Parapoxvirus infections of red deer, Italy.

To characterize parapoxviruses causing severe disease in wild ruminants in Stelvio Park, Italy, we sequenced and compared the DNA of several isolates. Results demonstrated that the red deer isolates are closely related to the parapox of red deer in New Zealand virus.

A molecular study of hippocampus in dogs with convulsion during canine distemper virus encephalitis.

In this study, we have investigated the expression of the nuclear transcription factor (c-Fos, NFkB), growth factors (nerve growth factor--NGF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor--BDNF), peptides (enkephalin, galanin) and glutamate transporter (AA 504-523 rat EAAC1) in 6 dogs sacrificed immediately after seizure attack during encephalomyelitis due to canine distemper virus (CDV) (as assessed by clinical examination, RT-PCR and viral RNA detection either in blood or brain tissue and CDV immunohistochemistry in brain slices). In all these CDV affected dogs, the observed neurological signs included untreatable seizures, leading to cluster seizure activity and status epilepticus. In the inter-ictal phase abnormal mentation, postural and gait deficits and sometimes involuntary movements such as myoclonus were recorded. The same investigation was carried out in 5 control dogs affected by different disorders, all characterized by the absence of seizures. Brains were dissected out immediately after euthanasia and fixed; sections collected from the dorsal hippocampus were processed for immunohistochemistry. By comparing hippocampus sections obtained from dog with and without seizure, the following regulations were observed. A strong up-regulation of glutamate transporter throughout the cell layers was found together with the onset of nuclear Fos and NFkB-IR in the pyramidal cell layer X. Among the investigated peptides, we observed a slight increase in enkephalinergic fibers and a strong up-regulation of mu-opioid receptors, whereas galanin-IR seemed to be weaker. Finally, both NGF and BDNF expression was strongly up-regulated. BDNF-IR was mainly localized in the apical dendrite in pyramidal neurons. To our knowledge, these data offer the first indication that molecular events described in experimental kindling also occur during spontaneous pathology in animal species sharing close similarities to human neuropathology.

In vitro activity of VEGF-E produced by orf virus strains isolated from classical and severe persistent contagious ecthyma.

Proliferative orf virus infections in adult sheep have increased in Italy in the past few years: these extreme cases are frequently fatal and difficult to differentiate from other infectious diseases of sheep such as blue tongue. A probable explanation for the proliferative and highly vascularized nature of the lesions was found in the expression of the VEGF-E gene encoded by the orf virus. To investigate a possible role of the viral VEGF in the pathogenesis of severe persistent orf virus lesions, the activity of four VEGF-E variants was compared by an angiogenesis in vitro model. Similar angiogenic activity was found between strains isolated from the classical and the proliferative forms of the disease, even if the latter was able to develop a higher number of vessels during the first 24 h of infection. Our in vitro findings seems to exclude that the VEGF variants encoded by the strain isolated from the atypical form of the disease could be the responsible for the histopathological aspect of the proliferative lesions.

Virulent feline calicivirus disease in a shelter in Italy: a case description.

Feline calicivirus (FCV) is a common pathogen of cats that is particularly widespread in multi-cat environments such as shelters and catteries. FCV infections are usually associated with acute, mild and self-limiting upper respiratory tract disease characterized by oral vesicles/ulcers. Recently, virulent systemic disease (VSD) associated with FCV infection has been reported in the USA and Europe. This paper describes a case of VSD affecting one adult, FIV infected cat ("Oscar") living in a shelter located in Northern Italy; the clinical, post-mortem and laboratory findings indicate that this is the first case of suspected FCV-VSD in this country. Similar to a previous report (Meyer et al., 2011), the disease affected only one cat, while others remained asymptomatic, despite their direct contact with "Oscar". Phylogenetic analysis identified unique features in the "Oscar" FCV isolate. The FIV infection of the patient might have favoured the generation of the virulent FCV strains in this cat.

Analysis of deletion within the reindeer pseudocowpoxvirus genome.

Cases of contagious pustular stomatitis have been reported in Finnish reindeer for many years. Two species of the genus Parapoxvirus of the family Poxviridae have been identified as the causative agent of the disease; orf virus (ORFV) was found during the 1992-1993 epidemic and pseudocowpoxvirus (PCPV) was connected to the 1999-2000 epidemic. The genome of reindeer parapoxvirus from the latter outbreak, isolate F00.120R, was recently sequenced and confirmed as PCPV. The six gene deletion of the right terminus of the F00.120R genome, in comparison to ORFV, was investigated in an attempt to use it in differentiating viruses causing pustular stomatitis in reindeer. The present study describes discovery and analysis of genes 116-121 in reindeer PCPV and in an Italian field isolate of bovine PCPV. The results show that a 5431 bp sequence containing genes 116-121 was likely to have been deleted from the F00.120R genome between the 6th and 7th passage in cell culture, and that these genes are present in other isolates of reindeer and bovine PCPV isolated in Finland during the years 2005-2010. The data presented here extends our knowledge of the PCPV genome, confirming that it contains homologues of all known ORFV genes and further reinforces their close genetic relationship. The similarity between the EEV envelope and GM-CSF inhibitory factor genes from reindeer PCPV and ORFV isolates, Finnish sheep ORFV and cattle PCPV isolates indicate that these viruses have been circulating among Finnish reindeer, cattle and sheep over a long period of time.

Antiviral efficacy of EICAR against canine distemper virus (CDV) in vitro.

Canine distemper virus (CDV) is a highly contagious pathogen of carnivores. In dogs, the disease is characterized by high lethality rates and no specific antiviral therapy is available. The aim of this study was to verify the in vitro antiviral activity of the 5-ethynyl-1-beta-d-ribofuranosylimidazole-4-carboxamide (EICAR) and to compare it with the 1-(beta-d-ribofuranosyl)-1,2,4-triazole-3-carboxamide (ribavirin, RBV). EICAR was more active than RBV against CDV replication, while both molecules exhibited low selectivity indexes. A reversal of their antiviral activity was observed after addition of guanosine, suggesting their involvement in the inhibition of the inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase enzyme (IMPDH). RBV and EICAR had a time- and concentration-dependent anti-CDV activity, mainly displayed during the first 10h post-infection. The involvement of the inhibition of the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (vRdRp) is discussed, as well as the role of CDV as a model to study more potent and selective antiviral molecules active against other Paramyxoviridae.