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. 2015 Jan;52(1):38-45.
doi: 10.1177/0300985814556189. Epub 2014 Oct 28.

Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) oronasally inoculated with a Nipah virus isolate from Bangladesh or Malaysia develop similar respiratory tract lesions

L Baseler  1 , E de Wit  2 , D P Scott  3 , V J Munster  2 , H Feldmann  4
Affiliations

Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) oronasally inoculated with a Nipah virus isolate from Bangladesh or Malaysia develop similar respiratory tract lesions

L Baseler et al. Vet Pathol. 2015 Jan.

Abstract

Nipah virus is a paramyxovirus in the genus Henipavirus, which has caused outbreaks in humans in Malaysia, India, Singapore, and Bangladesh. Whereas the human cases in Malaysia were characterized mainly by neurological symptoms and a case fatality rate of ∼40%, cases in Bangladesh also exhibited respiratory disease and had a case fatality rate of ∼70%. Here, we compared the histopathologic changes in the respiratory tract of Syrian hamsters, a well-established small animal disease model for Nipah virus, inoculated oronasally with Nipah virus isolates from human cases in Malaysia and Bangladesh. The Nipah virus isolate from Bangladesh caused slightly more severe rhinitis and bronchointerstitial pneumonia 2 days after inoculation in Syrian hamsters. By day 4, differences in lesion severity could no longer be detected. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated Nipah virus antigen in the nasal cavity and pulmonary lesions; the amount of Nipah virus antigen present correlated with lesion severity. Immunohistochemistry indicated that both Nipah virus isolates exhibited endotheliotropism in small- and medium-caliber arteries and arterioles, but not in veins, in the lung. This correlated with the location of ephrin B2, the main receptor for Nipah virus, in the vasculature. In conclusion, Nipah virus isolates from outbreaks in Malaysia and Bangladesh caused a similar type and severity of respiratory tract lesions in Syrian hamsters, suggesting that the differences in human disease reported in the outbreaks in Malaysia and Bangladesh are unlikely to have been caused by intrinsic differences in these 2 virus isolates.

