Research on Herpesviruses of Equids

A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This special issue belongs to the section "Viral Pathogens".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2022) | Viewed by 9434

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
BioTARGen—Biologie, Génétique et Thérapies OstéoArticulaires et Respiratoires, Saint-Contest, France
Interests: equine immunology; equine influenza virus; equine herpesvirus; equine grass sickness
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Institute of Virology, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Interests: equine herpesviruses; influenza virus; antiviral therapeutics; vaccines; flow chamber analysis; mutagenesis; diagnosis

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Science & Engineering, School of Agriculture, Animal and Environmental Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
Interests: equine infectious diseases; immunology; vaccination; equine influenza
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Equid herpesviruses are present worldwide. Equine Herpesvirus type-1 (EHV-1) is often considered as the main threat due to the diverse diseases induced and the potential economic impact on the equine industry. However, many other equid herpesviruses are circulating amongst domestic horse populations as well as in wild equids. Alphaherpesvirinae (EHV-1, EHV-3, EHV-4, EHV-8, and EHV-9) are often associated with acute diseases (e.g., respiratory, infectious abortion, encephalo-myelopathy, and coital exanthema) and sporadic species barrier crossing with severe health consequences. The impact and consequence of Gammaherpesvirinae infection (e.g., EHV-2 and EHV-5) has frequently been overlooked, and deserves further investigation.             

For this Special Issue of Pathogens, we invite you to submit research articles, review articles, short notes, as well as communications related to the molecular and epidemiological aspects of equid herpesviruses in different species, EHV infection models, virus–host interactions, immune response, and vaccine and antiviral development.

We look forward to your contribution.

Dr Stéphane Pronost
Dr Walid Azab
Dr Romain Paillot
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • equid herpesviruses
  • species barrier crossing
  • virus–host interaction
  • antiviral therapeutics
  • immune biomarkers
  • immunity
  • vaccine
  • animal models

