La fièvre aphteuse (FMD pour Foot-and-mouth disease en anglais) est une maladie très contagieuse touchant les animaux biongulés. Elle provoque des dégâts économiques considérables sur toute la surface du globe. La fièvre aphteuse est provoquée par un virus, le FMDV. Il s'agit d'un virus à ARN simple brin, de polarité positive appartenant au genre Aphtovirus dans la famille Picornaviridae. Ce virus se réplique et se propage dans l'hôte très rapidement. Dans les zones infectées, les deux principales stratégies de contrôle utilisées sont l'abattage systématique des animaux infectés et la vaccination. A l'inverse, les vaccins ne sont pas utilisés dans les zones sans FMDV, mais l'apparition d'une épidémie nécessite des stratégies pour arrêter ou au moins limiter la diffusion du virus. Actuellement, les vaccins inactivés sont les vaccins les plus utilisés pour prévenir la maladie. Cependant, ils requièrent une production à grande échelle du virus, et malgré les mesures mises en place (laboratoire sécurisé, etc), des épidémies ont été provoquées par le passé du fait de la fuite de virus FMDV. De plus, il est difficile de distinguer les animaux infectés des vaccinés (DIVA). Il est donc nécessaire de développer de nouveaux vaccins. Au cours de l'infection, la polyprotéine du virus est clivée par des protéases virales en précurseurs structural (P1) et non structuraux (P2 et P3). La protéase 3C est responsable de la majorité des clivages ; ainsi, le précurseur P1 est clivé par la 3C en trois protéines structurales, VP1, VP3 et VP0, formant le protomère de FMDV, l'unité de base de la capside virale. La protéine VP1 joue des rôles importants dans l'attachement, la protection et le sérotypage. Du fait de la présence d'un site antigénique linéaire suffisant à la protection par production d'anticorps neutralisants, VP1 est considérée comme la protéine la plus immunogénique du virus. Dans cette étude, nous avons développé un nouveau vaccin contre la FMD, basé sur l'adénovirus canin de type 2 (Cav2). L'évaluation du transfert de gène médié par Cav2 chez le porc et le bétail in vitro montre des résultats prometteurs pour le développement de vaccins pour ces espèces, notamment l'expression des antigènes de FMDV par les candidats vaccins Cav2-FMDV. L'immunogénicité de ces candidats vaccins a été montrée chez les modèles murins et cobayes. De plus, des résultats encourageants ont été observés chez le cobaye, suggérant que la réponse immunitaire élicitée par les vecteurs recombinants pouvait conduire à une protection partielle des animaux après épreuve. Cependant, une optimisation de l'immunisation doit être faite dans le but de confirmer ces résultats. Ce type de vaccin peut de plus être utilisé comme vaccin marqueur, car il ne contient aucune protéine non structurale. / Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious and economically devastating disease affecting cloven-hoofed livestock worldwide. Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is the causative agent of FMD and one of the most infectious known animal viruses. FMDV is a positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus belonging to the Aphthovirus genus in the Picornaviridae family. FMDV replicates and spreads in the host extremely rapidly. Slaughter and vaccination are the two major strategies used to control FMD in infected countries. In FMDV-free countries, vaccines are not used, and once the disease breaks out in these areas, strategies are required to stop or at least slow the spread of the virus. Currently, inactivated vaccines are by far the most commonly used vaccines to prevent FMD. Such vaccines, however, require large-scale production of virus, and despite the use of bio-safety facilities, vaccine production has led to inadvertent virus release and FMDV outbreak. Another limitation of inactivated vaccines is the difficulty in distinguishing between infected and vaccinated animals (DIVA). Therefore, improved vaccines need to be developed.During infection, the FMDV polyprotein is cleaved into structural (P1) and non-structural (P2 and P3) precursors by a viral protease. The non-structural 3C protein is the protease that is responsible for most of the maturation events. The P1 precursor is processed by 3C protease into three structural proteins, VP1, VP3 and VP0, forming the FMDV protomer. The VP1 protein plays important roles in attachment, protective immunity and serotype specificity. VP1 is considered to be the major immunogenic protein, as it contains a linear antigenic site that is able to induce neutralizing antibodies that suffice to protect animals against the disease.In this project, we