Lack of Bax Prevents Influenza A Virus-Induced Apoptosis and Causes Diminished Viral Replication

The ectopic overexpression of Bcl-2 restricts both influenza A virus-induced apoptosis and influenza A virus replication in MDCK cells, thus suggesting a role for Bcl-2 family members during infection. Here we report that influenza A virus cannot establish an apoptotic response without functional Bax, a downstream target of Bcl-2, and that both Bax and Bak are directly involved in influenza A virus replication and virus-induced cell death. Bak is substantially downregulated during influenza A virus infection in MDCK cells, and the knockout of Bak in mouse embryonic fibroblasts yields a dramatic rise in the rate of apoptotic death and a corresponding increase in levels of virus replication, suggesting that Bak suppresses both apoptosis and the replication of virus and that the virus suppresses Bak. Bax, however, is activated and translocates from the cytosol to the mitochondria; this activation is required for the efficient induction of apoptosis and virus replication. The knockout of Bax in mouse embryonic fibroblasts blocks the induction of apoptosis, restricts the infection-mediated activation of executioner caspases, and inhibits virus propagation. Bax knockout cells still die but by an alternative death pathway displaying characteristics of autophagy, similarly to our previous observation that influenza A virus infection in the presence of a pancaspase inhibitor leads to an increase in levels of autophagy. The knockout of Bax causes a retention of influenza A virus NP within the nucleus. We conclude that the cell and virus struggle to control apoptosis and autophagy, as appropriately timed apoptosis is important for the replication of influenza A virus.The pathology of influenza A virus infection usually arises from acute lymphopenia and inflammation of the lungs and airway columnar epithelial cells (23, 38). Influenza A virus induces apoptotic death in infected epithelial, lymphocyte, and phagocytic cells, and apoptosis is a source of tissue damage during infection (3, 22, 33) and increased susceptibility to bacterial pathogens postinfection (31). While the induction of apoptosis by influenza A virus has been well documented (4, 19-21, 28, 33, 37), the mechanisms of this interaction are not well understood. Two viral proteins, NS1 and PB1-F2, have been associated with viral killing of cells. NS1, originally characterized as being proapoptotic (34), was later identified as being an interferon antagonist, inhibiting the activation of several key antiviral responses and restricting the apoptotic response to infection (1, 10, 15, 18, 35, 39, 46). In contrast, PB1-F2 induces apoptosis primarily by localizing to the outer mitochondrial membrane, promoting cytochrome c release, and triggering the apoptotic cascade (43). This effect, however, is typically restricted to infected monocytes, leading to the hypothesis that PB1-F2 induces apoptosis specifically to clear the landscape of immune responders (5, 44). Although PB1-F2 activity does not directly manipulate virus replication or virus-induced apoptosis, PB1-F2 localization to the mitochondrial membrane during infection potentiates the apoptotic response in epithelial and fibroblastic cells through tBID signaling with proapoptotic Bcl-2 family protein members Bax and Bak (22, 43, 44).The Bcl-2 protein family consists of both pro- and antiapoptotic members that regulate cytochrome c release during mitochondrion-mediated apoptosis through the formation of pore-like channels in the outer mitochondrial membrane (12, 16). During the initiation of mitochondrion-mediated apoptosis, cytoplasmic Bid is cleaved to form tBID. This, in turn, activates proapoptotic Bax and Bak (40), which drive cytochrome c release and subsequent caspase activation. Bak is constitutively associated with the mitochondrial membrane, whereas inactive Bax is primarily cytosolic, translocating to the outer mitochondrial membrane only after activation (6). The activation of Bax and Bak results in homo- and heterodimer formation at the outer mitochondrial membrane, generating pores that facilitate mitochondrial membrane permeabilization and cytochrome c release (14, 17), leading to caspase activation and the apoptotic cascade (8). Antiapoptotic members of the Bcl-2 protein family, including Bcl-2, inhibit the activation of proapoptotic Bax and Bak primarily by sequestering inactive Bax and Bak monomers via interactions between their BH3 homology domains (7).Bcl-2 expression has been linked to decreased viral replication rates (26). Bcl-2 overexpression inhibits influenza A virus-induced cell death and reduces the titer and spread of newly formed virions (29). The activation of caspase-3 in the absence of sufficient Bcl-2 is critical to the influenza A virus life cycle. Both Bcl-2 expression and the lack of caspase activation during infection lead to the nuclear accumulation of influenza virus ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes, thereby leading to the improper assembly of progeny virions and a marked reduction in titers of infectious virus (26, 41, 42, 45).Here we show that influenza A virus induces mitochondrion-mediated (intrinsic-pathway) apoptosis signaled specifically through Bax and that this Bax signaling is essential for the maximum efficiency of virus propagation. In contrast, Bak expression is strongly downregulated during infection. Cells lacking Bak (while expressing Bax) display a much more severe apoptotic phenotype in response to infection and produce infectious virions at a higher rate than the wild type (WT), suggesting that Bak, which can suppress viral replication, is potentially downregulated by the virus. Our results indicate essential and opposing roles for Bax and Bak in both the response of cells to influenza A virus infection and the ability of the virus to maximize its own replicative potential.     

