Aydin Hakan, Yildirim Serkan, Timurkan Mehmet Ozkan, Eser Gizem
Department of Virology, Ataturk University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Erzurum, Türkiye.
Department of Pathology, Ataturk University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Erzurum, Türkiye.
Arch Virol. 2025 Aug 8;170(9):191. doi: 10.1007/s00705-025-06376-5.
Canine distemper virus (CDV) causes highly contagious, systemic, and fatal infections of domestic carnivores worldwide. The high genetic and antigenic variability of the CDV H protein and the specificity of its interaction with signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM) and nectin-4 play a crucial role in determining the host specificity and tropism of the virus. It remains to be definitely established whether CDV may be localised in the urogenital tract or cause abortions in pregnant dogs. In this study, we investigated SLAM- and nectin-4-associated CDV infection of uterine tissue and adaptation of CDV to uterine tissue of dogs. For this purpose, 100 canine uterus samples were included in the study. CDV was detected by PCR in dogs without clinical signs, and molecular characterization of the virus was performed by bioinformatic analysis and comparison of partial amino acid sequences of the CDV H protein. In these uterine tissues infected with CDV, cellular SLAM and nectin-4 expression using histopathological, immunohistochemical, and immunofluorescence techniques. Sequence analysis showed that CDV strains belonging to the Asia-1 lineage are circulating in dogs in Türkiye and are responsible for uterine infections. Pathological analysis revealed increased SLAM and nectin-4 expression in CDV-infected uterine tissues compared to healthy uterine tissues. CDV was detected in 13 out of 100 uterine specimens tested, and increased expression of SLAM and nectin-4 was demonstrated for the first time in infected uterine tissues. Molecular and pathological analysis indicated that CDV may play a role in receptor-associated uterine infections. The data from this study will provide a basis for more extensive future research.
犬瘟热病毒（CDV）可在全球范围内引起家养食肉动物高度传染性、全身性和致命性感染。CDV H蛋白的高遗传和抗原变异性及其与信号淋巴细胞激活分子（SLAM）和nectin-4相互作用的特异性在决定病毒的宿主特异性和嗜性方面起着关键作用。CDV是否可定位于泌尿生殖道或导致怀孕母犬流产仍有待明确证实。在本研究中，我们调查了与SLAM和nectin-4相关的CDV子宫组织感染情况以及CDV对犬子宫组织的适应性。为此，本研究纳入了100份犬子宫样本。通过PCR在无临床症状的犬中检测到CDV，并通过生物信息学分析和比较CDV H蛋白的部分氨基酸序列对病毒进行分子特征分析。在这些感染CDV的子宫组织中，使用组织病理学、免疫组织化学和免疫荧光技术检测细胞SLAM和nectin-4的表达。序列分析表明，属于亚洲-1谱系的CDV毒株在土耳其的犬中传播，并导致子宫感染。病理分析显示，与健康子宫组织相比，CDV感染的子宫组织中SLAM和nectin-4表达增加。在100份检测的子宫标本中有13份检测到CDV，并且首次在感染的子宫组织中证实了SLAM和nectin-4表达增加。分子和病理分析表明，CDV可能在受体相关的子宫感染中起作用。本研究的数据将为未来更广泛的研究提供基础。
