Effects of amino acid substitutions in the VP2 B-C loop on antigenicity and pathogenicity of serotype Asia1 foot-and-mouth disease virus

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) exhibits a high degree of antigenic variability. Studies of the antigenic diversity and determination of amino acid changes involved in this diversity are important to the design of broadly protective new vaccines. Although extensive studies have been carried out to explore the molecular basis of the antigenic variation of serotype O and serotype A FMDV, there are few reports on Asia1 serotype FMDV. METHODS: Two serotype Asia1 viruses, Asia1/YS/CHA/05 and Asia1/1/YZ/CHA/06, which show differential reactivity to the neutralizing monoclonal antibody (nMAb) 1B4, were subjected to sequence comparison. Then a reverse genetics system was used to generate mutant versions of Asia1/YS/CHA/05 followed by comparative analysis of the antigenicity, growth property and pathogenicity in the suckling mice. RESULTS: Three amino acid differences were observed when the structural protein coding sequences of Asia1/1/YZ/CHA/06 were compared to that of Asia1/YS/CHA/05. Site-directed mutagenesis and Immunofluorescence analysis showed that the amino acid substitution in the B-C loop of the VP2 protein at position 72 is responsible for the antigenic difference between the two Asia1 FMDV strains. Furthermore, alignment of the amino acid sequences of VP2 proteins from serotype Asia1 FMDV strains deposited in GenBank revealed that most of the serotype Asia1 FMDV strains contain an Asn residue at position 72 of VP2. Therefore, we constructed a mutant virus carrying an Asp-to-Asn substitution at position 72 and named it rD72N. Our analysis shows that the Asp-to-Asn substitution inhibited the ability of the rD72N virus to react with the MAb 1B4 in immunofluorescence and neutralization assays. In addition, this substitution decreased the growth rate of the virus in BHK-21 cells and decreased the virulence of the virus in suckling mice compared with the Asia1/YS/CHA/05 parental strain. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that variations in domains other than the hyper variable VP1 G-H loop (amino acid 140 to 160) are relevant to the antigenic diversity of FMDV. In addition, amino acid substitutions in the VP2 influenced replicative ability and virulence of the virus. Thus, special consideration should be given to the VP2 protein in research on structure-function relationships and in the development of an FMDV vaccine.     

Norovirus evolution in immunodeficient mice reveals potentiated pathogenicity via a single nucleotide change in the viral capsid

Interferons (IFNs) are key controllers of viral replication, with intact IFN responses suppressing virus growth and spread. Using the murine norovirus (MNoV) system, we show that IFNs exert selective pressure to limit the pathogenic evolutionary potential of this enteric virus. In animals lacking type I IFN signaling, the nonlethal MNoV strain CR6 rapidly acquired enhanced virulence via conversion of a single nucleotide. This nucleotide change resulted in amino acid substitution F514I in the viral capsid, which led to >10,000-fold higher replication in systemic organs including the brain. Pathogenicity was mediated by enhanced recruitment and infection of intestinal myeloid cells and increased extraintestinal dissemination of virus. Interestingly, the trade-off for this mutation was reduced fitness in an IFN-competent host, in which CR6 bearing F514I exhibited decreased intestinal replication and shedding. In an immunodeficient context, a spontaneous amino acid change can thus convert a relatively avirulent viral strain into a lethal pathogen.     

VP3 G–H环中氨基酸突变对O型口蹄疫病毒生物学特性的影响

【目的】为了研究O型口蹄疫病毒VP3G–H环中氨基酸突变对其生物学特性的影响。【方法】借助口蹄疫病毒反向遗传操作技术平台拯救出2株定点突变体rHN~(V3174Y)和rHN~(D3173N+V3174E+N3179C)。进行蚀斑形成试验、一步生长曲线的绘制、TCID_(50)和LD_(50)的测定、间接免疫荧光与激光共聚焦显微镜检测。【结果】结果显示,与骨架病毒rHN相比,虽然rHN~(V3174Y)和rHN~(D3173N+V3174E+N3179C)对BHK-21细胞的感染性及其蚀斑表型和复制动力学无显著性差异;但rHN~(V3174Y)和rHN~(D3173N+V3174E+N3179C)对乳鼠的致病力明显减弱,且均获得了小窝蛋白介导侵染CHO-K1细胞的能力。【结论】VP3上第3174位特征性氨基酸突变影响O型口蹄疫病毒感染宿主细胞的毒力及其内吞作用路径,这有助于我们认知VP3 G–H环在口蹄疫病毒粒子立体空间构象中潜在的作用。     

