Enterovirus-Cardiomyocyte Interactions: Impact of Terminally Deleted Genomic RNAs on Viral and Host Functions.

Group B enteroviruses, including coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3), can persistently infect cardiac tissue and cause dilated cardiomyopathy. Persistence is linked to 5' terminal deletions of viral genomic RNAs that have been detected together with minor populations of full-length genomes in human infections. In this study, we explored the functions and interactions of the different viral RNA forms found in persistently infected patients and their putative role(s) in pathogenesis. Since enterovirus cardiac pathogenesis is linked to the viral proteinase 2A, we investigated the effect of different terminal genomic RNA deletions on 2A activity. We discovered that 5' terminal deletions in CVB3 genomic RNAs decreased the levels of 2A proteinase activity but could not abrogate it. Using newly generated viral reporters encoding nano-luciferase, we found that 5' terminal deletions resulted in decreased levels of viral protein and RNA synthesis in singly transfected cardiomyocyte cultures. Unexpectedly, when full-length and terminally deleted forms were cotransfected into cardiomyocytes, a cooperative interaction was observed, leading to increased viral RNA and protein production. However, when viral infections were carried out in cells harboring 5' terminally deleted CVB3 RNAs, a decrease in infectious particle production was observed. Our results provide a possible explanation for the necessity of full-length viral genomes during persistent infection, as they would stimulate efficient viral replication compared to that of the deleted genomes alone. To avoid high levels of viral particle production that would trigger cellular immune activation and host cell death, the terminally deleted RNA forms act to limit the production of viral particles, possibly as trans-dominant inhibitors. IMPORTANCE Enteroviruses like coxsackievirus B3 are able to initiate acute infections of cardiac tissue and, in some cases, to establish a long-term persistent infection that can lead to serious disease sequelae, including dilated cardiomyopathy. Previous studies have demonstrated the presence of 5' terminally deleted forms of enterovirus RNAs in heart tissues derived from patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. These deleted RNAs are found in association with very low levels of full-length enterovirus genomic RNAs, an interaction that may facilitate continued persistence while limiting virus particle production. Even in the absence of detectable infectious virus particle production, these deleted viral RNA forms express viral proteinases at levels capable of causing viral pathology. Our studies provide mechanistic insights into how full-length and deleted forms of enterovirus RNA cooperate to stimulate viral protein and RNA synthesis without stimulating infectious viral particle production. They also highlight the importance of targeting enteroviral proteinases to inhibit viral replication while at the same time limiting the long-term pathologies they trigger.

Advanced detection strategies for cardiotropic virus infection in a cohort study of heart failure patients.

The prevalence and contribution of cardiotropic viruses to various expressions of heart failure are increasing, yet primarily underappreciated and underreported due to variable clinical syndromes, a lack of consensus diagnostic standards and insufficient clinical laboratory tools. In this study, we developed an advanced methodology for identifying viruses across a spectrum of heart failure patients. We designed a custom tissue microarray from 78 patients with conditions commonly associated with virus-related heart failure, conditions where viral contribution is typically uncertain, or conditions for which the etiological agent remains suspect but elusive. Subsequently, we employed advanced, highly sensitive in situ hybridization to probe for common cardiotropic viruses: adenovirus 2, coxsackievirus B3, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, hepatitis C and E, influenza B and parvovirus B19. Viral RNA was detected in 46.4% (32/69) of heart failure patients, with 50% of virus-positive samples containing more than one virus. Adenovirus 2 was the most prevalent, detected in 27.5% (19/69) of heart failure patients, while in contrast to previous reports, parvovirus B19 was detected in only 4.3% (3/69). As anticipated, viruses were detected in 77.8% (7/9) of patients with viral myocarditis and 37.5% (6/16) with dilated cardiomyopathy. Additionally, viruses were detected in 50% of patients with coronary artery disease (3/6) and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (2/4) and in 28.6% (2/7) of transplant rejection cases. We also report for the first time viral detection within a granulomatous lesion of cardiac sarcoidosis and in giant cell myocarditis, conditions for which etiological agents remain unknown. Our study has revealed a higher than anticipated prevalence of cardiotropic viruses within cardiac muscle tissue in a spectrum of heart failure conditions, including those not previously associated with a viral trigger or exacerbating role. Our work forges a path towards a deeper understanding of viruses in heart failure pathogenesis and opens possibilities for personalized patient therapeutic approaches.

