Bovine aortic endothelial cells are susceptible to hantavirus infection; a new aspect in hantavirus ecology.

Hantaviruses are enveloped RNA viruses that belong to the family Bunyaviridae. They are the causative agents of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). Hantaviruses show a worldwide distribution with specific rodent species as natural hosts. It is known that rodents can transmit the virus via feces, urine, saliva, or bites to humans. Additionally, antibodies against different hantaviruses were also found in domestic animals, For example, Danes et al. documented hantavirus-specific IgG titers in 2% of examined cattle [Ceskoslov. Epidemiol. Mikrobiol. Imunol. 41 (1992) 15]. In order to clarify the possibility of a nonrodent and nonhuman hantavirus infection, the susceptibility of bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAEC) to Hantavirus serotype Puumala infection was investigated. The hantaviral nucleocapsid protein was detected in 95% of infected BAEC at the fourth cell culture passage 12 weeks after initial infection by immunofluorescence assay (IFA). The presence of Puumala virus (PUU) nucleocapsid protein and the viral glycoproteins G1 and G2 in infected cells were additionally confirmed by Western blot analysis. The viral RNA genome was identified in infected BAEC cultures and in cell-free culture medium at the fourth passage by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), verified by cDNA nucleotide sequence analysis, showing a 98-100% homology to the input virus. The infected BAEC cultures were shown to express alpha(V)beta(3)-integrin surface receptors that are known to mediate virus entry in human cells and revealed no major cytopathic effects (CPEs) as assayed by immunofluorescence staining of the cytoskeletal components actin and microtubules. In the present study, we documented for the first time that a nonrodent and nonhuman aortic endothelial cell culture of bovine origin (BAEC) can be efficiently infected with a hantavirus. This finding is of particular importance because it adds new aspects to questions dealing with host species barrier, viral reservoir, virus transmission, and ecology of hantaviruses.