Peculiarities of interaction of high and low virulent strains of tick-borne Encephalitis virus of the Far Eastern subtype with human blood leukocytes

Abstract

In this work, it was necessary to show the first stage of the interaction of the tick-borne encephalitis virus with blood cells, during which the selection of virus strains capable of successful assembly of virions occurs.The aim of the work: to show ex vivo the features of interaction of strains TBEV with different molecular genetic structure and virulence with human blood leukocytes.Materials and methods. The donor’s venous blood was infected ex vivo with the TBEV using the highly virulent strain Dal’negorsk and the low-virulent strain Primorye-437. Virus accumulation in experimental blood samples was observed after 15 min, 30 min, 1 h, and 24 h of exposition. The indication of the virus, shown by different methods of laboratory diagnostics (ELISA, PCR, IFA, titer of the infectious virus), made it possible to identify the characteristic features of the initial stage of the infectious process caused by these strains TBEV.Conclusion. The highly pathogenic strain Dal‘ has demonstrated the ability to quickly penetrate into leukocytes in 15 minutes, and, therefore, at the initial stage of the infectious process, to implement the mechanisms of its “escape” from immune supervision. The low-virulent strain P-437, on the contrary, showed the ability to stay on the surface of leukocytes for a long time, penetrating into them only after 24 hours of exposure, immediately influencing the cells of the immune system, which can lead to rapid elimination of the virus from the body.

Keywords

• вирус клещевого энцефалита
• высоковирулентный штамм
• низковирулентный штамм
• лейкоциты крови человека