Viruses in the Heart: Direct and Indirect Routes to Myocarditis and Heart Failure.

Viruses are an underappreciated cause of heart failure. Indeed, several types of viral infections carry cardiovascular risks. Understanding shared and unique mechanisms by which each virus compromises heart function is critical to inform on therapeutic interventions. This review describes how the key viruses known to lead to cardiac dysfunction operate. Both direct host-damaging mechanisms and indirect actions on the immune systems are discussed. As viral myocarditis is a key pathologic driver of heart failure in infected individuals, this review also highlights the role of cytokine storms and inflammation in virus-induced cardiomyopathy.

Cardiovascular consequences of viral infections: from COVID to other viral diseases.

Infection of the heart muscle with cardiotropic viruses is one of the major aetiologies of myocarditis and acute and chronic inflammatory cardiomyopathy (DCMi). However, viral myocarditis and subsequent dilated cardiomyopathy is still a challenging disease to diagnose and to treat and is therefore a significant public health issue globally. Advances in clinical examination and thorough molecular genetic analysis of intramyocardial viruses and their activation status have incrementally improved our understanding of molecular pathogenesis and pathophysiology of viral infections of the heart muscle. To date, several cardiotropic viruses have been implicated as causes of myocarditis and DCMi. These include, among others, classical cardiotropic enteroviruses (Coxsackieviruses B), the most commonly detected parvovirus B19, and human herpes virus 6. A newcomer is the respiratory virus that has triggered the worst pandemic in a century, SARS-CoV-2, whose involvement and impact in viral cardiovascular disease is under scrutiny. Despite extensive research into the pathomechanisms of viral infections of the cardiovascular system, our knowledge regarding their treatment and management is still incomplete. Accordingly, in this review, we aim to explore and summarize the current knowledge and available evidence on viral infections of the heart. We focus on diagnostics, clinical relevance and cardiovascular consequences, pathophysiology, and current and novel treatment strategies.

Acute heart failure due to dilated cardiomyopathy exacerbated by systemic parechovirus A1 infection in an infant.

Parechovirus A1 (PeV-A1) often causes mild respiratory or gastrointestinal disease. Herein we report a case of acute heart failure due to dilated cardiomyopathy exacerbated by acute PeV-A1 infection in a 10-month-old infant. He was brought to our hospital with acute respiratory distress and compensated shock. Echocardiogram showed a dilated left ventricle and severe mitral regurgitation, consistent with dilated cardiomyopathy. PeV-A1 infection was confirmed by (1) positive PCR test results for PeV-A in multiple anatomical sites, including blood, stool, and throat, (2) the genetic sequence of viral protein, and (3) an increase in paired serum PeV-A1-specific neutralizing antibody titers. A few, scattered case reports in infants and young children also indicate the association between myocarditis and/or dilated cardiomyopathy and PeV-A1 infection. In conclusion, PeV-A1 infection could be associated with exacerbation of myocardial diseases in infants and young children; thus PeV-A1 needs to be evaluated as a viral cause of such a condition.

Lithium chloride confers protection against viral myocarditis via suppression of coxsackievirus B3 virus replication.

Viral myocarditis (VMC) is a type of inflammation affecting myocardial cells caused by viral infection and has been an important cause of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) worldwide. Type B3 coxsackievirus (CVB3), a non-enveloped positive-strand RNA virus of the Enterovirus genus, is one of most common agent of viral myocarditis. Till now, effective treatments for VMC are lacking due to lack of drugs or vaccine. Lithium chloride (LiCl) is applied in the clinical management of manic depressive disorders. Accumulating evidence have demonstrated that LiCl, also as an effective antiviral drug, exhibited antiviral effects for specific viruses. However, there are few reports of evaluating LiCl's antiviral effect in mice model. Here, we investigated the inhibitory influence of LiCl on the CVB3 replication in vitro and in vivo and the development of CVB3-induced VMC. We found that LiCl significantly suppressed CVB3 replication in HeLa via inhibiting virus-induced cell apoptosis. Moreover, LiCl treatment in vivo obviously inhibited virus replication within the myocardium and alleviated CVB3-induced acute myocarditis. Collectively, our data demonstrated that LiCl inhibited CVB3 replication and negatively regulated virus-triggered inflammatory responses. Our finding further expands the antiviral targets of LiCl and provides an alternative agent for viral myocarditis.

Prelamin A mediates myocardial inflammation in dilated and HIV-associated cardiomyopathies.

