Orientador: Hélio José Montassier / Banca: Aramis Augusto Pinto / Banca: Camillo Del Cistia Andrade / Resumo: A nucleoproteina do vírus da doença de Newcastle (VDN) é um dos componentes antigênicos ideais para fazer o imunodiagnóstico da DN, por ser mais conservada e possuir uma elevada imunogenicidade. A sequência completa do gene da nucleoproteína (NP) (1470 pb) da estirpe La Sota do VDN foi amplificada, nesse estudo, por RT-PCR e submetida a clonagem no vetor de expressão em Escherichia coli pETSUMO (Invitrogen). A proteína NP foi expressa sob a forma de uma proteína recombinante de fusão contendo o peptídeo SUMO e a sequência de poli-histidina, em seguida foi purificada em resina de níquel-agarose e caracterizada por SDSPAGE e Western-blotting, apresentando um peso molecular de cerca de 66kDa e reatividade com anticorpos policlonais de galinhas hiperimunizadas com esse mesmo vírus. Foi então desenvolvido um método indireto de ELISA com essa proteína (NPVDN- ELISA) para ser aplicado na detecção de anticorpos anti-virais específicos. O NP-VDN-ELISA revelou ser capaz de diferenciar amostras de soros positivos para o VDN das amostras de soros negativos e, na comparação dos resultados obtidos na análise de 125 soros de campo pelo NP-VDN-ELISA com os do teste de Inibição da Hemaglutinação (HI), foi encontrado um coeficiente de correlação significante entre estes métodos (r = 0,8345), bem como elevadas sensibilidade (89,3%), acurácia (90,4%) e especificidade (95,5%). Concluindo, a proteína NP recombinante expressa pelo sistema pET SUMO - E. coli compartilha os principais epítopos para interagir com anticorpos de galinhas produzidos contra a proteína NP do VDN, tendo, portanto, um bom potencial de ser aplicada de forma bem sucedida e com vantagens no teste de ELISA para realizar de forma mais rápida e prática, o imunodiagnóstico da DN de um maior número de amostras séricas de galinhas / Abstract: The nucleocapsid protein (NP) of Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV), is a preferred choice to develop a serologic assay on account of highly conserved sequences, and high immunogenicity. The whole open-reading-frame (orf) of NP gene from LaSota strain of NDV was amplified by RT-PCR and cloned in pETSUMO vector (Invitrogen) and Escherichia coli as cellular host. The NP protein was expressed as a fusion recombinant protein containing SUMO peptide and poly-histidine tags. This protein was easily purified in nickel-agarose resin, and characterized by SDS-PAGE and Western-blotting, showing a molecular weight of approximately 66 kDa and reactivity with polyclonal antibodies from NDV hiperimmunized chickens. The recombinant NP protein was used as antigen to develop an indirect ELISA (NP-NDVELISA) for the detection chicken anti-NDV antibodies. The capability of the recombinant NP protein to differentiate positive from normal chicken sera was evident in NP-NDV-ELISA, and by comparing this ELISA with haemagglutination-inhibition test (HI) a high and significant correlation with the haemagglutination-inhibition test (r = 0,8345), as well as high sensitivity (89,3%), specificity (95,5%) and accuracy (90,4%) were obtained. In conclusion the results indicated that the recombinant NP protein shared the main epitopes with the homologous viral protein and has a great potential to be advantageously used in the ELISA for the analysis of large number of samples in the DN immunodiagnosis / Mestre

Orientadores: Clarice Weis Arns, Fernando Rosado Spilki / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-16T11:29:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Orsi_MariaAngela_D.pdf: 5800043 bytes, checksum: 7c499fd86a0e94ef1057fc62e1ba024f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Resumo: O vírus da doença de Newcastle (VDN) é o agente causador de uma das mais importantes doenças em aves e representa uma ameaça para a indústria avícola. O VDN é um membro da família Paramyxoviridae, subfamília Paramyxovirinae, gênero Avulavirus. São vírus envelopados, não segmentados dotados de genoma RNA de fita simples sentido negativo, associado à doença do trato respiratório, digestivo e nervoso das aves. O Controle da DN se baseia em biossegurança, uso de vacinas e detecção precoce de lotes infectados. No presente estudo, examinamos dez vacinas vivas comercializadas no Brasil quanto à sua estabilidade térmica (ET), virulência e imunogenicidade. Em outra etapa do trabalho, investigou-se a soroprevalência perante o VDN em regiões de produção avícola voltada à exportação ou não de produtos aviários, seguido da detecção do VDN em aves migratórias. Os estudos são complementados pela análise filogenética de VDN isolado de aves comerciais, dos resultados alcançados, cumpre ressaltar: i) os testes de ET revelam elevada estabilidade para as vacinas utilizadas no país, mesmo após dois anos de sua fabricação; ii) o grau de proteção conferido por vacinas vivas contra a DN não depende da virulência residual conforme testes de inoculação intracerebral; iii) a soroprevalência contra VDN em aves nas regiões produtoras e exportadoras, foi de 39,1% e foram isoladas 77 amostras virais, sempre com perfil não-patogênico; iv) sorologia realizada