Khanmani Anpuanandam1, Gayathri Thevi Selvarajah2,3, Mandy Mun Kei Choy1, Shing Wei Ng1,4, Kiven Kumar5, Razana Mohd Ali5, Sujey Kumar Rajendran1, Kok Lian Ho5, Wen Siang Tan4,6. 1. Department of Veterinary Clinical Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Malaysia. 2. Department of Veterinary Clinical Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Malaysia. gayathri@upm.edu.my. 3. Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. gayathri@upm.edu.my. 4. Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. 5. Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. 6. Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: A new domestic cat hepadnavirus (DCH, family Hepadnaviridae) was first reported from whole blood samples of domestic cats in Australia in 2018, and from cat serum samples in Italy in 2019. The pathogenesis of DCH is unknown, but it was reported in cats with viraemia (6.5-10.8%), chronic hepatitis (43%) and hepatocellular carcinoma (28%). Recent reports suggest that DCH resembles the human hepatitis B virus (HBV) and its related hepatopathies. This study aims to detect and characterize DCH among domestic cats in Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was performed on 253 cats, of which 87 had paired blood and liver samples, entailing whole-genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of DCH from a liver tissue sample. RESULTS: Among the 253 cats included in this study, 12.3% of the whole blood samples tested positive for DCH. The detection rate was significantly higher in pet cats (16.6%, n = 24/145) compared to shelter cats (6.5%, n = 7/108). Liver tissues showed higher a DCH detection rate (14.9%, n = 13/87) compared to blood; 5 out of these 13 cats tested positive for DCH in their paired liver and blood samples. Serum alanine transaminase (ALT) was elevated (> 95 units/L) in 12 out of the 23 DCH-positive cats (52.2%, p = 0.012). Whole-genome sequence analysis revealed that the Malaysian DCH strain, with a genome size of 3184 bp, had 98.3% and 97.5% nucleotide identities to the Australian and Italian strains, respectively. The phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the Malaysian DCH genome was clustered closely to the Australian strain, suggesting that they belong to the same geographically-determined genetic pool (Australasia). CONCLUSIONS: This study provided insights into a Malaysian DCH strain that was detected from a liver tissue. Interestingly, pet cats or cats with elevated ALT were significantly more likely to be DCH positive. Cats with positive DCH detection from liver tissues may not necessarily have viraemia. The impact of this virus on inducing liver diseases in felines warrants further investigation.
BACKGROUND: A new domestic cat hepadnavirus (DCH, family Hepadnaviridae) was first reported from whole blood samples of domestic cats in Australia in 2018, and from cat serum samples in Italy in 2019. The pathogenesis of DCH is unknown, but it was reported in cats with viraemia (6.5-10.8%), chronic hepatitis (43%) and hepatocellular carcinoma (28%). Recent reports suggest that DCH resembles the human hepatitis B virus (HBV) and its related hepatopathies. This study aims to detect and characterize DCH among domestic cats in Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was performed on 253 cats, of which 87 had paired blood and liver samples, entailing whole-genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of DCH from a liver tissue sample. RESULTS: Among the 253 cats included in this study, 12.3% of the whole blood samples tested positive for DCH. The detection rate was significantly higher in pet cats (16.6%, n = 24/145) compared to shelter cats (6.5%, n = 7/108). Liver tissues showed higher a DCH detection rate (14.9%, n = 13/87) compared to blood; 5 out of these 13 cats tested positive for DCH in their paired liver and blood samples. Serum alanine transaminase (ALT) was elevated (> 95 units/L) in 12 out of the 23 DCH-positive cats (52.2%, p = 0.012). Whole-genome sequence analysis revealed that the Malaysian DCH strain, with a genome size of 3184 bp, had 98.3% and 97.5% nucleotide identities to the Australian and Italian strains, respectively. The phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the Malaysian DCH genome was clustered closely to the Australian strain, suggesting that they belong to the same geographically-determined genetic pool (Australasia). CONCLUSIONS: This study provided insights into a Malaysian DCH strain that was detected from a liver tissue. Interestingly, pet cats or cats with elevated ALT were significantly more likely to be DCH positive. Cats with positive DCH detection from liver tissues may not necessarily have viraemia. The impact of this virus on inducing liver diseases in felines warrants further investigation.
Authors: P Testut; C A Renard; O Terradillos; L Vitvitski-Trepo; F Tekaia; C Degott; J Blake; B Boyer; M A Buendia Journal: J Virol Date: 1996-07 Impact factor: 5.103
Authors: Chris Lauber; Stefan Seitz; Simone Mattei; Alexander Suh; Jürgen Beck; Jennifer Herstein; Jacob Börold; Walter Salzburger; Lars Kaderali; John A G Briggs; Ralf Bartenschlager Journal: Cell Host Microbe Date: 2017-08-31 Impact factor: 21.023
Authors: Mahdis Aghazadeh; Mang Shi; Vanessa R Barrs; Alicia J McLuckie; Scott A Lindsay; Barbara Jameson; Bronte Hampson; Edward C Holmes; Julia A Beatty Journal: Viruses Date: 2018-05-17 Impact factor: 5.048