Compensatory Hemagglutinin Mutations Alter Antigenic Properties of Influenza Viruses

Influenza viruses routinely acquire mutations in antigenic sites on the globular head of the hemagglutinin (HA) protein. Since these antigenic sites are near the receptor binding pocket of HA, many antigenic mutations simultaneously alter the receptor binding properties of HA. We previously reported that a K165E mutation in the Sa antigenic site of A/Puerto Rico/8/34 (PR8) HA is associated with secondary neuraminidase (NA) mutations that decrease NA activity. Here, using reverse genetics, we show that the K165E HA mutation dramatically decreases HA binding to sialic acid receptors on cell surfaces. We sequentially passaged reverse-genetics-derived PR8 viruses with the K165E antigenic HA mutation in fertilized chicken eggs, and to our surprise, viruses with secondary NA mutations did not emerge. Instead, viruses with secondary HA mutations emerged in 3 independent passaging experiments, and each of these mutations increased HA binding to sialic acid receptors. Importantly, these compensatory HA mutations were located in the Ca antigenic site and prevented binding of Ca-specific monoclonal antibodies. Taken together, these data indicate that HA antigenic mutations that alter receptor binding avidity can be compensated for by secondary HA or NA mutations. Antigenic diversification of influenza viruses can therefore occur irrespective of direct antibody pressure, since compensatory HA mutations can be located in distinct antibody binding sites.     

Mutations in H5N1 Influenza Virus Hemagglutinin that Confer Binding to Human Tracheal Airway Epithelium

The emergence in 2009 of a swine-origin H1N1 influenza virus as the first pandemic of the 21st Century is a timely reminder of the international public health impact of influenza viruses, even those associated with mild disease. The widespread distribution of highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza virus in the avian population has spawned concern that it may give rise to a human influenza pandemic. The mortality rate associated with occasional human infection by H5N1 virus approximates 60%, suggesting that an H5N1 pandemic would be devastating to global health and economy. To date, the H5N1 virus has not acquired the propensity to transmit efficiently between humans. The reasons behind this are unclear, especially given the high mutation rate associated with influenza virus replication. Here we used a panel of recombinant H5 hemagglutinin (HA) variants to demonstrate the potential for H5 HA to bind human airway epithelium, the predominant target tissue for influenza virus infection and spread. While parental H5 HA exhibited limited binding to human tracheal epithelium, introduction of selected mutations converted the binding profile to that of a current human influenza strain HA. Strikingly, these amino-acid changes required multiple simultaneous mutations in the genomes of naturally occurring H5 isolates. Moreover, H5 HAs bearing intermediate sequences failed to bind airway tissues and likely represent mutations that are an evolutionary “dead end.” We conclude that, although genetic changes that adapt H5 to human airways can be demonstrated, they may not readily arise during natural virus replication. This genetic barrier limits the likelihood that current H5 viruses will originate a human pandemic.     

Selective Pressure to Increase Charge in Immunodominant Epitopes of the H3 Hemagglutinin Influenza Protein

The evolutionary speed and the consequent immune escape of H3N2 influenza A virus make it an interesting evolutionary system. Charged amino acid residues are often significant contributors to the free energy of binding for protein–protein interactions, including antibody–antigen binding and ligand–receptor binding. We used Markov chain theory and maximum likelihood estimation to model the evolution of the number of charged amino acids on the dominant epitope in the hemagglutinin protein of circulating H3N2 virus strains. The number of charged amino acids increased in the dominant epitope B of the H3N2 virus since introduction in humans in 1968. When epitope A became dominant in 1989, the number of charged amino acids increased in epitope A and decreased in epitope B. Interestingly, the number of charged residues in the dominant epitope of the dominant circulating strain is never fewer than that in the vaccine strain. We propose these results indicate selective pressure for charged amino acids that increase the affinity of the virus epitope for water and decrease the affinity for host antibodies. The standard PAM model of generic protein evolution is unable to capture these trends. The reduced alphabet Markov model (RAMM) model we introduce captures the increased selective pressure for charged amino acids in the dominant epitope of hemagglutinin of H3N2 influenza (R ² > 0.98 between 1968 and 1988). The RAMM model calibrated to historical H3N2 influenza virus evolution in humans fit well to the H3N2/Wyoming virus evolution data from Guinea pig animal model studies.     

