Early infection of interdigitating dendritic cells in the pig lymph node with African swine fever viruses of high and low virulence: immunohistochemical and ultrastructural studies

Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, National Veterinary Services Laboratories, APHIS, USDA, Greenport, NY 11944, USA.

The role of interdigitating dendritic cells (IDCs) in the early pathogenesis of African swine fever (ASF) was investigated using mandibular lymphoid tissue from normal pigs and pigs inoculated oronasally with highly virulent Lisbon 60 (L-60) and moderately virulent Dominican Republic 1979 (DR-2) ASF virus (ASFV) isolates. Paraffin-embedded tissue sections were immunostained for ASFV antigen and S-100 protein, a marker of IDCs, using an avidin-biotin alkaline phosphatase procedure. Swine IDCs were identified morphologically by light microscopy, electron microscopy, and S-100 immunostaining. Infection with ASFV caused a marked reduction in S-100 staining by 3 days postinfection (DPI) that persisted through 14 DPI. Early ASFV infection of IDCs was demonstrated at 3 DPI by double immunohistochemical staining of cryosections and by transmission electron microscopy. These results support the hypothesis that the failure of a humoral immune response to virulent ASFV may be due to a primary infection of IDCs and the inability of IDCs to initiate an immune response. Infection of IDCs has also been demonstrated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1), and these infections have some aspects in common.