Identification and Characterization of Novel Rat Polyomavirus 2 in a Colony of X SCID Rats by P PIT assay
Although P PIT was developed to detect diseases associated with known human polyomaviruses, the identification of a new polyomavirus in rats suggests that it may have utility as a broad based screen for new, as well as known polyomaviruses. Our findings suggest that RatPyV2 may be a commensal infection of laboratory rats that can lead to disseminated disease in T cell immune deficient rats. Infection of the X SCID rats with RatPyV2 and Pneumocystis carinii is a potential model for coinfection pathogenesis and treatment options during transplant preclinical studies. ABSTRACT Polyomaviruses (PyVs) are known to infect a wide range of vertebrates and invertebrates and are associated with a broad spectrum of diseases, including cancers, particularly in immune suppressed hosts. A novel polyomavirus, designated rat polyomavirus 2 (RatPyV2) was identified from a breeding colony of rats having X linked severe combined immunodeficiency. Using a human panpolyomavirus immunohistochemistry test (P PIT) RatPyV2 was initially detected in the parotid salivary gland of a colony member. Rolling circle amplification using DNA from harderian and parotid glands identified a novel 5.1 kb polyomavirus genome closely related to human Washington University (WU) and Karolinska Institute (KI) and vole polyomaviruses but notably divergent from Rattus norvegicus PyV1 (RnorPyV1; also designated RatPyV1) Further screening showed RatPyV2 inclusion body infection in the lung epithelium and variably in other respiratory, reproductive, and glandular tissues of 12/12 (100% rats. IMPORTANCE Although P PIT was developed to detect diseases associated with known human polyomaviruses, the identification of a new polyomavirus in rats suggests that it may have utility as a broad based screen for new, as well as known polyomaviruses. Our findings suggest that RatPyV2 may be a commensal infection of laboratory rats that can lead to disseminated disease in T cell immune deficient rats. Infection of the X SCID rats with RatPyV2 and Pneumocystis carinii is a potential model for coinfection pathogenesis and treatment options during transplant preclinical studies.
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