A Novel Genetic Group of Bovine Hepacivirus

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) (genus Hepacivirus; family Flaviviridae) is a major human pathogen causing persistent infection and hepatic injury. Recently, emerging HCV-like viruses were described infecting wild animals, such as bats and rodents, and domestic animals, including dogs, horses, and cattle. Using degenerate primers for detecting bovine pestiviruses in a 1996 survey three bovine serum samples showed a low identity with the genus Pestivirus of the Flaviviridae family. A virus could not be isolated in cell culture. The description of bovine hepaciviruses (BovHepV) in 2015 allowed us to retrospectively identify the sequences as BovHepV, with a 88.9% nucleotide identity. In a reconstructed phylogenetic tree, the Brazilian BovHepV samples grouped within the bovine HCV-like cluster in a separated terminal node that was more closely related to the putative bovine Hepacivirus common ancestor than to bovine hepaciviruses detected in Europe and Africa

A Novel Genetic Group of Bovine Hepacivirus in Archival Serum Samples from Brazilian Cattle

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) (genus; family Flaviviridae) is a major human pathogen causing persistent infection and hepatic injury. Recently, emerging HCV-like viruses were described infecting wild animals, such as bats and rodents, and domestic animals, including dogs, horses, and cattle. Using degenerate primers for detecting bovine pestiviruses in a 1996 survey three bovine serum samples showed a low identity with the genusof the Flaviviridae family. A virus could not be isolated in cell culture. The description of bovine hepaciviruses (BovHepV) in 2015 allowed us to retrospectively identify the sequences as BovHepV, with a 88.9% nucleotide identity. In a reconstructed phylogenetic tree, the Brazilian BovHepV samples grouped within the bovine HCV-like cluster in a separated terminal node that was more closely related to the putative bovinecommon ancestor than to bovine hepaciviruses detected in Europe and Africa

Detecção do virus ‘HoBi’-like (BVDV-3) em bovino no semiárido do Estado da Paraíba

RESUMO: Objetivou-se descrever os aspectos clínicos e anatomopatológicos, e a identificação viral de um caso de infecção pelo vírus ‘Hobi’-like (BVDV-3) em bovino do semiárido paraibano, Nordeste do Brasil. Um bovino, fêmea, três meses de idade, foi levado ao Hospital Veterinário da UFCG apresentando salivação, dificuldade de apreensão do teto, falta de apetite, fezes escuras e em pouca quantidade. Diante da piora do quadro clínico optou-se por sua eutanásia in extremis, seguida da realização da necropsia e coleta de material para histopatologia. Histologicamente, nas mucosas do trato digestivo, havia edema, degeneração balonosa, necrose e infiltrado inflamatório, que foi observado na face dorsal da língua e no seu epitélio mais profundo. A imunohistoquímica de amostras de extremidade de pavilhão auricular demonstrou marcação antigênica positiva e pela RT-PCR foi possível detectar RNA viral do BVDV no soro sanguíneo, cujo efeito citopático em células epiteliais de rim bovino da linhagem “Madin Darby bovine kidney” (MDBK) não foi observado. O sequenciamento do gene 5’NCR demonstrou que o vírus isolado estaria mais relacionado ao ‘Hobi’-like (BVDV-3). Após a confirmação do diagnóstico foram coletadas amostras de soro dos 23 animais do rebanho para sorologia por ELISA indireto, sendo constatada 69,6% (16/23) de soropositividade. A identificação deste novo caso de infecção por ‘Hobi’-like na Paraíba reafirma a necessidade de um monitoramento regular para BVDV na região para detecção precoce da infecção dos rebanhos e adoção de medidas eficazes de prevenção e controle

Complete genome sequence of Deltapapillomavirus 4 (bovine papillomavirus 2) from a bovine papillomavirus lesion in Amazon Region, Brazil

The complete genome sequence of bovine papillomavirus 2 (BPV2) from Brazilian Amazon Region was determined using multiple-primed rolling circle amplification followed by Illumina sequencing. The genome is 7,947 bp long, with 45.9% GC content. It encodes seven early (E1, E2,E4, E5, E6,E7, and E8) and two late (L1 and L2) genes. The complete genome of a BPV2 can help in future studies since this BPV type is highly reported worldwide although the lack of complete genome sequences available

HoBi-like Pestivirus Is Highly Prevalent in Cattle Herds in the Amazon Region (Northern Brazil)

Pestiviruses are globally distributed and cause substantial economic losses to the cattle industry. In Brazil, the country with the world’s largest cattle population, pestivirus infections are well described in some regions, such as in the south, where a high frequency of BVDV-2 is described and contrasts with the high prevalence of HoBi-like pestivirus (HoBiPeV) in the northeast. However, there is a lack of information about pestiviruses in the Amazon Region, in northern Brazil, with a cattle population estimated at 55.7 million head, which has a significant impact on the international livestock market. Therefore, this study investigated the seroprevalence and genetic variability of ruminant pestiviruses in 944 bovine serum samples from four states in northern Brazil: Pará (PA), Amapá (AP), Roraima (RR), and Amazonas (AM). Our results showed that 45.4% of the samples were seropositive (19.8% for BVDV-1, 14.1% for BVDV-2, and 20.9% for HoBiPeV). All samples were tested by RT–qPCR, and three were positive and classified as HoBiPeV in a phylogenetic analysis. These serological and molecular results contrast with those from other regions of the world, suggesting that the northern Brazilian states have a high prevalence of all bovine pestiviruses including HoBiPeV

Liquid-liquid Phase Separation and Fibrillation of the Prion Protein Modulated by a High-affinity DNA Aptamer

Structural conversion of cellular prion protein (PrPC) into scrapie PrP (PrPSc) and subsequent aggregation are key events associated with the onset of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Experimental evidence supports the role of nucleic acids (NAs) in assisting this conversion. Here, we asked whether PrP undergoes liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) and if this process is modulated by NAs. To this end, two 25-mer DNA aptamers, A1 and A2, were selected against the globular domain of recombinant murine PrP (rPrP90-231) using SELEX methodology. Multiparametric structural analysis of these aptamers revealed that A1 adopts a hairpin conformation. Aptamer binding caused partial unfolding of rPrP90-231 and modulated its ability to undergo LLPS and fibrillate. In fact, although free rPrP90-231 phase separated into large droplets, aptamer binding increased the number of droplets but noticeably reduced their size. Strikingly, a modified A1 aptamer that does not adopt a hairpin structure induced formation of amyloid fibrils on the surface of the droplets. We show here that PrP undergoes LLPS, and that the PrP interaction with NAs modulates phase separation and promotes PrP fibrillation in a NA structure and concentration-dependent manner. These results shed new light on the roles of NAs in PrP misfolding and TSEs