Mountain gorilla lymphocryptovirus has Epstein-Barr virus-like epidemiology and pathology in infants

Abstract

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infects greater than 90% of humans, is recognized as a significant comorbidity with HIV/AIDS, and is an etiologic agent for some human cancers. The critically endangered mountain gorilla population was suspected of infection with an EBV-like virus based on serology and infant histopathology similar to pulmonary reactive lymphoid hyperplasia (PRLH), a condition associated with EBV in HIV-infected children. To further examine the presence of EBV or an EBV-like virus in mountain gorillas, we conducted the first population-wide survey of oral samples for an EBV-like virus in a nonhuman great ape. We discovered that mountain gorillas are widely infected (n = 143/332) with a specific strain of lymphocryptovirus 1 (GbbLCV-1). Fifty-two percent of infant mountain gorillas were orally shedding GbbLCV-1, suggesting primary infection during this stage of life, similar to what is seen in humans in less developed countries. We then identified GbbLCV-1 in post-mortem infant lung tissues demonstrating histopathological lesions consistent with PRLH, suggesting primary infection with GbbLCV-1 is associated with PRLH in infants. Together, our findings demonstrate that mountain gorilla’s infection with GbbLCV-1 could provide valuable information for human disease in a natural great ape setting and have potential conservation implications in this critically endangered species.

Simian homologues of human herpesviruses and implications for novel viral introduction to free‐living mountain gorillas

“…Based on population sizes at the time of sample collection, we screened approximately 76% of the Bwindi and 48% of the Virunga habituated gorilla populations, and 32% of the Bwindi and 35% of the Virunga total gorilla population (both habituated and non‐habituated gorillas) for herpesviruses (representing n = 294 individuals from 26 family groups, as determined by visual identification of known individuals). We detected herpesviruses in the beta ‐ and gamma herpesvir inae subfamilies including mountain gorilla‐specific strains of cytomegalovirus 1 (GbbCMV‐1), cytomegalovirus 2 (GbbCMV‐2), rhadinovirus 1 (GbbRHV‐1) and lymphocryptovirus 1 (GbbLCV‐1) (GbbLCV‐1 detailed findings described in Smiley Evans et al, 2017) (Table 1). We did not detect human HSV‐1 in wild‐habituated mountain gorillas using any of our diagnostic methods, including infants with active raised orofacial lesions, previously suspected to be of herpetic origin.…”

“…To date, the only molecularly characterized herpesviruses in wild mountain gorillas are: gorilla lymphocryptovirus (GbbLCV-1), which is suspected to be associated with pulmonary reactive lymphoid hyperplasia in infants with immature or compromised immune systems (Smiley Evans et al, 2017); a cytomegalovirus (GbbCMV), which has unknown clinical etiology (Murthy et al, 2019;Smiley Evans et al, 2016) and a simplexvirus which most closely resembles HSV-2, and also has unknown clinical etiology (Wertheim et al, 2021).…”

Morbidity and mortality in infant mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei): A 46‐year retrospective review

“…The syndrome of atypical lymphoid hyperplasia, one of the most common histological findings in mountain gorilla infants, is suggestive of acute, profound antigenic stimulation, such as is commonly observed in non‐human primates with retroviral infections and in human pediatric patients with Epstein‐Barr virus infections (Jenson, ; Kojima et al, ; Letvin & King, ). Serological surveys in mountain gorillas and other great apes have found a high seroprevalence of EBV‐like lymphocryptoviruses, which are believed to cause lifelong but subclinical infections in adults (Fellinger, Rietschel, & Czerny, ; Kilbourn et al, ; Smiley Evans et al, ; Whittier et al, ). The nature and range of severity of atypical lymphoid lesions in mountain gorilla infants suggest that they may represent a clinical illness.…”

Infectious Disease Risk Across the Growing Human-Non Human Primate Interface: A Review of the Evidence

“…More recently, new simian enteroviruses have been isolated from chimpanzees, including a D type enterovirus (EV111) that was found phylogenetically related to a human isolate from the DRC (147). It was also recently reported that Mountain gorillas ( Gorilla beringei ) are widely infected (43%) with lymphocryptoviruses (148).…”