Evaluation of the pathogenic potential of cervid adenovirus in calves.

Four 3-month-old Jersey calves and three 3-month-old Holstein calves were inoculated with cervid adenovirus and monitored for clinical signs until necropsied between 10 and 42 days postinoculation. The neonatal Jersey calves had received colostrum, and the Holstein calves were colostrum deprived. Preinoculation and postinoculation serum samples were tested for antibodies to the cervid adenovirus, bovine adenovirus type 6, bovine adenovirus type 7, and goat adenovirus type 1. Virus isolation was performed on kidney, nasal secretion, and/or lung homogenates in fetal white-tailed deer lung cells. Negatively stained preparations of feces from Jersey calves were examined weekly using an electron microscope, and weekly blood samples were collected for complete blood counts. Full necropsies were performed on all calves. A complete selection of tissues was evaluated for microscopic changes, and immunohistochemistry was performed on all tissues using a polyclonal antibody to deer adenovirus. No clinical signs were observed in the calves during the study period. Following inoculation, colostrum-deprived calves developed low antibody titers to deer adenovirus, while the Jersey calves that received colostrum did not. Calves that received colostrum had high antibody titers to bovine adenovirus type 7 and goat adenovirus type 1. No consistent gross or microscopic lesions were seen. Adenovirus was not observed in negatively stained preparations of feces. Immunohistochemistry results did not demonstrate virus in all tissues examined microscopically, and virus was not isolated from lungs, nasal secretions, and kidneys.

Pulmonary dendritic cells isolated from neonatal and adult ovine lung tissue.

Lung dendritic cells (DCs) are potent antigen presenting cells (APCs) that initiate and modulate the adaptive immune response upon microbial infection within the pulmonary environment. For the first time, neonatal and adult lung DCs in a large animal model were compared in these studies. Here, we isolated and identified lung DCs in both neonatal and adult sheep, a valuable experimental animal utilized in pulmonary studies of naturally occurring respiratory diseases. Neonatal lung DCs exhibited characteristic dendrites and morphology when observed by transmission electron microscopy and expressed low to moderate DEC-205, CD80/86, MHC class II and CD 14. Regardless of age, lung DCs were functionally able to endocytose FITC conjugated ovalbumin but to a lesser degree than monocyte-derived DCs. In addition, neonatal lung DCs were demonstrated to be potent stimulators of allogeneic T cell proliferation. Together, these results demonstrate that neonatal and adult lung DCs are functionally similar. It is apparent from the data presented that neonatal pulmonary DCs do not exhibit an intrinsic functional defect that would impair their ability to take up antigen and stimulate naïve T cells. These data support growing evidence that neonatal immune responses may differ from adults due to different microenvironmental influences rather than differences in dendritic cell maturation states.

Isolation of an adenovirus and an adeno-associated virus from goat kids with enteritis.

A dairy goat operation in Minnesota experienced a sudden, markedly increased mortality among its neonatal goats. Approximately 60 of 130 kids (46%) died. The animals had diarrhea and dyspnea of 1-2 days duration before death. Necropsy of 4 goat kids revealed marked, acute, catarrhal enteritis and fibrinous pleuropneumonia. Mannheimia haemolytica was isolated from the lungs. Basophilic inclusion bodies filling the entire nucleus were present in enterocytes of the ileum of 3 goats. Adenoviral particles were detected in the feces by electron microscopy and adenovirus was subsequently isolated from the intestinal content together with a parvo-like virus (dependovirus). Morphology, physicochemical characteristics, and neutralization tests indicated that the adenovirus resembled ovine adenovirus-2 (OAdV-2). However, the PstI restriction endonuclease pattern produced by the goat adenovirus was distinct from that of OAdV-2. This is the first report of enteritis in goats with an adenovirus antigenically related to OAdV-2 and with a parvo-like dependovirus.

Generation by self re-fusion of bovine³ × murine² heterohybridomas secreting virus-neutralizing bovine monoclonal antibodies to bovine herpesvirus 1 glycoproteins gB, gC, and gD.

Seventy-eight heterohybridomas (HH) stably secreting bovine monoclonal antibodies (BomAb) to Bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV1) were produced by fusing lymph node cells from a BHV1 hyperimmunized calf with 3 types of non-secreting fusion partners. Seven were generated through fusion with the murine × murine (murine(2)) hybridoma SP2/0, 3 through fusion with bovine-murine(2) HH previously generated using cells from the same calf, and 68 through fusion with bovine(2)-murine(2) HH previously generated by sequential fusions using cells from the same calf. The chromosome number of example HH increased with increasing numbers of input fusions. A variety of indirect fluorescent antibody assay patterns was observed using the BomAb, suggesting diverse antigen specificity. Three bovine(3)-murine(2) HH secreted IgG1 BomAb neutralizing BHV1 without complement, and were chosen for further characterization. SDS-PAGE of detergent-solubilized BHV1 proteins bound to the 3 neutralizing BomAb demonstrated their individual specificities for BHV1 envelope glycoproteins gB, gC, and gD, the major neutralization targets for BHV1. The 3 HH stably secreted the BomAb in culture for over one year, and pilot-scale production of the BomAb was accomplished by in vivo and in vitro methods. A cocktail of the 3 BomAb was administered intravenously (i.v.) to a 6-month-old calf and its serum neutralization activity decreased with a half-life consistent with non-immune clearance, suggesting that BomAb may be useful for passive immune treatment of disease in cattle. Rabbits were passively protected by i.v. injection with each of the anti-gB and anti-gD BomAb when challenged i.v. with BHV1 24h later. Self re-fusion was shown to be advantageous for efficiently producing HH stably secreting host monoclonal antibodies. The BomAb described should prove useful in studies of the host immune response to BHV1, as reagents, and as sources of bovine immunoglobulin sequences.

Novel caprine adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid (AAV-Go.1) is closely related to the primate AAV-5 and has unique tropism and neutralization properties.

Preexisting humoral immunity to adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors may limit their clinical utility in gene delivery. We describe a novel caprine AAV (AAV-Go.1) capsid with unique biological properties. AAV-Go.1 capsid was cloned from goat-derived adenovirus preparations. Surprisingly, AAV-Go.1 capsid was 94% identical to the human AAV-5, with differences predicted to be largely on the surface and on or under the spike-like protrusions. In an in vitro neutralization assay using human immunoglobulin G (IgG) (intravenous immune globulin [IVIG]), AAV-Go.1 had higher resistance than AAV-5 (100-fold) and resistance similar to that of AAV-4 or AAV-8. In an in vivo model, SCID mice were pretreated with IVIG to generate normal human IgG plasma levels prior to the administration of AAV human factor IX vectors. Protein expression after intramuscular administration of AAV-Go.1 was unaffected in IVIG-pretreated mice, while it was reduced 5- and 10-fold after administration of AAV-1 and AAV-8, respectively. In contrast, protein expression after intravenous administration of AAV-Go.1 was reduced 7.1-fold, similar to the 3.8-fold reduction observed after AAV-8 administration in IVIG-pretreated mice, and protein expression was essentially extinguished after AAV-2 administration in mice pretreated with much less IVIG (15-fold). AAV-Go.1 vectors also demonstrated a marked tropism for lung when administered intravenously in SCID mice. The pulmonary tropism and high neutralization resistance to human preexisting antibodies suggest novel therapeutic uses for AAV-Go.1 vectors, including targeting diseases such as cystic fibrosis. Nonprimate sources of AAVs may be useful to identify additional capsids with distinct tropisms and high resistance to neutralization by human preexisting antibodies.