Evaluation of Replication and Cross-Reactive Antibody Responses of H2 Subtype Influenza Viruses in Mice and Ferrets

H2 influenza viruses have not circulated in humans since 1968, and therefore a large segment of the population would likely be susceptible to infection should H2 influenza viruses reemerge. The development of an H2 pandemic influenza virus vaccine candidate should therefore be considered a priority in pandemic influenza preparedness planning. We selected a group of geographically and temporally diverse wild-type H2 influenza viruses and evaluated the kinetics of replication and compared the ability of these viruses to induce a broadly cross-reactive antibody response in mice and ferrets. In both mice and ferrets, A/Japan/305/1957 (H2N2), A/mallard/NY/1978 (H2N2), and A/swine/MO/2006 (H2N3) elicited the broadest cross-reactive antibody responses against heterologous H2 influenza viruses as measured by hemagglutination inhibition and microneutralization assays. These data suggested that these three viruses may be suitable candidates for development as live attenuated H2 pandemic influenza virus vaccines.Influenza pandemics occur when a novel influenza virus enters a population with little preexisting immunity (36). During the pandemics of the last century, novel influenza viruses were introduced either directly from an avian reservoir (34) or were the result of reassortment between contemporaneously circulating human, avian, and swine influenza viruses (5, 29, 36). Due to the lack of preexisting immunity to the novel virus, morbidity and mortality rates are typically higher than in epidemics caused by seasonal influenza viruses (4).Although pandemic preparedness planning has largely focused on the highly pathogenic H5 and H7 avian influenza virus subtypes, the recent emergence of the 2009 pandemic H1N1 viruses underscores the need to consider other influenza virus subtypes as well. Of the 16 hemagglutinin (HA) influenza A virus subtypes that have been identified to date, H1, H2, and H3 have been known to cause influenza pandemics (7, 27), suggesting that these viruses are capable of sustained transmission and can cause disease in humans. While the H1 and H3 subtypes have cocirculated in humans since 1977, H2 influenza viruses have not circulated in humans since 1968 (36) and therefore a large segment of the population would likely be susceptible to infection should H2 influenza viruses reemerge. The 1957 H2 pandemic virus was a reassortant that derived the HA, neuraminidase (NA), and PB1 genes from an avian virus and the remaining gene segments from the circulating H1N1 virus (15, 30). As H2 subtype viruses continue to circulate in avian reservoirs worldwide (12, 17, 18, 22, 33), they remain a potential pandemic threat. The development of an H2 influenza virus vaccine candidate should therefore be considered a priority in future pandemic influenza preparedness planning.Given the low likelihood that a previously selected vaccine virus will exactly match the pandemic virus, the ability to elicit a broadly cross-reactive antibody response to antigenically distinct viruses within a subtype is an important consideration in the selection of a pandemic influenza vaccine candidate. Previous studies have examined the ability of inactivated H2 influenza viruses to provide cross-protection against mouse-adapted variants of reassortant human viruses and an avian H2 influenza virus from 1978 (9, 14). Given the potential for live attenuated influenza virus vaccines to confer a great breadth of heterologous cross-protection (1, 2, 6, 35), we recently conducted a study evaluating cold-adapted A/Ann Arbor/6/1960 (AA CA), an H2 influenza virus used as the backbone of the seasonal live attenuated influenza A virus vaccine currently licensed in the United States (3). However, as H2 influenza virus continues to circulate widely and appear in migratory birds (10, 24, 26), in poultry markets (20), and in swine (21), with evidence of interregional gene transmission (19, 22), a more extensive evaluation of recent isolates may be warranted in the selection of a potential H2 pandemic vaccine candidate.H2 influenza viruses fall into three main lineages: a human lineage, a North American avian lineage, and a Eurasian avian lineage (29). In addition to viruses whose replicative ability in mammals has previously been established (11, 21, 23, 25), we selected a group of geographically and temporally diverse H2 influenza viruses from each lineage. We evaluated the kinetics of replication of each of these viruses in mice and ferrets and compared the abilities of these viruses to induce a broadly cross-reactive antibody response to determine which of these viruses would be suitable for further development as an H2 pandemic influenza vaccine candidate.     