Keywords: Nipah virus; Syrian hamster; artery; histopathology; pathogenicity; respiratory system; tropism.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Case No. 1M. Rhinitis with olfactory epithelial degeneration and necrosis and multifocal erosions (arrows; inset) 2 days post inoculation (dpi) with NiV-M. HE.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Case No. 6B. Rhinitis with olfactory epithelial degeneration and necrosis (arrows; inset) 2 dpi with NiV-B. HE.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Case No. 5M. Rhinitis with multifocal ulcers (asterisk) and submucosal vascular fibrinoid degeneration (arrow; inset) 4 dpi with NiV-M. HE.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Case No. 13B. Rhinitis affecting olfactory epithelium (asterisk) and respiratory epithelium (arrowhead) with formation of epithelial syncytium (arrow; inset) 4 dpi with NiV-B. HE.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Case No. 1M. Bronchointerstitial pneumonia with bronchiolar epithelial syncytium (arrow; inset) 2 dpi with NiV-M. HE.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Case No. 7B. Bronchointerstitial pneumonia 2 dpi with NiV-B. Inset: higher magnification of pneumonia. HE.
Figure 7.
Figure 7.
Case No. 4M. Bronchointerstitial pneumonia with type II pneumocyte hyperplasia (arrow; inset) 4 dpi with NiV-M. HE.
Figure 8.
Figure 8.
Case No. 10B. Bronchointerstitial pneumonia with type II pneumocyte hyperplasia (arrow; inset) 4 dpi with NiV-B. HE.
Figure 9.
Figure 9.
Serial sections of an artery in the lung of Case No. 4M. (a) Artery in the lung. The tunica adventitia is expanded by edema and a mild infiltrate of neutrophils, lymphocytes and macrophages (asterisk; inset). HE. (b) Cytoplasmic expression of Nipah virus nucleoprotein in arterial endothelial cells (arrow), tunica media smooth muscle cells (asterisk) and perivascular leukocytes (arrowhead). Inset: higher magnification of viral antigen expression. Nipah virus nucleoprotein IHC. (c) Internal (arrowhead) and external (arrow) elastic laminae are prominent in this vessel, indicating the vessel is an artery. Inset: higher magnification of vascular elastic laminae. Verhoeff-Van Gieson stain.
Figure 9.
Figure 9.
Serial sections of an artery in the lung of Case No. 4M. (a) Artery in the lung. The tunica adventitia is expanded by edema and a mild infiltrate of neutrophils, lymphocytes and macrophages (asterisk; inset). HE. (b) Cytoplasmic expression of Nipah virus nucleoprotein in arterial endothelial cells (arrow), tunica media smooth muscle cells (asterisk) and perivascular leukocytes (arrowhead). Inset: higher magnification of viral antigen expression. Nipah virus nucleoprotein IHC. (c) Internal (arrowhead) and external (arrow) elastic laminae are prominent in this vessel, indicating the vessel is an artery. Inset: higher magnification of vascular elastic laminae. Verhoeff-Van Gieson stain.
Figure 9.
Figure 9.
Serial sections of an artery in the lung of Case No. 4M. (a) Artery in the lung. The tunica adventitia is expanded by edema and a mild infiltrate of neutrophils, lymphocytes and macrophages (asterisk; inset). HE. (b) Cytoplasmic expression of Nipah virus nucleoprotein in arterial endothelial cells (arrow), tunica media smooth muscle cells (asterisk) and perivascular leukocytes (arrowhead). Inset: higher magnification of viral antigen expression. Nipah virus nucleoprotein IHC. (c) Internal (arrowhead) and external (arrow) elastic laminae are prominent in this vessel, indicating the vessel is an artery. Inset: higher magnification of vascular elastic laminae. Verhoeff-Van Gieson stain.
Figure 10.
Figure 10.
Serial sections of a vein in the lung of Case No. 4M. (a) Vein in the lung. The tunica adventitia is moderately expanded by an infiltrate of neutrophils and macrophages with fewer lymphocytes and plasma cells (asterisk; inset). HE. (b) Cytoplasmic expression of Nipah virus nucleoprotein in perivascular leukocytes (arrow; inset). Nipah virus antigen was not present in endothelial cells. Nipah virus nucleoprotein IHC. (c) The vessel exhibits an incomplete internal elastic lamina (arrow; inset) and lacks an external elastic lamina, indicating this vessel is a vein. Verhoeff-Van Gieson stain.
Figure 10.
Figure 10.
Serial sections of a vein in the lung of Case No. 4M. (a) Vein in the lung. The tunica adventitia is moderately expanded by an infiltrate of neutrophils and macrophages with fewer lymphocytes and plasma cells (asterisk; inset). HE. (b) Cytoplasmic expression of Nipah virus nucleoprotein in perivascular leukocytes (arrow; inset). Nipah virus antigen was not present in endothelial cells. Nipah virus nucleoprotein IHC. (c) The vessel exhibits an incomplete internal elastic lamina (arrow; inset) and lacks an external elastic lamina, indicating this vessel is a vein. Verhoeff-Van Gieson stain.
Figure 10.
Figure 10.
Serial sections of a vein in the lung of Case No. 4M. (a) Vein in the lung. The tunica adventitia is moderately expanded by an infiltrate of neutrophils and macrophages with fewer lymphocytes and plasma cells (asterisk; inset). HE. (b) Cytoplasmic expression of Nipah virus nucleoprotein in perivascular leukocytes (arrow; inset). Nipah virus antigen was not present in endothelial cells. Nipah virus nucleoprotein IHC. (c) The vessel exhibits an incomplete internal elastic lamina (arrow; inset) and lacks an external elastic lamina, indicating this vessel is a vein. Verhoeff-Van Gieson stain.
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