Zhizhong Cui

Development and characterization of monoclonal antibodies to subgroup J avian leukosis virus.

In an attempt to develop a specific diagnostic test for avian leukosis virus (ALV) subgroup J (ALV-J) strain Hc1, four monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), JE9, G2, 145, and J47, were generated that are specific for ALV-J envelope glycoprotein, gp85. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify genomic pro-viral DNA of Avian Disease and Oncology Laboratory (ADOL)-Hc1 and ADOL-4817 envelope genes. Both open reading frames encoding glycoproteins gp85 and gp37 were cloned into baculoviruses. Abundant expression of gp85 and gp37 was detected in the recombinant viruses with specific antibody to Hc1 strain of the ALV-J. The expressed proteins were used for immunization of mice to produce hybridoma cell lines secreting MAbs specific to ALV-J envelope protein. A panel of MAbs was generated by fusing NS1 myeloma cells and spleen cells from mice immunized with the recombinant baculoviruses. With the use of an immunofluorescence assay, three MAbs (JE9, G2, 145) reacted with ALV-J but not with subgroups A, B, C, D, or E of ALV. MAb J47 reacted with all exogenous subgroups of ALV including A, B, C, D, and J but not with endogenous subgroup E viruses. Western blot analysis was performed with all four MAbs against recombinant baculovirus and Hc1-infected chicken embryo fibroblast (CEF) lysates. A major band with a molecular weight about 90 kD corresponding to the size of ALV-J envelope was consistently obtained. With these MAbs, we detected the Hc1 antigen in CEFs infected with several ALV-J viruses isolated in the United States and also in tissue sections from chickens infected with Hc1 strain of ALV-J. These MAbs will be useful reagents for the diagnosis of ALV-J infection because they recognize a common antigenic epitope in six isolates tested thus far.

Serologic differences among nondefective reticuloendotheliosis viruses

SummaryAntigenic relationships among 26 isolates of reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) obtained from several avian species were compared by cross neutralization tests with polyclonal chicken sera and by immunofluorescent assays with monoclonal antibodies to REV strain T. The isolates were all strongly related by neutralization assays and thus probably constitute a single serotype. However, 3 antigenic subtypes were suggested by minor but distinct differences in neutralization titers. The validity of these 3 subtype designations was confirmed by differential reactivity of viral isolates to selected monoclonal antibodies. Subtype-associated differences in serum antibody titers were noted following the inoculation of chickens with the REV isolates.

Deletion of the meq gene significantly decreases immunosuppression in chickens caused by pathogenic marek's disease virus

BackgroundMareks disease virus (MDV) causes an acute lymphoproliferative disease in chickens, resulting in immunosuppression, which is considered to be an integral aspect of the pathogenesis of Mareks disease (MD). A recent study showed that deletion of the Meq gene resulted in loss of transformation of T-cells in chickens and a Meq-null virus, rMd5ΔMeq, could provide protection superior to CVI988/Rispens.ResultsIn the present study, to investigate whether the Meq-null virus could be a safe vaccine candidate, we constructed a Meq deletion strain, GX0101ΔMeq, by deleting both copies of the Meq gene from a pathogenic MDV, GX0101 strain, which was isolated in China. Pathogenesis experiments showed that the GX0101ΔMeq virus was fully attenuated in specific pathogen-free chickens because none of the infected chickens developed Mareks disease-associated lymphomas. The study also evaluated the effects of GX0101ΔMeq on the immune system in chickens after infection with GX0101ΔMeq virus. Immune system variables, including relative lymphoid organ weight, blood lymphocytes and antibody production following vaccination against AIV and NDV were used to assess the immune status of chickens. Experimental infection with GX0101ΔMeq showed that deletion of the Meq gene significantly decreased immunosuppression in chickens caused by pathogenic MDV.ConclusionThese findings suggested that the Meq gene played an important role not only in tumor formation but also in inducing immunosuppressive effects in MDV-infected chickens.

Diagnosis and sequence analysis of avian leukosis virus subgroup J isolated from Chinese Partridge Shank chickens

The diagnosis of avian leukosis virus subgroup J (ALV-J) infection in Chinese Partridge Shank chickens was confirmed by necropsy, histopathological examinations, antibody tests, viral isolation, immunofluorescence assays, and sequence analysis. Myelocytoma, myeloma, and fibrosarcoma were simultaneously found in Partridge Shank flock with ALV-J infection. Sequence analysis of the env genes of ALV-J demonstrated that both gp85 and gp37 were highly homologous among the three strains from local chickens of those among ALV-J strains isolated from white meat-type chickens. The phylogenetic trees indicated that the three strains isolated in this study were closely related to reference strains isolated in so-called Chinese yellow chickens and some strains isolated from white meat-type chickens, both from the USA and China. The observed ALV-J infection was the first report on Partridge Shank chickens, and myelocytoma, myeloma, and fibrosarcoma were found at the same time in this batch of local chickens.