developed a novel vaccine against FMD, based on canine adenovirus type 2 (Cav2). In vitro evaluation of Cav2 mediated gene transfer in pigs and cattle showed that the Cav2 vector holds promise for the development of vaccines for pigs and cattle. Study of these recombinant viruses indicated that Cav2-FMDV supported expression of FMDV capsid proteins in vitro. The immunogenicity of these recombinant viruses was evidenced in mouse and guinea pig models, and encouraging results in guinea pigs suggested that the immune response elicited against FMD by recombinant virus could afford partial protection against FMDV challenge. In the future, immunization with Cav2-derived vector should be optimized to confirm these preliminary results. This type of vaccine, when designed to express capsid but not non-structural proteins of FMDV, can serve as a marker vaccine against FMD.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The present study reports a serologic survey of the main viral infections of dogs in Santa Maria, RS, Brazil, and the production of cell lines of canine, swine and leporine origin resistant to bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV). Canine distemper virus (CDV), parvovirus (CPV), adenovirus (CAV) and coronavirus (CCoV) infections have been associated with significant morbidity and mortality among dogs worldwide. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of antibodies against these viruses in the canine population of Santa Maria. To this purpose, 817 blood samples were collected from non-vaccinated dogs of 14 neighborhoods and tested by virus neutralization (CDV, CAV and CCoV) and by hemagglutining inhibition (CPV). Specific antibodies to CDV were detected in 27.3% (223/817) of the samples, to CPV in 68.7% (561/817), to CAV in 43% (353/817) and to CCoV in 50.4% (412/817) of the dogs. These results indicate that CDV, CPV, CAV and CCoV infections are spread among dogs in Santa Maria. However, a significant part of the population is seronegative and therefore unprotected against these viruses. This indicates a need for extending the vaccination programs against these viruses. During the standardization of serologic tests and expansion of cell cultures for virus amplification, the canine MDCK cell line was found to be contaminated with BVDV, the main viral contaminant of cultured cells. The inadverted contamination of cultured cells with BVDV may represent a serious problem for diagnostic virology, research and production of biologicals. The second part of this dissertation reports the production and characterization of three cell lines resistant BVDV, obtained out of each parental cell line (canine MDCK, porcine PK-15 and leporine RK-13) that were contaminated with BVDV. Initially, the cells were submitted to four rounds of infection with a highly cytolytic BVDV strain. The cells surviving infection were then cloned out, expanded and assayed for their susceptibility to BVDV. The resistance to BVDV was investigated by search for viral proteins by immunofluorescence and by cocultivation with susceptible cells following inoculation of BVDV at high titers. All three cell lines were resistant to three standard BVDV strains (Singer, NADL e Oregon) and 10 field isolates. Inoculation of these cells with BVDV at a multiplicity of infection of 10 TCID50/cell resulted in frequencies of infection of <10-5 for MDCK-R and PK-15R cells and of 3,3x10-4 for RK- 13R. Compared to the parental ones, the resistant cells were >10.000 (MDCK-R), >20.000 (PK-15R) and 600 (RK-13R) times less susceptible to BVDV. The inoculation of virus in the resistant cells in the presence of polyethylene-glicol (PEG) resulted in an increase in susceptibility in the order of >437 (MDCK-R), >346 (PK-15R) and 87 (RK-13R) times. These results indicate that the resistance of these cell lines is probably due to a block in viral entry which can be overcome by addition of PEG. On the other hand, each resistant cell line retained the susceptibility to other three viruses of interest which replicate in the parental cells. Thus, these cells may be useful for virology diagnostic, virus propagation and for vaccine production, without the risk of being inadvertedly contaminated with BVDV. / O presente trabalho relata um inquérito sorológico das principais infecções víricas de cães em Santa Maria, RS, Brasil e a obtenção de linhagens celulares de origem canina, suína e leporina resistentes ao vírus da Diarréia Viral Bovina (BVDV). As infecções pelo vírus da cinomose (CDV), parvovírus (CPV), adenovírus (CAV) e coronavírus (CCoV) são importantes causas de morbidade e de mortalidade em cães em todo