Biology subjects

Wohlsein, P.

Publications and source records attributed to Wohlsein, P..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

Highly pathogenic avian influenza A virus (HPAIV) H5N1 infection in two European grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) with encephalitis.

Recent reports documenting sporadic infections in carnivorous mammals worldwide with highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b have raised concerns about the potential risk of adaptation to sustained transmission in mammals, including humans. We report H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b infection of two grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) from coastal waters of The Netherlands and Germany in December 2022 and February 2023, respectively. Histological and immunohistochemical investigations showed in both animals a non-suppurative and necrotizing encephalitis with viral antigen restricted to the neuroparenchyma. Whole genome sequencing showed the presence of HPAIV H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b strains in brain tissue, which were closely related to sympatric avian influenza viruses. Viral RNA was also detected in the lung of the seal from Germany by real-time quantitative PCR. No other organs tested positive. The mammalian adaptation PB2-E627K mutation was identified in approximately 40% of the virus population present in the brain tissue of the German seal. Retrospective screening for nucleoprotein specific antibodies, of sera collected from 251 seals sampled in this region from 2020 to 2023, did not show evidence of influenza A virus specific antibodies. Similarly, screening by reverse transcription PCR of lung and brain tissue of 101 seals that had died along the Dutch coast in the period 2020-2021, did not show evidence of influenza virus infection. Collectively, these results indicate that individual seals are sporadically infected with HPAIV-H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b, resulting in an encephalitis in the absence of a systemic infection, and with no evidence thus far of onward spread between seals.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2022

Mystery of fatal "Staggering disease" unravelled: Novel rustrela virus causes severe encephalomyelitis in domestic cats

Staggering disease is a neurological disorder considered a threat to European domestic cats (Felis catus) for almost five decades. However, its aetiology has remained obscure. Rustrela virus (RusV), a relative of rubella virus, has recently been shown to be associated with encephalitis in a broad range of mammalian hosts. Here, we report the detection of RusV RNA and antigen by metagenomic sequencing, RT-qPCR, in-situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry in brain tissues of 28 out of 29 cats with non-suppurative meningoencephalomyelitis and staggering disease-like neurological disorder from Sweden, Austria, and Germany, but not in non-affected control cats. Screening of possible reservoir hosts in Sweden revealed RusV infection in wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus). Our work strongly indicates RusV as the long-sought cause of feline staggering disease. Given its broad host spectrum and considerable geographic range, RusV may be the aetiological agent of neuropathologies in further mammals, possibly even including humans.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2021

Orally administered epeleuton inhibits SARS-CoV-2 viral load, replication and pathology in the Syrian Hamster model

Early treatment of patients with confirmed COVID-19 presenting mild symptoms can reduce the number that progress to more severe disease and require hospitalization. Considering the potential for the development of drug resistance to existing therapies and the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants, there is a need for an expanded armamentarium of treatment options for COVID-19. Epeleuton is a novel orally administered second-generation n-3 fatty acid with potential direct antiviral and immunomodulatory actions, and a favourable clinical safety profile. In this study we show that epeleuton inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infectious viral load, replication and disease pathology in the lungs and upper airways in the Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection. These data support the potential utility of epeleuton in the early treatment and prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Clinical trials are needed to evaluate the efficacy of epeleuton as an outpatient treatment and prevention of COVID-19.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2018

Use of Next Generation Sequencing to study two Cowpoxvirus outbreaks

BackgroundBetween 2008 and 2011 about 40 cases of human cowpox were reported from Germany and France. Infections had been acquired via close contact to infected, young pet rats. Sequencing of the hemagglutinin gene of various cowpox virus (CPXV) isolates resulted in an identical and unique sequence in each case pointing to a common source. In a second CPXV outbreak in cats in a small animal clinic in Germany in 2015, four out of five hospitalized cats showed identical hemagglutinin sequences and thus, a hospital-acquired transmission was assumed.\n\nMethodsHomogenates of lesion material from rats, cats and humans were cultivated in cell culture. The genomes of 4 virus isolates, 9 CPXVs from our strain collections and from DNA of 3 paraffin-embedded lesion materials were determined by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). For phylogenetic analyses a MAFFT-alignment was generated. A distance matrix based on concatenated SNPs was calculated and plotted as dendrogram using Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic mean (UPGMA) for visualization.\n\nResultsAligning of about 200.000 nucleotides of 8 virus isolates associated with the pet rat outbreak revealed complete identity of six genomes, the remainder two genomes differed in as little as 3 SNPs. When comparing this dataset with four already published CPXV genomes also associated with the pet rat outbreak, again a maximum difference of 3 SNPs was found. The outbreak which lasted from 2008 till 2011 was indeed caused by a single strain which has maintained an extremely high level of clonality over 4 years.\n\nAligning genomic sequences from 4 cases of feline cowpox revealed 3 identical sequences and one sequence which differed in 65 nucleotides. Although identical hemagglutinin sequences had been obtained from four hospitalized cats, genomic sequencing proved that a hospital-acquired transmission had occurred in only three cats.\n\nDiscussionAnalyzing the rather short sequence of the hemagglutinin gene is not sufficient to conduct molecular trace back analyses. Instead, whole genome sequencing is the method of choice which can even be applied to paraffin-embedded specimens.\n\nFunding StatementThis publication was supported by the European Virus Archive goes Global (EVAg) project that has received funding from the European Unions Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 653316.\n\nThis study was also supported in part by the European Unions Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 643476 (COMPARE).\n\nThe funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

genomics↗