非洲猪瘟病毒的非必需基因：真的可有可无吗？

非洲猪瘟（African swine fever,ASF）是由非洲猪瘟病毒（African swine fever virus,ASFV）引起的一种出血性、致死性的猪烈性传染病。ASF在全球广泛传播,给养猪业造成重大的经济损失。ASFV基因组庞大,可编码150多种蛋白,一些非必需基因编码的蛋白与调控病毒毒力、复制和免疫逃逸等相关。通过删除ASFV毒力相关的非必需基因所构建的减毒株是当前比较有前景的疫苗,然而其安全性有待提高。系统地鉴定ASFV非必需基因及其功能,不仅有助于ASF基因缺失疫苗的研发,也有益于ASFV致病机制研究。本文对目前已鉴定的ASFV非必需基因及其功能研究进行了总结分析,着重讨论了影响ASFV毒力、调控病毒复制、参与免疫逃逸的非必需基因及其编码蛋白的功能,旨在加深对ASFV病原学的认识,为新的ASFV非必需基因的鉴定和功能研究提供参考。     

非洲猪瘟防控及疫苗研发：挑战与对策

非洲猪瘟是由非洲猪瘟病毒引起的一种接触传染性、广泛出血性猪烈性传染病,最急性和急性感染死亡率高达100%。自2018年8月我国发生首起非洲猪瘟疫情后,3个多月内,已有18个省份累计暴发69起,给我国养猪业造成了沉重打击。从目前非洲猪瘟全球流行态势及世界各国防控经验来看,我国非洲猪瘟防控和根除面临的形势不容乐观,亟需安全有效的疫苗用于该病的防控。文中结合当前非洲猪瘟病原学最新研究成果,系统总结了非洲猪瘟防控策略、疫苗研究进展及其面临的挑战,重点分析了疫苗研发历程、存在的问题、未来发展方向以及商业化应用所面临的关键科学问题,以期为我国非洲猪瘟防控及病原和疫苗研究提供借鉴。     

非洲猪瘟病毒的免疫逃逸策略

非洲猪瘟(African swine fever,ASF)是由非洲猪瘟病毒(African swine fever virus,ASFV)引起的一种猪烈性传染病。目前无商品化的ASF疫苗,一旦发病,仅能依靠快速扑杀进行防控,严重威胁我国养猪及相关行业的健康发展。ASF疫苗研发面临的主要困难是对ASFV的毒力相关基因、致病及其免疫逃逸机制知之甚少。本文对ASFV的免疫逃逸研究进行了总结,探讨了ASFV免疫逃逸基因及其编码蛋白的功能,以便加深对ASFV及其免疫逃逸策略的认知,为致病机制研究和疫苗研发提供借鉴。     

African swine fever virus protein MGF-505-7R promotes virulence and pathogenesis by inhibiting JAK1- and JAK2-mediated signaling

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a large DNA virus that is highly contagious and pathogenic in domestic pigs with a mortality rate up to 100%. However, how ASFV suppresses JAK-STAT1 signaling to evade the immune response remains unclear. In this study, we found that the ASFV-encoded protein MGF-505-7R inhibited proinflammatory IFN-γ-mediated JAK-STAT1 signaling. Mechanistically, MGF-505-7R was found to interact with JAK1 and JAK2 and mediate their degradation. Further study indicated that MGF-505-7R promoted degradation of JAK1 and JAK2 by upregulating the E3 ubiquitin ligase RNF125 expression and inhibiting expression of Hes5, respectively. Consistently, MGF-505-7R-deficient ASFV induced high levels of IRF1 expression and displayed compromised replication both in primary porcine alveolar macrophages and pigs compared with wild-type ASFV. Furthermore, MGF-505-7R deficiency attenuated the virulence of the ASFV and pathogenesis of ASF in pigs. These findings suggest that the JAK-STAT1 axis mediates the innate immune response to the ASFV and that MGF-505-7R plays a critical role in the virulence of the ASFV and pathogenesis of ASF by antagonizing this axis. Thus, we conclude that deletion of MGF-505-7R may serve as a strategy to develop attenuated vaccines against the ASFV.     

