冠状病毒致病机理的细胞及分子生物学

<正>冠状病毒引起人和动物多种疾病,最常见为侵袭呼吸道或肠道。在实验动物中,主要感兴趣的是小鼠肝炎病毒(MHV)和大鼠冠状病毒组的成员,许多MHV毒株和大鼠冠状病毒主要引起呼吸道感染,一些MHV是嗜肠性的。对传染性支气管炎病毒、传染性胃肠炎病毒和牛冠状病毒的研究有助于弄清冠状病毒的分子生物学,但许多关于冠状病毒生物学特性的研究是用MHV进行的。因此,本文主要对MHV致病机理的细胞及分子生物学特性进行综述。     

重组西尼罗病毒NS5融合蛋白依赖RNA的RNA聚合酶特性鉴定

西尼罗病毒(West Nile virus, WNV)非结构蛋白NS5是病毒基因组复制的关键蛋白.以病毒全长cDNA克隆为模板,PCR扩增获得NS5的RNA依赖的RNA聚合酶(RdRp)活性区（NS5pol）及该蛋白完整的编码序列（NS5F）,分别克隆于原核表达载体pET-28a 并转化至大肠杆菌E.coliBL21（DE3）中诱导表达.表达的可溶性重组蛋白经Ni柱亲和层析纯化后进行SDS-PAGE和Western印迹鉴定.结果显示,二者均为病毒特异蛋白,且纯度均在90%以上.进一步的体外RdRp分析及EMSA的结果表明,NS5pol和NSF5均有较高的RdRp活性,且该活性具有RNA模板序列和二级结构的特异性.获得的具有RdRp活性的NS5pol和NS5F为西尼罗病毒基因组复制相关元件的研究奠定了基础.     

云南省疫苗衍生脊髓灰质炎病毒全基因组序列遗传特征分析

为了解云南省疫苗衍生脊髓灰质炎病毒(Vaccine-derived Poliovirus,VDPV)的基因组特征,对2010年及2012年监测到的4株VDPV进行全基因组序列测定。结果显示,2株Ⅱ型VDPV的基因组全长均为7439nt,与Sabin Ⅱ疫苗株全基因组核苷酸和氨基酸的序列同源性分别为95.4%和97.7%;2株I型VDPV基因组全长均为7441nt,与Sabin I疫苗株全基因组核苷酸和氨基酸序列的同源性分别为93.9%和97.9%。减毒位点分析发现II型和I型VDPV毒株分别有两个(nt 481和nt 2909)和三个减毒位点(nt 480、nt 2795和nt 6203)发生了回复突变。VP1序列分析显示II型和I型VDPV毒株与相应Sabin株的变异分别为1%和2.3%,重组分析显示II型和I型VDPV的基因组结构分别为S2/S3和S1/S2/S1/S3,后者的重组次数高达3次,显示了重组的普遍性和复杂性,也表明了病毒在人体内复制和传播的持久性与重组的多样性成正相关。因此,从分子水平分析VDPV的特性,可掌握病毒的变异动态,为制定科学可行的VDPV控制策略提供理论依据。     

福建一例HAstV-5型星状病毒的全基因组测序与重组分析

为了探究一例福建省检出的HAstV-5型星状病毒2013/Fuzhou/85毒株基因组分子结构特点,本研究采用PCR分段扩增、测序、拼接的方法,获得2013/Fuzhou/85毒株基因组序列全长6 803bp:5’端和3’端均有85bp非编码区;中间3个开放阅读框:ORF1a长2 802bp(86～2 887nt),编码非结构蛋白丝氨酸蛋白酶;ORF1b长1 548bp(2 827～4 374nt),编码非结构蛋白RNA聚合酶;ORF2长2 352bp(4 367～6 718nt),编码结构蛋白衣壳蛋白前体。目前,GenBank中仅有两株HAstV-5型星状病毒全基因组序列:中国辽宁毒株(JQ403108)和巴西哥亚尼亚毒株(DQ028633),2013/Fuzhou/85毒株和中国辽宁毒株核苷酸相似度最高,达94.4%。对该HAstV-5型星状病毒3个开放阅读框分别构建系统进化树,发现ORF1a与HAstV-1(JF327666)相似度最高,ORF1b和ORF2与HAstV-5(JQ403108)相似度最高,提示其有可能存在重组,用Simplot软件进行重组分析,重组位点位于2 741bp,在ORF1a和ORF1b重叠区的上游。本研究中对2013/Fuzhou/85毒株的全基因组测序和重组分析,可以为星状病毒的重组和遗传进化规律研究提供参考。     

