Role of Bornaviruses in human medicine

Borna disease virus (BDV) is the prototype of the family Bornaviridae. This neurotropic virus can cause behavioral changes and fatal meningoencephalitis in horses, sheep and other natural hosts. Besides fulminant virus replication und neurological disease, BDV may also establish clinically inapparent, low level persistent infections of the CNS. Experimental injections of BDV by the intracerebral route allow successful infections of a large number of animal species, including rhesus monkeys. Serological and molecular studies indicate that BDV infections of human do also occur. It is unclear, however, whether BDV infections are indeed associated with neurological or psychiatric disorders of humans. The principal goal of this project is to improve diagnostic methods for the detection of BDV infections in animals and humans so that reliable epidemiological studies can be performed.

Additional information: http://www.ukl.uni-freiburg.de/microbio
Phone: (0761) 203-6579
Email: staeheli@ukl.uni-freiburg.de

Start of project: 01.01.1997
End of project: 30.06.2003

Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg
Stäheli Peter, Lieb Klaus
Department für Medizinische Mikrobiologie und Hygiene
Institut für Virologie
Hermann-Herder-Strasse 11
79104 Freiburg
Germany

Phone: +49 761 203 6534
Fax: +49 761 203 6626
http://www.virologie.uniklinik-freiburg.de
Actual Research Report

• BMBF

Bornaviren

• Billich Ch., Sauder Ch., Frank R., Herzog S., Bechter K., Takahashi K., Peters H., Staeheli P., Schwemmle M.: High Avidity human serum antibodies recognizing linear epitopes of Borna Disease Virus Proteins Biological Psychiatry, 2002; 51: 979-987.
• Staeheli P.: Bornaviruses Virus Res, 2002; 82: 55-59.
• Weissenböck H, Bilzer T, Ehrensperger F, Gosztonyi G, Herden C, Staeheli P, Hausmann J, Pagenstecher A: Equine Borna disease in Japan Veterinary Record, 2002: 712.
• Allmang U., Hofer M., Herzog S., Bechter K., Staeheli P.: Low avidity of human serum antibodies for Borna disease virus antigens questions their diagnostic value. Mol Psychiatr, 2001; 6: 329-333.
• Lieb K, Staeheli P.: Borna disease virus - does it infect humans and cause psychiatric disorders? J Clin Virol, 2001; 21: 119-127.
• Schwemmle M.: Borna disease virus infection in psychiatric patients: are we on the right track? The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2001; 1: 46-52.
• Staeheli P, Lieb K.: Bornavirus and psychiatric disorders - fact or fiction? J Med Microbiol, 2001; 50: 579-581.
• Nowotny N., Kolodziejek J., Jehle C.O., Suchy A., Staeheli P., Schwemmle M.: Isolation and characterization of a new subtype of Borna disese virus. J Virol, 2000; 74: 5655-5658.
• Staeheli P., Sauder C., Hausmann J., Ehrensperger F., Schwemmle M.: Epidemiology of Borna disease virus. J Gen Virol, 2000; 81: 2123-2135.
• Czygan M., Hallensleben W., Hofer M., Pollk S., Sauder C., Bilzer T., Blümcke I., Riederer P., Bogert B., Falkai P., Schwarz M.J., Masliah E., Staeheli P., Hufert F.T., Lieb K.: Borna disease virusin human brains with a rare form of hippocampal degeneration but not in brains of patients with common neuropsychiatric disorders. J Infect Dis, 1999; 180: 1695-1699.
• Schwemmle M., Jehle C., Formella S., Staeheli P.: Sequence similarities between human bornavirus isolates and laboratory strains question human origin. Lancet, 1999; 354: 1973-1974.