Mouse-adapted H9N2 influenza A virus PB2 protein M147L and E627K mutations are critical for high virulence

H9N2 influenza viruses have been circulating worldwide in multiple avian species and have repeatedly infected humans to cause typical disease. The continued avian-to-human interspecies transmission of H9N2 viruses raises concerns about the possibility of viral adaption with increased virulence for humans. To investigate the genetic basis of H9N2 influenza virus host range and pathogenicity in mammals, we generated a mouse-adapted H9N2 virus (SD16-MA) that possessed significantly higher virulence than wide-type virus (SD16). Increased virulence was detectable after 8 sequential lung passages in mice. Five amino acid substitutions were found in the genome of SD16-MA compared with SD16 virus: PB2 (M147L, V250G and E627K), HA (L226Q) and M1 (R210K). Assessments of replication in mice showed that all of the SD16-MA PB2, HA and M1 genome segments increased virus replication; however, only the mouse-adapted PB2 significantly increased virulence. Although the PB2 E627K amino acid substitution enhanced viral polymerase activity and replication, none of the single mutations of mouse adapted PB2 could confer increased virulence on the SD16 backbone. The combination of M147L and E627K significantly enhanced viral replication ability and virulence in mice. Thus, our results show that the combination of PB2 amino acids at position 147 and 627 is critical for the increased pathogenicity of H9N2 influenza virus in mammalian host.     

嵌合O/GSLX/CHN/2010株S片段的基因工程口蹄疫病毒的生物学特性

【目的】研究嵌合口蹄疫病毒(Foot-and-mouth disease virus,FMDV) O/GSLX/CHN/2010株S片段的基因工程病毒的生物学特性。【方法】运用反向遗传操作技术,将FMDV O/GSLX/CHN/2010的S片段嵌合进2株同谱系FMDV的感染性克隆骨架,拯救得到两株基因工程嵌合病毒rGDexc、rGZexc;进而从病毒复制和病毒对乳鼠的致病力方面,对嵌合病毒、亲本基因工程病毒以及FMDV O/GSLX/CHN/2010株进行了评价。【结果】FMDV O/GSLX/CHN/2010株复制较慢,对乳鼠致病力较差。嵌合病毒和亲本基因工程病毒的复制能力、对乳鼠的致病力明显高于FMDV O/GSLX/CHN/2010株。【结论】研究表明FMDV O/GSLX/CHN/2010的S片段不能独自决定该病毒较差的复制能力和较弱的乳鼠致病力。这一发现为进一步研究O/GSLX/CHN/2010的致弱机制以及S片段对病毒生物学特性的影响奠定了基础。     

Alteration of encephalomyocarditis virus pathogenicity due to a mutation at position 100 of VP1

Encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) infection leads to many diseases including encephalitis, myocarditis and diabetes in its natural host, the mouse. In this study, we generated four cDNA clones with a point mutation at position 100 of VP1. The amino acids isoleucine, alanine, serine and proline were substituted with threonine in the four different clones of EMCV strain BJC3 by site-specific mutagenesis, and viable viruses were rescued. Although all mutants and wild-type viruses display different plaque morphologies, they replicate comparably in BHK-21 cells. The pathogenicity of the mutated viruses was systematically analyzed to investigate the importance of this amino acid in the viral pathogenicity and disease phenotype of EMCV infection in mice. The results showed that the isoleucine- (T1100I) and proline-mutated viruses (T1100P) exhibited a reduced mortality, lower cerebral virus loads and alleviated brain damage while the viruses with serine (T1100S) and alanine (T1100A) substitutions displayed similar properties as the wild-type virus. These findings indicate that the amino acid at position 100 of VP1 is important for EMCV in vivo infection, and its mutation alters the pathogenicity of viral infection in mice.     