流行性感冒病毒鸡胚高产株的遗传特性分析

流行性感冒（流感）病毒的基因组由分节段的单股负链RNA组成,其中A、B型流感病毒含8个基因节段［1］。它的第4和第6节段分别编码病毒的血凝素（HA）和神经氨酸酶（NA）,决定病毒的抗原性,其它6个节段与病毒的生长特性有关［2］。在流感疫苗生产中,为了提高产量,利用高产毒株与流行毒株基因重配获得重组病毒,它含有流行毒株的第4、第6节段和高产毒株的其它6个节段,这样既具有流行毒株的抗原性又具有高产特性,可以用来降低疫苗的生产成本。     

冠状病毒的基因重组

冠状病毒的基因组约有高达25％的重组频率。已经证明在病毒基因组之间以及缺损性干扰（DI）RNA与病毒RNA之间可以发生重组,这为病毒RNA及DI RNA提供了一种进化的工具,并可用来解释冠状病毒基因组的多样性,冠状病毒能进行重组的特性可能与其mRNA的转录机制有关,其RNA的合成是不连续的,产生了病毒聚合酶的非持续性,重组还被用作病毒基因组RNA突变的一种工具。     

感染性猪圆环病毒2型基因组DNA的分子克隆

本研究通过PCR扩增出猪圆环病毒2型(PCV—2)的全基因组(1768bp),克隆入pcDNA3载体的EcoR I酶切应点,获得含有PCV-2全基因组的重组质粒,命名为pcDNApcv2。将重组质粒大量扩增后,用EcoR I切出1768bp的PCV—2全基因组,在体外用T4DNA连接酶使其连接环化。用脂质体法将体外连接产物转染无PCV污染的PK—15细胞,经4次连续传代,用间接免疫荧光实验(IFA)及电镜观察证实已获得复制能力的PCV—2病毒。由此可见,本试验构建的环化的PCV—2全基因组DNA具有感染性。     

感染性猪圆环病毒2型基因组DNA的分子克隆

本研究通过PCR扩增出猪圆环病毒2型(PCV-2)的全基因组(1 768bp),克隆入pcDNA3载体的EcoRI酶切应点,获得含有PCV-2全基因组的重组质粒,命名为pcDNApcv2.将重组质粒大量扩增后,用EcoRI切出1 768bp的PCV-2全基因组,在体外用T4 DNA连接酶使其连接环化.用脂质体法将体外连接产物转染无PCV污染的PK-15细胞,经4次连续传代,用间接免疫荧光实验(IFA)及电镜观察证实已获得复制能力的PCV-2病毒.由此可见,本试验构建的环化的PCV-2全基因组DNA具有感染性.     