Cardiomyopathies are complex heart muscle diseases that can be inherited or acquired. Dilated cardiomyopathy can result from mutations in LMNA, encoding the nuclear intermediate filament proteins lamin A/C. Some LMNA mutations lead to accumulation of the lamin A precursor, prelamin A, which is disease causing in a number of tissues, yet its impact upon the heart is unknown. Here, we discovered myocardial prelamin A accumulation occurred in a case of dilated cardiomyopathy, and we show that a potentially novel mouse model of cardiac-specific prelamin A accumulation exhibited a phenotype consistent with inflammatory cardiomyopathy, which we observed to be similar to HIV-associated cardiomyopathy, an acquired disease state. Numerous HIV protease therapies are known to inhibit ZMPSTE24, the enzyme responsible for prelamin A processing, and we confirmed that accumulation of prelamin A occurred in HIV+ patient cardiac biopsies. These findings (a) confirm a unifying pathological role for prelamin A common to genetic and acquired cardiomyopathies; (b) have implications for the management of HIV patients with cardiac disease, suggesting protease inhibitors should be replaced with alternative therapies (i.e., nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors); and (c) suggest that targeting inflammation may be a useful treatment strategy for certain forms of inherited cardiomyopathy.

Systematic Review of PCR Proof of Parvovirus B19 Genomes in Endomyocardial Biopsies of Patients Presenting with Myocarditis or Dilated Cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: Diverse viral infections have been associated with myocarditis (MC) and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). In this meta-analysis, we summarize the published results on the association of parvovirus B19 (B19V) genomes with human MC/DCM versus controls. METHODS: n = 197 publications referring to B19V and MC or DCM were retrieved using multiple PubMed search modes. Out of these, n = 29 publications met the inclusion criteria with data from prospective analyses on >10 unselected patients presenting with MC or DCM (dataset: MA01). Data retrieved simultaneously from both controls and MC/DCM patients were available from n = 8 from these publications (dataset: MA02). RESULTS: In the dataset MA01 B19V genomes were detected in 42.6% of the endomyocardial biopsies (EMB) in this cohort by PCR. In the dataset MA02 comprising n = 638 subjects, there was no statistically significant different rate of B19V positivity in myocardial tissues comparing controls (mean: 38.8 + 24.1%) versus the MC/DCM-patients (45.5 + 24.3%; p = 0.58). There was also no statistical difference between the positivity rate of B19V genomes in myocardial tissues of MA01 (46.0 + 19.5%) and the two patient groups of MA02 (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review reveals that the mean rate of PCR detected B19V genomes in patients presenting with MC/DCM does not differ significantly from the findings in control myocardial tissues. These data imply pathogenetically insignificant latency of B19V genomes in a proportion of myocardial tissues, both in MC-/DCM-patients and in controls. More information (i.e., replicative status, viral protein expression) is pertinent to achieve a comprehensive workup of myocardial B19V infection.

Enterovirus Persistence in Cardiac Cells of Patients With Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy Is Linked to 5' Terminal Genomic RNA-Deleted Viral Populations With Viral-Encoded Proteinase Activities.

BACKGROUND: Group B enteroviruses are common causes of acute myocarditis, which can be a precursor of chronic myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy, leading causes of heart transplantation. To date, the specific viral functions involved in the development of dilated cardiomyopathy remain unclear. METHODS: Total RNA from cardiac tissue of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy was extracted, and sequences corresponding to the 5' termini of enterovirus RNAs were identified. After next-generation RNA sequencing, viral cDNA clones mimicking the enterovirus RNA sequences found in patient tissues were generated in vitro, and their replication and impact on host cell functions were assessed on primary human cardiac cells in culture. RESULTS: Major enterovirus B populations characterized by 5' terminal genomic RNA deletions ranging from 17 to 50 nucleotides were identified either alone or associated with low proportions of intact 5' genomic termini. In situ hybridization and immunohistological assays detected these persistent genomes in clusters of cardiomyocytes. Transfection of viral RNA into primary human cardiomyocytes demonstrated that deleted forms of genomic RNAs displayed early replication activities in the absence of detectable viral plaque formation, whereas mixed deleted and complete forms generated particles capable of inducing cytopathic effects at levels distinct from those observed with full-length forms alone. Moreover, deleted or full-length and mixed forms of viral RNA were capable of directing translation and production of proteolytically active viral proteinase 2A in human cardiomyocytes. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate that persistent viral forms are composed of B-type enteroviruses harboring a 5' terminal deletion in their genomic RNAs and that these viruses alone or associated with full-length populations of helper RNAs could impair cardiomyocyte functions by the proteolytic activity of viral proteinase 2A in cases of unexplained dilated cardiomyopathy. These results provide a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie the persistence of EV forms in human cardiac tissues and should stimulate the development of new therapeutic strategies based on specific inhibitors of the coxsackievirus B proteinase 2A activity for acute and chronic cardiac infections.