Genetic and phenotypic variation of foot-and-mouth disease virus during serial passages in a natural host

Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), like other RNA viruses, exhibits high mutation rates during replication that have been suggested to be of adaptive value. However, even though genetic variation in RNA viruses and, more specifically, FMDV has been extensively examined during virus replication in a wide variety of in vitro cell cultures, very little is known regarding the generation and effects of genetic variability of virus replication in the natural host under experimental conditions and no genetic data are available regarding the effects of serial passage in natural hosts. Here, we present the results of 20 serial contact transmissions of the highly pathogenic, pig-adapted O Taiwan 97 (O Tw97) isolate of FMDV in swine. We examined the virus genomic consensus sequences for a total of 37 full-length viral genomes recovered from 20 in vivo passages. The characteristics and distributions of changes in the sequences during the series of pig infections were analyzed in comparison to the O Tw97 genomes recovered from serially infected BHK-21 cell cultures. Unexpectedly, a significant reduction of virulence upon pig passages was observed, and finally, interruption of the viral transmission chain occurred after the14th pig passage (T14). Virus was, however, isolated from the tonsils and nasal swabs of the asymptomatic T15 pigs at 26 days postcontact, consistent with a natural establishment of the carrier state previously described only for ruminants. Surprisingly, the region encoding the capsid protein VP1 (1D) did not show amino acid changes during in vivo passages. These data demonstrate that contact transmission of FMDV O Tw97 in pigs mimics the fitness loss induced by the bottleneck effect, which was previously observed by others during plaque-to-plaque FMDV passage in vitro, suggesting that unknown mechanisms of virulence recovery might be necessary during the evolution and perpetuation of FMDV in nature.     

Enhanced pathogenicity and transmissibility of H9N2 avian influenza virus in mammals by hemagglutinin mutations combined with PB2-627K

H9N2 avian influenza viruses (AIVs) circulate globally in poultry and have become the dominant AIV subtype in China in recent years. Previously, we demonstrated that the H9N2 virus (A/chicken/Eastern China/SDKD1/2015) naturally harbors a mammalian-adaptive molecular factor (627K) in the PB2 protein and is weakly pathogenic in mice. Here, we focused on new markers for virulence in mammals. A mouse-adapted H9N2 virus was serially passaged in mice by infecting their lungs. As expected, infected mice showed clinical symptoms and died at passage six. A comparison between the wild-type and mouse-adapted virus sequences identified amino acid substitutions in the hemagglutinin (HA) protein. H9N2 viruses with the T187P ?+ ?M227L double mutation exhibited an increased affinity to human-type (SAα2,6Gal) receptors and significantly enhanced viral attachment to mouse lung tissues, which contributed to enhancing viral replication and virulence in mice. Additionally, HA with the T187P ?+ ?M227L mutation enabled H9N2 viral transmission in guinea pigs via direct contact. AIV pathogenicity in mice is a polygenic trait. Our results demonstrated that these HA mutations might be combined with PB2-627K to significantly increase H9N2 virulence in mice, and this enhanced virulence was achieved in other H9N2 AIVs by generating the same combination of mutations. In summary, our study identified novel key elements in the HA protein that are required for H9N2 pathogenicity in mice and provided valuable insights into pandemic preparedness against emerging H9N2 strains.     

