Autoimmunity-related demyelination in infection by Japanese encephalitis virus

Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus is the most common cause of epidemic viral encephalitis in the world. The virus mainly infects neuronal cells and causes an inflammatory response after invasion of the parenchyma of the brain. The death of neurons is frequently observed, in which demyelinated axons are commonly seen. The mechanism that accounts for the occurrence of demyelination is ambiguous thus far. With a mouse model, the present study showed that myelin-specific antibodies appeared in sera, particularly in those mice with evident symptoms. Meanwhile, specific T cells proliferating in response to stimulation by myelin basic protein (MBP) was also shown in these mice. Taken together, our results suggest that autoimmunity may play an important role in the destruction of components, e.g., MBP, of axon-surrounding myelin, resulting in demyelination in the mouse brain after infection with the JE virus.     

Inapparent viral infection of cells in vitro. 3. Manifestations of infection of L mouse cells by Japanese encephalitis virus

Dubbs, D. R. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis), and W. F. Scherer. Inapparent viral infection of cells in vitro. III. Manifestations of infection of L mouse cells by Japanese encephalitis virus. J. Bacteriol. 91:2349-2355. 1966.-Nine strains of Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus were propagated serially in cultures of L cells reaching titers of 10(3.5) to 10(6.3). Although cytopathic effects were not seen in cultures of contiguous L cells after infection with JE virus, cell growth was inhibited. Moreover, cell destruction was readily apparent in infected cultures of sparse, noncontiguous L cells. Differences in the size of cell population of infected and noninfected cultures (i) occurred despite only 0.2 to 3.5% of the cells in infected cultures being associated with infectious virus, (ii) were greater in actively growing cultures than in those kept in maintenance media, and (iii) were probably in part related to an interferon produced in infected cultures.     

Persistent infection of K562 cells by encephalomyocarditis virus.

Infection of human erythroleukemic K562 cells by encephalomyocarditis virus readily resulted in establishment of persistently infected cultures. In contrast to the usual typical lytic infection by encephalomyocarditis virus, in which trypan blue staining of cells reaches close to 100% by about 15 h postinfection, K562 cell cultures required 3 to 4 days postinfection to reach a maximum of about 80 to 90% cell staining. The proportion of K562 cells taking up stain gradually decreased to about 10% of those present by about 13 days postinfection; during this time, virus yield per day measured by either plaque or hemagglutination titration fell about 10-fold. The decrease in percent staining was followed by waves of increased staining accompanied by increased virus production. Virus-producing cultures were maintained for over 3 months. Evolution of both virus and cells accompanied establishment of persistence in that plaque size changed from about 7 mm in diameter for the original virus to less than 1.5 mm by day 20 postinfection and most of the cells cloned from persistently infected cultures were resistant to superinfection with the original virus. Resistance was due, at least in part, to reduced virus attachment in that binding of 3H-labeled virus to cloned resistant cells was about 2% of that to uninfected cells.     

Persistent infection of cells in culture by respiratory syncytial virus.

The virus-cell relationship of RS virus and the HEp-2 cell line has been examined. The production of cytopathic effect (c.p.e.) on HEp-2 cells has been found to be dependent upon the passage level of the cell line. Cells at lower passage levels exhibit c.p.e. in the form of syncytium formation, while those at higher passage levels no longer exhibit this effect. Cells infected at higher passage levels are covertly infected and continue to produce large amounts of infectious virus which remains cell-associated. On continued passage, these cells remain infected with virus but show no c.p.e. and release little if any infectious virus into the medium. Examination of the RNA species present in infected cells revealed that similar species are present in both the overtly and covertly infected cells.     

