A novel hepadnavirus in domestic dogs.

Hepadnaviruses have been identified in several animal species. The hepadnavirus prototype, human hepatitis B virus (HBV), is a major public health problem associated with chronic liver diseases and hepatocellular carcinoma. Recently, a novel hepadnavirus, similar to HBV, was identified in domestic cats. Since several pathogens can be shared between cats and dogs, we hypothesized that dogs could also harbor hepadnaviruses and we tested a collection of canine sera with multiple molecular strategies. Overall, hepadnavirus DNA was identified in 6.3% (40/635) of canine serum samples, although the viral load in positive sera was low (geometric mean of 2.70 × 102 genome copies per mL, range min 1.36 × 102-max 4.03 × 104 genome copies per mL). On genome sequencing, the canine hepadnaviruses revealed high nucleotide identity (about 98%) and similar organization to the domestic cat hepadnavirus. Altered hepatic markers were found in hepadnavirus-positive dogs, although the role of hepadnavirus in canine health remains to be elucidated. © 2022. The Author(s).

Citation

Georgia Diakoudi, Paolo Capozza, Gianvito Lanave, Francesco Pellegrini, Barbara Di Martino, Gabriella Elia, Nicola Decaro, Michele Camero, Paola Ghergo, Fabio Stasi, Alessandra Cavalli, Maria Tempesta, Vanessa R Barrs, Julia Beatty, Krisztián Bányai, Cristiana Catella, Maria S Lucente, Alessio Buonavoglia, Giovanna Fusco, Vito Martella. A novel hepadnavirus in domestic dogs. Scientific reports. 2022 Feb 21;12(1):2864

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PMID: 35190615

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