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Candidate adenoviruses 40 and 41: fastidious adenoviruses from human infant stool
Insights
Two new human adenovirus species, Mastadenovirus h 40 and h 41, were identified from infantile diarrhea cases. These novel adenoviruses are antigenically distinct from known human strains.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Molecular Biology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Infantile diarrhea is a significant global health concern.
- Adenoviruses are a common cause of viral infections, including respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and characterize novel adenoviruses associated with infantile diarrhea.
- To determine the antigenic and genomic relationship of these novel viruses to known human adenovirus species.
Main Methods:
- Isolation and serial propagation of viruses in various cell lines (HeLa, HEp-2, Graham, cynomolgus monkey kidney, Chang conjunctival cells).
- Serological assays including neutralization tests and hemagglutination inhibition tests.
- DNA restriction enzyme analysis for genomic comparison.
Main Results:
- Approximately 200 antigenically related adenoviruses were isolated from infantile diarrhea cases in the Netherlands and Germany.
- These novel adenoviruses did not show any relationship to the 39 known human adenovirus species.
- Two distinct variants, Tak and Dugan, were identified, differing significantly in their genomes but not in hemagglutination inhibition tests.
- The viruses were proposed as two new species: Mastadenovirus h 40 and Mastadenovirus h 41.
Conclusions:
- Two novel human adenovirus species, Mastadenovirus h 40 and Mastadenovirus h 41, were identified.
- These findings expand the known diversity of human adenoviruses and their etiological roles in infantile diarrhea.
Abstract:
About 200 antigenically related adenoviruses were isolated from cases of infantile diarrhoea in the Netherlands and North-West Germany. The viruses were fastidious and failed to replicate serially in human diploid fibroblasts and in primary human embryonic kidney cells. A number of strains were established in HeLa, HEp-2, Graham (293), cynomolgus monkey kidney, and Chang conjunctival cells. The viruses were mammalian adenoviruses by the usual criteria. No relationship to the 39 known human adenovirus species was found, either by neutralization tests or by haemagglutination inhibition tests. Neutralization tests showed two distinct variants, represented by strains Tak and Dugan. The variants were identical in haemagglutination inhibition tests. DNA restriction enzyme analysis showed Tak and Dugan to have considerably different genomes, indicating that these variants should be classified as different species (Wadell et al, 1983). It is proposed that the variants should be called Mastadenovirus h 40 (with reference strains Dugan and Hovi X) and Mastadenovirus h 41 (with reference strain Tak). Neutralization and haemagglutination inhibition tests demonstrated that the viruses from Glasgow and Helsinki (Hovi X) described by Johansson et al [1980] and by Kidd and Madeley [1981] belong to these two adenovirus species.