Interleukin-15 Is Critical in the Pathogenesis of Influenza A Virus-Induced Acute Lung Injury

Highly pathogenic influenza A viruses cause acute severe pneumonia to which the occurrence of “cytokine storm” has been proposed to contribute. Here we show that interleukin-15 (IL-15) knockout (KO) mice exhibited reduced mortality after infection with influenza virus A/FM/1/47 (H1N1, a mouse-adapted strain) albeit the viral titers of these mice showed no difference from those of control mice. There were significantly fewer antigen-specific CD44⁺ CD8⁺ T cells in the lungs of infected IL-15 KO mice, and adoptive transfer of the CD8⁺ T cells caused reduced survival of IL-15 KO mice following influenza virus infection. Mice deficient in β₂-microglobulin by gene targeting and those depleted of CD8⁺ T cells by in vivo administration of anti-CD8 monoclonal antibody displayed a reduced mortality rate after infection. These results indicate that IL-15-dependent CD8⁺ T cells are at least partly responsible for the pathogenesis of acute pneumonia caused by influenza A virus.Highly pathogenic influenza A viruses cause acute severe pneumonia that results in high morbidity and significant mortality (11, 12, 24, 26). Elevated levels of serum cytokines and chemokines accompany these clinical manifestations, and the possibility that this “cytokine storm” contributes to increased severity of the disease caused by avian H5N1 virus and by other strains of influenza A virus has been proposed (10, 21, 33). In fact, CCR2-deficient mice [CCR2 is chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 2] were protected from early pathological manifestations despite higher pulmonary titers of the influenza virus A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) strain (7). Tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (TNFR-1)-deficient mice exhibited significantly reduced morbidity following challenge with H5N1 virus (31). Other cytokines or chemokines have also been investigated (8, 28, 34, 35, 38). Thus, at least some of the elevated proinflammatory cytokines may contribute to the pathogenesis of influenza A virus.Interleukin-15 (IL-15) is a pleiotropic cytokine involved in both innate and adaptive immune responses (20, 36). IL-15 utilizes the β-chain of the IL-2 receptor (IL-2R) (CD122) and the common cytokine receptor γ-chain (CD132) for signal transduction in lymphocytes and therefore shares many biological properties with IL-2 (3). Memory CD8⁺ T cells, natural killer (NK) cells, NKT cells, and intraepithelial lymphocyte (IEL) T cells (15, 23, 42) decrease in mice with defective IL-15 signaling, indicating the importance of IL-15 in their development and/or maintenance. IL-15 regulates not only the number of memory CD8⁺ T cells but also activation of their functions, including gamma interferon (IFN-γ) production and cytotoxic activity (40), which are important to target the virus (9). Therefore, it is possible that we may be able to use IL-15 as an immune-enhancing molecular adjuvant in vaccines for protection against various pathogens, including influenza A virus (37).In the present study, we demonstrate that IL-15 knockout (KO) mice exhibited high resistance against infection with mouse-adapted influenza virus A/FM/1/47 (H1N1) strain. We show for the first time that IL-15-dependent CD8⁺ T cells are at least partly responsible for the pathogenesis of acute pneumonia caused by influenza A virus. In addition, our observations are important in the light of recent research into the use of IL-15 as an adjuvant for vaccination.     