Genomic polymorphism of the pandemic A (H1N1) influenza viruses correlates with viral replication, virulence, and pathogenicity in vitro and in vivo

The novel pandemic A (H1N1) virus was first identified in Mexico in April 2009 and quickly spread worldwide. Like all influenzas, the H1N1 strain-specific properties of replication, virulence, and pathogenicity are a result of the particular genomic sequence and concerted expression of multiple genes. Thus, specific mutations may support increased virulence and may be useful as biomarkers of potential threat to human health. We performed comparative genomic analysis of ten strains of the 2009 pandemic A (H1N1) influenza viruses to determine whether genotypes associated with clinical phenotypes, which ranged from mild to severe illness and up to lethal. Virus replication capacity was tested for each strain in vitro using cultured epithelial cells, while virulence and pathogenicity were investigated in vivo using the BALB/c mouse model. The results indicated that A/Sichuan/1/2009 strain had significantly higher replication ability and virulence than the other strains, and five unique non-synonymous mutations were identified in important gene-encoding sequences. These mutations led to amino acid substitutions in HA (L32I), PA (A343T), PB1 (K353R and T566A), and PB2 (T471M), and may be critical molecular determinants for replication, virulence, and pathogenicity. Our results suggested that the replication capacity in vitro and virulence in vivo of the 2009 pandemic A (H1N1) viruses were not associated with the clinical phenotypes. This study offers new insights into the transmission and evolution of the 2009 pandemic A (H1N1) virus.     

Guinea pig-adapted foot-and-mouth disease virus with altered receptor recognition can productively infect a natural host

We report that adaptation to infect the guinea pig did not modify the capacity of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) to kill suckling mice and to cause an acute and transmissible disease in the pig, an important natural host for this pathogen. Adaptive amino acid replacements (I(248)-->T in 2C, Q(44)-->R in 3A, and L(147)-->P in VP1), selected upon serial passages of a type C FMDV isolated from swine (biological clone C-S8c1) in the guinea pig, were maintained after virus multiplication in swine and suckling mice. However, the adaptive replacement L(147)-->P, next to the integrin-binding RGD motif at the GH loop in VP1, abolished growth of the virus in different established cell lines and modified its antigenicity. In contrast, primary bovine thyroid cell cultures could be productively infected by viruses with replacement L(147)-->P, and this infection was inhibited by antibodies to alphavbeta6 and by an FMDV-derived RGD-containing peptide, suggesting that integrin alphavbeta6 may be used as a receptor for these mutants in the animal (porcine, guinea pig, and suckling mice) host. Substitution T(248)-->N in 2C was not detectable in C-S8c1 but was present in a low proportion of the guinea pig-adapted virus. This substitution became rapidly dominant in the viral population after the reintroduction of the guinea pig-adapted virus into pigs. These observations illustrate how the appearance of minority variant viruses in an unnatural host can result in the dominance of these viruses on reinfection of the original host species.     

A single amino acid change in the glycoprotein of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus is associated with the ability to cause growth hormone deficiency syndrome.

Persistent infection of C3H/St mice with certain strains of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) causes a growth hormone (GH) deficiency syndrome (GHDS) manifested as growth retardation and hypoglycemia. Infected mice show high levels of viral replication in the GH-producing cells in the anterior pituitary leading to decreased synthesis of GH mRNA and protein despite the absence of detectable virus-induced cell structural damage. Virus clones isolated from the GHDS-negative LCMV WE strain can cause the disease, while others cannot. The genetic basis of this phenotypic difference is a nucleotide substitution resulting in a single amino acid difference in the viral glycoprotein. Reassortant studies indicate that the single amino acid substitution (Ser-153 to Phe) is sufficient to allow infection of the GH-producing cells and cause GHDS. These results show that a single change in the genome can affect viral pathogenicity by altering the tropism of the virus.     

