Virological, immunological and pathological findings of transplacentally transmitted bluetongue virus serotype 1 in IFNAR1-blocked mice during early and mid gestation

Saminathan, M.; Singh, K. P.; Vineetha, S.; Maity, Madhulina; Biswas, S. K.; Manjunathareddy, G. B.; Chauhan, H. C.; Milton, A. A. P.; Ramakrishnan, M. A.; Maan, Sushila; Maan, N. S.; Chandel, B. S.; Hemadri, D.; Gupta, V. K.; Mertens, P. P. C.

Abstract

© 2020, The Author(s). Transplacental transmission (TPT) of wild-type Indian BTV-1 had never been experimentally proved. This study was first time investigated TPT of Indian BTV-1 (isolated from aborted and stillborn goat fetal spleens). The sequential pathology, virological and immune cell kinetics (CD4+, CD8+ T-lymphocytes and NK cells in spleen and PBMCs), and apoptosis in IFNAR1-blocked pregnant mice during early (infected on 1 GD) and mid (infected on 8 GD) gestation have been studied. There was higher rate of TPT during mid stage (71.43%) than early (57.14%) stage. In early stage reduced implantation sites, early embryonic deaths, abortions, and necro-haemorrhagic lesions had observed. Mid stage, congenital defects and neurological lesions in foetuses like haemorrhages, diffuse cerebral edema, necrotizing encephalitis and decreased bone size (Alizarin red staining) were noticed. BTV-1 antigen was first time demonstrable in cells of mesometrium, decidua of embryos, placenta, uterus, ovary, and brain of foetuses by immunohistochemistry and quantified by real-time qRT-PCR. BTV-inoculated mice were seroconverted by 7 and 5 dpi, and reached peak levels by 15 and 9 dpi in early and mid gestation, respectively. CD4+ and CD8+ cells were significantly decreased (increased ratio) on 7 dpi but subsequently increased on 15 dpi in early gestation. In mid gestation, increased CD8+ cells (decreased ratio) were observed. Apoptotic cells in PBMCs and tissues increased during peak viral load. This first time TPT of wild-type Indian BTV-1 deserves to be reported for implementation of control strategies. This model will be very suitable for further research into mechanisms of TPT, overwintering, and vaccination strategies.

Citation

Saminathan, M., Singh, K. P., Vineetha, S., Maity, M., Biswas, S. K., Manjunathareddy, G. B., …Mertens, P. P. C. (2020). Virological, immunological and pathological findings of transplacentally transmitted bluetongue virus serotype 1 in IFNAR1-blocked mice during early and mid gestation. Scientific Reports, 10(1), Article 2164. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-58268-0

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 5, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Feb 7, 2020
• Publication Date: Feb 7, 2020
• Deposit Date: Feb 12, 2020
• Journal: Scientific Reports
• Print ISSN: 2045-2322
• Electronic ISSN: 2045-2322
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: 2164
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-58268-0
• Keywords: Multidisciplinary
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3949928
• Publisher URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-58268-0