Experimental infection of Z:ZCLA Mongolian gerbils with human hepatitis E virus
Yan Hong1, Zhuo-Jing He1, Wei Tao1
1Yan Hong, Zhuo-Jing He, Wei Tao, Ting Fu, Yan-Kun Wang, Yong Chen, Institute of Bioengineering, Zhejiang Academy of Medical Science, Hangzhou 310013, Zhejiang Province, China.
Aim:
To investigate whether Z:ZCLA Mongolian gerbils are readily susceptible to infection by human hepatitis E virus (HEV).
Methods:
Z:ZCLA Mongolian gerbils were infected with a clinical HEV strain isolated from an acute hepatitis E patient, and virus pathogenesis was assessed in this host. Non-infected gerbils served as the control group. Feces samples from gerbils were collected weekly for reverse transcription-nested polymerase chain reaction. Serum anti-HEV IgG and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. At sacrifice, each animal's liver, spleen and kidney were collected for histopathologic examination.
Results:
HEV-infected gerbils showed fatigue, with histopathological changes observed in the liver, spleen and kidney. HEV RNA was detected in fecal samples taken at day 7 after inoculation and the detectable levels lasted out to day 42 after inoculation. Interestingly, ALT levels were only moderately increased in the HEV-infected animals compared with the non-infected control group.
Conclusion:
Z:ZCLA Mongolian gerbils are susceptible to human HEV.
