Steven J. Pauszek,2 and Gail W. Wertz1
Department of Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294,1 Plum Island Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Greenport, New York 119442
Received 7 February 2003/ Accepted 11 April 2003
There are two major serotypes of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), Indiana (VSIV) and New Jersey (VSNJV). We recovered recombinant VSIVs from engineered cDNAs that contained either (i) one copy of the VSIV G gene (VSIV-GI); (ii) two copies of the G gene, one from each serotype (VSIV-GNJGI); or (iii) a single copy of the GNJ gene instead of the GI gene (VSIV-GNJ). The recombinant viruses expressed the appropriate glycoproteins, incorporated them into virions, and were neutralized by antibodies specific for VSIV (VSIV-GI), VSNJV (VSIV-GNJ), or both (VSIV-GNJGI), according to the glycoprotein(s) they expressed. All recombinant viruses grew to similar titers in cell culture. In mice, VSIV-GNJ and VSIV-GNJGI were attenuated. However, in swine, a natural host for VSV, the GNJ glycoprotein-containing viruses caused more severe lesions and replicated to higher titers than the parental virus, VSIV-GI. These observations implicate the glycoprotein as a determinant of VSV virulence in a natural host and emphasize the differences in VSV pathogenesis between mice and swine.
Present address: Tropical Disease Research Program, School of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Nacional, Heredia, Costa Rica.
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