Replacement of the Replication Factors of Porcine Circovirus (PCV) Type 2 with Those of PCV Type 1 Greatly Enhances Viral Replication In Vitro

Porcine circovirus type 1 (PCV1), originally isolated as a contaminant of PK-15 cells, is nonpathogenic, whereas porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) causes an economically important disease in pigs. To determine the factors affecting virus replication, we constructed chimeric viruses by swapping open reading frame 1 (ORF1) (rep) or the origin of replication (Ori) between PCV1 and PCV2 and compared the replication efficiencies of the chimeric viruses in PK-15 cells. The results showed that the replication factors of PCV1 and PCV2 are fully exchangeable and, most importantly, that both the Ori and rep of PCV1 enhance the virus replication efficiencies of the chimeric viruses with the PCV2 backbone.Porcine circovirus (PCV) is a single-stranded DNA virus in the family Circoviridae (34). Type 1 PCV (PCV1) was discovered in 1974 as a contaminant of porcine kidney cell line PK-15 and is nonpathogenic in pigs (31-33). Type 2 PCV (PCV2) was discovered in piglets with postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) in the mid-1990s and causes porcine circovirus-associated disease (PCVAD) (1, 9, 10, 25). PCV1 and PCV2 have similar genomic organizations, with two major ambisense open reading frames (ORFs) (16). ORF1 (rep) encodes two viral replication-associated proteins, Rep and Rep′, by differential splicing (4, 6, 21, 22). The Rep and Rep′ proteins bind to specific sequences within the origin of replication (Ori) located in the intergenic region, and both are responsible for viral replication (5, 7, 8, 21, 23, 28, 29). ORF2 (cap) encodes the immunogenic capsid protein (Cap) (26). PCV1 and PCV2 share approximately 80%, 82%, and 62% nucleotide sequence identity in the Ori, rep, and cap, respectively (19).In vitro studies using a reporter gene-based assay system showed that the replication factors of PCV1 and PCV2 are functionally interchangeable (2-6, 22), although this finding has not yet been validated in a live infectious-virus system. We have previously shown that chimeras of PCV in which cap has been exchanged between PCV1 and PCV2 are infectious both in vitro and in vivo (15), and an inactivated vaccine based on the PCV1-PCV2 cap (PCV1-cap2) chimera is used in the vaccination program against PCVAD (13, 15, 18, 27).PCV1 replicates more efficiently than PCV2 in PK-15 cells (14, 15); thus, we hypothesized that the Ori or rep is directly responsible for the differences in replication efficiencies. The objectives of this study were to demonstrate that the Ori and rep are interchangeable between PCV1 and PCV2 in a live-virus system and to determine the effects of swapped heterologous replication factors on virus replication efficiency in vitro.     