o mundo. Com o objetivo de determinar a prevalência de anticorpos contra esses vírus na população canina da cidade de Santa Maria, coletou-se amostras de sangue de 817 cães não-vacinados, em 14 bairros. Estas foram testadas pela técnica de soroneutralização (CDV, CAV e CCoV) ou inibição da hemaglutinação (CPV). Anticorpos específicos contra o CDV foram detectados em 27,3% (223/817) das amostras, contra o CPV em 68,7% (561/817), contra o CAV em 43% (353/817) e contra o CCoV em 50,4% (412/817) dos cães. Esses resultados demonstram que esses vírus estão difundidos na população canina dos bairros da cidade. Por outro lado, demonstram também que uma parte considerável da população é soronegativa e, portanto está desprotegida contra esses agentes, indicando a necessidade de se ampliar os programas de vacinação para essas infecções. Durante a padronização das técnicas sorológicas e expansão dos cultivos celulares para amplificação dos vírus, detectou-se a contaminação da linhagem de células caninas MDCK com o BVDV, o principal vírus contaminante de cultivos celulares. A contaminação inadvertida de cultivos celulares com o BVDV pode representar um sério problema para o diagnóstico virológico, pesquisa e produção de imunobiológicos. A segunda parte dessa dissertação descreve a produção e caracterização de três linhagens celulares resistentes ao BVDV, obtidas a partir das células parentais de origem canina (MDCK), suína (PK-15) e leporina (RK-13) que estavam contaminadas com o BVDV. Essas células foram submetidas a quatro ciclos de infecção com uma cepa citolítica de BVDV. As células que sobreviveram a infecção lítica foram clonadas, expandidas e testadas para a sua susceptibilidade ao BVDV e outros vírus de interesse. A resistência ao BVDV foi investigada pela pesquisa de antígenos virais por imunofluorescência indireta e por cocultivo com células susceptíveis após a inoculação do vírus em altos títulos. As três linhagens celulares demonstraram ser resistentes a três cepas-padrão (Singer, NADL e Oregon) e a 10 isolados de campo do BVDV. A inoculação do BVDV nessas células com uma multiplicidade de infecção de 10 DICC50/célula resultou em freqüências de infecção de <10-5 para as células MDCK-R e PK-15R; e de 3,3x10-4 para as células RK-13R. Comparando-se com as células parentais, verificou-se que as linhagens resistentes são >10.000 (MDCK-R), >20.000 (PK-15R) e 600 (RK-13R) vezes menos susceptíveis ao BVDV. A inoculação do vírus nas células resistentes na presença de polietilenoglicol (PEG) resultou em um aumento na susceptibilidade dessas células na ordem de >437 (MDCK-R), >346 (PK-15R) e 87 vezes (RK-13R). Esses resultados indicam que a resistência dessas linhagens ao BVDV reside em um bloqueio na penetração do vírus, que pode ser parcialmente revertido pela adição do PEG. Por outro lado, cada linhagem resistente conservou a susceptibilidade a outros três vírus que replicam nas células parentais. Essas características tornam essas linhagens celulares potencialmente úteis para o diagnóstico, amplificação de vírus e produção de vacinas, sem o risco de contaminação acidental com o BVDV.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / The respiratory viruses of dogs are associated with a disease called canine infectious respiratory disease (CIRD). The main etiological agents of CIRD are canine distemper virus (CDV), canine parainfluenza virus (cPIV), canine adenovirus type 2 and canid herpesvirus type 1 (CaHV-1), which may cause single or mixed infections. CIRD occurs most frequently in places with high animal density and constant movement. CDV, cPIV, CAdV-2 and CaHV-1 infections have been described worldwide, however, few reports of molecular identification of these viruses are available in Brazil. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate the occurrence of respiratory viruses in dogs in Santa Maria, RS, and in dog shelters in RS, trying to correlate their occurrence with the environmental conditions. Nasal secretions were collected from dogs with respiratory signs submitted to veterinary clinics in Santa Maria; and from dogs of three shelters of RS (Cachoeira do Sul [shelters #1 and #2] and Passo Fundo [shelter #3]). Viral detection/identification was performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for CDV, cPIV, CAdV-2 and CaHV-1. Positive samples were sequenced and, for some viruses, phylogenetic analysis was performed, comparing with sequences deposited in GenBank. Samples of shelters #1 and #3 were obtained during the cold season. Shelter #1 presented poor sanitary and nutrition conditions, high animal density and constant direct contact among dogs. In