African swine fever virus cysteine protease pS273R inhibits pyroptosis by noncanonically cleaving gasdermin D

African swine fever (ASF) is a viral hemorrhagic disease that affects domestic pigs and wild boar and is caused by the African swine fever virus (ASFV). The ASFV virion contains a long double-stranded DNA genome, which encodes more than 150 proteins. However, the immune escape mechanism and pathogenesis of ASFV remain poorly understood. Here, we report that the pyroptosis execution protein gasdermin D (GSDMD) is a new binding partner of ASFV-encoded protein S273R (pS273R), which belongs to the SUMO-1 cysteine protease family. Further experiments demonstrated that ASFV pS273R-cleaved swine GSDMD in a manner dependent on its protease activity. ASFV pS273R specifically cleaved GSDMD at G107-A108 to produce a shorter N-terminal fragment of GSDMD consisting of residues 1 to 107 (GSDMD-N_1–107). Interestingly, unlike the effect of GSDMD-N_1–279 fragment produced by caspase-1-mediated cleavage, the assay of LDH release, cell viability, and virus replication showed that GSDMD-N_1–107 did not trigger pyroptosis or inhibit ASFV replication. Our findings reveal a previously unrecognized mechanism involved in the inhibition of ASFV infection-induced pyroptosis, which highlights an important function of pS273R in inflammatory responses and ASFV replication.     

Regulation of antiviral immune response by African swine fever virus (ASFV)

African swine fever (ASF) is a highly contagious and acute hemorrhagic viral disease with a high mortality approaching 100% in domestic pigs. ASF is an endemic in countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Now, it has been spreading to many countries, especially in Asia and Europe. Due to the fact that there is no commercial vaccine available for ASF to provide sustainable prevention, the disease has spread rapidly worldwide and caused great economic losses in swine industry. The knowledge gap of ASF virus (ASFV) pathogenesis and immune evasion is the main factor to limit the development of safe and effective ASF vaccines. Here, we will summarize the molecular mechanisms of how ASFV interferes with the host innate and adaptive immune responses. An in-depth understanding of ASFV immune evasion strategies will provide us with rational design of ASF vaccines.     

非洲猪瘟病毒的生物学特性与疫苗研制的难点

非洲猪瘟(African swine fever,ASF)是由非洲猪瘟病毒(African swine fever virus,ASFV)引起的一种猪烈性传染病,是全球养猪业的"头号杀手",强毒株引发的超急性和急性感染死率高达100%。2018年8月ASF首次传入我国,截止2019年6月6日,已有32个省份累计暴发137起疫情,给我国社会、经济构成巨大威胁。ASF疫苗的研制始于20世纪60年代,但均以失败而告终,其主要原因是对ASFV生物学特性缺乏深入的研究。有效控制当前ASF疫情扩散、研制安全有效的疫苗将是我国面临的巨大挑战。本文对ASFV形态与基本结构、传播途径、致病机制、基因组及编码蛋白、入侵机制、免疫逃逸等生物学特性进行了概述,并分析了当前疫苗研制面临的难点,以期为我国有效控制ASF疫情及病原研究提供参考。     

非洲猪瘟病毒CP204L基因的原核表达与单抗制备

由非洲猪瘟病毒(ASFV)引起的非洲猪瘟(ASF)给我国养猪业带来了不可估量的经济损失,严重阻碍了我国养猪业的发展,研发ASFV快速诊断试剂是目前最重要的内容之一。CP204L基因编码ASFV结构蛋白p30。本研究以克隆ASFV的CP204L基因为基础,通过基因重组技术,加入His标签,将构建的重组质粒命名为pET-28a-CP204L。将重组质粒转化至大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)感受态细胞,37℃经1mmol/L异丙基-β-D-硫代半乳糖苷(IPTG)诱导表达6h,表达蛋白进行SDS-PAGE鉴定和Western Blot检测。重组蛋白纯化后免疫小鼠制备筛选单克隆抗体,Western Blot和IFA验证单抗的结合特异性。结果表明,重组的pET-28a-CP204L诱导后表达蛋白为30kD,以不可溶性包涵体形式存在;表达蛋白利用His标签进行纯化,获得纯化蛋白2mg,单克隆抗体筛选获得5株IgG亚型的ASFV p30蛋白的单抗,且均具有良好的结合活性。本研究为发展ASFV检测方法提供了基础。     

African Swine Fever Virus MGF-110-9L-deficient Mutant Has Attenuated Virulence in Pigs

African swine fever virus(ASFV) is the etiological agent of African swine fever(ASF), an often lethal disease in domestic and wild pigs. ASF represents a major threat to the swine industry worldwide. Currently, no commercial vaccine is available because of the complexity of ASFV or biosecurity concerns. Live attenuated viruses that are naturally isolated or genetically manipulated have demonstrated reliable protection against homologous ASFV strain challenge. In the present study, a mutant ASFV strain with the deletion of ASFV MGF-110-9 L(ASFV-D9 L) was generated from a highly virulent ASFV CN/GS/2018 parental strain, a genotype II ASFV. Relative to the parental ASFV isolate, deletion of the MGF-110-9 L gene significantly decreased the ability of ASFV-D9 L to replicate in vitro in primary swine macrophage cell cultures. The majority of animals inoculated intramuscularly with a low dose of ASFV-D9 L(10 HAD50) remained clinically normal during the 21-day observational period. Three of five ASFV-D9 L-infected animals displayed low viremia titers and low virus shedding and developed a strong virus-specific antibody response, indicating partial attenuation of the ASFV-D9 L strain in pigs. The findings imply the potential usefulness of the ASFV-D9 L strain for further development of ASF control measures.     

