Human metapneumovirus infection in wild mountain gorillas, Rwanda.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Palacios G
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3377396 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Similar Datasets
Project description:Infectious diseases represent the greatest threats to endangered species, and transmission from humans to wildlife under increased anthropogenic pressure has been always stated as a major risk of habituation.To evaluate the impact of close contact with humans on the occurrence of potentially zoonotic protists in great apes, one hundred mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) from seven groups habituated either for tourism or for research in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda were screened for the presence of microsporidia, Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. using molecular diagnostics.The most frequently detected parasites were Enterocytozoon bieneusi found in 18 samples (including genotype EbpA, D, C, gorilla 2 and five novel genotypes gorilla 4-8) and Encephalitozoon cuniculi with genotype II being more prevalent (10 cases) compared to genotype I (1 case). Cryptosporidium muris (2 cases) and C. meleagridis (2 cases) were documented in great apes for the first time. Cryptosporidium sp. infections were identified only in research groups and occurrence of E. cuniculi in research groups was significantly higher in comparison to tourist groups. No difference in prevalence of E. bieneusi was observed between research and tourist groups.Although our data showed the presence and diversity of important opportunistic protists in Volcanoes gorillas, the source and the routes of the circulation remain unknown. Repeated individual sampling, broad sampling of other hosts sharing the habitat with gorillas and quantification of studied protists would be necessary to acquire more complex data.
| S-EPMC4227647 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) causes lower respiratory tract infections in young children. rHMPV-SHs is a recombinant HMPV (rHMPV) based on a biologically derived wild-type HMPV strain. We characterized its infectivity and immunogenicity in healthy adults to determine whether it would be suitable for use as the parent virus for the development of live attenuated rHMPV vaccines.Twenty-one healthy adults were inoculated intranasally with 10(6) plaque-forming units of rHMPV-SHs. Respiratory symptoms and shedding of challenge virus were assessed. Neutralizing antibody responses, serum immunoglobulin G and A, and nasal wash specimen immunoglobulin A antibody responses to the HMPV F protein were also measured. Induction of nasal cytokines was assessed with electrochemiluminescence assays.Nine subjects (43%) were infected with challenge virus as determined by virus detection and/or ?4-fold rise in serum antibody titers. Peak viral shedding occurred on days 7-9 after infection. Four weeks after inoculation, 35% of subjects had any antibody response. Six of 9 infected subjects had respiratory symptoms, and 3 had headache after inoculation. Cytokine patterns differed considerably between subjects with similar illness severity and viral shedding.The rHMPV-SHs virus is infectious and is a suitable parent virus for development of live-attenuated HMPV vaccine candidates. Clinical Trials Registration. NCT01109329.
| S-EPMC3805236 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In territorial species, the distribution of neighbours and food abundance play a crucial role in space use patterns but less is known about how and when neighbours use shared areas in non-territorial species. We investigated space partitioning in 10 groups of wild, non-territorial mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei). Using location data, we examined factors influencing daily movement decisions and calculated the per cent overlap of annual kernel home ranges and core areas among neighbours. We found that the probability that a group chose an area was positively influenced by both food availability and the previous use of that area by the group. Additionally, groups reduced their overall utilization of areas previously used by neighbouring groups. Lastly, groups used their core areas more exclusively than their home ranges. In sum, our results show that both foraging needs and avoidance of competition with neighbours determined the gorillas' daily movement decisions, which presumably lead to largely mutually exclusive core areas. Our research suggests that non-territorial species actively avoid neighbours to maintain core area exclusivity. Together, these findings contribute to our understanding of the costs and benefits of non-territoriality.