Dynamics of Influenza Virus Infection and Pathology

A key question in pandemic influenza is the relative roles of innate immunity and target cell depletion in limiting primary infection and modulating pathology. Here, we model these interactions using detailed data from equine influenza virus infection, combining viral and immune (type I interferon) kinetics with estimates of cell depletion. The resulting dynamics indicate a powerful role for innate immunity in controlling the rapid peak in virus shedding. As a corollary, cells are much less depleted than suggested by a model of human influenza based only on virus-shedding data. We then explore how differences in the influence of viral proteins on interferon kinetics can account for the observed spectrum of virus shedding, immune response, and influenza pathology. In particular, induction of high levels of interferon (“cytokine storms”), coupled with evasion of its effects, could lead to severe pathology, as hypothesized for some fatal cases of influenza.Influenza A virus causes an acute respiratory disease in humans and other mammals; in humans, it is particularly important because of the rapidity with which epidemics develop, its widespread morbidity, and the seriousness of complications. Every year, an estimated 500,000 deaths worldwide, primarily of young children and the elderly, are attributed to seasonal influenza virus infections (49). Influenza pandemics may occur when an influenza virus with new surface proteins emerges, against which the majority of the population has no preexisting immunity. Both the emergence of H5N1 virus (34) and the current H1N1 virus pandemic (43) underline the importance of understanding the dynamics of infection and disease. A key question is, what regulates virus abundance in an individual host, causing the characteristic rapid decline in virus shedding following its initial peak? The main contenders in primary influenza virus infection are depletion of susceptible target cells and the impact of the host''s innate immune response (2, 20).On infection, the influenza virus elicits an immune response, including a rapid innate response that is correlated with the observed decline in the virus load after the first 2 days of infection (1). The slower adaptive response, including both humoral and cell-mediated components, takes several days to consolidate but is important for complete virus clearance and establishment of protective immunity. During infection of an immunologically naïve host, the innate immune response is particularly important as the first line of defense against infection. The innate immune response is regulated by chemokines and cytokines, chemical messengers produced by virus-infected epithelial cells and leukocytes (23), and natural interferon-producing cells, such as plasmacytoid dendritic cells (13). Among the key cytokines induced by epithelial cells infected with influenza A virus are type I interferons (IFNs) (IFN-α/β) (23), which directly contribute to the antiviral effect on infected and neighboring cells (38).Like other viruses, influenza A viruses have evolved strategies to limit the induction of innate immune responses (38). The NS1 protein plays a dominant role, and without it, the virus is unable to grow well or to cause pathology in an immunocompetent host (14). NS1 is multifunctional and counteracts both the induction of IFN expression and the function of IFN-activated antiviral effectors via multiple mechanisms (12, 17). Individual strains of influenza A virus possess these activities to various degrees (15, 21, 22, 26), and accordingly, NS1 has been implicated as a virulence factor (3, 17). A striking effect of the failure to control the innate response to virus infection is seen as a “cytokine storm,” which causes severe pathology (8).While there is an extensive literature on modeling influenza virus spread at the population level, the individual-host scale has received much less attention (2, 4, 5, 18, 19, 20, 27, 28). In a recent important paper, Baccam et al. modeled the kinetics of influenza A virus (2). The innate dynamics were included in the form of an IFN response that delayed and reduced virus production but did not prevent it; thus, the infection was resolved primarily through near-total depletion of epithelial cells. Their model was fitted to virus titers from human volunteers exposed to H1N1 influenza virus, but no data were available on the innate immune response or epithelial cell pathology. This has been a general difficulty in developing and validating more refined within-host models; there is a lack of detailed biological data from natural host systems, in particular, measures of immune kinetics and patterns of cellular depletion.The model presented here explicitly includes the ability of IFN to induce a fully antiviral state in order to explore the relative regulatory role of innate immunity and target cell depletion. Data from experimental infections of immunologically naïve horses with an equine influenza virus (36) allowed us to calibrate our model, not only to viral kinetics, but also to IFN dynamics and cell depletion in the context of infection of a naïve natural mammalian host. With our fitted model, we then investigate modulation of the immune response.     