共表达新城疫病毒F基因和H9亚型禽流感病毒HA基因的重组鸡痘病毒

应用RT PCR扩增出新城疫病毒F4 8E8株融合蛋白 (F)基因 ,将其克隆入pGEM Teasyvector构建重组质粒pGEM TF并进行测序确证。分别从pGEM T和pUCHA切下F基因和H9亚型禽流感病毒F株 (A chicken china F 1 998)血凝素 (HA)基因 ,通过一系列分子生物学操作步骤插入到质粒pFPV7S中的鸡痘病毒基因组复制非必需片段构建重组质粒p7SHF ,其中F基因和HA基因分别由鸡痘病毒启动子PE L和合成启动子PS调控。最后将P1 1 LacZ报告基因表达盒插入质粒p7SHF获得转移载体pFPVHF ,用以转染已预先感染鸡痘病毒 2 82E4疫苗株的鸡胚成纤维细胞 (CEF)。通过在含有X Gal的营养琼脂上连续挑选蓝色病毒蚀斑获得并纯化重组病毒。PCR和Southernblot检测证实了F基因和HA基因已插入鸡痘病毒的基因组 ;间接免疫荧光试验结果表明重组病毒能够同时正确表达HA和F蛋白。     

一株小鼠诺如病毒的分离和鉴定及全基因组序列分析

小鼠诺如病毒(Murine norovirus,MNV)属于杯状病毒科诺如病毒属成员,是2003年新发现的感染实验小鼠的病毒,也是目前已知的小鼠病毒中感染率最高的一种病毒。本研究利用RAW264.7细胞从MNV感染小鼠的盲肠内容物中进行病毒分离,采用逆转录-聚合酶链式反应(RT-PCR)方法、病毒空斑试验、TCID50试验、电镜观察、间接免疫荧光试验和测序分析等方法对分离到的病毒进行鉴定,结果显示RAW264.7细胞接毒24~48h后出现明显的细胞病变,表现为细胞圆缩、变亮、聚集,最后大部分细胞死亡脱落。分离株在RAW264.7细胞上传代至第2~3代时可出现稳定的细胞病变。经病毒空斑试验获得一株纯化病毒,病毒滴度TCID50为105.25/0.1mL。电镜观察可见明显的病毒颗粒,颗粒呈球形,无囊膜,直径约30~35nm。分离株经鉴定后命名为MNV Guangzhou/K162/09/CHN。采用RT-PCR技术分段扩增基因组开放阅读框(ORF),同时应用3′-RACE和5′-RACE技术扩增基因组的3′-UTR和5′-UTR,分别对扩增片段进行克隆和测序,经拼接后获得分离株全基因组序列。结果显示分离株基因组序列全长7 380个核苷酸(GenBank登录号:HQ317203),将分离株全基因组序列与GenBank登录的国外参考毒株进行同源性比较,结果表明该毒株与其他MNV分离株核苷酸同源性为87.4%~89.7%。基于VP1蛋白核苷酸序列绘制MNV毒株系统发生进化树,结果表明该分离株与来自日本(S7-P2和S7-PP3)、美国(CR3和CR18)、韩国(K4)和德国(Berlin/04/06/DE和Berlin/05/06/DE)的毒株进化距离较近,同属一个进化分支。本研究是国内首次对MNV病毒进行分离鉴定和全基因组序列分析的报道。     

Single-amino-acid substitutions in open reading frame (ORF) 1b-nsp14 and ORF 2a proteins of the coronavirus mouse hepatitis virus are attenuating in mice

A reverse genetic system was recently established for the coronavirus mouse hepatitis virus strain A59 (MHV-A59), in which cDNA fragments of the RNA genome are assembled in vitro into a full-length genome cDNA, followed by electroporation of in vitro-transcribed genome RNA into cells with recovery of viable virus. The "in vitro-assembled" wild-type MHV-A59 virus (icMHV-A59) demonstrated replication identical to laboratory strains of MHV-A59 in tissue culture; however, icMHV-A59 was avirulent following intracranial inoculation of C57BL/6 mice. Sequencing of the cloned genome cDNA fragments identified two single-nucleotide mutations in cloned genome fragment F, encoding a Tyr6398His substitution in open reading frame (ORF) 1b p59-nsp14 and a Leu94Pro substitution in the ORF 2a 30-kDa protein. The mutations were repaired individually and together in recombinant viruses, all of which demonstrated wild-type replication in tissue culture. Following intracranial inoculation of mice, the viruses encoding Tyr6398His/Leu94Pro substitutions and the Tyr6398His substitution alone demonstrated log10 50% lethal dose (LD50) values too great to be measured. The Leu94Pro mutant virus had reduced but measurable log10 LD5), and the "corrected" Tyr6398/Leu94 virus had a log10 LD50 identical to wild-type MHV-A59. The experiments have defined residues in ORF 1b and ORF 2a that attenuate virus replication and virulence in mice but do not affect in vitro replication. The results suggest that these proteins serve roles in pathogenesis or virus survival in vivo distinct from functions in virus replication. The study also demonstrates the usefulness of the reverse genetic system to confirm the role of residues or proteins in coronavirus replication and pathogenesis.     

