犬流感病毒起源进化和宿主适应性机制研究进展

甲型流感病毒的跨宿主传播一直是流感病毒研究的主要方向之一.犬作为人类主要的伴侣动物,其呼吸道组织也同时具有α-2,3禽流感病毒受体和α-2,6人流感病毒受体,是潜在的产生新型重配流感病毒的"基因混合器",在流感病毒的流行和跨宿主传播中扮演着重要角色.近年来,犬流感病毒已经在东南亚和美国等国家地区呈地区性流行,而且从犬中分离到了犬流感病毒与人流感病毒的重配株,因此犬流感病毒对公共卫生健康的潜在威胁不容忽视.本文将对犬流感病毒的流行、起源进化以及宿主适应性和致病性相关的分子机制进行综述,旨在为犬流感的防控和甲型流感病毒跨宿主传播研究提供参考.     

猪流感病毒进化方式及其流行特点

摘要：猪在甲型流感病毒生态分布和遗传进化中占有重要地位。猪的呼吸道上皮同时具有禽和人流感病毒2种类型的受体,因此人和禽流感病毒都可以感染猪,猪被认为是禽、人流感病毒的中间宿主和不同来源流感病毒的基因“混合器”。猪流感病毒（Swine influenza virus, SIV）的进化方式包括基因重配、抗原漂移和宿主适应性进化,其中基因重配是主要进化方式。与人类季节性流感病毒相比,SIV在全球的流行情况各不相同,呈地方流行性,并具有明显的地区差异。全球范围内流行的SIV亚型主要有3种：H1N1、H3N2和H1N2亚型,其中各亚型内病毒基因来源又不尽相同。欧洲、北美及我国猪群中流行的流感病毒在遗传进化和基因来源方面各具特色。目前欧洲猪群中流行的主要是类禽H1N1、H1N2和H3N2病毒,其中后两者是基因重配病毒。从1998年开始,古典猪H1N1、“人-猪-禽”三源基因重配H3N2、H1N1和H1N2病毒共存于北美的猪群中,其遗传变异日趋复杂。在基因进化上,欧洲和北美基因重配的SIV是目前新的人类大流感病毒-“甲型H1N1病毒”-的母源病毒。我国猪群中流感病毒主要是古典猪H1N1和类人H3N2病毒,但近年来在我国猪群中分离到遗传上与欧洲和北美SIV高度相关的病毒,提示我国SIV的进化趋势值得关注。1970年代以来,全球已报道了50多起人感染SIV事件,表明SIV也是一种值得重视的人兽共患病,预示了SIV可能成为人类大流感毒株或为大流感毒株提供基因。鉴于SIV在甲型流感病毒生态学上的重要意义,以及对人类公共卫生的潜在威胁,建议应尽早启动我国SIV的常规监测工作,密切关注SIV的流行动态,掌握其分子遗传进化规律。同时,将SIV的监测工作纳入整个流感病毒（人和动物流感病毒）的监测网络,在信息上实现共享,从生态学的高度把握我国流感病毒的流行和进化趋势,这对保护动物健康和预防人类大流感都有重要意义。     

新世纪流感大流行的思考

2009年从墨西哥开始暴发了一场席卷全世界的流感疫情．此次大流行的毒株,甲型H1N1病毒,包含了猪源、禽源和人源流感病毒的基因片段．研究该毒株的基因重配、进化历程及其生物学特性,将对防控此次流行具有重要意义．目前,该毒株的遗传进化关系已明确,通过遗传性状分析可获知该毒株可能的生物学性状,但流感大流行动向、毒株遗传变化、毒力及致病性变化仍在密切监控中．流感病毒生态系统具有复杂性,其基因组易突变、易重配、易在自然宿主保存,使得流感大流行存在一定的必然性．正视流感大流行的威胁,积极提高流感病毒在生态系统中的监控,加强流行病学调查,发展疫苗与药物,建立有效公共卫生保障体系,才能降低流感大流行的破坏性．     