Parvovirus B19 in Endomyocardial Biopsy of Patients With Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy: Foe or Bystander?

BACKGROUND: Parvovirus B19 (PVB19) has emerged as one of the viruses possibly inducing chronic myocarditis and subsequent idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM). The aim of this work was to investigate the presence and long-term consequences of PVB19-DNA within myocardial biopsies from patients with IDCM and to compare the findings with those from donor hearts (control group). METHODS AND RESULTS: Forty hospitalized IDCM patients (age 47 ± 12 y) with mean left ventricular ejection fraction 27 ± 12% were included. The presence of PVB19-DNA in myocardial biopsies and of IgG and IgM antibodies in patient sera was analyzed. The control group consisted of 20 donor hearts. The follow-up time was 112 ± 57 months. PVB19-DNA was found in myocardial biopsies of both patients (73%) and control samples (55%; P = .25).Three deaths and 8 heart transplantations occurred in the IDCM group, and 6 deaths in the control group (ie, the recipients of the control hearts). No difference in transplantation-free survival between the PVB19-DNA positive/negative IDCM patients or transplant recipients was found. CONCLUSIONS: PVB19-DNA is a common finding in both patients with IDCM and in healthy donor hearts, not affecting prognosis. These findings support the view that PVB19 is an innocent bystander, frequently found in myocardium with low DNA copies, and not a plausible cause of IDCM.

First evidence of the presence of adenovirus type 8 in myocardium of patients with severe idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Previous studies have detected adenovirus and cytomegalovirus (CMV) in cardiac tissue of patients with myocarditis. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the frequency of these viruses, which may be involved in the development of severe dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Myocardial tissue from of 23 cardiac transplant candidates with acute idiopathic DCM below the age of 40 years were analyzed by amplification of adenovirus and CMV DNA and subsequent sequencing. Adenovirus was detected in four (17.4%) and CMV in one (4.3%) of the patients. All controls were negative for the presence of both viruses. Our study shows that myocardial infection with adenovirus may play an important role in the pathogenesis of severe DCM and suggests that vaccination against adenovirus might be helpful in decreasing the prevalence of severe idiopathic DCM. This is the first study in which adenovirus type 8 has been detected in the hearts of patients with DCM.

X-Linked Dilated Cardiomyopathy Presenting as Acute Rhabdomyolysis and Presumed Epstein-Barr Virus-Induced Viral Myocarditis: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND Rhabdomyolysis and primary dilated cardiomyopathies without skeletal muscle weakness are rare features of X-linked dystrophinopathies. We report a rare case of an X-linked dilated cardiomyopathy (XLDCM) presenting with acute rhabdomyolysis and myocarditis. We illustrate the confounding diagnostic influence of a reactivated, persistent EBV myocarditis as the presumed cause for this patient's XLDCM. CASE REPORT A 23-year-old Australian man presented with acute rhabdomyolysis and elevated creatine kinase (CK) levels. He was managed conservatively with intravenous hydration and developed acute pulmonary edema. Cardiac MRI and transthoracic echocardiogram revealed a dilated cardiomyopathy and viral myocarditis. Extensive sero-logical investigations identified reactivation of EBV, which was presumed to account for his viral myocarditis. The patient recovered and was discharged with down-trending CK levels. Follow-up transthoracic echocardiograms and cardiac MRI showed a persisting dilated cardiomyopathy. His CK continued to remain elevated and his EBV IgM serology remained positive. An inflammatory polymyositis with either a primary autoimmune pathophysiology or secondary to a chronic EBV infection was considered. Oral corticosteroids were trialed and reduced his CK significantly until therapy was ceased. Massively parallel sequencing eventually identified a two-exon deletion targeting Xp21 consistent with the diagnosis of a rare XLDCM. CONCLUSIONS Rhabdomyolysis and co-existing primary dilated cardiomyopathies are rare diagnostic manifestations in a minority of X-linked dystrophinopathies. Chronic viral infections and their reactivation may complicate the diagnostic process and incorrectly attribute an inherited cardiomyopathy to an acquired infective etiology. EBV reactivation rarely induces myocarditis. Therefore, primary and unresolving dilated cardiomyopathy with persistently elevated CK must prompt consideration of an underlying dystrophinopathy.