Construction and characterization of a full-length infectious clone of Getah virus in vivo

Getah virus (GETV) is a mosquito-borne virus of the genus Alphavirus in the family Togaviridae and, in recent years, it has caused several outbreaks in animals. The molecular basis for GETV pathogenicity is not well understood. Therefore, a reverse genetic system of GETV is needed to produce genetically modified viruses for the study of the viral replication and its pathogenic mechanism. Here, we generated a CMV-driven infectious cDNA clone based on a previously isolated GETV strain, GX201808 (pGETV-GX). Transfection of pGETV-GX into BHK- 21 cells resulted in the recovery of a recombinant virus (rGETV-GX) which showed similar growth characteristics to its parental virus. Then three-day-old mice were experimentally infected with either the parental or recombinant virus. The recombinant virus showed milder pathogenicity than the parental virus in the mice. Based on the established CMV-driven cDNA clone, subgenomic promoter and two restriction enzyme sites (BamHI and EcoRI) were introduced into the region between E1 protein and 30UTR. Then the green fluorescent protein (GFP), red fluorescent protein (RFP) and improved light-oxygen-voltage (iLOV) genes were inserted into the restriction enzyme sites. Transfection of the constructs carrying the reporter genes into BHK-21 cells proved the rescue of the recombinant reporter viruses. Taken together, the establishment of a reverse genetic system for GETV provides a valuable tool for the study of the virus life cycle, and to aid the development of genetically engineered GETVs as vectors for foreign gene expression.     

Recombinant mouse hepatitis virus strain A59 from cloned, full-length cDNA replicates to high titers in vitro and is fully pathogenic in vivo

Mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) is the prototype of group II coronaviruses and one of the most extensively studied coronaviruses. Here, we describe a reverse genetic system for MHV (strain A59) based upon the cloning of a full-length genomic cDNA in vaccinia virus. We show that the recombinant virus generated from cloned cDNA replicates to the same titers as the parental virus in cell culture ( approximately 10(9) PFU/ml), has the same plaque morphology, and produces the same amounts and proportions of genomic and subgenomic mRNAs in virus-infected cells. In a mouse model of neurological infection, the recombinant and parental viruses are equally virulent, they replicate to the same titers in brain and liver, and they induce similar patterns of acute hepatitis, acute meningoencephalitis, and chronic demyelination. We also describe improvements in the use of the coronavirus reverse genetic system based on vaccinia virus cloning vectors. These modifications facilitate (i) the mutagenesis of cloned cDNA by using vaccinia virus-mediated homologous recombination and (ii) the rescue of recombinant coronaviruses by using a stable nucleocapsid protein-expressing cell line for the electroporation of infectious full-length genomes. Thus, our system represents a versatile and universal tool to study all aspects of MHV molecular biology and pathogenesis. We expect this system to provide valuable insights into the replication of group II coronaviruses that may lead to the development of novel strategies against coronavirus infections, including the related severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus.     