欧亚禽系H1N1猪流感病毒在中国的流行和遗传进化

H1N1猪流感病毒(swine influenza virus, SIV)对公共卫生构成了潜在的威胁,流感病毒基因组序列的遗传进化及特定的氨基酸差异可以影响病毒的致病性和毒力.本研究组对中国猪流感的流行情况进行统计分析,发现中国主要流行的是欧亚禽系H1N1亚型SIV,进一步对欧亚禽系的H1N1 SIVs进行基因型分析发现其可分为11个基因型,并且重配型的欧亚禽系H1N1亚型SIV,特别是病毒的PB2, PB1, PA和NP基因源于pandemic H1N1/2009的重配毒株近年来出现得越来越频繁.此外,从湖北省分离到的1株新的欧亚禽系猪流感病毒(A/swine/Hubei/221/2006(H1N1)),通过与中国欧亚禽系H1N1猪流感病毒的同源比较发现,该分离株的基因组片段与此前从人体内分离到的欧亚禽系猪流感病毒A/Hunan/42443/2015(H1N1)的基因组片段亲缘关系很近.总之,本研究通过对中国欧亚禽系H1N1猪流感病毒的流行状况和遗传进化进行分析,为猪流感的预防和控制提供了一定的理论依据.     

猪源性甲型H1N1流感病毒研究概况

2009年3月在美国和墨西哥流感样患者的呼吸道标本中鉴定出新的猪源性甲型H1N1流感病毒。该病毒可人-人传播,已蔓延到112个国家和地区。为了遏制不断重组或重配的流感病毒,各国学者对甲型H1N1流感病毒的分子生物学特征、复制周期及实验室诊断做了细致的研究,以研发相应的药物或疫苗,这些成就为世界各国防控今年新鉴定的猪源性甲型H1N1流感病毒感染发挥了重要作用。现就猪源性甲型H1N1流感病毒的鉴定、基因组结构特征做一综述。     

猪流感病毒概述

猪流感(Swine influenza,SI)是由甲型流感病毒引起的猪急性呼吸道传染病,不仅给养猪业带来了极大的危害,还严重危害人类健康,因此引起全球公共卫生的关注。猪对哺乳动物流感病毒和禽流感病毒都易感,被认为是二者之间进行基因重配和跨种传播的重要中间宿主,也是产生引起人类流感大流行毒株的重要来源。目前全球猪群中流行的流感病毒以H1N1、H3N2以及H1N2亚型为主,但各地流行的猪流感病毒(Swine influenza viruses,SIVs)谱系或基因节段的来源均有差异。北美地区近期暴发的猪流感三源重配H3N2/H1N2亚型变异株感染人的事件再次提醒我们要密切关注SIV对公共卫生的威胁。因此,监测和研究甲型流感病毒在全球猪群中的流行动态对于大流行应对是非常重要的。     

甲型H1N1／2009流感病毒的种属跨越机制

在世界范围流行的甲型H1N1／2009流感病毒具有下述3个重要特征：可寄生于人体,易感人群很多,患者年龄偏低．本研究确定了病毒蛋白中的一块关键区域．该区域对病毒所寄生的物种的种属范围起决定性作用,并且是全球性流感病毒的一个标志性区域．正是该区域氨基酸的特性导致了上述3个特点．具体来说,对宿主的免疫系统而言,病毒蛋白质结构的变化会形成新的标靶结构,并且可以进一步导致宿主范围的变化．基于多肽链发生致病性结构转换的概率,本研究确定了甲型流感病毒中对控制宿主范围起决定性作用的氨基酸的位置．研究发现甲型H1N1／2009流感病毒中处于这些位点的多肽链在本质上可以在寄生于人的毒株中表达,而之前仅在宿主为禽、猪的毒株中被发现．其与另一氨基酸短串的协同构象改变对于甲型H1N1／2009流感病毒的种属跨越具有重要作用．人体对这些关键位点的免疫缺陷导致了甲型H1N1／2009流感病毒宿主人群多和青年人易致病的特点．     