| S-EPMC5717636 | biostudies-literature
Project description:We use stable isotope ratios in feces of wild mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei) to test the hypothesis that diet shifts within a single year, as measured by dry mass intake, can be recovered. Isotopic separation of staple foods indicates that intraannual changes in the isotopic composition of feces reflect shifts in diet. Fruits are isotopically distinct compared with other staple foods, and peaks in fecal ?(13)C values are interpreted as periods of increased fruit feeding. Bayesian mixing model results demonstrate that, although the timing of these diet shifts match observational data, the modeled increase in proportional fruit feeding does not capture the full shift. Variation in the isotopic and nutritional composition of gorilla foods is largely independent, highlighting the difficulty for estimating nutritional intake with stable isotopes. Our results demonstrate the potential value of fecal sampling for quantifying short-term, intraindividual dietary variability in primates and other animals with high temporal resolution even when the diet is composed of C(3) plants.
| S-EPMC3535629 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Bone loss and heightened fracture risk are common conditions associated with ageing in modern human populations and have been attributed to both hormonal and other metabolic and behavioural changes. To what extent these age-related trends are specific to modern humans or generally characteristic of natural populations of other taxa is not clear. In this study, we use computed tomography to examine age changes in long bone and vertebral structural properties of 34 wild-adult Virunga mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) whose skeletons were recovered from natural accumulations. Chronological ages were known or estimated from sample-specific dental wear formulae and ranged between 11 and 43 years. Gorillas show some of the same characteristics of skeletal ageing as modern humans, including endosteal and some periosteal expansion. However, unlike in humans, there is no decline in cortical or trabecular bone density, or in combined geometric-density measures of strength, nor do females show accelerated bone loss later in life. We attribute these differences to the lack of an extended post-reproductive period in gorillas, which provides protection against bone resorption. Increases in age-related fractures (osteoporosis) in modern humans may be a combined effect of an extended lifespan and lower activity levels earlier in life. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolution of the primate ageing process'.
| S-EPMC7540956 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Chimpanzees and gorillas are the only nonhuman primates known to harbor viruses closely related to HIV-1. Phylogenetic analyses showed that gorillas acquired the simian immunodeficiency virus SIVgor from chimpanzees, and viruses from the SIVcpz/SIVgor lineage have been transmitted to humans on at least four occasions, leading to HIV-1 groups M, N, O, and P. To determine the geographic distribution, prevalence, and species association of SIVgor, we conducted a comprehensive molecular epidemiological survey of wild gorillas in Central Africa. Gorilla fecal samples were collected in the range of western lowland gorillas (n = 2,367) and eastern Grauer gorillas (n = 183) and tested for SIVgor antibodies and nucleic acids. SIVgor antibody-positive samples were identified at 2 sites in Cameroon, with no evidence of infection at 19 other sites, including 3 in the range of the Eastern gorillas. In Cameroon, based on DNA and microsatellite analyses of a subset of samples, we estimated the prevalence of SIVgor to be 1.6% (range, 0% to 4.6%), which is significantly lower than the prevalence of SIVcpzPtt in chimpanzees (5.9%; range, 0% to 32%). All newly identified SIVgor strains formed a monophyletic lineage within the SIVcpz radiation, closely related to HIV-1 groups O and P, and clustered according to their field site of origin. At one site, there was evidence for intergroup transmission and a high intragroup prevalence. These isolated hot spots of SIVgor-infected gorilla communities could serve as a source for human infection. The overall low prevalence and sporadic distribution of SIVgor could suggest a decline of SIVgor in wild populations, but it cannot be excluded that SIVgor is still more prevalent in other parts of the geographical range of gorillas.
| S-EPMC2812320 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Mothers are crucial for mammals' survival before nutritional independence, but many social mammals reside with their mothers long after. In these species the social adversity caused by maternal loss later in life can dramatically reduce fitness. However, in some human populations these negative consequences can be overcome by care from other group members. We investigated the consequences of maternal loss in mountain gorillas and found no discernible fitness costs to maternal loss through survival, age at first birth, or survival of first offspring through infancy. Social network analysis revealed that relationships with other group members, particularly dominant males and those close in age, strengthened following maternal loss. In contrast to most social mammals, where maternal loss causes considerable social adversity, in mountain gorillas, as in certain human populations, this may be buffered by relationships within cohesive social groups, breaking the link between maternal loss, increased social adversity, and decreased fitness.
