The geographic distribution and host range of Borna disease (BD), a fatal neurologic disease of horses and sheep, are larger than previously thought. The etiologic agent, Borna disease virus (BDV), has been identified as an enveloped nonsegmented negative-strand RNA virus with unique properties of replication. Data indicate a high degree of genetic stability of BDV in its natural host, the hors...

To investigate whether there is an epidemiological correlation between Borna disease virus (BDV) infection and human neuropsychiatric diseases, we established a reverse-type sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (RS-ELISA) for detecting specific antibodies to BDV. In this assay, microplate wells were coated dispersely with BDV p40 antigen, followed by the addition of test samples at a low ...

Borna disease virus (BDV) is a neurotropic member of the order Mononegavirales with noncytolytic replication and obligatory persistence in cultured cells and animals. Here we show that the accessory protein X of BDV represents the first mitochondrion-localized protein of an RNA virus that inhibits rather than promotes apoptosis induction. Rat C6 astroglioma cells persistently infected with wild...

Nuclear import and export of viral RNA and proteins are critical to the replication cycle of viruses that replicate in the nucleus. Borna disease virus (BDV) is a nonsegmented, negative-strand RNA virus that belongs to the order Mononegavirales. BDV has several distinguishing features, one of the most striking being the site of its replication. BDV RNA is transcribed and replicated in the nucle...

Borna disease virus (BDV) causes central nervous system (CNS) disease that is frequently manifested by behavioral abnormalities. Recent evidence indicates that the natural host range and geographic distribution of BDV is wider than originally thought BDV has been molecularly characterized as a non-segmented, negative single-stranded (NNS) RNA virus. Its genome (ca 8.9 kb), the smallest among kn...

Borna disease virus (BDV) is an enveloped virus with a nonsegmented negative-strand RNA genome whose organization is characteristic of mononegavirales. However, based on its unique genetics and biological features, BDV is considered to be the prototypic member of a new virus family, Bornaviridae, within the order Mononegavirales. BDV cell entry occurs via receptor-mediated endocytosis, a proces...

The nucleoprotein (N) of Borna disease virus (BDV) is the major target of the disease-inducing antiviral CD8 T-cell response in the central nervous system of mice. We established two transgenic mouse lines which express BDV-N in either neurons (Neuro-N) or astrocytes (Astro-N). Despite strong transgene expression, neurological disease or gross behavioral abnormalities were not observed in these...

In this report we show that passive immunization of Lewis rats with viable CD4+, Borna disease virus (BDV)-specific T cells before infection with BDV resulted in protection against BD, whereas inoculation of these T cells after BDV infection induced clinical disease with more rapid onset than seen in BDV control animals. The protective as well as encephalitogenic effector functions of BDV-speci...

Borna disease virus (BDV) is a neurotropic RNA virus with a wide host range. Human infections, although controversial, have been described in Europe, Asia, and the United States. The present study investigated the existence of BDV infections in immunocompromised human beings, namely, 82 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected and 80 therapeutically immunosuppressed patients. BDV p40 RNAs we...

Persistent viral infections can render host cells resistant to superinfection with closely related viruses by largely uncharacterized mechanisms. We present evidence for superinfection exclusion in brains of Borna disease virus (BDV)-infected rats and in persistently infected Vero cells, and we suggest that acquired resistance to BDV is due to unbalanced intracellular levels of viral nucleocaps...