Life Sciences Commons^™

Coitus-Free Sexual Transmission Of Zika Virus In A Mouse Model, Chad S. Clancy, Arnaud J. Van Wettere, John D. Morrey, Justin G. Julander

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arboviral infection that may be sexually transmitted. The present study aims to determine if accessory sex glands are a potential source of infectious virus and important in sexual transmission. Male interferon type I receptor knockout (Ifnar^−/−) mice were challenged subcutaneously with a Puerto Rican ZIKV isolate. Reproductive tissues were harvested seven days after viral challenge and artificial insemination fluid derived from epididymis or homogenized accessory sex glands (seminal plasma) was obtained. Naïve interferon type I and II receptor knockout (AG129) females were pretreated with progesterone, and inoculated intravaginally with either epididymal flush or …

Importance Of Seed As An Inoculum Source For High Plains Virus In Sweet Corn, Brooke Olson, Claudia Nischwitz

Biology Posters

High Plains Virus (HPV) is found in small grains and corn and is commonly transmitted by the wheat curl mite. In 2016, a local farmer had a high incidence of HPV in all of his sweet corn in three different locations. However no mites were found. Drone imagery was taken of the field and showed a pattern of infected corn plants that indicated that the virus was seed borne. Yield loss was an estimated 50% for the field. Seed transmission of HPV in corn has been considered unimportant in the past due to low percentage of infection (Forster et al. …

Rift Valley Fever Virus Infection In Golden Syrian Hamsters, Dionna Scharton, Arnaud J. Van Wettere, Kevin W. Bailey, Zachary Vest, Jonna B. Westover, Venkatraman Siddharthan, Brian B. Gowen

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a formidable pathogen that causes severe disease and abortion in a variety of livestock species and a range of disease in humans that includes hemorrhagic fever, fulminant hepatitis, encephalitis and blindness. The natural transmission cycle involves mosquito vectors, but exposure can also occur through contact with infected fluids and tissues. The lack of approved antiviral therapies and vaccines for human use underlies the importance of small animal models for proof-of-concept efficacy studies. Several mouse and rat models of RVFV infection have been well characterized and provide useful systems for the study of certain aspects …

Commentary On Immune System Associated Diseases Caused Byviruses: The Role Of Ebv, Dale L. Barnard, J. K. Li

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

In her review using the human Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) as an example, Dr. Chen intends to illustrate how host immune systems have evolved in response to pathogens or in many cases co-evolved with pathogens. She discusses why EBV in most people causes what appears to be a self-limiting lymphoproliferative disease (or is it? See her discussion of autoimmune diseases and EBV), but in a very small proportion of individuals the virus causes malignant diseases of severe consequence. She reviews some of the plausible explanations that may include interactions of environmental and host genetic factors resulting in EBV associated malignancies. She …

Efficacy Of Orally Administered T-705 On Lethal Avian Influenza A (H5n1) Virus Infections In Mice, R. W. Sidwell, Dale L. Barnard, C. W. Day, Donald F. Smee, K. W. Bailey, M. H. Wong, John D. Morrey, Y. Furuta

John D. Morrey

T-705 (6-fluoro-3-hydroxy-2-pyrazinecarboxamide) was inhibitory to four strains of avian H5N1 influenza virus in MDCK cells, with the 90% effective concentrations ranging from 1.3 to 7.7 µM, as determined by a virus yield reduction assay. The efficacy was less than that exerted by oseltamivir carboxylate or zanamivir but was greater than that exerted by ribavirin. Experiments with mice lethally infected with influenza A/Duck/MN/1525/81 (H5N1) virus showed that T-705 administered per os once, twice, or four times daily for 5 days beginning 1 h after virus exposure was highly inhibitory to the infection. Dosages from 30 to 300 mg/kg of body weight/day …

The Development Of A Bluetongue Virus Diagnostic Assay Using Peptides Derived From The Structural Protein Vp7 And Nonstructural Protein Ns2, Yi Lu

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Several peptides derived from viral proteins, VP7 and NS2 of bluetongue virus (BTV), were synthesized for an immunologic detection assay: distinguishing between bluetongue virus infected, vaccinated, and noninfected animals (ruminants) with dot blot analysis. The School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, supplied the serum samples from 24 bovine, 18 caprine, 23 ovine. Another 205 bison serum samples were obtained in Utah. The serum samples of BTV-infected animals revealed detectable antibodies to both VP7 and NS2 peptides, whereas vaccinated animals only exhibited antibodies against VP7. Noninfected animals did not display antibody against either viral peptide. These data confirmed the …

Inhibition Of Measles Virus Replication By 5'-Norcarbocyclic Nucleoside Analogs, Dale L. Barnard, V. Stowell, K. L. Seley, V. R. Hegde, R. Subha, P. Rajappan, S. W. Schneller, Donald F. Smee, R. W. Sidwell

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

Despite intense efforts to increase vaccine coverage, measles virus (MV) still causes significant morbidity and mortality in the world, sometimes as the result of severe, chronic, lethal disease. In an effort to develop therapies to supplement immunization strategies, a number of 5′-nor carbocyclic adenosine analogues were evaluated for anti-MV activity in CV-1 monkey kidney cells. Of those compounds tested, those either unsubstituted at C4 or possessing a hydroxyl, azido or amino substituent at that position were the most active, with particularly significant inhibition of MV, strain Chicago-1. The EC50 values against this strain ranged from100 mg/ml in actively growing and …