Characterization of the H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus Derived from Wild Pikas in China

The highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus emerged from China in 1996 and has spread across Eurasia and Africa, with a continuous stream of new cases of human infection appearing since the first large-scale outbreak among migratory birds at Qinghai Lake. The role of wild birds, which are the natural reservoirs for the virus, in the epidemiology of the H5N1 virus has raised great public health concern, but their role in the spread of the virus within the natural ecosystem of free-ranging terrestrial wild mammals remains unclear. In this study, we investigated H5N1 virus infection in wild pikas in an attempt to trace the circulation of the virus. Seroepidemiological surveys confirmed a natural H5N1 virus infection of wild pikas in their native environment. The hemagglutination gene of the H5N1 virus isolated from pikas reveals two distinct evolutionary clades, a mixed/Vietnam H5N1 virus sublineage (MV-like pika virus) and a wild bird Qinghai (QH)-like H5N1 virus sublineage (QH-like pika virus). The amino acid residue (glutamic acid) at position 627 encoded by the PB2 gene of the MV-like pika virus was different from that of the QH-like pika virus; the residue of the MV-like pika virus was the same as that of the goose H5N1 virus (A/GS/Guangdong [GD]/1/96). Further, we discovered that in contrast to the MV-like pika virus, which is nonpathogenic to mice, the QH-like pika virus is highly pathogenic. To mimic the virus infection of pikas, we intranasally inoculated rabbits, a species closely related to pikas, with the H5N1 virus of pika origin. Our findings first demonstrate that wild pikas are mammalian hosts exposed to H5N1 subtype avian influenza viruses in the natural ecosystem and also imply a potential transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus from wild mammals into domestic mammalian hosts and humans.Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is an extremely infectious, systemic viral disease that causes a high rate of mortality in birds. HPAI H5N1 viruses are now endemic in avian populations in Southeast Asia and have repeatedly been transmitted to humans (9, 14, 27). Since 2003, the H5N1 subtype has been reported in 391 human cases of influenza and has caused 247 human deaths in 15 countries, leading to greater than 60% mortality among infected individuals (38). Although currently incapable of sustained human-to-human transmission, H5N1 viruses undoubtedly pose a serious threat to public health, as well as to the global economy. Hence, preparedness for such a threat is a global priority (36).Wild birds are considered to be natural reservoirs for influenza A viruses (6, 18, 21, 35, 37). Of the 144 type A influenza virus hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HA-NA) combinations, 103 have been found in wild birds (5, 7, 17, 37). Since the first HPAI outbreak among migratory wild birds appeared at Qinghai Lake in western China in May 2005 (3, 16, 25, 34, 41), HPAI viruses of the H5N1 subtype have been isolated from poultry throughout Eurasia and Africa. The continued occurrence of human cases has created a situation that could facilitate a pandemic emergence. There is heightened concern that wild birds are a reservoir for influenza A viruses that switch hosts and stably adapt to mammals, including horses, swine, and humans (11, 19, 22, 37).Despite the recent expansion of avian influenza virus (AIV) surveillance and genomic data (5, 17, 20, 21, 33, 40), fundamental questions remain concerning the ecology and evolution of these viruses. Little is known about how terrestrial wild mammals within their natural ecological systems affect HPAI H5N1 epidemiology or about the virus''s effects on public health, though there are many reports of natural and experimental H5N1 virus infection in animals belonging to the taxonomic orders Carnivora (12, 13, 15, 28, 29) and Artiodactyla (15). Herein, we provide the results of our investigation into H5N1 virus infection in wild pikas (Ochotona curzoniae of the order Lagomorpha) within their natural ecological setting. We describe our attempt to trace the circulation of H5N1 viruses and to characterize pika H5N1 influenza virus (PK virus).     

