Experimental Inoculation of Porcine Circovirus 3 (PCV-3) in Pregnant Gilts Causes PCV-3-Associated Lesions in Newborn Piglets that Persist until Weaning

Porcine circovirus 3 (PCV-3) has been detected in cases of reproductive failure but the pathogenesis of such infection is poorly understood. So far, experimental PCV-3 inoculations have been performed only in piglets. Therefore, through the experimental inoculation of pregnant gilts at two different time points (second and last third of gestation), this study aimed to evaluate the outcome of PCV-3 infection in dams and their offspring until weaning age. Two weeks postinoculation, all gilts became viremic and the infection lasted until the end of study. Farrowing occurred naturally, without evidence of reproductive disorders, and piglets showed no significant clinical signs from farrowing to weaning (21 day-old). However, majority of the delivered piglets were viremic, mostly until weaning age. Both newborn and weaned pigs showed different degrees of systemic, lymphohistiocytic arteritis and periarteritis. Lesions were more severe in the piglets infected during the second third of gestation and worsened at weaning. Additionally, PCV-3 detection in nervous and cardiac tissue and development of histopathological lesions in these tissues were gestational dependent, as only occurred in piglets infected at second third of pregnancy. Piglets with lesions raised to weaning age had less body weight than those without them. This study represents the first description of a PCV-3 experimental infection in pregnant gilts, which resulted in transplacental infection, histological lesions in piglets mimicking those of natural occurring disease, and lesser body weight in piglets with vascular lesions at weaning age. Obtained results allowed proposing a potential pathogenesis model for PCV-3 infection in swine.