Complete Genome Sequence of a Recombinant Marek's Disease Virus Field Strain with One Reticuloendotheliosis Virus Long Terminal Repeat Insert

ABSTRACT Mareks disease virus (MDV) Chinese strain GX0101, isolated in 2001 from a vaccinated flock of layer chickens with severe tumors, was the first reported recombinant MDV field strain with one reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) long terminal repeat (LTR) insert. GX0101 belongs to very virulent MDV (vvMDV) but has higher horizontal transmission ability than the vvMDV strain Md5. The complete genome sequence of GX0101 is 178,101 nucleotides (nt) and contains only one REV-LTR insert at a site 267 nt upstream of the sorf2 gene. Moreover, GX0101 has 5 repeats of a 217-nt fragment in its terminal repeat short (TRS) region and 3 repeats in internal repeat short (IRS) region, compared to the other 10 strains with only 1 or 2 repeats in both TRS and IRS.

Isolation, identification, and whole genome sequencing of reticuloendotheliosis virus from a vaccine against Marek's disease

According to the requirements of the Ministry of Agriculture of China, all vaccines must be screened for exogenous virus contamination before commercialization. A freeze-dried vaccine against Mareks disease was used to inoculate specific pathogen-free chickens, from which serum samples were collected after 42 days. The results were positive for reticuloendotheliosis virus antibody, which was indicative of reticuloendotheliosis virus contamination. After neutralization with serum positive for Mareks disease virus, chicken embryo fibroblasts were inoculated with the vaccine. Afterward, viral isolation and identification were performed. One reticuloendotheliosis virus strain (MD-2) was isolated and verified using an immunofluorescence assay. Polymerase chain reaction amplification of the provirus MD-2 genome was performed using seven overlapping fragments as primers. The amplified products were sequenced and spliced to obtain the whole MD-2 genome sequence. The full genome length of MD-2 was 8,284 bp, which had an identity greater than 99% with the prairie chicken isolate APC-566 from the US, the goose-derived isolate 3410/06 from Taiwan, and the chicken-derived reticuloendotheliosis virus isolate HLJR0901 from Heilongjiang Province, China. The MD-2 was phylogenetically close to these isolates. The identity with REV isolate HA9901 from Jiangsu Province of China was 96.7%. The MD-2 had the lowest identity with duck-derived Sin Nombre virus from the United States, with the value of only 93.5%. The main difference lay in the U3 region of the long terminal repeat. The present research indicated that some vaccines produced during specific periods in China might be contaminated by reticuloendotheliosis virus. The reticuloendotheliosis virus strain isolated from the vaccine was phylogenetically close to the prevalent strain, with only minor variations.

The Role of pp38 in Regulation of Marek’s Disease Virus Bi-directional Promoter between pp38 and 1.8-kb mRNA

Marek’s disease virus (MDV) contains a bi-directional promoters located between pp38 gene and 1.8-kb mRNA in the long inverted repeat region of the viral genome. The involvement of pp38 gene in up-regulating the activity of these promoters was analyzed by transient expression of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter gene. Two CAT reporter plasmids, pP(pp38)-CAT and pP(1.8-kb)-CAT, were constructed to express CAT under the control of the bi-directional promoter in both orientations. These plasmids were transfected into chicken embryonic fibroblast (CEF), infected with rMd5 and pp38 deleted rMd5 (rMd5/Δpp38), respectively. No CAT activity was detected in uninfected CEF as expected. CAT activities in rMd5/Δpp38 virus infected CEF (rMd5/Δpp38-CEF) were 3.5-fold lower using pP(pp38)-CAT and 12-fold lower using pP(1.8-kb)-CAT than those of the parental rMd5 infected CEF (rMd5-CEF). The significantly lower promoter activity in the pp38 deletion virus suggests that pp38 can regulate the activity of the bi-directional promoters, especially in the direction of 1.8-kb mRNA family. Co-transfection of pp38-expressing plasmid (pcDNA-pp38) into rMd5/Δpp38-CEF significantly increased the activity of the bi-directional promoters using either pP(pp38)-CAT or pP(1.8-kb)-CAT. DNA mobility shift assay showed a binding of the 73-bp sequence of the bi-directional promoter with rMd5-CEF but not with rMd5/Δpp38-CEF or uninfected CEF lysates. However, rMd5/Δpp38-CEF lysates could bind the same 73-bp promoter sequence when co-transfected with pp38-expressing plasmid (pcDNA-pp38). All these data taken together suggest pp38 plays an important role in regulating the transcriptional activity of the bi-directional promoter.