Changes in cerebral level of monoamines by Japanese encephalitis virus infection

The changes in monoamine levels of different brain regions following Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) intraperitoneal inoculation were examined in experimentally JEV-infected mice. In addition, virus distribution was studied using infectivity assay and immuno-histochemistry of viral antigen. 1) The level of monoamines in brain tissues was not affected by 48 hours after viral inoculation, but marked effects were elicited at 96 hours after the inoculation. The cerebral concentration of 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid (5 HIAA) was increased, while that of dopamine (DA) showed a decrease. Especially these alteration were observed in the cerebral cortex, but not in the cerebellum. 2) The viral growth in the brain was observed at 48 hours after the inoculation. The growth in the cerebellum, however, was found to be lower than those in other cerebral regions. 3) The viral antigen was detected in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, mesencephalon and diencephalon in addition to the substantia nigra and striatum. From these results, it is presumed that clinical manifestation of JEV infection may involve the changes in the metabolism of neurotransmitter, especially those of DA and serotonin in the brain.     

Clonal analysis of mammalian cell cultures persistently infected with Japanese encephalitis virus.

More than 200 cells were cloned from populations of mammalian cells persistently infected with Japanese encephalitis virus. Only four cloned cultures contained cells that had viral antigen measurable by immunofluorescence and that released infectious virus, yet all clones harbored virus-specific RNA. Superinfection of cloned cells with wild-type Japanese encephalitis virus did not produce cytopathic effects, but resulted in production of viral antigen and infectious virus in formerly nonproducing clones. Cocultivation of nonproducer clone cells with normally permissive cells did not induce virus production, nor did treatment of nonproducer clones with various inhibitors of DNA, RNA, or protein synthesis. It is suggested that the cloning procedure may have selected for a particular subpopulation of cells and that defective virus is also involved in establishment and maintenance of persistent infection.     

Cytopathology of PC12 cells infected with Japanese encephalitis virus.

Infection of a clonal rat pheochromocytoma cell line, PC12, with Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus produced successively higher titers of virus in the culture fluid during the 72-h experimental period. In electron microscopical observation, JE virus entered PC12 cells by direct penetration through the plasma membrane at 2 min postinoculation (p.i.) and caused marked cellular hypertrophy and extensive proliferation of the cellular secretory system including rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) and Golgi complexes starting 24 h p.i. The proliferating RER of the virally infected cells contained progeny virions and characteristic endoplasmic reticulum vesicles in its cisternae, and the proliferating Golgi complexes contained virions in their saccules. These findings indicated that the proliferation of the cellular secretory system occurred in association with viral replication and maturation in the system. Seventy-two hours p.i., the cellular secretory system of infected PC12 cells showed degenerative changes with vesiculation, disorganization, and dispersion of the Golgi complexes and fragmentation, focal cystic dilation, and dissolution of the RER in the same manner as those seen in the secretory system of JE-virus-infected neurons in the mouse brain. Thus, JE-virus-infected PC12 cells seem to be a suitable neurogenic cell line for the study of the pathogenic mechanism of JE virus. At the same time, the virally infected cells seem to offer an interesting cell model for the study of the morphogenesis of the cellular secretory system.     

Persistent infection with bovine herpesvirus-1 (infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus) in cultured hamster cells.

Bovine herpesvirus-1 infection in hamster embryo cells was found to be dependent upon input multiplicity; productive infection was achieved at input multiplicities greater than one, while persistent infection was established when input multiplicities were about 0.5. This persistence was characterized by a noncyclic, minimal degree of cytopathic effect with a low level of released virus. Maintenance of the persistently infected cultures did not require external supportive measures. Subcultivation of the persistently infected cultures led to virus replication followed by CPE and then cell regrowth. With 3 to 4 weeks after subcultivation a persistent infection was re-established. The possible mechanism for the bovine herpesvirus persistence in hamster cells is discussed.     

Transcriptomic profile of host response in Japanese encephalitis virus infection

Background

The attenuated Yellow fever (YF) 17D vaccine virus is one of the safest and most effective viral vaccines administered to humans, in which it elicits a polyvalent immune response. Herein, we used the YF 17D backbone to express a Trypanosoma cruzi CD8⁺ T cell epitope from the Amastigote Surface Protein 2 (ASP-2) to provide further evidence for the potential of this virus to express foreign epitopes. The TEWETGQI CD8⁺ T cell epitope was cloned and expressed based on two different genomic insertion sites: in the fg loop of the viral Envelope protein and the protease cleavage site between the NS2B and NS3. We investigated whether the site of expression had any influence on immunogenicity of this model epitope.

