Identification and genetic characterization of porcine hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis virus from domestic piglets in China

Abstract

In this study, we investigated an acute outbreak of porcine hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis on a farm of 127 pigs in Jilin province, China. Porcine hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis virus (PHEV) was detected in suckling and weaning pigs by RT-PCR assays. Coronavirus-like particles were observed by electron microscopy. The virus isolate was designated PHEV-JT06. The clinical signs, nervous symptoms and positive labeling of neurons in the cerebral cortex with an immunohistochemical stain in PHEV-JT06-infected BALB/c mice supported the diagnosis of PHEV infection. The five full-length PHEV-JT06 structural genes were cloned, sequenced and analyzed. Phylogenetic studies based on the nucleotide and amino acid sequences of the five genes in the outbreak showed that PHEV remained genetically stable. PHEV shares 95.3-99.3% amino acid sequence identity with American strains (AY078417), suggesting that the Chinese isolate is most likely derived from the North American strain. Additionally, PHEV, HCoV-OC43 and BCoV were genetically close. These results may provide some insights into the genotype of the etiological agent responsible for the porcine hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis outbreak and could also provide a comparative view of the genomics of the five structural proteins of PHEV.

Identification of a natural recombinant transmissible gastroenteritis virus between Purdue and Miller clusters in China

“…Coronaviruses (CoVs) include four genera (alpha-, beta-, gamma- and delta-CoVs) and are the main cause of global outbreaks of porcine diarrhea, which result in substantial economic losses. 1 CoV members that cause diarrhea in pigs have been identified; 2 transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV), porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) and porcine respiratory virus (PRCV, a natural TGEV deletion mutant) are alpha-CoVs; 3 , 4 , 5 porcine hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis virus is a beta-CoV; 6 and porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) is a delta-CoV. 2 , 7 CoVs have high-mutation rates due to recombination, resulting in changes in tissue tropism, transmission route and host specificity.…”

Detecting and Monitoring Porcine Hemagglutinating Encephalomyelitis Virus, an Underresearched Betacoronavirus

“…Both clinical forms may occur simultaneously within a herd during an outbreak (10). Clinical PHEV was subsequently reported in Belgium (11), China (12)(13)(14), Argentina (15), South Korea (16), and the United States (17). More recently (2015), PHEV was associated with a case of influenza-like respiratory disease in 2015 in show pigs at a county fair in Michigan (18).…”

MiR-10a-5p-Mediated Syndecan 1 Suppression Restricts Porcine Hemagglutinating Encephalomyelitis Virus Replication

“…Porcine hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis virus (PHEV) is a neurotropic coronavirus and causes central nervous system (CNS) disorders and digestive illnesses in piglets (Li et al, 2016). PHEV is an enveloped positive strand RNA virus and coding five structural proteins, including small envelope (E), membrane (M), nucleocapsid (N), spike (S), and hemagglutinin-esterase protein (HE) (Dong et al, 2014). The main host of PHEV infection is the piglets under 3 weeks of age, manifested by vomiting and wasting disease (VWD) or encephalomyelitis, with a mortality rate of nearly 100% (Vijgen et al, 2006).…”