Infectious pancreatic necrosis virus of fish, infectious bursal disease virus of chickens, Tellina virus and oyster virus of bivalve molluscs, and drosophila X virus of Drosophila melanogaster are naked icosahedral viruses with an electron microscopic diameter of 58 to 60 nm. The genome of each of these viruses consists of two segments of double-stranded RNA (molecular weight range between 2.6 x 10(6) and 2.2 x 10(6), and the virion, capsid proteins fall into three size class categories (large, medium, and small; ranging from 100,000 to 27,000) as determined by polyacrylamide slab gel electrophoresis. The hydrodynamic properties of the five viruses are similar as determined by analytical ultracentrifugation and laser quasi-elastic, light-scattering spectroscopy. The calculated particle weights range between 55 x 10(6) and 81 x 10(6). Tryptic peptide comparisons of 125I-labeled virion proteins showed that five viruses are different from each other, although there was considerable overlap in the peptide maps of the three aquatic viruses, indicting a degree of relatedness. Cross-neutralization tests indicated that drosophila X, infectious pancreatic necrosis, and infectious bursal disease viruses were different from each other and from oyster and Tellina viruses. The same test showed oyster and Tellina viruses to be related. The biochemical and biophysical properties of the five viruses cannt be included in the family Reoviridae or in any of the present virus genera.

Biophysical and biochemical characterization of five animal viruses with bisegmented double-stranded RNA genomes.

Biophysical andBiochemical Characterization ofFiveAnimal Viruses withBisegmented Double-Stranded RNA Genomes

Infectious bursal disease (IBD), caused by an avibirnavirus, has been an economically significant, widely distributed condition affecting immature chickens since 1960. The classical type 1 conventi...

Infectious bursal disease.

Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) is an important immunosuppressive virus of chickens. The virus is ubiquitous and, under natural conditions, chickens acquire infection by the oral route. IgM+ cells serve as targets for the virus. The most extensive virus replication takes place in the bursa of Fabricius. The acute phase of the disease lasts for about 7-10 days. Within this phase, bursal follicles are depleted of B cells and the bursa becomes atrophic. Abundant viral antigen can be detected in the bursal follicles and other peripheral lymphoid organs such as the cecal tonsils and spleen. CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells accumulate at and near the site of virus replication. The virus-induced bursal T cells are activated, exhibit upregulation of cytokine genes, proliferate in response to in vitro stimulation with IBDV and have suppressive properties. Chickens may die during the acute phase of the disease although IBDV induced mortality is highly variable and depends, among other factors, upon the virulence of the virus strain. Chickens that survive the acute disease clear the virus and recover from its pathologic effects. Bursal follicles are repopulated with IgM(+) B cells. Clinical and subclinical infection with IBDV may cause immunosuppression. Both humoral and cellular immune responses are compromised. Inhibition of the humoral immunity is attributed to the destruction of immunoglobulin-producing cells by the virus. Other mechanisms such as altered antigen-presenting and helper T cell functions may also be involved. Infection with IBDV causes a transient inhibition of the in vitro proliferative response of T cells to mitogens. This inhibition is mediated by macrophages which are activated in virus-exposed chickens and exhibit a marked enhancement of expression of a number of cytokine genes. We speculate that T cell cytokines such as interferon (IFN)-gamma may stimulate macrophages to produce nitric oxide (NO) and other cytokines with anti-proliferative activity. Additional studies are needed to identify the possible direct immunosuppressive effect of IBDV on T cells and their functions. Studies are also needed to examine effects of the virus on innate immunity. Earlier data indicate that the virus did not affect normal natural killer (NK) cell levels in chickens.

Infectious bursal disease virus of chickens: pathogenesis and immunosuppression

Research on infectious bursal disease--the past, the present and the future.

The molecular weight of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) has been determined by analytical ultracentrifugation and dynamic light scattering. The sedimentation coefficient of the virus was found to be 435S. The average value for molecular weight is (55 +/- 7) x 106. The virus genome consists of two segments of double-stranded RNA (molecular weights, 2.5 x 106 and 2.3 x 106), which represents 8.7% of the virion mass. The capsid protein moiety of IPNV consists of four species of polypeptides, as determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The number of molecules of each polypeptide in the virion has been determined. There are 22 molecules of the internal polypeptide alpha (molecular weight, 90,000), 544 molecules of the outer capsid polypeptide beta (molecular weight, 57,000), and 550 and 122 molecules, respectively, of the internal polypeptides gamma1 (molecular weight, 29,000) and gamma2 (molecular weight, 27,000). IPNV top component contains only the beta polypeptide species, and its molecular weight is estimated to be 31 x 106. The hydrodynamic diameter and electron microscopic diameter (calculated by catalase crystal-calibrated electron microscopy) of IPNV was compared with those of reovirus and encephalomyocarditis virus. Due to the swelling of the outer capsid, reovirus particles were found to be much larger when hydrated (96-nm diameter) than when dehydrated (76-nm diameter), having a large water content content and low average density. In contrast, IPNV particles are more rigid, having nearly the same average diameter under hydrous (64 nm) as under anhydrous conditions (59.3 nm). Encephalomyocarditis virus has a very low water content and does not shrink at all when prepared for electron microscopy.

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Papers

Biophysical and biochemical characterization of five animal viruses with bisegmented double-stranded RNA genomes.

Biophysical studies of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus.