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Rabies is a contagious viral disease that can be easily transmitted by the saliva and brain/nervous system tissues of the infected animals, causing severe and fatal encephalitis in both animals and humans. Vaccination campaigns are crucial to combat and prevent rabies's spread in dogs and humans. The Modified Fuenzalida & Palicios vaccines have been widely used since the 70s and have proven effective in producing a solid serological response. Since 2008, the Brazilian Ministry of Health has introduced a Cell Culture Rabies Vaccine (CCRV) for all dog mass vaccination campaigns in Brazil. However, to date, there is limited evidence on the immunologic response of dogs to this type of vaccine in field conditions. The present study evaluated the serological response in dogs vaccinated with CCRV from blood samples of 724 dogs using the Simplified Fluorescence Inhibition Microtest - SFIMT. Dogs with a titer equal to 0.5 IU/mL or above were considered seropositive. The results revealed that 59.12% (428/724) of all dogs tested and 48.49% (32/66) of primo-vaccinated animals were seropositive. The percentage of seronegative animals was higher than seropositive for animals that received a single dose during their life (p < 0.05). The opposite was observed in animals with five or more doses. The results of this study demonstrated that the CCRV vaccines elicit a satisfactory immunological response in field conditions and can constitute an essential population-level preventive strategy as part of annual canine rabies vaccination campaigns. Although its effectiveness has been studied, there is limited evidence of its immunological response in dogs under field conditions. This paper evaluates the serological response to CCRV in dogs vaccinated during mass vaccination campaigns from 2012 to 2017.

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Rabies virus (RABV) is a neurotropic virus that causes fatal neuroinflammation in mammals. The insectivorous bat RABV strains are less pathogenic for mice than strains associated with other reservoirs. We characterized the tissue inflammatory response in the CNS of RABV isolated from insectivorous bats. Eptesicus furinalis (EPBRV)-infected mice had a robust inflammatory response and a greater amount of IL-1ß, IL-6 and TNF-α, while Myotis nigricans (MNBRV)-infected mice showed a higher expression of IL-17 and greater activation of IFN-ß. New approaches to understand the inflammatory response to different mechanisms of action may provide insights for the development of novel therapies for rabies.

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Serum samples of 638 free-ranging wild mammals from São Paulo state, Brazil, were tested for neutralizing antibodies against rabies virus by the rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test. Overall seroprevalence was 1.7% among 24 species surveyed, with individuals of six species having positive results indicating exposure to rabies virus.

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Rabies is a lethal viral disease that can affect a wide range of mammals. Currently, Rabies virus (RABV) in some European and American countries is maintained primarily in wild species. The regulation of viral replication is one of the critical mechanisms involved in RABV pathogenesis. However, the relationship between replication and the pathogenesis of RABV isolated from wild animals remains poorly understood. In the present study, we evaluated the pathogenicity of the street viruses Nyctinomops laticaudatus bat-associated RABV (NYBRV) and Cerdocyon thous canid-associated RABV (CECRV). Infection of mice with NYBRV led to 33% mortality with rapid disease evolution and marked histopathological changes in the CNS. In contrast, infection with CECRV led to 67% mortality and caused mild neuropathological lesions. The proportion of RABV antigen was significantly higher in the cytoplasm of neuronal cells of the cerebral cortex and in the meninges of mice infected with CECRV and NYBRV, respectively. Moreover, the replication rate of NYBRV was significantly higher (p < 0.001) than that of CECRV in neuroblastoma cells. However, CECRV replicated to a significantly higher titer in epithelial cells. Our results indicate that NYBRV infection results in rapid disease progression accompanied by frequent and intense histopathological alterations in the CNS in mice, and in a high replication rate in neuroblastoma cells. Although, CECRV is more pathogenic in mice, it caused milder histopathological changes in the CNS and replicated more efficiently in epithelial cells. Our data point to a correlation between clinical aspects of disease and the replication of RABV in different cell lines.

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Polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies against rabies virus ribonucleoprotein (RNP) conjugated to fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) have been employed for Rabies virus (RABV) antigen detection by the direct fluorescent antibody test (DFA). To date, these biomolecules have been purified by traditional methods such as precipitation by ammonium sulfate or ion exchange chromatography followed by ammonium sulfate precipitation, which allows only for partial detection of the protein of interest. In this study, we aimed to purify anti-RNP polyclonal horse IgG antibodies by cation-exchange chromatography in combination with a homemade immunoaffinity chromatography on RNP immobilized (RNP-IAC). Furthermore, to evaluate the accuracy of the prepared anti-RNP IgG fluorescent antibody in diagnostic purposes, DFA was applied for RABV antigen detection in suspected brain samples of different animal species. The combination of these two techniques made it possible to obtain antibodies with high selectivity and purity. Compared with the performance of the traditional method, anti-RNP IgG antibodies purified by RNP-IAC can be obtained from a smaller volume of hyperimmune serum and with greater avidity. Furthermore, the results obtained by DFA analyses revealed that the prepared anti-RNP IgG fluorescent antibody achieved 100% diagnostic specificity and sensitivity for RABV antigen detection. Thus, two-technique chromatographic, including RNP-IAC technology could be appropriate methods for the purification of polyclonal anti-RNP IgG for the use as a diagnostic reagent for rabies.

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Rabies is a fatal and viral zoonosis that causes acute, progressive encephalitis and remains an important concern in public health. In the last few years, there has been a change in the epidemiological profile of rabies after implementing canine rabies control in the Americas, which has led to a significant increase in both human and pet cases of rabies associated with insectivorous bats. Thus, it is important to understand the pathogenesis caused by Rabies virus (RABV) isolates from insectivorous bats. Viral growth kinetics, cell-to-cell spread and virus uptake in vitro were analyzed for RABV isolates from Eptesicus furiralis and Myotis nigricans. For pathogenesis evaluation, mice were inoculated with RABV isolates from Eptesicus furiralis and Myotis nigricans, and clinical signs were observed for 40 days. We observed that the insectivorous bat strains showed a higher replication rate, faster cell-to-cell spread and delayed virus uptake in N2a cells. Furthermore, after the first sign of a clinical infection, mice infected with Myotis nigricans and Eptesicus furiralis isolates succumbed rapidly (6 ±â€¯9 days) compared with RABV strains associated with other reservoirs. Our results show that the insectivorous bat RABV strains are less pathogenic for mice than strains associated with other reservoirs. In addition, this study also indicates that the differences in the biological characteristics of the RABV strains are important to their pathogenicity. An enhanced understanding of rabies pathogenesis may be important for the development of novel therapies for humans and in the implementation of rabies control strategies.

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Rabies is a lethal viral infection that can affect almost all mammals, including humans. To better understand the replication of Rabies lyssavirus, we investigated if the viral load in brains naturally infected with rabies influences viral internalization and viral growth kinetics in neuroblastoma cells, and if the viral load affects mortality in mice after intradermal infection. We noted that high initial viral loads in brains (group II) were unfavourable for increasing viral titers during serial passages in neuroblastoma cells when compared to low initial viral loads in brains (group I). In addition, group I strains showed higher viral growth and enhanced internalization efficiency in neuroblastoma cells than group II strains. However, we observed that the dominant virus subpopulation in group II promoted efficient viral infection in the central nervous system in the new host, providing a selective advantage to the virus. Our data indicate that rabies infection in animal models depends on not only the virus strain but also the amount of virus. This study may serve as a basis for understanding the biologic proprieties of Rabies lyssavirus strains with respect to the effects on viral replication and the impact on pathogenesis, improving virus yields for use in vaccine development.

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Rabies is a lethal disease caused by the neurotropic virus rabies virus (RABV), and it remains an important public health problem globally. It is known that the host immune response is important for control of viral infection and promoting viral clearance. In this context, it is well documented that, in addition to RABV neutralizing antibody, interferons and cell-mediated immunity also have an important role in preventing the establishment of disease. On the other hand, RABV suppresses host immunity through different mechanisms, for example, direct inhibition of host gene expression, sequestration of pathogen-associated molecular patterns, or modification of cytokine signalling pathways, which hinder the protective host immune responses to RABV infection. Here, we review the immunological aspects of rabies, highlighting innate and adaptive immunity, as well as the host evasion immune mechanisms used by the virus. Finally, we briefly discuss how this knowledge can direct new research and be harnessed for future therapeutic strategies.

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