Results

Recombinant viruses replicated similarly to vaccine virus YF 17D in cell culture and remained genetically stable after several serial passages in Vero cells. Immunogenicity studies revealed that both recombinant viruses elicited neutralizing antibodies to the YF virus as well as generated an antigen-specific gamma interferon mediated T-cell response in immunized mice. The recombinant viruses displayed a more attenuated phenotype than the YF 17DD vaccine counterpart in mice. Vaccination of a mouse lineage highly susceptible to infection by T. cruzi with a homologous prime-boost regimen of recombinant YF viruses elicited TEWETGQI specific CD8⁺ T cells which might be correlated with a delay in mouse mortality after a challenge with a lethal dose of T. cruzi.

Conclusions

We conclude that the YF 17D platform is useful to express T. cruzi (Protozoan) antigens at different functional regions of its genome with minimal reduction of vector fitness. In addition, the model T. cruzi epitope expressed at different regions of the YF 17D genome elicited a similar T cell-based immune response, suggesting that both expression sites are useful. However, the epitope as such is not protective and it remains to be seen whether expression of larger domains of ASP-2, which include the TEWETGQI epitope, will elicit better T-CD8+ responses to the latter. It is likely that additional antigens and recombinant virus formulations will be necessary to generate a protective response.     

Temperature-sensitive mutants of Japanese encephalitis virus.

Ten stable temperature-sensitive mutants of Japanese encephalitis virus were isolated after mutagenesis by growth of cloned wild-type virus in the presence of the nucleic acid precursor analogs 5-fluorouracil and 5-azacytidine. Mutants were selected which grew at least 100-fold better at 33 degrees C than at 41 degrees C. The 5-fluorouracil was found to be more effective at inducing temperature-sensitive mutations than was 5-azacytidine. Analysis of the virus-specific RNA and proteins synthesized by each mutant at the nonpermissive temperature was used to determine biochemical phenotypes. The mutants were analyzed for abilities to complement in mixed infections. Although inefficient and sometimes nonreciprocal, complementation occurred at higher levels than previously reported for flavivirus mutants. Interference between mutants in some mixed infections was also observed. Seven complementation groups were defined. Three groups contained mutants incapable of synthesizing virus-specific RNA at the nonpermissive temperature, whereas the remaining complementation groups displayed an RNA+ phenotype. Levels of protein synthesis comparable to that of wild type were observed at the nonpermissive temperature in three groups. Two other groups were represented by mutants which synthesized only low levels of virus-specific proteins at the higher temperature. Mutants in the remaining two groups did not produce detectable levels of proteins under nonpermissive conditions.     

Highly permissive infection of microglial cells by Japanese encephalitis virus: a possible role as a viral reservoir

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), a mosquito-borne Flavivirus, is a major cause of acute encephalitis, and neurons have been proposed to be the principle JEV target cells in the central nervous system. However, clinically, infection with JEV leads to increased levels of cytokines and chemokines in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) the levels of which correlate with the mortality rate of patients. This research aimed to study the role of microglial cells in JEV infection. Mouse microglial cells (BV-2) supported the replication of JEV with extracellular production of virus by 10 h post-infection, and virus titer reached a maximum (2.55 × 10¹⁰ pfu/ml) by day 3 post-infection. While apoptosis was induced in response to virus infection, no alteration in nitric oxide production was observed. Microglial cells remained productively infected with JEV for up to 16 weeks without significant morphological alterations, and the released virions were infectious to mouse neuroblastoma (NA) cells. The high virus production and long persistence of JEV in microglial cells suggests that these cells may serve as viral reservoirs for the infection of neurons in the CNS.     

Persistent reovirus infection of CHO cells resulting in virus resistance.

We obtained a persistently infected line of Chinese hamster ovary cells by selection for resistance to reovirus infection. The cells were persistently infected by a population of viruses that were (i) cytopathic for parental chinese hamster ovary cells and (ii) similar to wild-type reovirus in molecular characteristics. The growth rate, plating efficiency, and morphology of the cells were altered. A large majority of the cells in the population were infected. There was no detectable interferon present in the medium. The cells were relatively resistant to a wide range of viruses.     