非洲猪瘟病毒I226R蛋白抑制cGAS-STING通路介导的天然免疫应答

本研究旨在探究非洲猪瘟病毒(African swine fever virus, ASFV) I226R蛋白(I226R protein, pI226R)抑制cGAS-STING信号通路的作用机制。利用双荧光素酶报告系统和实时荧光定量PCR (real-time quantitative PCR, qPCR)证明pI226R显著抑制cGAS-STING通路介导的I型干扰素及干扰素刺激相关基因的产生。免疫共沉淀及激光共聚焦显微镜试验发现pI226R与cGAS蛋白相互作用。免疫印迹分析证明pI226R通过自噬-溶酶体途径促进cGAS蛋白的降解。同时,pI226R阻碍了cGAS与E3泛素连接酶三基序蛋白56 (tripartite motif protein 56, TRIM56)的结合,导致cGAS的单泛素化减弱,从而抑制了cGAS的活化和cGAS-STING通路的激活。总之,本研究证明ASFV pI226R通过拮抗cGAS进而抑制宿主的抗病毒天然免疫反应,进一步增加了对研究ASFV免疫逃逸机制的理解,为疫苗的研发提供了理论基础。     

Development of A Super-Sensitive Diagnostic Method for African Swine Fever Using CRISPR Techniques

African swine fever(ASF) is an infectious disease caused by African swine fever virus(ASFV) with clinical symptoms of high fever, hemorrhages and high mortality rate, posing a threat to the global swine industry and food security. Quarantine and control of ASFV is crucial for preventing swine industry from ASFV infection. In this study, a recombinase polymerase amplification(RPA)-CRISPR-based nucleic acid detection method was developed for diagnosing ASF. As a highly sensitive method, RPA-CRISPR can detect even a single copy of ASFV plasmid and genomic DNA by determining fluorescence signal induced by collateral cleavage of CRISPR-lwCas13 a(previously known as C2 c2) through quantitative real-time PCR(qPCR) and has the same or even higher sensitivity than the traditional qPCR method. A lateral flow strip was developed and used in combination with RPA-CRISPR for ASFV detection with the same level of sensitivity of TaqMan qPCR. Likewise, RPA-CRISPR is capable of distinguishing ASFV genomic DNA from viral DNA/RNA of other porcine viruses without any cross-reactivity. This diagnostic method is also available for diagnosing ASFV clinical DNA samples with coincidence rate of 100% for both ASFV positive and negative samples. RPA-CRISPR has great potential for clinical quarantine of ASFV in swine industry and food security.     

非洲猪瘟在俄罗斯的流行与研究现状

非洲猪瘟(African swine fever,ASF)由非洲猪瘟病毒(ASFV)引起,是家猪和野猪的一种高度接触性、致死性传染病,可表现为最急性、急性、亚急性和慢性四种形式。猪感染后以发热、高病毒血症和出血性病变为特征。有的毒株可引起高发病率和高死亡率。自2007年ASF传入格鲁吉亚以来,该病在高加索地区(包括俄罗斯)逐步蔓延,造成多地大量家猪和野猪病死,经济损失惨重。2017年3月,ASF突然在远东地区伊尔库茨克州出现,疫点距中国北方最大陆路口岸满洲里仅约1 000 km,使得传入中国的风险空前提高。为此,本文对该病10年间在俄罗斯的流行状况和研究情况进行总结,以期为我国对该病的防控提供参考。     

