Prenatal passive transfer of maternal immunity in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus)

Nofs, Sally A.; Atmar, Robert L.; Keitel, Wendy A.; Hanlon, Cathleen A.; Stanton, Jeffrey J.; Tan, Jie; Flanagan, Joseph P.; Howard, Lauren L.; Ling, Paul D.

doi:10.1016/j.vetimm.2013.03.008

Cited by 24 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…A previous study determined that the majority of maternal-fetal antibody transfer is transplacental in elephants (7), although no specific test was available at the time to detect levels of anti-EEHV antibodies. Having established immunoreactivity to EEHV1 ORF-Q protein as a biomarker for prior EEHV1 infection, we asked whether elephant calves received anti-EEHV1 antibodies from their dams and how long these titers were sustained; elephants HZI-6 (Baylor), HZI-7 (Tupelo), and OKC-4 (Malee), which were surveyed in the previous study (7), were used to address these questions. We found that HZI-6 had anti-EEHV1A ORF-Q antibody levels at birth that equaled or slightly exceeded those found in the dam, which decreased to undetectable levels by approximately 36 months (Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The mechanisms contributing to this increased risk remain unknown but could involve a lack of preexisting anti-EEHV cellular (6) or humoral responses (or both). Cases of EEHV-HD generally do not occur before an elephant reaches 1 year of age, so it is reasonable to assume that some component of protection may come either from maternal antibodies obtained through the placenta or from breast milk before an elephant is weaned, although a previous study indicated that transplacental antibody transfer is more likely (7). If antibodies indeed confer protection from EEHV, or at least indicate protection from EEHV-HD, then it becomes important to measure these responses, not only to establish susceptibility to EEHV-HD or seropositivity, but to assess vaccine responses when vaccines for EEHV-HD are eventually produced.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Lethal Hemorrhagic Disease and Clinical Illness Associated with Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus 1 Are Caused by Primary Infection: Implications for the Detection of Diagnostic Proteins

Fuery

Pursell

Tan

et al. 2020

J Virol

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Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) can cause lethal hemorrhagic disease in juvenile Asian elephants, both in captivity and in the wild. Most deaths associated with the virus are caused by two chimeric variants of EEHV1 (EEHV1A and EEHV1B), while two other EEHVs endemic within Asian elephants (EEHV4 and EEHV5) have been recognized but cause death less often. Whether lethal EEHV infections are due to primary infection or reactivation of latent virus remains unknown, and knowledge of the anti-EEHV antibody levels in young elephants is limited. To close these gaps, we sought to develop a serologic assay capable of distinguishing among infections with different EEHVs using a luciferase immunoprecipitation system (LIPS) for antibody profiling and a panel of conserved EEHV recombinant proteins and proteins unique to EEHV1. The results showed that elephants dying from EEHV1 hemorrhagic disease or ill from EEHV infection were seronegative for the EEHV species that caused the disease or illness, indicating that the events were associated with primary infection rather than reactivation of latent virus. We also demonstrated that waning of EEHV1-specific antibodies can occur in the first 2 years of life, when a threshold protective level of antibody may be needed to prevent severe EEHV1-related disease. Use of the LIPS assay to identify putative “diagnostic” proteins would be a valuable asset in determining the EEHV immune status of young elephants and responses to candidate EEHV vaccines in the future. IMPORTANCE Whether clinical illness and deaths associated with elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) infection result from primary infection or reactivation of latent virus is a longstanding question in the field. By applying a relatively new assay, the luciferase immunoprecipitation system (LIPS), combined with the genomic sequences of the viruses, we gained the insights and tools needed to resolve this issue. Our EEHV1-specific LIPS assay should be useful for assessing the vulnerability of elephant calves to infection with different EEHVs and evaluating antibody responses to anti-EEHV vaccines. A significant proportion of the Asian elephant population is under some form of human care. Hence, the ability to screen for EEHV immune status in elephant calves should have a major impact on the management of these animals worldwide.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Lethal Hemorrhagic Disease and Clinical Illness Associated with Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus 1 Are Caused by Primary Infection: Implications for the Detection of Diagnostic Proteins

Fuery

Pursell

Tan

et al. 2020

J Virol

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“…Previous studies in African savanna elephants and Asian elephants indicated that both species appear to make IgG [ 10 , 11 ] but these studies failed to confirm the presence of IgM or IgA. Readily available reagents for the detection of elephant IgG are also limited [ 10 , 12 , 13 ]. A more recent study characterizing the genomic organization of African savanna elephant immunoglobulin genes indicates that in addition to IgG, African savanna elephants encode for a μ constant region [ 14 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Generation and Characterization of Antibodies against Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) IgG, IgM, and IgA

et al. 2015

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Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) immunity is poorly characterized and understood. This gap in knowledge is particularly concerning as Asian elephants are an endangered species threatened by a newly discovered herpesvirus known as elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV), which is the leading cause of death for captive Asian elephants born after 1980 in North America. While reliable diagnostic assays have been developed to detect EEHV DNA, serological assays to evaluate elephant anti-EEHV antibody responses are lacking and will be needed for surveillance and epidemiological studies and also for evaluating potential treatments or vaccines against lethal EEHV infection. Previous studies have shown that Asian elephants produce IgG in serum, but they failed to detect IgM and IgA, further hampering development of informative serological assays for this species. To begin to address this issue, we determined the constant region genomic sequence of Asian elephant IgM and obtained some limited protein sequence information for putative serum IgA. The information was used to generate or identify specific commercial antisera reactive against IgM and IgA isotypes. In addition, we generated a monoclonal antibody against Asian elephant IgG. These three reagents were used to demonstrate that all three immunoglobulin isotypes are found in Asian elephant serum and milk and to detect antibody responses following tetanus toxoid booster vaccination or antibodies against a putative EEHV structural protein. The results indicate that these new reagents will be useful for developing sensitive and specific assays to detect and characterize elephant antibody responses for any pathogen or vaccine, including EEHV.

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“…By monitoring the estrous cycle, both natural breeding in captive environments, and AI may be correctly timed. 48 Elevated serum progestogen beyond the normal 12-week luteal period indicates pregnancy. In captive natural breeding situations, the male and female elephants are housed together on these days.…”

Section: Noninfectious Diseasementioning

confidence: 99%

Proboscidea

Wiedner¹

2015

Fowler's Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine, Volume 8

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Prenatal passive transfer of maternal immunity in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus)

Cited by 24 publications

References 13 publications

Lethal Hemorrhagic Disease and Clinical Illness Associated with Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus 1 Are Caused by Primary Infection: Implications for the Detection of Diagnostic Proteins

Lethal Hemorrhagic Disease and Clinical Illness Associated with Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus 1 Are Caused by Primary Infection: Implications for the Detection of Diagnostic Proteins

Generation and Characterization of Antibodies against Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) IgG, IgM, and IgA

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