em uma segunda oportunidade detectou-se uma soroprevalência de 28,8% e isolamento de 15 amostras virais que também foram caracterizadas como não-patogênicas; v) observou-se numa soropositividade de 41,7 a 84,3% dependendo da região e isolamento de 12 VDN na região Nordeste, caracterizados como não-patogênicas, indicando que nas áreas não exportadoras circulam vírus de baixa patogenicidade; vi) o genoma dos vírus isolados e das vacinas vivas, atesta que os vírus circulantes em aves comerciais são de provável origem vacinal e pertencem à classe II sendo 71,8% do genótipo II ou La Sota-like e 28,2% do genótipo I ou Ulster-like; vii) por último, a caracterização biológica dos isolados de aves migratórias mostram que há circulação de vírus de baixa e alta patogenicidade em nosso território. Portanto, este conjunto de trabalhos evidencia o status do Brasil como país livre da Doença de Newcastle em aves comerciais / Abstract: Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is the agent that causes one of the most important diseases in birds and represents a threat to industrial aviculture. NDV is a member of the Paramyxoviridae family, Paramyxovirinae subfamily, Avulavirus genus. In the present study, live vaccines commercialized in Brazil were examined in regard to their thermostability (TS), virulence and immunogenicity. In another stage of this work, soroprevalence was investigated, with viral isolation and characterization carried out in poultry production regions focused on production for exportation or domestic commercialization, followed by the detection of the virus in migratory birds. The studies were complemented by phylogenic analysis carried out on the isolates from the commercial birds. From the results obtained, it is important to underscore that i) the tests of TS revealed a high stability of the vaccines used in Brazil, even two years after their manufacture; ii) the level of protection given by live vaccines against NDV does not depend on residual virulence, as confirmed by tests of intracerebral inoculation iii) soroprevalence against NDV in regions with production for exportation was 39.1% and it was possible to isolate 77 samples, always with a non-pathogenic profile; iv) on a second opportunity, a soroprevalence of 28.8% was detected, with isolation of 15 samples, also classified as non-pathogenic; v) in the Brazilian Northeast, a seropositivity of 41.7 to 84.3% was observed depend of region, with isolation of 12 NDVs, characterized as non-pathogenic, indicating that virus of low pathogenicity circulates in those areas that do not export; vi) the genome of the isolated virus and vaccine implies that the circulating virus in commercial birds probably originates from the vaccine and belongs to class II, being 71.8% from genotype II or La Sota-like and 28.2% from genotype I or Ulster-like; vii) finally, the biological characterization of isolates from migratory birds showed that there is circulation of virus of low and high pathogenicity in Brazil. However, this set of studies agrees with the status of Brazil as being a country free of Newcastle disease in commercial birds / Doutorado / Ciencias Basicas / Doutor em Clínica Médica

Orientadores: Clarice Weis Arns, Luciana Konecny Kohn / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-22T17:08:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Sakata_SoniaTatsumi_M.pdf: 14113239 bytes, checksum: 26dfdfbc0c87c2a3a37c6143072df6c6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: Produtos naturais isolados a partir de invertebrados e organismos marinhos tem sido objeto de pesquisas contínuas ao longo dos últimos cinquenta anos, principalmente devido à sua complexidade estrutural e potentes atividades biológicas. O presente trabalho teve como proposta ampliar e aprofundar a investigação de substâncias bioativas em extratos de organismos marinhos, junto ao IQSC-USP/Projeto temático, realizando bioensaios de atividade antiviral no laboratório de virologia da Unicamp. Com o objetivo de realizar uma triagem para pesquisar substâncias com ação antiviral, foram eleitas duas espécies de vírus de destaque na avicultura, o Metapneumovirus aviário (aMPV) e o vírus da Doença de Newcastle (NDV), representantes da família Paramyxoviridae. As propriedades em comum dos vírus dentro das respectivas subfamílias, como a organização genômica, sequências das proteínas e suas atividades biológicas, permitem a utilização do aMPV como modelo de estudo para importantes agentes infecciosos da subfamília Pneumovirinae, e o NDV da subfamília Paramyxovirinae. Para a triagem de compostos antivirais foi realizada a avaliação in vitro na linhagem celular Chicken Embryo Related (CER) para a propagação dos vírus e analisar os resultados de inibição viral frente a diferentes extratos e substâncias. Dos cento e vinte e cinco extratos testados frente ao aMPV, sete demonstraram ser ativos, e seis com alto potencial antiviral. Inicialmente, cento e quarenta e sete extratos foram testados frente ao NDV, porém, o resultado foi inconclusivo devido a problema com o título da amostra viral. Assim, os sete extratos ativos e os seis com alto potencial antiviral contra o aMPV foram