Intestinal lesions in experimental phocine distemper: light microscopy, immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy

The involvement of the intestinal mucosa and of the gut-associated lymphoid tissue in phocine distemper was studied in six severely diseased harbour seals 11 to 16 days after experimental infection. Five seals exhibited a mild or moderate enteritis in the small or large intestine. In all the seals, a moderate to severe depletion of submucosal lymphoid follicles was found. Likewise, antigen of phocine distemper virus (PDV) was demonstrated immunohistochemically in the intestinal wall of all the seals. Most antigen was found in the submucosal lymphoid follicles, followed by the crypt epithelium and follicle-associated epithelium (FAE). Ultrastructurally, intracytoplasmic tubular structures were detected in the FAE and interpreted as morbilliviral nucleocapsids. The results indicate a direct cytopathogenic effect of PDV on intestinal lymphoid and epithelial cells and suggest an important role of the intestinal tract in phocine distemper and, by analogy, in other morbillivirus infections as a regular site of virus replication, virus shedding and immunosuppression.