甲型流感病毒非结构蛋白的研究进展

PA、PB1和PB2以及NS1蛋白作为甲型流感病毒的非结构蛋白,虽然不直接参与病毒颗粒的组装,但是在病毒的复制周期中起到非常重要的调控作用.由PA、PB1和PB2组成的RNA聚合酶主要参与病毒mRNA的合成以及病毒基因组RNA的复制,而NS1蛋白则通过抑制宿主细胞的干扰素应激系统来拮抗宿主的抗病毒反应.通过研究甲型流感病毒非结构蛋白的结构与功能,对了解流感病毒复制及开发新型抗流感病毒药物有重要意义.     

携带TAP标签的重组甲型流感病毒的构建与鉴定

【目的】将TAP标签构建到WSN病毒基因组上,得到含有TAP标签的重组流感病毒,以便进行后续的病毒追踪。【方法】利用反向遗传学技术,对甲型流感病毒A/WSN/33(H1N1)的PA片段进行改造来插入TAP(tandemaffinitypurification)标签序列。通过病毒拯救得到表达外源标签TAP的重组流感病毒WSNPA-TAP,并对拯救出的重组病毒进行生物学鉴定。【结果】成功拯救出重组流感病毒并命名为WSN PA-TAP。重组病毒基因组测序表明重组病毒的序列正确,利用RNA银染技术观察到重组病毒的全基因组片段。重组流感病毒WSN PA-TAP在MDCK细胞上测定生长曲线,发现该重组病毒的复制能力比野生型WSN弱;Westernblotting检测到PA-TAP融合蛋白的表达,其分子质量为96 kDa。【结论】成功拯救出能够表达外源标签TAP的重组流感病毒WSN PA-TAP,为筛选与甲型流感病毒聚合酶有关的宿主蛋白的研究提供了新思路,同时也为以甲型流感病毒为载体携带外源基因的探索提供了重要依据。     

甲型流感病毒编码蛋白的突变及其致病机制

甲型流感病毒编码的11个病毒蛋白在病毒识别宿主受体、跨种传播、病毒复制、致病性和诱导宿主免疫应答等方面分别起到不同的作用。了解甲型流感病毒编码蛋白的突变及其致病机制可为开发针对高致病性流感的通用疫苗和有效药物提供新的靶点。本文将主要根据近期发表的文献,综合分析有关甲型流感病毒编码蛋白关键功能位点氨基酸的变异及其与致病性和传播能力之间关系的研究进展。     

The Evolutionary Dynamics of Human Influenza B Virus

Despite their close phylogenetic relationship, type A and B influenza viruses exhibit major epidemiological differences in humans, with the latter both less common and less often associated with severe disease. However, it is unclear what processes determine the evolutionary dynamics of influenza B virus, and how influenza viruses A and B interact at the evolutionary scale. To address these questions we inferred the phylogenetic history of human influenza B virus using complete genome sequences for which the date (day) of isolation was available. By comparing the phylogenetic patterns of all eight viral segments we determined the occurrence of segment reassortment over a 30-year sampling period. An analysis of rates of nucleotide substitution and selection pressures revealed sporadic occurrences of adaptive evolution, most notably in the viral hemagglutinin and compatible with the action of antigenic drift, yet lower rates of overall and nonsynonymous nucleotide substitution compared to influenza A virus. Overall, these results led us to propose a model in which evolutionary changes within and between the antigenically distinct 'Yam88' and 'Vic87' lineages of influenza B virus are the result of changes in herd immunity, with reassortment continuously generating novel genetic variation. Additionally, we suggest that the interaction with influenza A virus may be central in shaping the evolutionary dynamics of influenza B virus, facilitating the shift of dominance between the Vic87 and the Yam88 lineages.     