testados quanto à capacidade de inibição do NDV. Apesar das similaridades dos vírus da família Paramyxoviridae, os extratos não tiveram atividade contra o NDV, como ocorreu frente ao aMPV. As amostras ativas foram estudadas em três tipos de tratamento a fim de determinar os possíveis mecanismos de ação dos extratos: Pré-tratamento, fases de adsorção e/ou penetração do vírus na célula; Pós-tratamento, etapas intracelulares de replicação do vírus; e Inativação Viral. Pela análise visual do efeito citopático, os sete extratos ativos contra aMPV, quatro interrompem as etapas intracelulares de replicação do vírus, dois agem nas fases de adsorção e/ou penetração do vírus à célula, e um não tinha quantidade suficiente para realizar o teste. Com a finalidade de avaliar os possíveis mecanismos de ação com maior objetividade, menor risco de contaminação e alta especificidade, testou-se a metodologia de reação em cadeia da polimerase (PCR) em tempo real. Utilizando um composto puro (pirocina A) frente ao aMPV em CER, a metodologia se demonstrou eficiente. Esse dado foi confirmando pela diminuição de RNA viral quando ocorre a atividade antiviral, dando indícios de atuação do composto em etapas intracelulares de replicação do aMPV. A detecção de extratos com atividade antiviral nas situações testadas neste trabalho corrobora o valor da biodiversidade marinha como fonte de produtos promissores na terapêutica de enfermidades virais. Portanto, a necessidade de estudos sobre esses vírus e do desenvolvimento de novos insumos a serem utilizados nos seus controles é de grande importância ponderado a crescente projeção da indústria avícola brasileira no comércio mundial / Abstract: Natural products isolated from invertebrates and marine organisms have been studied over the past fifty years, mainly due to their structural complexity and potent biological activities. This project was proposed to broaden and deepen the research of bioactive substances in extracts of marine organisms, with the IQSC-USP group, performing bioassays antiviral activity in the laboratory of virology at Unicamp. In order to perform a screening to search antiviral substances were elected two species prominent in poultry, the avian Metapneumovirus (aMPV) and Newcastle disease virus (NDV), representatives of the family Paramyxoviridae. The common properties of the virus within their respective subfamilies, such as genomic organization, sequences of proteins and their biological activities, allow the use of aMPV as a study model for important infectious agents of Pneumovirinae subfamily, and NDV Paramyxovirinae subfamily. For antiviral screening, compounds were tested in vitro using Chicken Embryo Related (CER) cell lineage for the propagation of the virus and analyze the results of viral inhibition against various substances. Among one hundred twenty five extracts tested against aMPV, seven were actives and six have been shown high antiviral potential against the virus. Initially, one hundred fourty seven extracts were tested against NDV. However, the result was inconclusive due to problems with the titer of the viral sample. Thus, the seven active extracts and six extracts with high antiviral potential against the aMPV were tested for the ability to inhibit NDV. Despite the similarities of viruses of the family Paramyxoviridae, the extracts had no activity against NDV, as occurred against aMPV. The active samples were studied in three types of treatment in order to determine the possible mechanisms of action of the extracts: Pre-treatment, stages of adsorption and / or penetration of the virus into the cell; Post-treatment, intracellular steps of virus replication; and Viral Inactivation. At visual analysis of cytopathic effect, from all 7 extracts active against aMPV, 4 disrupt intracellular steps of virus replication, 2 acts on adsorption and / or penetration stages of the virus into the cell, and 1 was not enough to perform the test. In order to assess the possible mechanisms of action more objectively, lower contamination risk and high specificity, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in real time methodology was tested. Using a pure compound (pirocina A) against aMPV in CER cell lineage, the methodology is demonstrated efficient. This was confirmed by the decrease of viral RNA when occurs antiviral activity, an evidence of compound's action on intracellular steps of aMPV replication. The detection of extracts with antiviral activity in this study confirms the value of marine biodiversity as a source of promising products in the viral diseases therapeutic. Therefore, the primordiality for more studies and the development of new inputs to control these viruses is extremely important to increasing of Brazilian poultry industry in world trade / Mestrado / Microbiologia / Mestra em Genética e Biologia Molecular

The hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) molecule of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is an integral membrane glycoprotein that is oriented with its N-terminus in the cytoplasm and its C-terminus external to the infected cell. Single spanning membrane proteins with this type of topology (N-terminus in, C-terminus out) have been classified as Type II glycoproteins, in contrast to the more common Type I glycoproteins, which are oriented in the opposite direction. (C-terminus in, N-terminus out). The membrane integration of HN protein was investigated using a wheat germ translation system to synthesize and integrate HN protein into microsomal membranes in vitro. The insertion and translocation of HN protein into microsomal vesicles was found to occur cotranslationally without signal sequence cleavage. The membrane targeting required both signal recognition particle (SRP) and SRP receptor. Membrane binding assays utilizing HN nascent chain/ribosome/SRP complexes demonstrated that the membrane insertion of HN polypeptide required the presence of GTP, in a way similar to that described for secretory, multispanning and Type I proteins. To investigate further the membrane translocation process of HN protein, the amino terminal region of HN was mutated to determine the role of this region in the membrane integration of HN. The cDNA sequence encoding the bulk of the cytoplasmic tail of the HN glycoprotein was deleted. When transcripts produced from the mutated cDNA were translated in wheat germ extract in the presence of membranes, several abnormalities were identified in the interaction of the mutant protein with membranes. Although translocation and glycosylation of the mutant protein was detected, the efficiency of membrane translocation and the stability of the mutant protein's membrane interaction were reduced. Even though a large proportion of the mutant products remained nontranslocated and unglycosylated, many of these products were inserted into membrane vesicles in a reverse orientation from the wild type HN protein. The aberrant insertion of the mutant protein required both SRP and SRP receptor. Ribosome-bound mutant nascent chains were able to insert into membranes without the addition of GTP or SRP, but this GTP-independent insertion was in reverse. Therefore, the cytoplasmic tail of the HN glycoprotein appears to playa critical role in the maintanence of faithful directionality of the protein's membrane insertion.

Prostate cancer (CaP) is the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in men in the United States. Currently, androgen depletion is an essential strategy for CaP combined with surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Hormone independent cancer stem cells escaping conventional therapy present a major therapeutic challenge. The available treatment regimens for hormone resistant CaP are only palliative and marginally increase survival. Therefore, novel strategies to eradicate CaP including stem cells are imperative. Oncolytic virus (OV) therapy is a novel approach that overcomes the limitations posed by radiation and chemotherapy. Oncolytic virotherapy of cancer is based on the use of replication competent, tumor selective viruses with limited toxicity. Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV), an avian paramyxovirus, is a safe and promising OV successfully used in many clinical trials. NDV is inherently tumor selective and cytotoxic but replication restricted in normal cells. But, systemically delivered NDV fails to reach solid tumors in therapeutic concentrations and also spreads poorly within the tumors due to barriers including complement, innate immunity and extracellular matrix. Overcoming these hurdles is paramount to realize the exceptional oncolytic efficacy of NDV. Therefore, we engineered the fusion (F) glycoprotein of NDV and generated a recombinant NDV (rNDV) cleavable exclusively by prostate specific antigen (PSA). The rNDV replicated efficiently and specifically only in prostate cancer (CaP) cells but failed to replicate in the absence of PSA. Further, PSA-cleavable rNDV caused specific lysis of androgen independent and dependent/responsive CaP cells with a mean effective concentration (EC50) ranging from 0.01 to 0.1 multiplicity of infection (MOI). PSA retargeted rNDV efficiently lysed three-dimensional prostaspheres, suggesting efficacy in vivo. Also, PSA-cleavable NDV failed to replicate in chicken embryos, indicating absence of pathogenicity to its natural host, chickens. Prostaspheres generated from DU-145 CaP cell line derived xenografts showed self-renewal, proliferative and clonogenic potential in vitro, and exhibited increased tumorigenicity in vivo. Embryonic stem and progenitor cell markers like Nanog, Nestin and CD44 were overexpressed in spheres as compared to the cell line suggesting prostaspheres comprise tumor-initiating cells from CaP. Xenograft and cell line derived prostaspheres were permissive for rNDV replication, when the fusion protein was activated by exogenous PSA. The EC50 against tumor initiating cells was 0.11-0.14 MOI, suggesting an excellent therapeutic margin for in vivo studies. PSA retargeting is likely to enhance the therapeutic index of rNDV owing to tumor restricted replication and enhanced fusogenicity. Our results suggest PSA retargeted rNDV selectively replicates and lyse PSA producing CaP cells including tumor-initiating cells and is a promising candidate for immediate Phase I/II clinical trials. / Ph. D.