Pathogenesis of Chimeric MHV4/MHV-A59 Recombinant Viruses: the Murine Coronavirus Spike Protein Is a Major Determinant of Neurovirulence

The mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) spike glycoprotein, S, has been implicated as a major determinant of viral pathogenesis. In the absence of a full-length molecular clone, however, it has been difficult to address the role of individual viral genes in pathogenesis. By using targeted RNA recombination to introduce the S gene of MHV4, a highly neurovirulent strain, into the genome of MHV-A59, a mildly neurovirulent strain, we have been able to directly address the role of the S gene in neurovirulence. In cell culture, the recombinants containing the MHV4 S gene, S4R22 and S4R21, exhibited a small-plaque phenotype and replicated to low levels, similar to wild-type MHV4. Intracranial inoculation of C57BL/6 mice with S4R22 and S4R21 revealed a marked alteration in pathogenesis. Relative to wild-type control recombinant viruses (wtR13 and wtR9), containing the MHV-A59 S gene, the MHV4 S gene recombinants exhibited a dramatic increase in virulence and an increase in both viral antigen staining and inflammation in the central nervous system. There was not, however, an increase in the level of viral replication in the brain. These studies demonstrate that the MHV4 S gene alone is sufficient to confer a highly neurovirulent phenotype to a recombinant virus deriving the remainder of its genome from a mildly neurovirulent virus, MHV-A59. This definitively confirms previous findings, suggesting that the spike is a major determinant of pathogenesis.     

High-throughput Screening for Broad-spectrum Chemical Inhibitors of RNA Viruses

RNA viruses are responsible for major human diseases such as flu, bronchitis, dengue, Hepatitis C or measles. They also represent an emerging threat because of increased worldwide exchanges and human populations penetrating more and more natural ecosystems. A good example of such an emerging situation is chikungunya virus epidemics of 2005-2006 in the Indian Ocean. Recent progresses in our understanding of cellular pathways controlling viral replication suggest that compounds targeting host cell functions, rather than the virus itself, could inhibit a large panel of RNA viruses. Some broad-spectrum antiviral compounds have been identified with host target-oriented assays. However, measuring the inhibition of viral replication in cell cultures using reduction of cytopathic effects as a readout still represents a paramount screening strategy. Such functional screens have been greatly improved by the development of recombinant viruses expressing reporter enzymes capable of bioluminescence such as luciferase. In the present report, we detail a high-throughput screening pipeline, which combines recombinant measles and chikungunya viruses with cellular viability assays, to identify compounds with a broad-spectrum antiviral profile.     

Methodology for the Efficient Generation of Fluorescently Tagged Vaccinia Virus Proteins

Tagging of viral proteins with fluorescent proteins has proven an indispensable approach to furthering our understanding of virus-host interactions. Vaccinia virus (VACV), the live vaccine used in the eradication of smallpox, is particularly amenable to fluorescent live-cell microscopy owing to its large virion size and the ease with which it can be engineered at the genome level. We report here an optimized protocol for generating recombinant viruses. The minimal requirements for targeted homologous recombination during vaccinia replication were determined, which allows the simplification of construct generation. This enabled the alliance of transient dominant selection (TDS) with a fluorescent reporter and metabolic selection to provide a rapid and modular approach to fluorescently label viral proteins. By streamlining the generation of fluorescent recombinant viruses, we are able to facilitate downstream applications such as advanced imaging analysis of many aspects of the virus-host interplay that occurs during virus replication.     

A simple reverse genetics method to generate recombinant coronaviruses

Engineering recombinant viruses is a pre‐eminent tool for deciphering the biology of emerging viral pathogens such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2). However, the large size of coronavirus genomes renders the current reverse genetics methods challenging. Here, we describe a simple method based on “infectious subgenomic amplicons” (ISA) technology to generate recombinant infectious coronaviruses with no need for reconstruction of the complete genomic cDNA and apply this method to SARS‐CoV‐2 and also to the feline enteric coronavirus. In both cases we rescue wild‐type viruses with biological characteristics similar to original strains. Specific mutations and fluorescent red reporter genes can be readily incorporated into the SARS‐CoV‐2 genome enabling the generation of a genomic variants and fluorescent reporter strains for in vivo experiments, serological diagnosis, and antiviral assays. The swiftness and simplicity of the ISA method has the potential to facilitate the advance of coronavirus reverse genetics studies, to explore the molecular biological properties of the SARS‐CoV‐2 variants, and to accelerate the development of effective therapeutic reagents.     