Inhibition of Japanese encephalitis virus infection by nitric oxide: antiviral effect of nitric oxide on RNA virus replication.

The antiviral effects of nitric oxide (NO) on Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), a member of the family Flaviviridae, were investigated in this study. In vitro, inhibition of replication of JEV in gamma interferon-activated RAW 264.7 murine macrophages was correlated to cellular NO production. When cocultured with infected murine neuroblastoma N18 cells, gamma interferon-activated RAW 264.7 cells also efficiently hindered JEV replication in contiguous bystanders, and this anti-JEV effect could be reversed by an NO synthase (NOS) inhibitor, N-monomethyl-L-arginine acetate. In vivo, the mortality rate increased as the NOS activity of JEV-infected mice was inhibited by its competitive inhibitor, N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester. Moreover, when an organic donor, S-nitro-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP), was used, the NO-mediated antiviral effect was also observed in primarily JEV-infected N18, human neuronal NT-2, and BHK-21 cells, as well as in persistently JEV-infected C2-2 cells. These data reaffirm that NO has an effective and broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against diversified intracellular pathogens. Interestingly, the antiviral effect of NO was not enhanced by treatment of N18 cells with SNAP prior to JEV infection, a measure which has been shown to greatly increase the antiviral effect of NO in infection by vesicular stomatitis virus. From biochemical analysis of the impact of NO on JEV replication in cell culture, NO was found to profoundly inhibit viral RNA synthesis, viral protein accumulation, and virus release from infected cells. The results herein thus suggest that NO may play a crucial role in the innate immunity of the host to restrict the initial stage of JEV infection in the central nervous system.     

Vimentin binding is critical for infection by the virulent strain of Japanese encephalitis virus

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), a mosquito-borne flavivirus, causes acute encephalitis with high mortality in humans. We used a pair of virulent (RP-9) and attenuated (RP-2ms) variants of JEV to pull down the cell surface molecules bound with JEV particle; their identities were revealed by LC-MS/MS analysis. One major protein bound with RP-9 and weakly with RP-2ms was identified as the intermediate filament protein vimentin. Infection of RP-9 but not that of RP-2ms was blocked by anti-vimentin antibodies and by recombinant-expressed vimentin proteins. Knockdown of vimentin expression reduced the levels of viral binding and viral production of RP-9, but not that of RP-2ms. The different vimentin dependency for JEV infection could be attributed to the major structural envelope protein, as the recombinant RP-9 with an E-E138K mutation became resistant to anti-vimentin blockage. Furthermore, RP-2ms mainly depended on cell surface glycosaminoglycans for viral binding and it became vimentin-dependent only when binding to glycosaminoglycans was blocked. Thus, we suggest that vimentin contributes to virulent JEV infection and might be a new target to intervene in this deadly infection.     

Radiosensitization of cultured mammalian cells by 5-iodouridine.

Radiosensitization of cultured mammalian cells was studied with halogenated pyrimidines, such as 5-iodouridine or 6-chloropurine, which have been shown to promote bacterial cell lethality when combined with gamma-irradiation. When Chinese hamster cells were exposed to gamma-rays to acidic pH values and the number of colonies was scored after 6 to 11 days of incubation, many more cells were inactivated in the presence of the drug than in its absence. This may be due to radiation-induced cytotoxic iodine radicals from the reagent in the case of 5-iodouridine, because the cells were inactivated efficiently only be contact with the previously-irradiated drug solution. The toxicity of the irradiated drug solution increased remarkably when the pH shifted to acidic side. The radiosensitization and the cytotoxic effects of gamma-irradiated drug solution were not found with 6-chloropurine. This may be the first observation on the lethal effect of chemical radicals on mammalian cells, and it is concluded that radiosensitization with 5-iodouridine does not require the drug incorporation into cellular DNA, at least under the conditions adopted in the present studies.