| S-EPMC7987338 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Infections with human parvoviruses B19 and recently discovered human bocaviruses (HBoVs) are widespread, while PARV4 infections are transmitted parenterally and prevalent specifically in injecting drug users and hemophiliacs. To investigate the exposure and circulation of parvoviruses related to B19 virus, PARV4, and HBoV in nonhuman primates, plasma samples collected from 73 Cameroonian wild-caught chimpanzees and gorillas and 91 Old World monkey (OWM) species were screened for antibodies to recombinant B19 virus, PARV4, and HBoV VP2 antigens by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Moderate to high frequencies of seroreactivity to PARV4 (63% and 18% in chimpanzees and gorillas, respectively), HBoV (73% and 36%), and B19 virus (8% and 27%) were recorded for apes, while OWMs were uniformly negative (for PARV4 and B19 virus) or infrequently reactive (3% for HBoV). For genetic characterization, plasma samples and 54 fecal samples from chimpanzees and gorillas collected from Cameroonian forest floors were screened by PCR with primers conserved within Erythrovirus, Bocavirus, and PARV4 genera. Two plasma samples (chimpanzee and baboon) were positive for PARV4, while four fecal samples were positive for HBoV-like viruses. The chimpanzee PARV4 variant showed 18% and 15% nucleotide sequence divergence in NS and VP1/2, respectively, from human variants (9% and 7% amino acid, respectively), while the baboon variant was substantially more divergent, mirroring host phylogeny. Ape HBoV variants showed complex sequence relationships with human viruses, comprising separate divergent homologues of HBoV1 and the recombinant HBoV3 species in chimpanzees and a novel recombinant species in gorillas. This study provides the first evidence for widespread circulation of parvoviruses in primates and enables future investigations of their epidemiology, host specificity, and (co)evolutionary histories.
| S-EPMC2937811 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) utilizes a bifurcated cellular entry strategy, fusing either with the plasma membrane or, after endocytosis, with the endosome membrane. Whether cellular factors restrict or enhance either entry pathway is largely unknown. We found that the interferon-induced transmembrane protein 3 (IFITM3) inhibits hMPV infection to an extent similar to endocytosis-inhibiting drugs, and an IFITM3 variant that accumulates at the plasma membrane in addition to its endosome localization provided increased virus restriction. Mechanistically, IFITM3 blocks hMPV F protein-mediated membrane fusion, and inhibition of infection was reversed by the membrane destabilizing drug amphotericin B. Conversely, we found that infection by some hMPV strains is enhanced by the endosomal protein toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7), and that IFITM3 retains the ability to restrict hMPV infection even in cells expressing TLR7. Overall, our results identify IFITM3 as an endosomal restriction factor that limits hMPV infection of cells.
| S-EPMC6173576 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) has been recently discovered as an etiological agent of acute respiratory infections. Our purpose was to asses the virological and clinical features of children with respiratory infections caused by hMPV. We examined 658 nasopharyngeal swab samples obtained from 637 children with respiratory infections for hMPV by using reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR). A total of 268 samples from 637 children were inoculated onto tertiary monkey kidney cells. A total of 36 serum samples (26 in the acute phase and 10 in the convalescent phase) from the 26 hMPV-positive children were tested for immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM antibodies to hMPV by using an indirect immunofluorescence assay. We detected hMPV in 57 (8.9%) of the 637 samples by using RT-PCR and isolated 7 (2.6%) hMPV strains of the 268 samples in cell cultures. A total of 12 (46.2%) of 26 hMPV-positive children were suspected to have primary infection with hMPV as determined by an indirect immunofluorescence assay. The infected children were diagnosed as having wheezy bronchitis (36.8%), upper respiratory tract infection (26.3%), bronchitis (22.8%), and pneumonia (14.0%). We showed that two hMPV groups were circulating in different regions during the same period and that reinfection with hMPV frequently occurs in childhood. The RT-PCR test is the most sensitive test for detection of hMPV, and a serological test may be useful to differentiate between primary infection and reinfection with hMPV.
| S-EPMC321731 | biostudies-literature