Analysis of synonymous codon usage in H5N1 virus and other influenza A viruses

In this study, we calculated the codon usage bias in H5N1 virus and performed a comparative analysis of synonymous codon usage patterns in H5N1 virus, five other evolutionary related influenza A viruses and a influenza B virus. Codon usage bias in H5N1 genome is a little slight, which is mainly determined by the base compositions on the third codon position. By comparing synonymous codon usage patterns in different viruses, we observed that the codon usage pattern of H5N1 virus is similar with other influenza A viruses, but not influenza B virus, and the synonymous codon usage in influenza A virus genes is phylogenetically conservative, but not strain-specific. Synonymous codon usage in genes encoded by different influenza A viruses is genus conservative. Compositional constraints could explain most of the variation of synonymous codon usage among these virus genes, while gene function is also correlated to synonymous codon usages to a certain extent. However, translational selection and gene length have no effect on the variations of synonymous codon usage in these virus genes.     

A Multi-scale Analysis of Influenza A Virus Fitness Trade-offs due to Temperature-dependent Virus Persistence

Successful replication within an infected host and successful transmission between hosts are key to the continued spread of most pathogens. Competing selection pressures exerted at these different scales can lead to evolutionary trade-offs between the determinants of fitness within and between hosts. Here, we examine such a trade-off in the context of influenza A viruses and the differential pressures exerted by temperature-dependent virus persistence. For a panel of avian influenza A virus strains, we find evidence for a trade-off between the persistence at high versus low temperatures. Combining a within-host model of influenza infection dynamics with a between-host transmission model, we study how such a trade-off affects virus fitness on the host population level. We show that conclusions regarding overall fitness are affected by the type of link assumed between the within- and between-host levels and the main route of transmission (direct or environmental). The relative importance of virulence and immune response mediated virus clearance are also found to influence the fitness impacts of virus persistence at low versus high temperatures. Based on our results, we predict that if transmission occurs mainly directly and scales linearly with virus load, and virulence or immune responses are negligible, the evolutionary pressure for influenza viruses to evolve toward good persistence at high within-host temperatures dominates. For all other scenarios, influenza viruses with good environmental persistence at low temperatures seem to be favored.     

Close relationship between the 2009 H1N1 virus and South Dakota AIV strains

Although previous publications suggest the 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus was reassorted from swine viruses of North America and Eurasia, the immediate ancestry still remains elusive due to the big evolutionary distance between the 2009 H1N1 virus and the previously isolated strains. Since the unveiling of the 2009 H1N1 influenza, great deal of interest has been drawn to influenza, consequently a large number of influenza virus sequences have been deposited into the public sequence databases. Blast analysis demonstrated that the recently submitted 2007 South Dakota avian influenza virus strains and other North American avian strains contained genetic segments very closely related to the 2009 H1N1 virus, which suggests these avian influenza viruses are very close relatives of the 2009 H1N1 virus. Phylogenetic analyses also indicate that the 2009 H1N1 viruses are associated with both avian and swine influenza viruses circulating in North America. Since the migrating wild birds are preferable to pigs as the carrier to spread the influenza viruses across vast distances, it is very likely that birds played an important role in the inter-continental evolution of the 2009 H1N1 virus. It is essential to understand the evolutionary route of the emerging influenza virus in order to find a way to prevent further emerging cases. This study suggests the close relationship between 2009 pandemic virus and the North America avian viruses and underscores enhanced surveillance of influenza in birds for understanding the evolution of the 2009 pandemic influenza.     