A single mutation in the PB1-F2 of H5N1 (HK/97) and 1918 influenza A viruses contributes to increased virulence

The proapoptotic PB1-F2 protein of influenza A viruses has been shown to contribute to pathogenesis in the mouse model. Expression of full-length PB1-F2 increases the pathogenesis of the influenza A virus, causing weight loss, slower viral clearance, and increased viral titers in the lungs. After comparing viruses from the Hong Kong 1997 H5N1 outbreak, one amino acid change (N66S) was found in the PB1-F2 sequence at position 66 that correlated with pathogenicity. This same amino acid change (N66S) was also found in the PB1-F2 protein of the 1918 pandemic A/Brevig Mission/18 virus. Two isogenic recombinant chimeric viruses were created with an influenza A/WSN/33 virus background containing the PB1 segment from the HK/156/97: WH and WH N66S. In mice infected with WH N66S virus there was increased pathogenicity as measured by weight loss and decreased survival, and a 100-fold increase in virus replication when compared to mice infected with the WH virus. The 1918 pandemic strain A/Brevig Mission/18 was reconstructed with a pathogenicity-reducing mutation in PB1-F2 (S66N). The resultant 1918 S66N virus was attenuated in mice having a 3-log lower 50% lethal dose and caused less morbidity and mortality in mice than the wild-type virus. Viral lung titers were also decreased in 1918 S66N-infected mice compared with wild-type 1918 virus-infected mice. In addition, both viruses with an S at position 66 (WH N66S and wt 1918) induced elevated levels of cytokines in the lungs of infected mice. Together, these data show that a single amino acid substitution in PB1-F2 can result in increased viral pathogenicity and could be one of the factors contributing to the high lethality seen with the 1918 pandemic virus.     

Mutations in Hemagglutinin and Polymerase Alter the Virulence of Pandemic A(H1N1) Influenza Virus

To study the pathogenicity factors of the pandemic A(H1N1) influenza virus, a number of mutant variants of the A/Hamburg/5/2009 (H1N1)pdm09 strain were obtained through passage in chicken embryos, mouse lungs, and MDCK cell culture. After 17 lung-to-lung passages of the A/Hamburg/5/2009 in mice, the minimum lethal dose of the derived variant decreased by five orders of magnitude compared to that of the parental virus. This variant differed from the original virus by nine amino acid residues in the following viral proteins: hemagglutinin (HA), neuraminidase (NA), and components of the polymerase complex. Additional passaging of the intermediate variants and cloning made it possible to obtain pairs of strains that differed by a single amino acid substitution. Comparative analysis of replicative activity, receptor specificity, and virulence of these variants revealed two mechanisms responsible for increased pathogenicity of the virus for mice. Thus, (1) substitutions in HA (Asp225Gly or Gln226Arg) and compensatory mutation decreasing the charge of HA (Lys123Asn, Lys157Asn, Gly158Glu, Asn159Asp, or Lys212Met) altered viral receptor-binding specificity and restored the functional balance between HA and NA; (2) Phe35Leu substitution in the PA protein increased viral polymerase activity.     

新甲型H1N1流感病毒小鼠致死模型的建立

建立新甲型H1N1流感病毒小鼠致死模型,为研究致病性、宿主适应性以及疫苗保护性提供动物模型,并寻找病毒在适应宿主过程中影响毒力和适应性的关键位点。将新甲型H1N1流感病毒A/四川/SWL1/2009 H1N1在小鼠中连续传15代,各代次毒株均在MDCK细胞上增殖后进行测序,根据序列分析结果选择6个传代毒株感染小鼠,连续监测14 d体重和死亡情况;并对第14代和15代病毒在噬斑实验纯化后克隆和测序分析。原代病毒不致死BABL/C小鼠,经动物体内连续传代适应宿主动物后,其毒力增强,具体表现为所选的6个传代毒株中第7、11、15代毒株可以100%致死试验小鼠;分析这6个传代毒株的全基因组表明这些毒株的部分氨基酸位点发生突变。新甲型H1N1流感病毒经小鼠体内连续传代后,建立了小鼠致死模型,病毒毒力增强可能与某些氨基酸位点的改变有关。     