La viande de volaille et les oeufs constituent une source de protéines bon marché mais la production avicole est menacée par deux maladies virales, la grippe aviaire hautement pathogène et la maladie de Newcastle, ayant des implications économiques et de santé publique à travers le monde. L'introduction du virus de l'influenza aviaire (AIV) hautement pathogène H5N1 en Afrique en 2006 a souligné la nécessité d'une meilleure compréhension d'AIV en Afrique. Grâce à des études de surveillance, nous avons constaté que le virus H5N1 ne circulait plus après 2008 en Afrique subsaharienne. Toutefois, les analyses phylogénétiques réalisées sur le génome de virus faiblement pathogènes H5N2 trouvés chez des oiseaux sauvages au Nigeria ont révélé des caractéristiques de virus réassortants. La similitude d'un gène avec ceux trouvés dans d'autres virus d'Afrique australe renforce l'idée qu'AIV est capable de persister et circuler en Afrique. Nous avons également montré que de nouvelles souches virulentes du virus de la maladie de Newcastle (NDV) constituent la majorité des souches détectées. Leur distance génétique par rapport aux autres souches de NDV connues, leur diversité génétique et leur dispersion géographique suggèrent que ces souches ont probablement évolué localement, circulent depuis un certain temps dans la région et que le commerce et le mouvement d'animaux ont contribué à leur propagation. Nos résultats suggèrent également que la contribution des oiseaux sauvages à la dispersion des souches virulentes du NDV est probablement limitée. Au Luxembourg cependant, les oiseaux sauvages pourraient être un acteur important pour l'introduction du NDV / Poultry meat and eggs constitute one of the cheap sources of protein around the world but poultry production is threatened by two main viral diseases, highly pathogenic avian influenza and Newcastle disease, with economic and public health implications worldwide. The introduction of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus in Africa in 2006 highlighted the necessity of a better understanding of avian influenza virus (AIV) in Africa. Through surveillance studies, we found that H5N1 virus was not circulating anymore in sub-Saharan Africa after 2008. However, phylogenetic analyses performed on the genome of low pathogenic H5N2 viruses found in wild birds in Nigeria revealed that they were reassortants. The similarity of one gene to those found in other AIV viruses from Southern Africa strengthened the hypothesis that AIV may actually persist and circulate in Africa. We have shown that new virulent strains of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) constituted the majority of the strains detected. Their genetic distance compared to other NDV strains, their genetic diversity and their geographic dispersion in West and Central Africa suggested that these strains probably evolved locally, that they circulated for some time in the region and that trade and movement of animals likely contributed to their spread. Our findings also suggested that the contribution of wild birds to the dispersion of virulent strains of NDV was probably limited. In Luxembourg however, wild birds may be an important player for the introduction of NDV strains

A avicultura brasileira é atualmente uma atividade de grande sucesso. A utilização de sistemas de planejamento associados a novas tecnologias, reflete-se no extraordinário crescimento da atividade. A produção brasileira de frango ultrapassou a marca anual de 10 milhões de toneladas, em 2007. O Brasil está entre os três maiores produtores de frango no ranking mundial, junto com Estados Unidos e China. Haja vista a importância que a avicultura representa para o país, pela geração de benefícios sociais e econômicos, o risco que a Doença de Newcastle (DNC) constitui para a avicultura brasileira é enorme. Um surto desta doença em um centro de produção avícola representaria um risco à economia e incidiria de forma negativa nos níveis de consumo de proteína de qualidade e economicamente acessível à população. A fim de estabelecermos um monitoramento do vírus da Doença de Newcastle (NDV) em aves selvagens, livres ou de cativeiro, e aves domésticas não vacinadas, residentes em regiões de elevada confluência migratória aviária no Brasil e em pingüins ao redor da Estação Antártica Comandante Ferraz (EACF), coletamos amostras de swabs orais e cloacais para a posterior análise por PCR em Tempo Real (qPCR), além de sangue para testes sorológicos, tendo como objetivos maiores, contribuir para o fortalecimento dos serviços de defesa sanitária animal, aumentar a capacidade de investigação, e finalmente, atualizar e harmonizar normas e procedimentos para a prevenção e controle da DNC, referenciando-se nas recomendações da Organização Mundial de Sanidade Animal (Office International des Epizooties - OIE). Das 1072 aves amostradas em diferentes regiões do Brasil, 8 (0,75%) apresentaram resultado positivo para o NDV por qPCR, sendo 5 (62,5% das positivas) delas