this shelter 78% (58/74) of the respiratory samples were positive for at least one virus. The single infections were caused by cPIV in 30% (22/74) of the samples and CAdV-2 in 5% (4/74). Coinfections represented 23% (cPIV and CAdV-2); 13% cPIV, CDV and CAdV-2; 4% cPIV-2 and CDV; and 3% CDV and CAdV-2. Shelters #2 and #3 presented satisfactory sanitary and nutrition conditions, with large outdoors exercise areas (#2) and animal separation by groups (#3). In shelter #2, 8% (5/35) of the samples were positive to cPIV and 6% to CaHV-1; in shelter #3, 8% (7/77) of the samples were positive to CAdV-2 and 1% to CDV. Of samples obtained in Santa Maria, 40% (10/25) were positive for virus, being 28% (7/25) for cPIV, and 4% (1/25) to each of the other viruses. Thus, the results obtained demonstrate that infections and coinfections by respiratory viruses are common in shelter dogs in RS, and their occurrence is related to population density, health and nutritional conditions and season. These viruses are also circulating in domestic dogs in Santa Maria, associated with respiratory disease. This study reinforces the importance of preventive measures such as vaccination and good environmental conditions to prevent/reduce infections caused by respiratory viruses in dogs. / Os vírus respiratórios de cães estão associados com uma enfermidade denominada doença respiratória infecciosa canina (canine infectious respiratory disease - CIRD). Os principais agentes da CIRD são o vírus da cinomose (canine distemper virus - CDV), vírus da parainfluenza canina tipo 2 (canine parainfluenza virus - cPIV), adenovírus canino tipo 2 (canine adenovirus type 2 - CAdV-2) e herpesvírus canino tipo 1 (canid herpesvirus 1 - CaHV-1), que podem causar infecções simples ou mistas. A CIRD ocorre com maior frequência em locais com alta densidade populacional e constante fluxo de animais. Infecções pelo CDV, cPIV, CAdV-2 e CaHV-1 tem sido descritas em vários países, contudo, são escassos os relatos da identificação molecular desses agentes no Brasil. Além disso, há falta de estudos relacionados aos fatores que favorecem a ocorrência e disseminação desses agentes em cães de abrigos. Desta forma, o objetivo do presente estudo foi investigar a ocorrência de vírus respiratórios em cães do município de Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, e em cães de abrigos, buscando-se associar a ocorrência das infecções com as condições ambientais. Para isso, foram coletadas secreções nasais de cães com sinais respiratórios em clínicas veterinárias de Santa Maria; e de cães de três abrigos do estado do RS (dois em Cachoeira do Sul [#1 e #2] e um em Passo Fundo [#3]). A identificação viral foi realizada por reação em cadeia de polimerase (PCR) para o CDV, cPIV, CAdV-2 e CaHV-1. As amostras positivas foram sequenciadas e, para alguns vírus, foi realizada a análise filogenética, comparando-se com sequências depositadas no GenBank. As amostras dos abrigos #1 e #3 foram obtidas durante épocas de baixas temperaturas. O abrigo #1 apresentava condições sanitárias e nutricionais precárias, além de alta densidade populacional e constante contato entre os cães. Neste abrigo, 78% (58/74) das amostras foram positivas para, pelo menos, um dos vírus investigados. As infecções simples foram causadas pelo cPIV em 30% (22/74) das amostras e CAdV-2 em 5% (4/74). As coinfecções totalizaram 23% (17/74) para o cPIV e CAdV-2; 13% (10/74) para o cPIV, CDV e CAdV-2; 4% (3/74) para o cPIV e CDV; e 3% (2/74) para o CDV e CAdV-2. Os abrigos #2 e #3 eram higienizados corretamente e os cães recebiam alimentação adequada, sendo que no abrigo #2 os animais possuíam amplo espaço para se exercitarem, e no abrigo #3 os animais eram separados em grupos e alojados em gaiolas. No abrigo #2 foram detectadas 8% de amostras positivas para o cPIV e 6% para o CaHV-1; e no abrigo #3, 8% de amostras positivas para o CAdV-2 e 1% para o CDV. Das amostras obtidas em clínicas de Santa Maria, 40% (10/25) foram positivas para um dos vírus pesquisados, sendo 28% (7/25) para o cPIV, e 4% (1/25) para cada um dos outros vírus. Assim, os resultados obtidos demonstram que infecções e coinfecções por vírus respiratórios são comuns em cães de abrigos no estado do RS, estando relacionadas com a densidade populacional, condições sanitárias e nutricionais e estação do ano. Estes vírus também circulam em cães domésticos em Santa Maria, estando associados com doença respiratória. Este estudo reforça a importância de medidas de prevenção, tendo em vista que a vacinação e boas condições ambientais podem reduzir e/ou prevenir as infecções causadas por vírus respiratórios em cães.