一种非洲猪瘟病毒假病毒细胞感染模型的建立及应用

目前国内外大多数针对非洲猪瘟病毒(African swine fever virus, ASFV)的研究须在生物安全三级实验室(biosafety level 3 laboratories, BSL-3 labs)中进行,因此针对该病毒的感染过程、中和抗体逃逸机制、药物研发等研究受到了一定限制。鉴于此,本研究选择ASFV包膜蛋白中与其进入细胞紧密相关的蛋白p12、CD2v、p30、p54和pE248R,构建表达这5种包膜蛋白的真核表达质粒,利用水疱性口炎病毒(vesicular stomatitis virus, VSV)假病毒包装体系,制备多种ASFV假病毒。以荧光素酶报告基因实验(luciferase assay)检测假病毒感染水平;选择1个包膜蛋白为代表,使用蛋白质印迹法(Western blot,WB)检测其在假病毒中的表达情况;采用芫花素检测其对所建立的ASFV假病毒(p30-pE248R-ASFV-PsV)的抑制活性。结果显示,VSV包装体系以及p30、pE248R包膜蛋白质粒的组合制备方法所包装出的假病毒具有较优的感染活性,适合用于建立细胞感染模型。ASFV的包膜蛋白pE248R被有效整合到VSV-ΔG rLuc颗粒中,并包装出ASFV假病毒。芫花素可浓度依赖性地抑制ASFV假病毒感染Vero细胞,其半数抑制浓度(half maximal inhibitory concentration, IC50)为4.05±0.88 μmol/L。本研究通过建立基于ASFV假病毒的细胞感染模型,筛选获得了1种可感染已报道的一些ASFV敏感细胞的假病毒。该假病毒无复制性,可在生物安全级别较低的实验室中进行操作,并且带有海肾荧光素酶报告基因,有望用于ASFV入侵抑制剂的高通量筛选及中和活性的初步评价,为研发抗ASFV药物提供了一个安全、方便的研究模型。     

非洲猪瘟病毒编码蛋白功能研究进展

非洲猪瘟(African swine fever,ASF)是非洲猪瘟病毒(African swine fever virus,ASFV)感染家猪或野猪引起的一种急性、出血性、高度接触性传染病,其特征是病程短、高热和出血性病变,急性感染死亡率高达100%,严重威胁全球养猪业但目前尚未开发出有效的疫苗和治疗方法。ASFV是非洲猪瘟病毒科非洲猪瘟病毒属的唯一成员,为大型双链DNA病毒,主要在巨噬细胞胞质中复制,其基因组约170?193 kb,含有150?167个开放阅读框,编码150?200种蛋白质。目前已知功能的病毒编码蛋白约有50个,大部分为病毒的结构蛋白,仍有一半以上的ASFV编码蛋白功能尚不清楚。除结构蛋白以外,病毒含有完整的酶和与病毒转录有关的因子,编码调节宿主细胞功能及与病毒免疫逃逸相关的蛋白等。本文综述了ASFV的结构蛋白、非结构蛋白以及参与免疫逃逸等相关蛋白功能的研究进展,以期为ASFV病毒蛋白研究及疫苗研发提供相关借鉴。     

非洲猪瘟病毒j5R膜蛋白的电脑预测和实验证实

蛋白多肽二级结构的电脑预测表明,非洲猪瘟病毒（ Ａｆｒｉｃａｎ ｓｗｉｎｅ ｆｅｖｅｒ ｖｉｒｕｓ , Ａ Ｓ Ｆ Ｖ）ｊ５ Ｒ阅读框编码１２ ．９ ｋ Ｄａ 膜蛋白。该蛋白的 Ｃ 末端含有一个潜在抗原决定簇,针对其合成肽的抗体能在 Ａ Ｓ Ｆ Ｖ 感染细胞和病毒颗粒中检测到２３ 或２５ ｋ Ｄａ（ 取决于不同毒株） 特异蛋白。免疫荧光试验显示,ｊ５ Ｒ 蛋白主要位于感染细胞的病毒复制部位。油水两相分离和细胞分级分离试验结果证明ｊ５ Ｒ 蛋白是膜相关蛋白     

A seven-gene-deleted African swine fever virus is safe and effective as a live attenuated vaccine in pigs

African swine fever(ASF) is a devastating infectious disease in swine that is severely threatening the global pig industry. An efficacious vaccine is urgently required. Here, we used the Chinese ASFV HLJ/18 as a backbone and generated a series of genedeleted viruses. The virulence, immunogenicity, safety, and protective efficacy evaluation in specific-pathogen-free pigs,commercial pigs, and pregnant sows indicated that one virus, namely HLJ/18-7GD, which has seven genes deleted, is fully attenuated in pigs, cannot convert to the virulent strain, and provides complete protection of pigs against lethal ASFV challenge.Our study shows that HLJ/-18-7GD is a safe and effective vaccine against ASFV, and as such is expected to play an important role in controlling the spread of ASFV.     

pMGF505-7R determines pathogenicity of African swine fever virus infection by inhibiting IL-1β and type I IFN production

