Evaluation of the Replication, Pathogenicity, and Immunogenicity of Avian Paramyxovirus (APMV) Serotypes 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 9 in Rhesus Macaques

Khattar, Sunil K.; Nayak, Baibaswata; Kim, Shin-Hee; Xiao, Sa; Samal, Sweety; Paldurai, Anandan; Buchholz, Ursula J.; Collins, Peter L.; Samal, Siba K.

For a number of the APMV strains, replication in the upper respiratory tract appeared to be less efficient compared to the lower respiratory tract. One possible explanation is that there might be a lower density of APMV receptors in the upper respiratory tract of non-human primates compared to lower respiratory tract, and hence a lower level of replication. A second possible factor is that birds have a higher body temperature compared to primates. Therefore, both the upper and lower respiratory tract of primates may be suboptimal for APMV replication, and this effect would be more pronounced in the upper respiratory tract due to its relatively lower temperature. The low level of shedding of APMVs from upper respiratory tract of non-human primates predicts that shedding also should be reduced from humans, which would limit release into the environment and would be a desirable feature for a vaccine vector.