Dynamics of Biologically Active Subpopulations of Influenza Virus: Plaque-Forming,Noninfectious Cell-Killing,and Defective Interfering Particles

The dynamic changes in the temporal appearance and quantity of a new class of influenza virus, noninfectious cell-killing particles (niCKP), were compared to defective interfering particles (DIP). After a single high-multiplicity passage in MDCK cells of an egg-derived stock that lacked detectable niCKP or DIP, both classes of particles appeared in large numbers (>5 × 10⁸/ml), and the plaque-forming particle (PFP) titer dropped ∼60-fold. After two additional serial high-multiplicity passages the DIP remained relatively constant, the DIP/niCKP ratio reached 10:1, and the PFP had declined by about 10,000-fold. Together, the niCKP and DIP subpopulations constituted ca. 20% of the total hemagglutinating particle population in which these noninfectious biologically active particles (niBAP) were subsumed. DIP neither killed cells nor interfered with the cell-killing (apoptosis-inducing) activity of niCKP or PFP (infectious CKP), even though they blocked the replication of PFP. Relative to the UV-target of ∼13,600 nucleotides (nt) for inactivation of PFP, the UV target for niCKP was ∼2,400 nt, consistent with one of the polymerase subunit genes, and that for DIP was ∼350 nt, consistent with the small DI-RNA responsible for DIP-mediated interference. Thus, niCKP and DIP are viewed as distinct particles with a propensity to form during infection at high multiplicities. These conditions are postulated to cause aberrations in the temporally regulated replication of virus and its packaging, leading to the production of niBAP. DIP have been implicated in the virulence of influenza virus, but the role of niCKP is yet unknown.Infectious particles constitute a minor subpopulation of biologically active influenza virus populations but command major attention because of their critical role in replication and pathogenesis. However, there are other subpopulations of biologically active particles (BAP). Some of these particles, such as interferon (IFN)-inducing particles (IFP) (20), IFN induction-suppressing particles (ISP) (21), or defective interfering particles (DIP) (26), are intrinsically noninfectious and exist in large excess over infectious virions. These noninfectious BAP (niBAP) have the potential to influence the course of pathogenesis through their capacity to stimulate or suppress antiviral responses intrinsic to the innate immune system (8, 11, 14, 30, 34, 42) and/or by direct interference with virus replication (26). Noninfectious cell-killing particles (niCKP) of influenza virus represent a newly identified member of the niBAP family (29). The numbers and sizes of these subpopulations and their contribution to pathogenesis are poorly understood because the extent to which they appear and function in a population of host cells, let alone during natural infection (4, 9), has not been assessed. All subpopulations of infectious and noninfectious BAP are subsumed in the population of hemagglutinating particles (HAP) which represent total physical particles. Although the majority of HAP have no known biological activity, they are deemed capable of contributing large numbers of gene segments to cells in the course of infection. It is not known whether such a large influx of gene copies can compromise the normal temporal regulation of virus replication (24, 38) and the proper packaging of gene segments (16, 33), thereby influencing the generation of niBAP and the outcome of an infection or the action of live-attenuated vaccines (14, 34, 39, 42).Considerable progress has been reported in identifying genetic changes within infectious particles of influenza virus that directly affect its virulence (3, 43). What is less clear is the extent to which the large subpopulations of niBAP and biologically inactive HAP that may be presented to cells during the course of infection contribute to virulence and pathogenesis.This report compares for the first time the generation of subpopulations of niCKP (29) under conditions of high-multiplicity (HM) passages that also favor the generation of DIP, the classical von Magnus particles (41) that interfere with virus replication (26), and act as an antiviral agent (12). Production of DIP is most often associated with HM passages of the virus (26, 41). Evidence is provided here that niCKP and DIP represent two distinct subpopulations of influenza virus and that niCKP share the attributes of defective noninterfering particles (DNIP) inferred from an observed excess of polymerase activity relative to that expected on the basis of infectivity in influenza virus stocks (7). Lastly, a model is proposed showing a transitional state for subpopulations of BAP from the most to the least complex and that postulates their origin, in part, from aberrations that may result from high multiplicities during infection.