Mechanisms controlling virulence thresholds of mixed viral populations

The propensity of RNA viruses to revert attenuating mutations contributes to disease and complicates vaccine development. Despite the presence of virulent revertant viruses in some live-attenuated vaccines, disease from vaccination is rare. This suggests that in mixed viral populations, attenuated viruses may limit the pathogenesis of virulent viruses, thus establishing a virulence threshold. Here we examined virulence thresholds using mixtures of virulent and attenuated viruses in a transgenic mouse model of poliovirus infection. We determined that a 1,000-fold excess of the attenuated Sabin strain of poliovirus was protective against disease induced by the virulent Mahoney strain. Protection was induced locally, and inactivated virus conferred protection. Treatment with a poliovirus receptor-blocking antibody phenocopied the protective effect of inactivated viruses in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that one mechanism controlling virulence thresholds may be competition for a viral receptor. Additionally, the type I interferon response reduces poliovirus pathogenesis; therefore, we examined virulence thresholds in mice lacking the alpha/beta interferon receptor. We found that the attenuated virus was virulent in immunodeficient mice due to the enhanced replication and reversion of attenuating mutations. Therefore, while the type I interferon response limits the virulence of the attenuated strain by reducing replication, protection from disease conferred by the attenuated strain in immunocompetent mice can occur independently of replication. Our results identified mechanisms controlling the virulence of mixed viral populations and indicate that live-attenuated vaccines containing virulent virus may be safe, as long as virulent viruses are present at levels below a critical threshold.     

Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus Modulates Cellular Vimentin for Virus Survival

Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), the causative agent of foot-and-mouth disease, is an Aphthovirus within the Picornaviridae family. During infection with FMDV, several host cell membrane rearrangements occur to form sites of viral replication. FMDV protein 2C is part of the replication complex and thought to have multiple roles during virus replication. To better understand the role of 2C in the process of virus replication, we have been using a yeast two-hybrid approach to identify host proteins that interact with 2C. We recently reported that cellular Beclin1 is a natural ligand of 2C and that it is involved in the autophagy pathway, which was shown to be important for FMDV replication. Here, we report that cellular vimentin is also a specific host binding partner for 2C. The 2C-vimentin interaction was further confirmed by coimmunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence staining to occur in FMDV-infected cells. It was shown that upon infection a vimentin structure forms around 2C and that this structure is later resolved or disappears. Interestingly, overexpression of vimentin had no effect on virus replication; however, overexpression of a truncated dominant-negative form of vimentin resulted in a significant decrease in viral yield. Acrylamide, which causes disruption of vimentin filaments, also inhibited viral yield. Alanine scanning mutagenesis was used to map the specific amino acid residues in 2C critical for vimentin binding. Using reverse genetics, we identified 2C residues that are necessary for virus growth, suggesting that the interaction between FMDV 2C and cellular vimentin is essential for virus replication.     

Plasmid DNA encoding replicating foot-and-mouth disease virus genomes induces antiviral immune responses in swine.

DNA vaccine candidates for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) were engineered to produce FMD virus (FMDV) particles that were noninfectious in cell culture or animals. The prototype plasmid, pWRM, contains a cytomegalovirus immediate-early promoter-driven genome-length type A12 cDNA followed by the bovine growth hormone polyadenylation site. BHK cells transfected with this plasmid produced virus, but the specific infectivity of pWRM was much lower than that achieved with in vitro-generated RNA genomes. To improve the infectivity of the plasmid, a cDNA encoding the hepatitis delta virus ribozyme was added to the 3' end of the FMDV cDNA. The resulting plasmid, pWRMH, exhibited slightly increased infectivity in cell culture and produced virus when inoculated into suckling mice. A third plasmid, pWRMHX, was created by removal of the sequences encoding the cell binding site found in capsid protein VP1 of pWRMH. Although cells transfected with pWRMHX produced viral capsids, this plasmid was not lethal in suckling mice, indicating that particles lacking the cell binding site were not able to initiate secondary infectious cycles. Swine inoculated with pWRMHX did not show any signs of disease and produced neutralizing antibodies to FMDV, and 20% of the vaccinated animals were protected from challenge. A derivative of pWRMHX, pWRMHX-pol-, harboring a mutation designed to inactivate the viral polymerase was much less immunogenic, indicating that immunogenicity of pWRMHX resulted, in part, from amplification of the viral genome in the animal.