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 2759 KiB  
Article
Oral Administration of Valganciclovir Reduces Clinical Signs, Virus Shedding and Cell-Associated Viremia in Ponies Experimentally Infected with the Equid Herpesvirus-1 C2254 Variant
by Côme J. Thieulent, Gabrielle Sutton, Marie-Pierre Toquet, Samuel Fremaux, Erika Hue, Christine Fortier, Alexis Pléau, Alain Deslis, Stéphane Abrioux, Edouard Guitton, Stéphane Pronost and Romain Paillot
Pathogens 2022, 11(5), 539; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11050539 - 4 May 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2249
Abstract
Equid alphaherpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) is one of the main pathogens in horses, responsible for respiratory diseases, ocular diseases, abortions, neonatal foal death and neurological complications such as equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM). Current vaccines reduce the excretion and dissemination of the virus and, therefore, the [...] Read more.
Equid alphaherpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) is one of the main pathogens in horses, responsible for respiratory diseases, ocular diseases, abortions, neonatal foal death and neurological complications such as equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM). Current vaccines reduce the excretion and dissemination of the virus and, therefore, the extent of an epizooty. While their efficacy against EHV-1-induced abortion in pregnant mares and the decreased occurrence of an abortion storm in the field have been reported, their potential efficacy against the neurological form of disease remains undocumented. No antiviral treatment against EHV-1 is marketed and recommended to date. This study aimed to measure the protection induced by valganciclovir (VGCV), the prodrug of ganciclovir, in Welsh mountain ponies experimentally infected with an EHV-1 ORF30-C2254 strain. Four ponies were administered VGCV immediately prior to experimental EHV-1 infection, while another four ponies received a placebo. The treatment consisted in 6.5 mg/kg body weight of valganciclovir administered orally three times the first day and twice daily for 13 days. Clinical signs of disease, virus shedding and viraemia were measured for up to 3 weeks. The severity of the cumulative clinical score was significantly reduced in the treated group when compared with the control group. Shedding of infectious EHV-1 was significantly reduced in the treated group when compared with the control group between Day + 1 (D + 1) and D + 12. Viraemia was significantly reduced in the treated group when compared with the control group. Seroconversion was measured in all the ponies included in the study, irrespective of the treatment received. Oral administration of valganciclovir induced no noticeable side effect but reduced clinical signs of disease, infectious virus shedding and viraemia in ponies experimentally infected with the EHV-1 C2254 variant. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Herpesviruses of Equids)
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18 pages, 27784 KiB  
Article
Equid Alphaherpesvirus 1 Modulates Actin Cytoskeleton and Inhibits Migration of Glioblastoma Multiforme Cell Line A172
by Michalina Bartak, Marcin Chodkowski, Anna Słońska, Marta Grodzik, Jarosław Szczepaniak, Marcin W. Bańbura and Joanna Cymerys
Pathogens 2022, 11(4), 400; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11040400 - 25 Mar 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2389
Abstract
Equid alphaherpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) causes respiratory diseases, abortion, and neurological disorders in horses. Recently, the oncolytic potential of this virus and its possible use in anticancer therapy has been reported, but its influence on cytoskeleton was not evaluated yet. In the following study, [...] Read more.
Equid alphaherpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) causes respiratory diseases, abortion, and neurological disorders in horses. Recently, the oncolytic potential of this virus and its possible use in anticancer therapy has been reported, but its influence on cytoskeleton was not evaluated yet. In the following study, we have examined disruptions in actin cytoskeleton of glioblastoma multiforme in vitro model—A172 cell line, caused by EHV-1 infection. We used three EHV-1 strains: two non-neuropathogenic (Jan-E and Rac-H) and one neuropathogenic (EHV-1 26). Immunofluorescent labelling, confocal microscopy, real-time cell growth analysis and OrisTM cell migration assay revealed disturbed migration of A172 cells infected with the EHV-1, probably due to rearrangement of actin cytoskeleton and the absence of cell projections. All tested strains caused disruption of the actin network and general depolymerization of microfilaments. The qPCR results confirmed the effective replication of EHV-1. Thus, we have demonstrated, for the first time, that EHV-1 infection leads to inhibition of proliferation and migration in A172 cells, which might be promising for new immunotherapy treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Herpesviruses of Equids)
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22 pages, 3217 KiB  
Article
Equine Herpesvirus Type 4 (EHV-4) Outbreak in Germany: Virological, Serological, and Molecular Investigations
by Selvaraj Pavulraj, Kathrin Eschke, Jana Theisen, Stephanie Westhoff, Gitta Reimers, Sandro Andreotti, Nikolaus Osterrieder and Walid Azab
Pathogens 2021, 10(7), 810; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10070810 - 25 Jun 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3778
Abstract
Equine herpesvirus type 4 (EHV-4) is enzootic in equine populations throughout the world. A large outbreak of EHV-4 respiratory infection occurred at a Standardbred horse-breeding farm in northern Germany in 2017. Respiratory illness was observed in a group of in-housed foals and mares, [...] Read more.
Equine herpesvirus type 4 (EHV-4) is enzootic in equine populations throughout the world. A large outbreak of EHV-4 respiratory infection occurred at a Standardbred horse-breeding farm in northern Germany in 2017. Respiratory illness was observed in a group of in-housed foals and mares, which subsequently resulted in disease outbreak. Out of 84 horses in the stud, 76 were tested and 41 horses were affected, including 20 foals, 10 stallions, and 11 mares. Virological investigations revealed the involvement of EHV-4 in all cases of respiratory illness, as confirmed by virus isolation, qPCR, and/or serological follow-up using virus neutralization test and peptide-specific ELISA. Among infected mares, 73% (8 out of 11) and their corresponding foals shed the virus at the same time. EHV-4 was successfully isolated from four animals (including one stallion and three foals), and molecular studies revealed a different restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) profile in all four isolates. We determined the complete 144 kbp genome sequence of EHV-4 isolated from infected horses by next-generation sequencing and de novo assembly. Hence, EHV-4 is genetically stable in nature, different RFLP profiles, and genome sequences of the isolates, suggesting the involvement of more than one animal as a source of infection due to either true infection or reactivation from a latent state. In addition, epidemiological investigation revealed that stress caused by seasonal changes, management practices, routine equestrian activities, and exercises contributed as a multifactorial causation for disease outbreak. This study shows the importance of implementing stress alleviating measures and management practices in breeding farms in order to avoid immunosuppression and occurrence of disease. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Herpesviruses of Equids)
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