Evolution of influenza A virus PB2 genes: implications for evolution of the ribonucleoprotein complex and origin of human influenza A virus

Phylogenetic analysis of 20 influenza A virus PB2 genes showed that PB2 genes have evolved into the following four major lineages: (i) equine/Prague/56 (EQPR56); (ii and iii) two distinct avian PB2 lineages, one containing FPV/34 and H13 gull virus strains and the other containing North American avian and recent equine strains; and (iv) human virus strains joined with classic swine virus strains (i.e., H1N1 swine virus strains related to swine/Iowa/15/30). The human virus lineage showed the greatest divergence from its root relative to other lineages. The estimated nucleotide evolutionary rate for the human PB2 lineage was 1.82 x 10(-3) changes per nucleotide per year, which is within the range of published estimates for NP and NS genes of human influenza A viruses. At the amino acid level, PB2s of human viruses have accumulated 34 amino acid changes over the past 55 years. In contrast, the avian PB2 lineages showed much less evolution, e.g., recent avian PB2s showed as few as three amino acid changes relative to the avian root. The completion of evolutionary analyses of the PB1, PB2, PA and NP genes of the ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex permits comparison of evolutionary pathways. Different patterns of evolution among the RNP genes indicate that the genes of the complex are not coevolving as a unit. Evolution of the PB1 and PB2 genes is less correlated with host-specific factors, and their proteins appear to be evolving more slowly than NP and PA. This suggests that protein functional constraints are limiting the evolutionary divergence of PB1 and PB2 genes. The parallel host-specific evolutionary pathways of the NP and PA genes suggest that these proteins are coevolving in response to host-specific factors. PB2s of human influenza A viruses share a common ancestor with classic swine virus PB2s, and the pattern of evolution suggests that the ancestor was an avian virus PB2. This same pattern of evolution appears in the other genes of the RNP complex. Antigenic studies of HA and NA proteins and sequence comparisons of NS and M genes also suggest a close ancestry for these genes in human and classic swine viruses. From our review of the evolutionary patterns of influenza A virus genes, we propose the following hypothesis: the common ancestor to current strains of human and classic swine influenza viruses predated the 1918 human pandemic virus and was recently derived from the avian host reservoir.     

Comparative analysis of hemagglutinin of 2009 H1N1 influenza A pandemic indicates its evolution to 1918 H1N1 pandemic

To gain insight into the possible origin of the hemagglutinin of 2009 outbreak, we performed its comparative analysis with hemagglutinin of influenza viral strains from 2005 to 2008 and the past pandemics of 1977, 1968, 1957 and 1918. This insilico analysis showed a maximum sequence similarity between 2009 and 1918 pandemics. Primary structure analysis, antigenic and glycosylation site analyses revealed that this protein has evolved from 1918 pandemic. Phylogenetic analysis of HA amino acid sequence of 2009 influenza A(H1N1) viruses indicated that this virus possesses a distinctive evolutionary trait with 1918 influenza A virus. Although the disordered sequences are different among all the isolates, the disordered positions and sequences between 2009 and 1918 isolates show a greater similarity. Thus these analyses contribute to the evidence of the evolution of 2009 pandemic from 1918 influenza pandemic. This is the first computational evolutionary analysis of HA protein of 2009 H1N1 pandemic.     

Stochastic processes are key determinants of short-term evolution in influenza a virus

Understanding the evolutionary dynamics of influenza A virus is central to its surveillance and control. While immune-driven antigenic drift is a key determinant of viral evolution across epidemic seasons, the evolutionary processes shaping influenza virus diversity within seasons are less clear. Here we show with a phylogenetic analysis of 413 complete genomes of human H3N2 influenza A viruses collected between 1997 and 2005 from New York State, United States, that genetic diversity is both abundant and largely generated through the seasonal importation of multiple divergent clades of the same subtype. These clades cocirculated within New York State, allowing frequent reassortment and generating genome-wide diversity. However, relatively low levels of positive selection and genetic diversity were observed at amino acid sites considered important in antigenic drift. These results indicate that adaptive evolution occurs only sporadically in influenza A virus; rather, the stochastic processes of viral migration and clade reassortment play a vital role in shaping short-term evolutionary dynamics. Thus, predicting future patterns of influenza virus evolution for vaccine strain selection is inherently complex and requires intensive surveillance, whole-genome sequencing, and phenotypic analysis.     