provenientes da região Norte, 2 (25% das positivas) do Nordeste e 1 (12,5% das positivas) da região Sul do Brasil. Na Antártica, dos 100 pingüins estudados, 2 apresentaram resultado positivo para o NDV por qPCR e em cerca de 33,3% dos soros testados foi detectada a presença de anticorpo pelo teste de Inibição da Hemaglutinação (HI). Todas as amostras positivas foram re-analisadas por qPCR específico para cepas mesogênicas e/ou velogênicas, resultando negatividade, corroborando os dados que certificam o Brasil como sendo livre da Doença de Newcastle. / Brazilian chicken meat exports ended 2007 with shipments of 3,3 million tons, which represented a 21% increase in comparison with 2006. These results were the best in the history of the poultry sector in Brazil. The production reached 10.2 million tons, a result that kept the country as the worlds largest chicken meat exporter and the third largest producer, only behind USA and China. Thus the risk of an introduction of the Newcastle disease virus (NDV) into domestic poultry is enormous and will play severe consequences for the economy and poltry industries. In order to provide the surveillance of the NDV in wild, free or captive, and non vaccinated domestic birds from some regions of migratory birds confluence in Brazil and in penguins around the brasilian Antarctic Station Comandante Ferraz, we collected oral and cloacal swabs, for the viral detection by Real Time PCR (qPCR), and blood for the serological test (hemaglutination inhibition test HI). A total of 1072 birds were sampled in diferent regions of Brazil, where 8 (0.75%) shown positive results to NDV, in which 5 (62.5% of positive) were from North region, 2 (25% of positive) were from Northeast and 1 (12,5% of positive) was from South. In the Antarctic 100 penguins were studied, in which 2 were detected the NDV (2% of total). HI test showed that 33.3% of penguins were seropositives for NDV, indicating their previous contact with the pathogen. All the positive samples by qPCR were repeated with primers projected to detect only virulent strains and no sample was positive, indicating the absence of velogenic strains in Brazil. The epidemiological profile was richer with the isolament of positive samples in embrioned chiken eggs specific patogen free and latter nucleotidic genomic sequencing of isolate.

Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is a member of the genus Avulavirus of the Paramyxoviridaefamily of enveloped negative-stranded RNA viruses. The virus causes respiratory, neurological, or enteric disease in many species of birds, resulting in significant losses to the poultry industry worldwide. Strains of the virus are classified into three pathotypes based on the severity of disease in chickens. Avirulent strains that produce mild or asymptomatic infections are termed lentogenic, whereas virulent strains are termed velogenic. Strains of intermediate virulence are termed mesogenic. The envelope of NDV virions contains two types of glycoproteins, the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) and fusion (F) proteins. HN mediates three functions: 1) virus attachment to sialic acid-containing receptors; 2) neuraminidase activity that cleaves sialic acid from progeny virions to prevent self-aggregation; and, 3) complementation of the F protein in the promotion of fusion. Though it is widely accepted that cleavage of a fusion protein precursor is the primary determinant of NDV virulence, it is not the sole determinant. At least two other proteins, HN and the V protein, contribute to virulence. The V protein possesses interferon (IFN) antagonistic activity. The long-range goal of these studies is to understand the roles of HN and V in the differential virulence patterns exhibited by members of the NDV serotype. The first aim is to compare the IFN antagonistic activity of the V protein from a lentogenic and a mesogenic strain of the virus. The results of this study demonstrate that the V protein of the mesogenic strain Beaudette C (BC) exhibits greater IFN antagonistic activity than that of the lentogenic strain La Sota. Hence, the IFN antagonistic activities of the two V proteins correlate with their known virulence properties. Comparison of the C-terminal regions of La Sota and BC V proteins revealed four amino acid differences. The results demonstrate that the IFN antagonistic activity of La Sota V increases when any one of these residues is mutated to the corresponding residue in BC V. Conversely, the IFN antagonistic activity of BC V decreases when any one of these four residues is mutated to the corresponding residue in La Sota V. However, no single residue accounts for the difference in IFN antagonistic activity between the two V proteins. Also, analysis of La Sota V and BC V proteins with multiple mutations in these positions revealed that the four residues are collectively responsible for the difference in the IFN antagonistic activity of the two V proteins. Finally, characterization of chimeric La