle has been increasing yearly in Japan although several European countries have successfully eradicated the infection. In the present study, phylogenetic analysis on the env gene obtained from 64 tumor samples found in different regions in Japan was carried out in order to define the genetic background of BLV strains prevailing in the country. Most of the Japanese isolates were found to reside in the consensus cluster or genotype 1 of BLV strains (Rodriguez et al.

Full genomic amplification and subtyping of influenza A virus using a single set of universal primers.

Influenza A virus has eight-segmented RNA molecules as a genome and, among all strains of the virus, both ends of each segment have 13 and 12 nucleotide sequences conserved. In the present study, a simple RT-PCR method to amplify all eight segments of the virus and determine the HA and NA subtype using a single primer set based on the conserved terminal sequences has been established. This method is also capable of detecting subgenomic defective interfering RNA of the influenza A virus.

Proteolytic cleavage of glycoprotein B is dispensable for in vitro replication, but required for syncytium formation of pseudorabies virus.

Glycoprotein B (gB) is the most conserved glycoprotein among herpesviruses and it plays important roles in virus infectivity. In most herpesviruses, including pseudorabies virus (PRV), gB is cleaved by a cellular protease into two disulfide-linked subunits. In the present study, I found that the PRV gB generated in human colon carcinoma LoVo cells, which lack the ubiquitous protease furin, remained in the uncleaved form and the virus replicated in these cells without cell fusion.

The amino-terminal residue of glycoprotein B is critical for neutralization of bovine herpesvirus 1.

In order to address the neutralization epitope on bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV1) glycoprotein B (gB), a panel of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), a series of truncation forms of the glycoprotein and an MAb-escape mutant were used in this study. Immunocytochemistry on the truncations using MAbs against the glycoprotein revealed that the neutralization epitopes recognized by the MAbs lay between residues 1 and 52 of mature gB. Comparison of the sequences among the mutant, parent, and revertant viruses demonstrated that the amino-terminal residue of mature gB of the escape mutant was changed from Arg to Gln.

Genetic conservation of hemagglutinin gene of H9 influenza virus in chicken population in Mainland China.

The hemagglutinin (HA) genes of 12 H9N2 influenza virus strains isolated from chickens in Mainland China during the period 1995-2002 were genetically analyzed. All the isolates possessed the same amino acid motif -R-S-S-R/G-L- at the cleavage site of HA. Except for the conserved amino acids, as is the case in the other avian influenza viruses, located in the receptor binding site, all of the 12 isolates possessed N at amino acid position 183; A, T, or V at position 190; K at position 137, whereas the representative strains of the other lineage (except Dk/HK/Y280/97-like lineage) virus of H9N2 viruses had H, E, and R at these positions respectively.

A synthetic peptide from a heptad repeat region of herpesvirus glycoprotein B inhibits virus replication.

Glycoprotein B (gB) is the most conserved glycoprotein of herpesviruses and plays important roles in virus infectivity. Two intervening heptad repeat (HR) sequences were found in the C-terminal half of all herpesvirus gBs analysed. A synthetic peptide derived from the HR region (aa 477-510) of bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BoHV-1) gB was studied for its ability to inhibit virus replication.

Interregional transmission of the internal protein genes of H2 influenza virus in migratory ducks from North America to Eurasia.

H2 influenza virus caused a pandemic in 1957 and has the possibility to cause outbreaks in the future. To assess the evolutionary characteristics of H2 influenza viruses isolated from migratory ducks that congregate in Hokkaido, Japan, on their flyway of migration from Siberia in 2001, we investigated the phylogenetic relationships among these viruses and avian and human viruses described previously. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the PB2 gene of Dk/Hokkaido/107/01 (H2N3) and the PA gene of Dk/Hokkaido/95/01 (H2N2) belonged to the American lineage of avian virus and that the other genes of the isolates belonged to the Eurasian lineage.

Phylogenetic analysis of hemagglutinin and neuraminidase genes of H9N2 viruses isolated from migratory ducks.

Genetic analysis indicated that the pandemic influenza strains derived from wild aquatic birds harbor viruses of 15 hemagglutinin (HA) and 9 neuraminidase (NA) antigenic subtypes. Surveillance studies have shown that H9N2 subtype viruses are worldwide in domestic poultry and could infect mammalian species, including humans. Here, we genetically analyzed the HA and NA genes of five H9N2 viruses isolated from the migratory ducks in Hokkaido, Japan, the flyway of migration from Siberia during 1997-2000.

H9N2 influenza viruses prevalent in poultry in China are phylogenetically distinct from A/quail/Hong Kong/G1/97 presumed to be the donor of the internal protein genes of the H5N1 Hong Kong/97 virus.

Ten H9N2 influenza virus strains isolated from diseased chickens in different farms in China during 1995 to 1999 were antigenically and genetically characterized. The haemagglutinins of the isolates were not related to those of A/quail/Hong Kong/G1/97 (H9N2) (Qa/HK/G1/97), but were closely related to that of A/chicken/Hong Kong/G9/97 (H9N2) (Ck/HK/G9/97). The neuraminidase of these isolates had a deletion of three amino acid residues at positions 63 to 65 as compared with those of Ck/HK/G9/97, while that of Qa/HK/G1/97 lacked two amino acids at positions 38 and 39.

Phylogenetic analysis of neuraminidase gene of H9N2 influenza viruses prevalent in chickens in China during 1995-2002.

The neuraminidase (NA) genes of 12 H9N2 influenza virus strains isolated from diseased chickens in different farms in mainland China during 1995-2002 were amplified and sequenced. Amino acids at hemadsorbing (HB) site of these isolates are different from those of A/quail/Hong Kong/G1/97-like viruses and A/chicken/Korea/96-like viruses. Neuraminidases of the 12 strains had a deletion of 3 amino acid residues at positions 63-65 as compared to that of A/turkey/Wisconsin/189/66, while those of Korea and Pakistan H9N2 isolates had no deletion.

Passage of equine herpesvirus-1 in suckling mouse brain enhances extraneural virus growth and subsequent hematogenous neuroinvasion.

Intracerebral inoculation of field-isolates as well as established strains of equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) in suckling mice results in viral replication in neurons and glial cells and induces encephalitis. By intraperitoneal (i.p.