Evolutionary complexities of swine flu H1N1 gene sequences of 2009

A recently emerged novel influenza A (H1N1) virus continues to spread globally. The pandemic caused by this new H1N1 swine influenza virus presents an opportunity to analyze the evolutionary significance of the origin of the new strain of swine flu. Our study clearly suggests that strong purifying selection is responsible for the evolution of the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus among human. We observed that the 2009 viral sequences are evolutionarily widely different from the past few years’ sequences. Rather, the 2009 sequences are evolutionarily more similar to the most ancient sequence reported in the NCBI Influenza Virus Resource Database collected in 1918. Analysis of evolutionary rates also supports the view that all the genes in the pandemic strain of 2009 except NA and M genes are derived from triple reassorted swine viruses. Our study demonstrates the importance of using complete-genome approach as more sequences will become available to investigate the evolutionary origin of the 1918 influenza A (H1N1) swine flu strain and the possibility of future reassortment events.     

Comparative analysis of evolutionary mechanisms of the hemagglutinin and three internal protein genes of influenza B virus: multiple cocirculating lineages and frequent reassortment of the NP, M, and NS genes

Phylogenetic profiles of the genes coding for the hemagglutinin (HA) protein, nucleoprotein (NP), matrix (M) protein, and nonstructural (NS) proteins of influenza B viruses isolated from 1940 to 1998 were analyzed in a parallel manner in order to understand the evolutionary mechanisms of these viruses. Unlike human influenza A (H3N2) viruses, the evolutionary pathways of all four genes of recent influenza B viruses revealed similar patterns of genetic divergence into two major lineages. Although evolutionary rates of the HA, NP, M, and NS genes of influenza B viruses were estimated to be generally lower than those of human influenza A viruses, genes of influenza B viruses demonstrated complex phylogenetic patterns, indicating alternative mechanisms for generation of virus variability. Topologies of the evolutionary trees of each gene were determined to be quite distinct from one another, showing that these genes were evolving in an independent manner. Furthermore, variable topologies were apparently the result of frequent genetic exchange among cocirculating epidemic viruses. Evolutionary analysis done in the present study provided further evidence for cocirculation of multiple lineages as well as sequestering and reemergence of phylogenetic lineages of the internal genes. In addition, comparison of deduced amino acid sequences revealed a novel amino acid deletion in the HA1 domain of the HA protein of recent isolates from 1998 belonging to the B/Yamagata/16/88-like lineage. It thus became apparent that, despite lower evolutionary rates, influenza B viruses were able to generate genetic diversity among circulating viruses through a combination of evolutionary mechanisms involving cocirculating lineages and genetic reassortment by which new variants with distinct gene constellations emerged.     

The evolutionary emergence of pandemic influenza

Pandemic influenza remains a serious public health threat and the processes involved in the evolutionary emergence of pandemic influenza strains remain incompletely understood. Here, we develop a stochastic model for the evolutionary emergence of pandemic influenza, and use it to address three main questions. (i) What is the minimum annual number of avian influenza virus infections required in humans to explain the historical rate of pandemic emergence? (ii) Are such avian influenza infections in humans more likely to give rise to pandemic strains if they are driven by repeated cross-species introductions, or by low-level transmission of avian influenza viruses between humans? (iii) What are the most effective interventions for reducing the probability that an influenza strain with pandemic potential will evolve? Our results suggest that if evolutionary emergence of past pandemics has occurred primarily through viral reassortment in humans, then thousands of avian influenza virus infections in humans must have occurred each year for the past 250 years. Analyses also show that if there is epidemiologically significant variation among avian influenza virus genotypes, then avian virus outbreaks stemming from repeated cross-species transmission events result in a greater likelihood of a pandemic strain evolving than those caused by low-level transmission between humans. Finally, public health interventions aimed at reducing the duration of avian virus infections in humans give the greatest reduction in the probability that a pandemic strain will evolve.