Sota/BC V proteins showed that the N-terminal region also contributes to the IFN antagonistic activity of V. Contrary to an earlier report, results described here demonstrate that the NDV V protein does not target STAT1 for degradation. However, both La Sota and BC V proteins target interferon regulatory factor (IRF)-7 for degradation and promote the conversion of full-length IRF-7 to a lower molecular weight form (IRF-7*). This is the first demonstration that IRF-7 is targeted by a paramyxovirus V protein. The amount of IRF-7* decreases in a dose-dependent manner in the presence of a proteasome inhibitor, suggesting that IRF-7* is a degradation product of IRF-7. Furthermore, the BC V protein promotes complete conversion of IRF-7 to IRF7*, whereas the La Sota V protein does so less efficiently. Again, this is consistent with the difference in IFN antagonistic activity of the two V proteins, and in turn, with their virulence. The second aim is to characterize an HN-specific monoclonal antibody called AVS-I. A previous study suggested that AVS-I recognizes an epitope that is conserved in lentogenic strains and raises the possibility that this epitope may colocalize with a determinant of virulence in HN. To further characterize antibody AVS-I and the epitope it recognizes, we (i) determined its specificity for several additional strains of the virus, (ii) mapped its binding to HN in competition with our own antibodies, (iii) determined its functional inhibition profile, and (iv) isolated and sequenced an AVS-I escape mutant. The results demonstrate that AVS-I binds to a conformational epitope at the carboxy terminus of HN. This suggests that this region of HN may define a determinant of virulence. However, it was also shown that AVS-I, which was previously thought to be specific for avirulent strains of NDV, actually recognizes individual mesogenic and velogenic strains. In conclusion, the data presented in this dissertation contributes to a greater understanding of the molecular basis for NDV virulence and may aid in development of antiviral strategies and generation of recombinant NDVs suitable for use in cancer and gene therapy.

It is shown here that the ability of B lymphocytes to act as supportive host cells for virus infections requires they be activated from the resting Gostage of the cell cycle. I have used a series of activation regimens, which allow B cells to progress to different stages in their activation/differentiation pathway toward antibody secretion, in order to evaluate the extent of activation required to support vesicular stomatitis or Newcastle disease virus infections. At least three distinct phases during B cell activation which affected VSV infection were defined. Freshly isolated resting murine splenic B cells in the Go phase of the cell cycle do not support VSV, assessed by protein synthesis, infectious center formation, and PFU production. Small B cells cultured for 48 hours without stimulation still do not support VSV. B cells stimulated with the lymphokines found in Con A activated supernatants from splenic T cells or cloned T cell lines transited into the G1 phase of the cell cycle but remain refractory to VSV. These VSV non-supportive B cell populations do take up virus particles and transcribe viral mRNAs which can be translated in vitro, suggesting a translational block to VSV. B cells stimulated into the S phase of the cell cycle with anti-immunoglobulin synthesize VSV proteins and increased numbers of infectious centers, but only low level PFU synthesis (center) is observed. Co-stimulation with anti-Ig and lymphokines, which supports differentiation to antibody secretion, enhanced PFU synthesis without further increasing the number of infected B cells. LPS, which activates B cells directly to antibody secretion by a pathway different from anti-Ig, induced infectious centers, and PFUs at levels comparable to those seen when stably transformed permissive cell lines are infected. Co-stimulation of LPS activated B cells with the same lymphokine populations that enhance PFU production when anti-Ig is used as a stimulator suppresses PFU production completely, suggesting that anti-Ig and LPS activated B cells are differentially responsive to lymphokines. NDV infection of murine B cells differed markedly from VSV infection, as all B cell populations examined gave a similar response pattern. NDV viral proteins were synthesized by B cells in each of the activation states previously described, even freshly isolated B cells. Infectious center formation increased up to 5-fold over the levels observed with unstimulated B cells after anti-Ig or LPS activation. However, PFU synthesis was low (center) for all B cell populations. These results suggest that these two similar viruses may be dependent on different host cell factors and that these factors are induced for VSV but not NDV by the B cell activators employed here or that the process of infection of B cell by these two viruses induces different cellular responses.

Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária - EMBRAPA / Reusing litter is a common practice in broiler farming. However, it requires the adoption of efficient procedures for inactivating and controlling residual microorganisms during downtime between flocks to ensure sanitary control over the next flock and the quality of the broiler meat. The broiler production adopts a series of stringent precautionary measures to avoid sanitary emergencies and should be able to employ appropriate control measures. In addition, international consumer markets require proof of the efficiency of treatment methods for broiler litter reuse. The efficiency of broiler litter treatments on pathogens is variable and multifactorial and can be influenced by the treatment method and/or microorganisms evaluated. This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of different strategies of treatment of broiler litter on Newcastle disease virus (NDV), Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) and Salmonella Heidelberg. Total enterobacteria counts were carried out as an indicator of microbiological quality of litter. First, the experimental contamination of the broiler litter by viruses was standardized, comparing the seeder birds inoculated versus the direct spray of the virus in the broiler litter. To evaluate the treatments, reused broiler litter was contaminated with the three microorganisms and submitted to the treatments (T): T1- shallow fermentation; T2- quicklime; T3- shallow fermentation followed by quicklime; and, T4- untreated. The broiler litter was submitted to bacteriological and physico-chemical analyzes during treatment. Sentinel chicks were housed on the broiler litter treated and further monitored by clinical evaluation, as well as microbiological, serological and molecular tests. The results demonstrated that seeder birds were efficient to stablish viral contamination in broiler litter. T1 was superior in reducing total enterobacteria in the broiler litter. The evaluation of sentinel chicks also indicated that T1 and T3 inactivated IBDV in the broiler litter. T2 was not able to reduce the microorganisms evaluated, and its association with T1 (T3) did not enhance the treatment action. NDV did not survive in broiler litter, regardless of the treatment applied. S. Heidelberg survived in broiler litter after all treatments evaluated and was also detected in the sentinel chicks. The antimicrobial activity of T1 and T3 was associated to ammonia levels present in the broiler litter. The results reveal that shallow fermentation is efficient to control residual IBDV and total enterobacteria in recycled broiler litter. However, other strategies should be considered in the presence of S. Heidelberg. / A reutilização da cama aviária é uma prática comum na avicultura de corte. Porém, o reuso da cama requer a adoção de procedimentos eficientes na inativação e controle de micro-organismos indesejáveis no intervalo entre os lotes, para preservar a saúde avícola e a qualidade do alimento produzido. A preocupação com as questões sanitárias na avicultura engloba a saúde dos frangos e do consumidor. A produção está sujeita às emergências sanitárias e deve estar preparada para empregar medidas adequadas de contenção e controle. Além disso, os mercados consumidores internacionais demandam comprovação da eficiência dos métodos de tratamento para o reuso da cama entre lotes de frangos. A eficiência dos tratamentos de cama sobre os patógenos é variável e multifatorial e pode ser influenciada pelo método de tratamento e/ou pelos micro-organismos avaliados. Deste modo, o objetivo desta pesquisa foi avaliar a eficiência de diferentes estratégias de tratamento da cama aviária sobre vírus da Doença de Newcastle (VDNC), vírus da Doença Infecciosa da Bursa (VDIB) e Salmonella Heidelberg. Enterobactérias totais foram analisadas como indicador da qualidade microbiológica da cama aviária. Inicialmente, a contaminação experimental pelos vírus aviários foi padronizada, comparando-se a excreção por aves inoculadas (seeder birds) versus a aspersão direta dos vírus na cama. Para avaliação dos tratamentos, cama aviária reutilizada foi contaminada com os três micro-organismos e submetida aos tratamentos (T): T1- fermentação plana; T2- cal virgem; T3- fermentação plana seguida de adição de cal virgem; T4- não tratado. A cama aviária foi submetida às análises bacteriológicas e físico-químicas durante o tratamento. Aves sentinelas foram alojadas sobre a cama tratada, sendo monitoradas por meio de avaliação clínica e análises microbiológicas, sorológicas e moleculares. Os resultados demonstraram que as seeder birds foram eficientes em estabelecer a contaminação viral da cama. O T1 foi superior na redução de enterobactérias totais na cama aviária. A avaliação das aves sentinelas indicou que ambos T1 e T3 inativaram VDIB na cama aviária. O T2 não foi eficiente sobre os micro-organismos avaliados e sua associação ao T1 (T3) não potencializou a ação do tratamento. O VDNC não sobreviveu na cama, independente do tratamento aplicado. S. Heidelberg permaneceu viável na cama de todos os tratamentos, sendo também detectada nas aves sentinelas. A atividade antimicrobiana dos T1 e T3 foi relacionada aos maiores teores de amônia presentes na cama aviária. Os resultados indicam que a fermentação plana é eficiente para o controle do VDIB e enterobactérias totais residuais na cama aviária reutilizada. Todavia, na presença de S. Heidelberg outras alternativas devem ser consideradas no controle deste agente de importância na saúde animal e pública.