Center for Animal Disease Research and Diagnosis, Pathology Laboratory, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar 243122, India.
Vet Microbiol. 2010 Aug 26;144(3-4):310-8. doi: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2010.02.033. Epub 2010 Mar 3.
The role of apoptosis in pathogenesis of bluetongue (BT) has been suggested from various in vitro studies. However, to date, no clear data are available regarding BTV-induced apoptosis and its consequences in natural host, sheep. In the present study, bluetongue virus (BTV)-induced apoptosis was studied in sheep blood and splenic mononuclear cells by analyzing annexin(+)-propidium iodide(-) early apoptotic cells, DNA ladder pattern, and caspase-3 gene expression. The onset of apoptosis and lymphocyte depletion in viraemic phase and IFN-alpha response indicated the involvement of BTV and IFN-alpha in the pathogenesis of BT. The development of Pasteurella pneumonia in 4 of 7 infected sheep during the experiment pointed to possible BTV-induced immuno-suppression and predisposition to secondary microbial infections. These results have significant implications not only in understanding immuno-pathological consequences but also in studying interactions of BTV with host cells.
从各种体外研究中可以看出，细胞凋亡在蓝舌病（BT）发病机制中的作用。然而，迄今为止，关于 BTV 诱导的细胞凋亡及其在天然宿主绵羊中的后果，尚无明确的数据。在本研究中，通过分析 Annexin(+)-碘化丙啶(-)早期凋亡细胞、DNA 梯状模式和 Caspase-3 基因表达，研究了绵羊血液和脾单核细胞中蓝舌病毒（BTV）诱导的细胞凋亡。在病毒血症期，凋亡的发生和淋巴细胞耗竭以及 IFN-α反应表明 BTV 和 IFN-α参与了 BT 的发病机制。在实验期间，7 只感染绵羊中有 4 只发生巴氏杆菌肺炎，这表明可能存在 BTV 诱导的免疫抑制和易继发微生物感染。这些结果不仅对理解免疫病理后果具有重要意义，而且对研究 BTV 与宿主细胞的相互作用也具有重要意义。