Calibration Of Atomic Force Microscope Tips Using Biomolecules, T. Thundat, X.-Y. Zheng, S. L. Sharp, D. P. Allison, R. J. Warmack, D. C. Joy, T. L. Ferrell

Scanning Microscopy

Atomic force microscope (AFM) images of surfaces and samples mounted on substrates are subject to artifacts such as broadening of structures and ghost images of tips due to the finite size and shape of the contacting probe. Therefore, knowledge of the radius of the AFM probe tip is essential for the interpretation of images. We have deduced the shape of the AFM tip by imaging cylindrical biological molecules of various diameters such as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), tobacco etch virus (TEV) and bacteriophage M-13 (M-13). Using a paraboloidal tip model and numerically solving equations of contact, the …

In Vivo Activation Of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Long Terminal Repeat By Uv Type A (Uv-A) Light Plus Psoralen And Uv-B Light In The Skin Of Transgenic Mice, John D. Morrey, S M. Bourn, T D. Bunch, M K. Jackson, R W. Sidwell, L R. Barrows, R A. Daynes, C A. Rosen

John D. Morrey

UV irradiation has been shown to activate the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) long terminal repeat (LTR) in cell culture; however, only limited studies have been described in vivo. UV light has been categorized as UV-A (400 to 315 nm), -B (315 to 280 nm), or -C (<280 nm); the longer wavelengths are less harmful but more penetrative. Highly penetrative UV-A radiation constitutes the vast majority of UV sunlight reaching the earth's surface but is normally harmless. UV-B irradiation is more harmful but less prevalent than UV-A. In this report, the HIV-1 LTR-luciferase gene in the skin of transgenic mice was markedly activated when exposed to UV-B irradiation. The LTR in the skin of transgenic mice pretreated topically with a photosensitizing agent (psoralen) was also activated to similar levels when exposed to UV-A light. A 2-h exposure to sunlight activated the LTR in skin treated with psoralen, whereas the LTR in skin not treated with psoralen was activated after 7 h of sunlight exposure. The HIV-1 LTR-β-galactosidase reporter genes have been used to demonstrate the in vivo UV-induced activation of the LTR and might be used to evaluate other environmental factors or pharmacologic substances that might potential activate the HIV-1 LTR in vivo

Immunological Characterization Of An Sds/Kcl Isolated Total Protein Antigen Of Bluetongue Virus Serotype 13, Vicki L. Shore

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Because of the damaging effects of bluetongue disease on the livestock industry, interest exists in developing a means of inducing passive immunity in infected animals. Antibodies against VP2, the polypeptide responsible for immunoantigenicity in bluetongue virus (BTV), have been found to elicit neutralizing antibodies; however, production of this purified antigen is very costly and thus impractical for commercial purposes. Total viral protein, prepared by a simple, rapid, highly reproducible SDS/KCl method, was injected into rabbits and found to produce antibodies which are useful in immunoblots. However, plaque neutralization assays failed to detect any neutralization activity by these antibodies. Denaturation of …

Microbiological Immunocytochemistry: A Review Of Current Trends And Applications, Julian E. Beesley

Scanning Microscopy

It has been considered worthwhile to update previous reviews of microbiological immunocytochemistry in order to identify areas of current importance in this continually expanding area of research. Publications in virology, bacteriology and protozoology indicate a continued interest in immunocytochemistry. Deployment of colloidal gold techniques is almost universal in these applications. The post-embedding technique was the most widely applied technique although a few studies employed the immunonegative stain, pre-embedding and immunoreplica techniques, thereby reflecting the use of colloidal gold in all other areas of the biological sciences.

Radioimmuno Detection Of Virus, John Carlos Perez

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The commonly used techniques for viral detection are tedious, time consuming and in many cases inadequate. As a consequence, a rapid, sensitive radioimmunoassay has been developed for detecting viruses. Reovirus is reacted with homologous ¹²⁵I labeled antibody after which the antigen-antibody complexes are separated from unreacted labeled antibody by density gradient ultracentrifugation. After centrifugation, the density gradient is fractionated and the radioactivity counted in a liquid scintillation spectrometer.

The amount of activity in the lower fractions of the density gradient is directly proportional to the virus concentration. The radioimmunoassay developed has several advantages over other viral assay procedures; the …

Bulletin No. 384 - Virus And Viruslike Diseases Of Stone Fruits In Utah: A Handbook For Their Identification And Control, B. L. Richards, L. C. Cochran

UAES Bulletins

Intensive research over the last 20 years has shown that many of the previously unexplained and seemingly mysterious disorders of stone fruit trees in Utah are infectious diseases caused by viruses. Others were shown to be the result of noninfectious genetic abnormalities or of adverse chemical and physical factors in the environment of the plant. The purpose of this handbook is to help orchardists and others recognize these diseases and disorders and understand better their etiology or cause. The handbook will also bring together basic information which will aid in their control.