High antiviral effects of hibiscus tea extract on the H5 subtypes of low and highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses.

Viral neuraminidase inhibitors are widely used as synthetic anti-influenza drugs for the prevention and treatment of influenza. However, drug-resistant influenza A virus variants, including H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs), have been reported. Therefore, the discovery of novel and effective antiviral agents is warranted. We screened the antiviral effects of 11 herbal tea extracts (hibiscus, black tea, tencha, rosehip tea, burdock tea, green tea, jasmine tea, ginger tea, lavender tea, rose tea and oak tea) against the H5N1 HPAIV in vitro. Among the tested extracts, only the hibiscus extract and its fractionated extract (frHibis) highly and rapidly reduced the titers of all H5 HPAIVs and low pathogenic AIVs (LPAIVs) used in the pre-treatment tests of Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells that were inoculated with a mixture of the virus and the extract. Immunogold electron microscopy showed that anti-H5 monoclonal antibodies could not bind to the deformed H5 virus particles pretreated with frHibis. In post-treatment tests of MDCK cells cultured in the presence of frHibis after infection with H5N1 HPAIV, the frHibis inhibited viral replication and the expression of viral antigens and genes. Among the plants tested, hibiscus showed the most prominent antiviral effects against both H5 HPAIV and LPAIV.

Development of a blocking latex agglutination test for the detection of antibodies to chicken anemia virus.

A blocking latex agglutination test (b-LAT) developed in this study was evaluated for the detection of antibodies against chicken anemia virus (CAV) in chickens. Polystyrene latex beads were coupled with a neutralizing monoclonal antibody (mAb) to CAV (mAb-beads). When mAb-beads were mixed with antigens prepared from the lysate of MDCC-MSB1 cells infected with CAV, agglutination occurred. A short pre-incubation of CAV antigens with CAV-specific antiserum inhibited the agglutination of mAb-beads. The test results were obtained within 5min. The specificity of b-LAT was evaluated using sera from specific pathogen-free chickens and sera containing antibodies to avian influenza virus, Newcastle disease virus, infectious bursal disease virus, and Marek's disease virus; nonspecific agglutination and cross-reactivity with antibodies to unrelated viruses were not observed. The examination of 94 serum samples collected from commercial breeder chickens of various ages (17-63 weeks) revealed good agreement (93.6%, Kappa value=0.82) between b-LAT and a virus neutralization test, known to be most sensitive and specific in the detection of antibodies to CAV. These results indicate that b-LAT, a simple and rapid test, is a useful and reliable tool in CAV serology.

Characterization of mAbs to chicken anemia virus and epitope mapping on its viral protein, VP1.

Three (MoCAV/F2, MoCAV/F8 and MoCAV/F11) of four mouse mAbs established against the A2/76 strain of chicken anemia virus (CAV) showed neutralization activity. Immunoprecipitation showed a band at ~50 kDa in A2/76-infected cell lysates by neutralizing mAbs, corresponding to the 50 kDa capsid protein (VP1) of CAV, and the mAbs reacted with recombinant VP1 proteins expressed in Cos7 cells. MoCAV/F2 and MoCAV/F8 neutralized the 14 CAV strains tested, whereas MoCAV/F11 did not neutralize five of the strains, indicating distinct antigenic variation amongst the strains. In blocking immunofluorescence tests with the A2/76-infected cells, binding of MoCAV/F11 was not inhibited by the other mAbs. MoCAV/F2 inhibited the binding of MoCAV/F8 to the antigens and vice versa, suggesting that the two mAbs recognized the same epitope. However, mutations were found in different parts of VP1 of the escape mutants of each mAb: EsCAV/F2 (deletion of T89+A90), EsCAV/F8 (I261T) and EsCAV/F11 (E144G). Thus, the epitopes recognized by MoCAV/F2 and MoCAV/F8 seemed to be topographically close in the VP1 structure, suggesting that VP1 has at least two different neutralizing epitopes. However, MoCAV/F8 did not react with EsCAV/F2 or EsCAV/F8, suggesting that binding of MoCAV/F8 to the epitope requires coexistence of the epitope recognized by MoCAV/F2. In addition, MoCAV/F2, with a titre of 1 : 12 800 to the parent strain, neutralized EsCAV/F2 and EsCAV/F8 with low titres of 32 and 152, respectively. The similarity of the reactivity of MoCAV/F2 and MoCAV/F8 to VP1 may also suggest the existence of a single epitope recognized by these mAbs.

H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus isolated from conjunctiva of a whooper swan with neurological signs.

An H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus was isolated from conjunctiva of a whooper swan with neurological signs, which was captured during the latest H5N1 HPAI outbreak in Japan. The conjunctival swab contained a larger amount of the virus in comparison with the tracheal swab. This is the first report on H5N1 virus isolation from the conjunctiva of a wild bird, and the result may suggest the conjunctival swab to be a critical sample for H5N1 HPAIV detection in waterfowl. Phylogenetic analysis of the HA gene indicated that the virus falls into H5N1 clade 2.3.2.1.