Insights into cross-species infection: Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus infections in the rodent

Jianing Chen; Zemei Wang; Shengyu Lin; Mengling Gao; Yongheng Shao; Shuxian Li; Qingbo Chen; Yaru Cui; Yonghao Hu; Guangliang Liu

doi:10.1016/j.virs.2025.03.012

June 2025

. doi: 10.1016/j.virs.2025.03.012

Citation: Jianing Chen, Zemei Wang, Shengyu Lin, Mengling Gao, Yongheng Shao, Shuxian Li, Qingbo Chen, Yaru Cui, Yonghao Hu, Guangliang Liu. Insights into cross-species infection: Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus infections in the rodent .VIROLOGICA SINICA, 2025, 40(3) : 301-313. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.virs.2025.03.012

冠状病毒跨种间感染的新发现：猪流行性腹泻病毒在啮齿动物中的感染

陈佳宁 ^a ,
王泽美 ^a,b ,
林圣宇 ^a,c ,
高梦玲 ^a ,
邵永恒 ^a,b ,
李淑娴 ^a,d ,
陈庆波 ^a,d ,
崔亚茹 ^a ,
胡永浩 ^b ,
刘光亮 ^a,,

a 动物疫病防控全国重点实验室, 兰州大学动物医学与生物安全学院, 中国农业科学院兰州兽医研究所;
b. 甘肃农业大学动物医学院;
c. 福建农林大学动物科技学院;
d. 新疆农业大学动物医学院

通讯作者： 刘光亮, LiuGuangliang01@caas.cn
收稿日期： 2024-07-03
录用日期： 2025-03-25

摘要

自2003年以来，冠状病毒的跨种间传播导致了多次重大疫情的发生。因此，探索冠状病毒的宿主范围及病毒在不同宿主之间的感染特征具有重要意义。本研究从养猪场收集的家鼠粪便样本中检测到了猪流行性腹泻病毒（PEDV）。动物实验表明，PEDV可引起新生小鼠和大鼠的全身感染。PEDV主要感染猪的小肠，但在大鼠和小鼠体内，PEDV可侵入大脑、肺、肠和脾脏等器官。发病率和死亡率因不同的感染途径而有所差异。在感染动物的粪便中也可检测到PEDV，这表明受感染的啮齿动物是潜在的传染源。此外，本研究发现PEDV可侵入新生猪的脑组织。总之，本研究结果表明，PEDV可以通过不同的途径跨种间感染小鼠和大鼠。尽管PEDV对新生仔猪高度致死，但在感染新宿主时，PEDV通常呈现低致病力和轻微的临床症状。基于这些发现，应对PEDV潜在的跨种间传播予以持续的关注。
- 猪流行性腹泻病毒
- , 啮齿动物
- , 嗜神经性
- , 跨种间感染
- , 动物模型

Insights into cross-species infection: Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus infections in the rodent

Jianing Chen ^a ,
Zemei Wang ^a,b ,
Shengyu Lin ^a,c ,
Mengling Gao ^a ,
Yongheng Shao ^a,b ,
Shuxian Li ^a,d ,
Qingbo Chen ^a,d ,
Yaru Cui ^a ,
Yonghao Hu ^b ,
Guangliang Liu ^a,,

a. State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, College of Veterinary Medicine, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China;
b. College of Veterinary Medicine, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China;
c. College of Animal Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China;
d. College of Veterinary Medicine, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, China

Corresponding author: Guangliang Liu, LiuGuangliang01@caas.cn
Received Date: 03 July 2024
Accepted Date: 25 March 2025

Abstract

The cross-species infection of coronaviruses has resulted in several major epidemics since 2003. Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a devastating swine enteric coronavirus, which targets pigs as the only natural reservoir. In this study, the nucleic acid of PEDV was detected in rat fecal samples collected from pig farms. Further animal tests showed that PEDV can cause systemic infections in neonatal mice and rats via intracranial inoculation. The brain, lung, intestine and spleen were all targets for PEDV in rodents in contrast to the intestine being targeted in pigs. Morbidity and mortality vary via different infection routes. PEDV was also detectable in feces after infection, suggesting that the infected rodents were potential infectious sources. Moreover, the cerebral tropism of PEDV was verified in piglets via orally inoculation, which had not been identified before. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that PEDV could cross the species barrier to infect mice and rats through different routes in experimental settings. Although it is highly devastating to piglets, PEDV changes the target organs and turns to be milder when meeting with new hosts. Based on these findings, more attention should be paid to the potential cross-species infection of PEDV.
- Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus
- , Rodent
- , Cerebral tropism
- , Cross-species
- , Animal model

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Electronic Supplementary Material

10.1016j.virs.2025.03.012-ESM.docx