Inflammatory factors and type I interferons (IFNs) are key components of host antiviral innate immune responses, which can be released from the pathogen-infected macrophages. African swine fever virus (ASFV) has developed various strategies to evade host antiviral innate immune responses, including alteration of inflammatory responses and IFNs production. However, the molecular mechanism underlying inhibition of inflammatory responses and IFNs production by ASFV-encoded proteins has not been fully understood. Here we report that ASFV infection only induced low levels of IL-1β and type I IFNs in porcine alveolar macrophages (PAMs), even in the presence of strong inducers such as LPS and poly(dA:dT). Through further exploration, we found that several members of the multigene family 360 (MGF360) and MGF505 strongly inhibited IL-1β maturation and IFN-β promoter activation. Among them, pMGF505-7R had the strongest inhibitory effect. To verify the function of pMGF505-7R in vivo, a recombinant ASFV with deletion of the MGF505-7R gene (ASFV-Δ7R) was constructed and assessed. As we expected, ASFV-Δ7R infection induced higher levels of IL-1β and IFN-β compared with its parental ASFV HLJ/18 strain. ASFV infection-induced IL-1β production was then found to be dependent on TLRs/NF-κB signaling pathway and NLRP3 inflammasome. Furthermore, we demonstrated that pMGF505-7R interacted with IKKα in the IKK complex to inhibit NF-κB activation and bound to NLRP3 to inhibit inflammasome formation, leading to decreased IL-1β production. Moreover, we found that pMGF505-7R interacted with and inhibited the nuclear translocation of IRF3 to block type I IFN production. Importantly, the virulence of ASFV-Δ7R is reduced in piglets compared with its parental ASFV HLJ/18 strain, which may due to induction of higher IL-1β and type I IFN production in vivo. Our findings provide a new clue to understand the functions of ASFV-encoded pMGF505-7R and its role in viral infection-induced pathogenesis, which might help design antiviral agents or live attenuated vaccines to control ASF.     

Recombinant Newcastle disease virus expressing African swine fever virus protein 72 is safe and immunogenic in mice

African swine fever(ASF) is a lethal hemorrhagic disease that affects wild and domestic swine. The etiological agent of ASF is African swine fever virus(ASFV). Since the first case was described in Kenya in 1921, the disease has spread to many other countries. No commercial vaccines are available to prevent ASF. In this study, we generated a recombinant Newcastle disease virus(r NDV) expressing ASFV protein 72(p72) by reverse genetics and evaluated its humoral and cellular immunogenicity in a mouse model. The recombinant virus, r NDV/p72, replicated well in embryonated chicken eggs and was safe to use in chicks and mice. The p72 gene in r NDV/p72 was stably maintained through ten passages. Mice immunized with r NDV/p72 developed high titers of ASFV p72 specific Ig G antibody, and had higher levels of Ig G1 than IgG2 a. Immunization also elicited T-cell proliferation and secretion of IFN-γ and IL-4. Taken together, these results indicate that r NDV expressing ASFV p72 might be a potential vaccine candidate for preventing ASF.     

An African swine fever virus ERV1-ALR homologue, 9GL, affects virion maturation and viral growth in macrophages and viral virulence in swine

The African swine fever virus (ASFV) genome contains a gene, 9GL, with similarity to yeast ERV1 and ALR genes. ERV1 has been shown to function in oxidative phosphorylation and in cell growth, while ALR has hepatotrophic activity. 9GL encodes a protein of 119 amino acids and was highly conserved at both nucleotide and amino acid levels among all ASFV field isolates examined. Monospecific rabbit polyclonal antibody produced to a glutathione S-transferase-9GL fusion protein specifically immunoprecipitated a 14-kDa protein from macrophage cell cultures infected with the ASFV isolate Malawi Lil-20/1 (MAL). Time course analysis and viral DNA synthesis inhibitor experiments indicated that p14 was a late viral protein. A 9GL gene deletion mutant of MAL (Delta9GL), exhibited a growth defect in macrophages of approximately 2 log(10) units and had a small-plaque phenotype compared to either a revertant (9GL-R) or the parental virus. 9GL affected normal virion maturation; virions containing acentric nucleoid structures comprised 90 to 99% of all virions observed in Delta9GL-infected macrophages. The Delta9GL virus was markedly attenuated in swine. In contrast to 9GL-R infection, where mortality was 100%, all Delta9GL-infected animals survived infection. With the exception of a transient fever response in some animals, Delta9GL-infected animals remained clinically normal and exhibited significant 100- to 10,000-fold reductions in viremia titers. All pigs previously infected with Delta9GL survived infection when subsequently challenged with a lethal dose of virulent parental MAL. Thus, ASFV 9GL gene deletion mutants may prove useful as live-attenuated ASF vaccines.