Biology subjects

Ruden, R. M.

Publications and source records attributed to Ruden, R. M..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

How Do Deer Respiratory Epithelial Cells Weather The Initial Storm of SARS-CoV-2?

The potential infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 in animals raises a public health and economic concern, particularly the high susceptibility of white-tailed deer (WTD) to SARS-CoV-2. The disparity in the disease outcome between humans and WTD is very intriguing, as the latter are often asymptomatic, subclinical carriers of SARS-CoV-2. To date, no studies have evaluated the innate immune factors responsible for the contrasting SARS-CoV-2-associated disease outcomes in these mammalian species. A comparative transcriptomic analysis in primary respiratory epithelial cells of human (HRECs) and WTD (Deer-RECs) infected with SARS-CoV-2 was assessed throughout 48 hours post inoculation (hpi). Both HRECs and Deer-RECs were susceptible to SARS-COV-2, with significantly (P < 0.001) lower virus replication in Deer-RECs. The number of differentially expressed genes (DEG) gradually increased in Deer-RECs but decreased in HRECs throughout the infection. The ingenuity pathway analysis of DEGs further identified that genes commonly altered during SARS-CoV-2 infection mainly belong to cytokine and chemokine response pathways mediated via IL-17 and NF-{kappa}B signaling pathways. Inhibition of the NF-{kappa}B signaling in the Deer-RECs pathway was predicted as early as 6 hpi. The findings from this study could explain the lack of clinical signs reported in WTD in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection as opposed to the severe clinical outcomes reported in humans. HIGHLIGHTSO_LIWhite-tailed deer primary respiratory epithelial cells are susceptible to SARS- CoV-2 without causing hyper cytokine gene expression. C_LIO_LIDownregulation of IL-17 and NF-{kappa}B signaling pathways after SARS-CoV-2 infection could be key to the regulated cytokine response in deer cells. C_LIO_LIDeer innate immune system could play a critical role in early antiviral and tissue repair response following SARS-CoV-2 infection. C_LI

genomics↗

bioRxiv2023

Pathology of natural infection with highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (H5N1) clade 2.3.4.4b in wild terrestrial mammals in the United States in 2022

This article describes the first detections of disease due to natural infection with highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIv) H5N1 of the Eurasian lineage goose/Guangdong clade 2.3.4.4b in wild terrestrial mammals throughout the United States during 2021-2022. Affected mammalian species include 50 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), 6 striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis), 4 raccoons (Procyon lotor), 2 bobcats (Lynx rufus), 2 Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana), 1 coyote (Canis latrans), 1 fisher (Pekania pennanti), and 1 gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus). Infected mammals primarily exhibited neurological signs. Necrotizing meningoencephalitis, interstitial pneumonia, and myocardial necrosis were the most common lesions; however, species variations in lesion distribution were observed. Genotype analysis of sequences from 48 animals indicates that these cases represent spillover infections from wild birds.

pathology↗

bioRxiv2021

Multiple spillovers and onward transmission of SARS-Cov-2 in free-living and captive White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

Many animal species are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 and could potentially act as reservoirs, yet transmission of the virus in non-human free-living animals has not been documented. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), the predominant cervid in North America, are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, and experimentally infected fawns can transmit the virus. To test the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 may be circulating in deer, we tested 283 retropharyngeal lymph node (RPLN) samples collected from 151 free-living and 132 captive deer in Iowa from April 2020 through December of 2020 for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Ninety-four of the 283 deer (33.2%; 95% CI: 28, 38.9) samples were positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA as assessed by RT-PCR. Notably, between November 23, 2020 and January 10, 2021, 80 of 97 (82.5%; 95% CI 73.7, 88.8) RPLN samples had detectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA by RT-PCR. Whole genome sequencing of the 94 positive RPLN samples identified 12 SARS-CoV-2 lineages, with B.1.2 (n = 51; 54.5%), and B.1.311 (n = 19; 20%) accounting for ~75% of all samples. The geographic distribution and nesting of clusters of deer and human lineages strongly suggest multiple zooanthroponotic spillover events and deer-to-deer transmission. The discovery of sylvatic and enzootic SARS-CoV-2 transmission in deer has important implications for the ecology and long-term persistence, as well as the potential for spillover to other animals and spillback into humans. These findings highlight an urgent need for a robust and proactive "One Health" approach to obtaining a better understanding of the ecology and evolution of SARS-CoV-2. One-Sentence SummarySARS-CoV-2 was detected in one-third of sampled white-tailed deer in Iowa between September 2020 and January of 2021 that likely resulted from multiple human-to-deer spillover and deer-to-deer transmission events.

microbiology↗