Recombinant respiratory syncytial viruses lacking the C-terminal third of the attachment (G) protein are immunogenic and attenuated in vivo and in vitro

The design of attenuated vaccines for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) historically focused on viruses made sensitive to physiologic temperature through point mutations in the genome. These prototype vaccines were not suitable for human infants primarily because of insufficient attenuation, genetic instability, and reversion to a less-attenuated phenotype. We therefore sought to construct novel attenuated viruses with less potential for reversion through genetic alteration of the attachment G protein. Complete deletion of G protein was previously shown to result in RSV strains overly attenuated for replication in mice. Using reverse genetics, recombinant RSV (rRSV) strains were engineered with truncations at amino acid 118, 174, 193, or 213 and respectively designated rA2cpDeltaG118, rA2cpDeltaG174, rA2cpDeltaG193, and rA2cpDeltaG213. All rA2cpDeltaG strains were attenuated for growth in vitro and in the respiratory tracts of BALB/c mice but not restricted for growth at 37 degrees C. The mutations did not significantly affect nascent genome synthesis in human lung epithelial (A549) cells, but infectious rA2cpDeltaG virus shed into the culture medium was dramatically diminished. Hence, the data suggested that a site within the C-terminal 85 amino acids of G protein is important for efficient genome packaging or budding of RSV from the infected cell. Vaccination with the rA2cpDeltaG strains also generated efficacious immune responses in mice that were similar to those elicited by the temperature-sensitive cpts248/404 strain previously tested in human infants. Collectively, the data indicate that the rA2cpDeltaG strains are immunogenic, not likely to revert to the less-attenuated phenotype, and thus candidates for further development as vaccines against RSV.     

RNA recombination in a coronavirus: recombination between viral genomic RNA and transfected RNA fragments.

Mouse hepatitis virus (MHV), a coronavirus, has been shown to undergo a high frequency of RNA recombination both in tissue culture and in animal infection. So far, RNA recombination has been demonstrated only between genomic RNAs of two coinfecting viruses. To understand the mechanism of RNA recombination and to further explore the potential of RNA recombination, we studied whether recombination could occur between a replicating MHV RNA and transfected RNA fragments. We first used RNA fragments which represented the 5' end of genomic-sense sequences of MHV RNA for transfection. By using polymerase chain reaction amplification with two specific primers, we were able to detect recombinant RNAs which incorporated the transfected fragment into the 5' end of the viral RNA in the infected cells. Surprisingly, even the anti-genomic-sense RNA fragments complementary to the 5' end of MHV genomic RNA could also recombine with the MHV genomic RNAs. This observation suggests that RNA recombination can occur during both positive- and negative-strand RNA synthesis. Furthermore, the recombinant RNAs could be detected in the virion released from the infected cells even after several passages of virus in tissue culture cells, indicating that these recombinant RNAs represented functional virion RNAs. The crossover sites of these recombinants were detected throughout the transfected RNA fragments. However, when an RNA fragment with a nine-nucleotide (CUUUAUAAA) deletion immediately downstream of a pentanucleotide (UCUAA) repeat sequence in the leader RNA was transfected into MHV-infected cells, most of the recombinants between this RNA and the MHV genome contained crossover sites near this pentanucleotide repeat sequence. In contrast, when exogenous RNAs with the intact nine-nucleotide sequence were used in similar experiments, the crossover sites of recombinants in viral genomic RNA could be detected at more-downstream sites. This study demonstrated that recombination can occur between replicating MHV RNAs and RNA fragments which do not replicate, suggesting the potential of RNA recombination for genetic engineering.