[The virus-immune hypothesis for cardiac dilatation]. / Virusno-immunnaia gipoteza razvitiia dilatatsii serdtsa.

The paper gives an update on the pathogenetic role of viral infection and immune mechanisms in the development of cardiac dilatation at the cellular, ultrastructural, and molecular levels. Particular attention is given to the discussion of the possible role of herpesvirus infection in the mechanisms of cardiomyocyte damage with the direct or indirect impact of viral infection through immunoinflammatory responses. Data on the protective and damaging action of a number of cytokines in the immunopathogenesis of viral myocarditis are considered.

Immunological and pathological consequences of coxsackievirus RNA persistence in the heart.

Type B coxsackieviruses (CVB) can cause myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), a potentially-fatal sequela that has been correlated to the persistence of viral RNA. Herein, we demonstrate that cardiac RNA persistence can be established even after an inapparent primary infection. Using an inducible Cre/lox mouse model, we ask: (i) Does persistent CVB3 RNA cause ongoing immune activation? (ii) If T1IFN signaling into cardiomyocytes is ablated after RNA persistence is established, is there any change in the abundance of persistent CVB3 RNA and/or does cytopathic infectious virus re-emerge? (iii) Does this loss of T1IFN responsiveness by cardiomyocytes lead to the recurrence/exacerbation of myocarditis? Our findings suggest that persistent enteroviral RNAs probably do not contribute to ongoing myocardial disease, and are more likely to be the fading remnants of a recent, possibly sub-clinical, primary infection which may have set in motion the process that ultimately ends in DCM.

[Efficiency of immunosuppressive therapy in virus-negative and virus-positive patients with morphologically verified lymphocytic myocarditis]. / Éffektivnost' immunosupressivnoi terapii u virus-negativnykh i viruspozitivnykh bol'nykh s morfologicheski verifitsirovannym limfotsitarnym miokarditom.

AIM: To evaluate the efficiency of immunosuppressive therapy (IST) in virus-negative (V-) and virus-positive (V+) patients with lymphocytic myocarditis (LM). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: 60 patients (45 males) (mean age 46.7±11.8 years) with dilated cardiomyopathy (mean left ventricular (LV) end diastolic size (EDS) 6.7±0.7 cm; ejection fraction (EF) 26.2±9.1%) were examined. The diagnosis of active/borderline LM was verified by right ventricular endomyocardial biopsy in 38 patients, by intraoperative LV biopsy in 10, in the study of explanted hearts from 3 patients and at autopsy in 9. The investigators determined the genomes of parvovirus B19, herpes viruses types 1, 2 and 6, Epstein-Barr (EBV), zoster, and cytomegalovirus in the blood and myocardium and, if antibodies were present in the blood, hepatitis B and C viruses, as well as antibodies against antigens in the endothelium, cardiomyocytes and their nuclei, smooth muscles, fibers of the conducting system. IST was used in terms of histological, immune, and viral activities. IST was performed in 22 V+ patients (Group 1) and in 24 V- patients (Group 2); this was not done in 10 V+ patients (Group 3) and V- patients (Group 4). IST comprised methylprednisolone at a mean dose of 24 mg/day (n=40), hydroxychloroquine 200 mg/day (n=20), azathioprine at a mean dose of 150 mg/day (n=21); antiviral therapy included acyclovir, ganciclovir, intravenous immunoglobulin (n=24). The follow-up period was 19 (7.3-40.3) months. RESULTS: The viral genome was detected in the myocardium of 32 patients who made up a V+ group. The degree of histological activity did not differ in relation to the presence of viral genome in the myocardium. The degree of immune activity (anticardiolipin antibody titers) in the V+ patients was as high as that in V- ones. At baseline, the V+ patients had a significantly higher LV EDS and a lower EF than the V- patients. Overall, IST only could lead to a significant increase in EF (from 26.5±0.9 to 36.0±10.8%; p<0.001) and reductions in NYHA functional class from III to II (p<0.001), LV EDS (from 6.7±0.7 to 6.4±0.8 cm; p<0.01), pulmonary artery systolic pressure (from 48.9±15.5 to 39.4±11.5 mm Hg (p<0.01); the IST group had significantly lower mortality rates than the non-IST group (23.9 and 64.3%; p<0.01). At the same time, a significant trend was seen in both V- and V+ patients. The mortality rate in the V+ patients, as a whole, was higher (46.9 and 17.9%; p<0.05). CONCLUSION: IST leads to a significant improvement of functional indices and it is associated with lower mortality rates in both myocardial V- and V+ patients with LM. A more than 10% EF increase in the first 2 months is associated with a good prognosis. The presence of viral genome in the myocardium (primarily herpesviruses rather than parvovirus-19) is accompanied by more severe initial dysfunction, a less pronounced effect of IST, and higher mortality rates. However, the positive effect of IST also persists in V+ patients. No positive changes (a decrease in EF was observed) were absent only in IST-naïve V+ patients.