Genomic sequence analysis and biological characteristics of a rescued clone of avian leukosis virus strain JS11C1, isolated from indigenous chickens.

The strain JS11C1, a member of a putative new subgroup of avian leukosis virus (ALV) that is different from all six known subgroups from chickens based on Gp85 amino acid sequence comparison, was isolated from Chinese native chicken breeds in 2012. In order to further study the genome structure, biological characteristics, and the evolutionary relationship of the virus with others of known subgroups from infected chickens, we determined the complete genome sequence, constructed an infectious clone of ALV strain JS11C1, and performed comparative analysis using the whole genome sequence or elements with that of other ALVs available in GenBank. The results showed that the full-length sequence of the JS11C1 DNA provirus genome was 7707 bp, which is consistent with a genetic organization typical of a replication-competent type C retrovirus lacking viral oncogenes. The rescued infectious clone of JS11C1 showed similar growth rate and biological characteristics to its original virus. All the comparison analyses based on whole genomes support the opinion that the new isolates are relatively distantly related to any known subgroups of ALVs and might be classified as a new subgroup.

Characterization of a very virulent Marek's disease virus mutant expressing the pp38 protein from the serotype 1 vaccine strain CVI988/Rispens.

Marek’s disease virus (MDV), a highly cell-associated oncogenic chicken herpesvirus, causes Marek’s disease in domestic chickens. A unique phosphoprotein of MDV, pp38, has previously been associated with the maintenance of transformation in MDV-induced tumor cell lines. However, recently, the biological properties of a deletion mutant virus (rMd5Δpp38) revealed that pp38 is involved in early cytolytic infection in lymphocytes but not in the induction of tumors. Thus, pp38 is important for early cytolytic infection and not for transformation. The pp38 protein of the MDV serotype 1 vaccine strain CVI988/Rispens differs by one amino acid when compared to the pathogenic strains of MDV. Monoclonal antibody, H19, recognizes all serotype 1 MDV strains except CVI988/Rispens. Previous studies have also shown that the unique pp38 epitope in CVI988/Rispens induced high antibody response. In order to study the role of this epitope in the protective properties of CVI988/Rispens, we generated a mutant rMd5 virus in which the wild type pp38 gene has been substituted with that of CVI988/Rispens (rMd5/pp38CVI). The replication properties of rMd5/pp38CVI, both in vitro and in vivo, and tumor induction were examined. We found that the biological properties of rMd5/pp38CVI were similar to the wild type rMd5 virus with regards to in vivo replication, antibody response and tumor induction. This shows that the pp38 derived from CVI988/Rispens is not involved in protective properties as was previously suggested.

Analyzing the H19- and T65-epitopes in 38 kd phosphory-lated protein of Marek’s disease viruses and comparing chicken immunological reactions to viruses point-mutated in the epitopes

DNA sequencing analysis in 38 kd phosphorylated protein (pp38) ORF of Marek’s disease viruses (MDV) indicated that all tested 10 virulent strains with different pathotypes had ‘A’ at base #320 and glutamine at aa#107 while reacted with monoclonal antibody (Mab) H19 in indirect fluorescence antibody test (IFA). However, vaccine strain CVI988 had ‘G’ at base#320 and arginine at aa#107 instead, when it was negative in IFA with Mab H19. Some strains were also reactive with Mab T65 in IFA while there was ‘G’ at base #326 and glycine at aa#109, but the other strains, which had ‘A’ at base #326 and glutamic acid at aa#109, did not react with Mab T65. By comparison of CVI988 to its point mutants CVI/rpp38(AG) and CVI/rpp38(AA) with 1 or 2 base(s) changes at bases #320 and /or #326 of pp38 gene for their reactivity with Mab H19 and T65, it was confirmed that the glutamine at aa#107 and glycine at aa#109 were critical to epitopes H19 and T65 respectively. Immuno-reactions to MDV were compared in SPF chickens inoculated with cloned CVI988 and its mutant CVI/rpp38(AG). It was found that antibody responses to MDV in chickens inoculated with CVI/rpp38(AG) were delayed and significantly lower than that in chickens inoculated with the native CVI988. By differential comparison of antibody titers to different antigens, a third epitope specific to CVI988 and dependent on arginine at aa#107 was suggested to be responsible for the big difference in antibody responses induced by native CVI988 and its mutant.