Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Justus Liebig University, 35392 Giessen, Germany.
Clinic for Birds, Reptiles, Amphibian and Fish, Justus Liebig University, 35392 Giessen, Germany.
Viruses. 2022 Oct 1;14(10):2181. doi: 10.3390/v14102181.
Proventricular dilatation disease (PDD) caused by parrot bornavirus (PaBV) infection is an often-fatal disease known to infect Psittaciformes. The impact of age at the time of PaBV infection on organ lesions and tissue distribution of virus antigen and RNA remains largely unclear. For this purpose, tissue sections of 11 cockatiels intravenously infected with PaBV-4 as adults or juveniles, respectively, were examined via histology, immunohistochemistry applying a phosphoprotein (P) antibody directed against the bornaviral phosphoprotein and in situ hybridisation to detect viral RNA in tissues. In both groups of adult- and juvenile-infected cockatiels, widespread tissue distribution of bornaviral antigen and RNA as well as histologic inflammatory lesions were demonstrated. The latter appeared more severe in the central nervous system in adults and in the proventriculus of juveniles, respectively. During the study, central nervous symptoms and signs of gastrointestinal affection were only demonstrated in adult birds. Our findings indicate a great role of the age at the time of infection in the development of histopathological lesions and clinical signs, and thus provide a better understanding of the pathogenesis, possible virus transmission routes, and the development of carrier birds posing a risk to psittacine collections.
因感染鹦鹉源细小病毒（PaBV）而引起的前胃扩张病（PDD）是一种已知可感染凤头鹦鹉目鸟类的常发性致命疾病。PaBV 感染时的年龄对器官病变以及病毒抗原和 RNA 的组织分布的影响在很大程度上仍不清楚。为此，分别对静脉感染 PaBV-4 的成鸟和幼鸟的 11 只虎皮鹦鹉的组织切片进行了组织学、应用针对细小病毒磷蛋白的抗体进行免疫组织化学检查以及原位杂交，以检测组织中的病毒 RNA。在成鸟和幼鸟两组感染的虎皮鹦鹉中，均显示出广泛的病毒抗原和 RNA 组织分布以及组织学炎症病变。在成鸟中，中枢神经系统的病变更严重，而在幼鸟中则是前胃。在研究过程中，仅在成年鸟类中观察到中枢神经系统症状和胃肠道疾病的迹象。我们的研究结果表明，感染时的年龄在组织病理学病变和临床症状的发展中起着重要作用，从而更好地理解了发病机制、可能的病毒传播途径以及对凤头鹦鹉类群构成风险的带毒鸟的发展。