Viral Infection of the Heart: Pathogenesis and Diagnosis.

Viral infections of the heart cause serious clinical problems, either as infectious myocarditis, which usually is a consequence of acute infection or as idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, resulting rather from a chronic infection. This minireview presents an up-to-date view on pathomechanisms of viral infection of the heart tissues, the role of immune system in controlling infectious process at its various stages and current possibilities of recognizing viral infection of the heart with use of both cardiological and virological methods. Our goal was to present the variety of known viral agents causing heart infection, level of complexity in mutual virus-cell interactions, and consequent clinical scenarios.

Enterovirus but not Parvovirus B19 is associated with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and endomyocardial CD3, CD68, or HLA-DR expression.

We assessed Enterovirus (EV) &Parvovirus B19 (PVB19) genomes and CD3, CD68&HLA-DR detection in dilated cardiomyopathies (DCM). EV&PVB19 genomes and CD3, CD68&HLA-DR were detected by PCR and immunohistochemistry assays in 115 endomyocardial biopsies obtained in 13 idiopathic DCM (iDCM) and 10 explained DCM (eDCM) patients. Results were compared with those of 47 atrial surgical samples (47 surgery controls) and 22 autoptic cardiac samples (11 healthy heart controls) (2008-2014, Reims, France). EV was detected in 23.1% of iDCM patients but not in eDCM and controls (P = 0.003) (viral load 803 copies/µg). PVB19 was detected in 76.9%, 80.0%, 63.6% and 78.2% of iDCM, eDCM, healthy heart and surgery controls (P = 0.99) with a mean viral load of 413, 346, 1,428, and 71 copies/µg. CD3, CD68 or HLA-DR were detected in 100 and 50% of EV and PVB19 "mono-infected" iDCM patients. EV was exclusively detected in iDCM cases in association with CD3, CD68, or HLA-DR indicating that EV could be an etiological cause in a subset of iDCM cases. By contrast the equal frequent detection of PVB19 in iDCM cases and controls without association with CD3, CD68, or HLA-DR suggested that PVB19 could be a bystander in many DCM cases. J. Med. Virol. 89:55-63, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A Novel Murine Model of Parvovirus Associated Dilated Cardiomyopathy Induced by Immunization with VP1-Unique Region of Parvovirus B19.

Background. Parvovirus B19 (B19V) is a common finding in endomyocardial biopsy specimens from myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy patients. However, current understanding of how B19V is contributing to cardiac damage is rather limited due to the lack of appropriate mice models. In this work we demonstrate that immunization of BALB/c mice with the major immunogenic determinant of B19V located in the unique sequence of capsid protein VP1 (VP1u) is an adequate model to study B19V associated heart damage. Methods and Results. We immunized mice in the experimental group with recombinant VP1u; immunization with cardiac myosin derived peptide served as a positive reference and phosphate buffered saline served as negative control. Cardiac function and dimensions were followed echocardiographically 69 days after immunization. Progressive dilatation of left ventricle and decline of ejection fraction were observed in VP1u- and myosin-immunized mice. Histologically, severe cardiac fibrosis and accumulation of heart failure cells in lungs were observed 69 days after immunization. Transcriptomic profiling revealed ongoing cardiac remodeling and immune process in VP1u- and myosin-immunized mice. Conclusions. Immunization of BALB/c mice with VP1u induces dilated cardiomyopathy in BALB/c mice and it could be used as a model to study clinically relevant B19V associated cardiac damage.