PseudoRHDV constructed with feline calicivirus genome as vector has the characteristics of well proliferation in vitro

Jie Cheng; Aoxing Tang; Jing Chen; Da Zhang; Chunchun Meng; Chuanfeng Li; Hulai Wei; Guangqing Liu

doi:10.1016/j.jviromet.2022.114572

PseudoRHDV constructed with feline calicivirus genome as vector has the characteristics of well proliferation in vitro

J Virol Methods. 2022 Sep:307:114572. doi: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2022.114572. Epub 2022 Jun 25.

Authors

Jie Cheng¹, Aoxing Tang², Jing Chen³, Da Zhang², Chunchun Meng², Chuanfeng Li², Hulai Wei⁴, Guangqing Liu⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China; Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China.
² Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China.
³ School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
⁴ School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China. Electronic address: weihulai@lzu.edu.cn.
⁵ Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China. Electronic address: liugq@shvri.ac.cn.

PMID: 35760209
DOI: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2022.114572

Abstract

Rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) is a major member of the Caliciviridae. which is fatal to wild and domestic European rabbit. Because RHDV does not reproduce stably in vitro, molecular studies on this pathogen have been limited. Feline calicivirus (FCV), also a member of the Caliciviridae, reproduces well in vitro and is a good viral vector. As these viruses share similar genomic structures, we hypothesized that a chimeric infectious clone could be constructed by replacing the corresponding regions of the FCV genome with the structural proteins VP60 and VP10 and the 3' non-translated region of the RHDV genome. Transfection of the infectious clone into RK13 cells made it possible to rescue the chimeric virus, named pseudoRHDV, which reproduced in an RK13 cell line with high titer. An infectious pseudoRHDV was produced, which proliferated in RK13 cells to at least 15 generations. PseudoRHDV caused significant cytopathic changes in the RK13 cells, with a viral titer was 9.74 log₁₀ TCID₅₀ / mL. The pseudoRHDV constructed in this study will be helpful for investigating the molecular biology of RHDV, especially its interaction with the host. The model can also be used to explore some common laws between FCV and RHDV.

Keywords: Feline calicivirus; PseudoRHDV; Rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Caliciviridae Infections* / veterinary
Caliciviridae* / genetics
Calicivirus, Feline* / genetics
Cats
Cell Line
Cell Proliferation
Hemorrhagic Disease Virus, Rabbit* / genetics
Rabbits