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Published on: January 28, 2019
Circulating rotaviral RNA in children with rotavirus antigenemia
Kamruddin Ahmed1, Gulendam Bozdayi, Marcelo T Mitui
1Research Promotion Institute, Oita University, Yufu, Japan. ahmed@oita-u.ac.jp
Insights
Rotavirus antigenemia is common in children with diarrhea, but intact viruses and viremia are absent. Circulating rotavirus antigen and RNA in serum warrant further investigation for diagnostic and therapeutic insights.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Rotavirus diarrhea is common in children.
- Rotavirus antigenemia is frequently observed but poorly understood.
- Limited data exists on genotype specificity, intact virus presence, and RNA-antigen correlation in rotavirus antigenemia.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate rotavirus antigenemia in children with diarrhea.
- To determine genotype specificity and presence of intact rotavirus particles in serum.
- To explore the correlation between genomic RNA and antigen concentration in serum.
Main Methods:
- Serum samples from children with diarrhea were analyzed for rotavirus antigenemia.
- Electron microscopy was used to detect intact rotavirus particles.
- Benzonase endonuclease digestion was employed to assess the integrity of genomic RNA in serum.
Main Results:
- Antigenemia was detected in 64.8% of children with rotavirus diarrhea.
- No specific rotavirus genotype was associated with antigenemia.
- Intact rotavirus particles were not found in serum, and genomic RNA was degraded by benzonase, indicating free RNA in serum, not within capsids.
Conclusions:
- Antigenemia is prevalent in pediatric rotavirus diarrhea.
- Rotavirus viremia was not detected in the study population.
- The presence and role of free rotavirus antigen and genomic RNA in serum require further research.
Background:
Rotavirus antigenemia is a common phenomenon in children with rotavirus diarrhea, but information is scarce on aspects of this phenomenon, such as genotype specificity, presence of intact viruses and correlation between genomic RNA and antigen concentration. Such information may help in understanding rotavirus pathogenesis and eventually be useful for diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
Methods And Findings:
Serum samples were collected from children who presented at hospitals with diarrhea. Antigenemia was present in 162/250 (64.8%) samples from children with rotavirus diarrhea. No specific rotavirus genotype was found to be associated with antigenemia. Rotavirus particles could not be found by electron microscopy in concentrated serum from children with high levels of antigenemia. In passaged rotavirus suspension a significant correlation (r=0.9559; P=0.0029) was found between antigen level and viral copy number, but no significant correlation (r=0.001480; P=0.9919) was found between antigenemia level and viral copy number in serum. When intact rotavirus was treated with benzonase endonuclease, genomic double-stranded (ds) RNA was not degraded, but when sera of patients with antigenemia were treated with benzonase endonuclease, genomic dsRNA was degraded, indicating genomic dsRNA was free in sera and not inside virus capsid protein.
Conclusions:
Antigenemia is present in a significant number of patients with rotavirus diarrhea. Rotavirus viremia was absent in the children with rotavirus diarrhea who participated in our study, and was not indicated by the presence of antigenemia. The significance of circulating rotavirus antigen and genomic dsRNA in serum of patients with diarrhea deserves further study.
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