J Vet Sci.  2016 Mar;17(1):115-117. 10.4142/jvs.2016.17.1.115.

Viscerotropic velogenic Newcastle disease virus replication in feathers of infected chickens

• Lee DH
• Kwon JH
• Noh JY
• Park JK
• Yuk SS
• Erdene-Ochir TO
• Nahm SS
• Kwon YK
• Lee SW
• Song CS

• KMID: 2363343
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4142/jvs.2016.17.1.115

Abstract

Newcastle disease viruses (NDVs) cause systemic diseases in chickens with high mortality. However, little is known about persistence of NDVs in contaminated tissues from infected birds. In this study, we examined viral replication in the feather pulp of chickens inoculated with viscerotropic velogenic NDV (vvNDV) genotype VII. Reverse transcription real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry were used to investigate viral persistence in the samples. vvNDV was detected in the oropharynx and cloaca and viral antigens were detected in the feathers, suggesting that feathers act as sources of viral transmission.

Keyword

chicken; feathers; Newcastle disease virus

MeSH Terms

Animals
Antigens, Viral/analysis
Chickens
Cloaca/virology
Feathers/*virology
Microbial Viability
Newcastle Disease/transmission/*virology
Newcastle disease virus/isolation & purification/*physiology
Oropharynx/virology
Poultry Diseases/transmission/*virology
Virus Replication/*physiology
Antigens, Viral

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Viral RNA detection from oropharynx, cloaca, and feather pulp. To determine the viral shedding, oropharyngeal (●) and cloacal swab (■), and feather pulp (▲) samples were collected at 0, 2, 3, and 5 days post inoculation. The content of Newcastle disease virus RNA was quantified based on the cycle threshold (Ct) value using a matrix gene-based real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.

• 

  Fig. 2 Pathologic changes and immunohistochemistry for viral nucleoprotein in the feathers from vvNDV infected chickens. (A) No histological lesions in the feathers of non-infected chickens. (B) Focal necrosis of feather epidermal cells with moderate heterophilic and lymphocytic infiltration and acute heterophilic perivascular cuffing around small capillaries at the epidermal junction in the inner feather pulp from chickens 3 days post infection. (C and D) Immunohistochemistry for viral nucleoprotein of NDV. H&E stain (A and B), Immunohistochemistry stain (C and D). Scale bars = 50 µm.

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