Bat Coronaviruses and Experimental Infection of Bats, the Philippines

Virus-infected fruit bats showed no signs of clinical infection

Novel Betaherpesvirus in Bats

Because bats are associated with emerging zoonoses, identification and characterization of novel viruses from bats is needed. Using a modified rapid determination system for viral RNA/DNA sequences, we identified a novel bat betaherpesvirus 2 not detected by herpesvirus consensus PCR. This modified system is useful for detecting unknown viruses

Quantized Event-Triggered Control of Discrete-Time Linear Systems with Switching Triggering Conditions

Event-triggered control is a method that the control input is updated only when a certain triggering condition is satisfied. In networked control systems, quantization errors via A/D conversion should be considered. In this paper, a new method for quantized event-triggered control with switching triggering conditions is proposed. For a discrete-time linear system, we consider the problem of finding a state-feedback controller such that the closed-loop system is uniformly ultimately bounded in a certain ellipsoid. This problem is reduced to an LMI (Linear Matrix Inequality) optimization problem. The volume of the ellipsoid may be adjusted. The effectiveness of the proposed method is presented by a numerical example

Virulence, pathology, and pathogenesis of Pteropine orthoreovirus (PRV) in BALB/c mice: Development of an animal infection model for PRV

<div><p>Background</p><p>Cases of acute respiratory tract infection caused by Pteropine orthoreovirus (PRV) of the genus <i>Orthoreovirus</i> (family: <i>Reoviridae</i>) have been reported in Southeast Asia, where it was isolated from humans and bats. It is possible that PRV-associated respiratory infections might be prevalent in Southeast Asia. The clinical course of PRV is not fully elucidated.</p><p>Methods</p><p>The virulence, pathology, and pathogenesis of two PRV strains, a human-borne PRV strain (isolated from a patient, who returned to Japan from Bali, Indonesia in 2007) and a bat-borne PRV (isolated from a bat [<i>Eonycteris spelaea</i>] in the Philippines in 2013) were investigated in BALB/c mice using virological, pathological, and immunological study methods.</p><p>Results</p><p>The intranasal inoculation of BALB/c mice with human-borne PRV caused respiratory infection. In addition, all mice with immunity induced by pre-inoculation with a non-lethal dose of PRV were completely protected against lethal PRV infection. Mice treated with antiserum with neutralizing antibody activity after inoculation with a lethal dose of PRV showed a reduced fatality rate. In this mouse model, bat-borne PRV caused respiratory infection similar to human-borne PRV. PRV caused lethal respiratory disease in an animal model of PRV infection, in which BALB/c mice were used.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>The BALB/c mouse model might help to accelerate research on the virulence of PRV and be useful for evaluating the efficacy of therapeutic agents and vaccines for the treatment and prevention of PRV infection. PRV was shown for the first time to be a causative virus of respiratory disease on the basis of Koch’s postulations by the additional demonstration that PRV caused respiratory disease in mice through their intranasal inoculation with PRV.</p></div

Analysis of the humoral immune responses among cynomolgus macaque naturally infected with Reston virus during the 1996 outbreak in the Philippines

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ebolaviruses induce lethal viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) in humans and non-human primates, with the exceptions of Reston virus (RESTV), which is not pathogenic for humans. In human VHF cases, extensive analyses of the humoral immune responses in survivors and non-survivors have shown that the IgG responses to nucleoprotein (NP) and other viral proteins are associated with asymptomatic and survival outcomes, and that the neutralizing antibody responses targeting ebolaviruses glycoprotein (GP_1,2) are the major indicator of protective immunity. On the other hand, the immune responses in non-human primates, especially naturally infected ones, have not yet been elucidated in detail, and the significance of the antibody responses against NP and GP_1,2 in RESTV-infected cynomolgus macaques is still unclear. In this study, we analyzed the humoral immune responses of cynomolgus macaque by using serum specimens obtained from the RESTV epizootic in 1996 in the Philippines to expand our knowledge on the immune responses in naturally RESTV-infected non-human primates.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The antibody responses were analyzed using IgG-ELISA, an indirect immunofluorescent antibody assay (IFA), and a pseudotyped VSV-based neutralizing (NT) assay. Antigen-capture (Ag)-ELISA was also performed to detect viral antigens in the serum specimens. We found that the anti-GP_1,2 responses, but not the anti-NP responses, closely were correlated with the neutralization responses, as well as the clearance of viremia in the sera of the RESTV-infected cynomolgus macaques. Additionally, by analyzing the cytokine/chemokine concentrations of these serum specimens, we found high concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines/chemokines, such as IFNγ, IL8, IL-12, and MIP1α, in the convalescent phase sera.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results imply that both the antibody response to GP_1,2 and the proinflammatory innate responses play significant roles in the recovery from RESTV infection in cynomolgus macaques.</p