Inferring Influenza Infection Attack Rate from Seroprevalence Data

Seroprevalence survey is the most practical method for accurately estimating infection attack rate (IAR) in an epidemic such as influenza. These studies typically entail selecting an arbitrary titer threshold for seropositivity (e.g. microneutralization [MN] 1∶40) and assuming the probability of seropositivity given infection (infection-seropositivity probability, ISP) is 100% or similar to that among clinical cases. We hypothesize that such conventions are not necessarily robust because different thresholds may result in different IAR estimates and serologic responses of clinical cases may not be representative. To illustrate our hypothesis, we used an age-structured transmission model to fully characterize the transmission dynamics and seroprevalence rises of 2009 influenza pandemic A/H1N1 (pdmH1N1) during its first wave in Hong Kong. We estimated that while 99% of pdmH1N1 infections became MN_1∶20 seropositive, only 72%, 62%, 58% and 34% of infections among age 3–12, 13–19, 20–29, 30–59 became MN_1∶40 seropositive, which was much lower than the 90%–100% observed among clinical cases. The fitted model was consistent with prevailing consensus on pdmH1N1 transmission characteristics (e.g. initial reproductive number of 1.28 and mean generation time of 2.4 days which were within the consensus range), hence our ISP estimates were consistent with the transmission dynamics and temporal buildup of population-level immunity. IAR estimates in influenza seroprevalence studies are sensitive to seropositivity thresholds and ISP adjustments which in current practice are mostly chosen based on conventions instead of systematic criteria. Our results thus highlighted the need for reexamining conventional practice to develop standards for analyzing influenza serologic data (e.g. real-time assessment of bias in ISP adjustments by evaluating the consistency of IAR across multiple thresholds and with mixture models), especially in the context of pandemics when robustness and comparability of IAR estimates are most needed for informing situational awareness and risk assessment. The same principles are broadly applicable for seroprevalence studies of other infectious disease outbreaks.     

Identification of the Sites for Suppressor Mutations on the Hemagglutinin Molecule to Temperature-Sensitive Phenotype of the Influenza Virus

A temperature-sensitive (ts) mutant of the influenza virus A/WSN/ 33 strain, ts-134, possessed a defect in intracellular transport at the nonpermissive temperature and marked thermolability of hemagglutinin (HA) activity at 51 C. These were caused by a change at amino acid residue 157 from tyrosine to histidine in the HA protein. We isolated 37 spontaneous revertant clones from ts-134 at the nonpermissive temperature and determined their HA sequences. The deduced amino acid sequences demonstrated that one was a true revertant and the others were revertants with suppressor mutations, each of which had an additional amino acid change besides those of ts-134. The changed amino acids were located at 14 positions on the HA molecule, and eight of them were found in multiple revertants. These were located in five to six distinct regions on the three-dimensional structure of the HA molecule. However, the heat stability of HAs in the revertants was recovered differently depending on the sites of the changed amino acids. The kinetics of transport of the HA protein in the revertants were slightly delayed compared to the wild-type both at permissive and nonpermissive temperatures.     

Synonymous Mutations at the Beginning of the Influenza A Virus Hemagglutinin Gene Impact Experimental Fitness

The fitness effects of synonymous mutations can provide insights into biological and evolutionary mechanisms. We analyzed the experimental fitness effects of all single-nucleotide mutations, including synonymous substitutions, at the beginning of the influenza A virus hemagglutinin (HA) gene. Many synonymous substitutions were deleterious both in bulk competition and for individually isolated clones. Investigating protein and RNA levels of a subset of individually expressed HA variants revealed that multiple biochemical properties contribute to the observed experimental fitness effects. Our results indicate that a structural element in the HA segment viral RNA may influence fitness. Examination of naturally evolved sequences in human hosts indicates a preference for the unfolded state of this structural element compared to that found in swine hosts. Our overall results reveal that synonymous mutations may have greater fitness consequences than indicated by simple models of sequence conservation, and we discuss the implications of this finding for commonly used evolutionary tests and analyses.     

Actin Mediates the Nanoscale Membrane Organization of the Clustered Membrane Protein Influenza Hemagglutinin

The influenza viral membrane protein hemagglutinin (HA) is required at high concentrations on virion and host-cell membranes for infectivity. Because the role of actin in membrane organization is not completely understood, we quantified the relationship between HA and host-cell actin at the nanoscale. Results obtained using superresolution fluorescence photoactivation localization microscopy (FPALM) in nonpolarized cells show that HA clusters colocalize with actin-rich membrane regions (ARMRs). Individual molecular trajectories in live cells indicate restricted HA mobility in ARMRs, and actin disruption caused specific changes to HA clustering. Surprisingly, the actin-binding protein cofilin was excluded from some regions within several hundred nanometers of HA clusters, suggesting that HA clusters or adjacent proteins within the same clusters influence local actin structure. Thus, with the use of imaging, we demonstrate a dynamic relationship between glycoprotein membrane organization and the actin cytoskeleton at the nanoscale.     

禽流感病毒H5N1血凝素基因适应性进化过程中的关键位点突变规律研究

目的:寻找导致禽流感病毒H5N1血凝素(HA)适应性进化的关键突变,建立氨基酸突变评价体系,对突变作用进行评估,印证它们与病毒适应性进化的关联性。方法:计算株频率和枝频率,寻找标记分枝,向根结点回溯寻找HA进化路径上的氨基酸突变。计算各突变位点氨基酸的频率变化、有效变换及高频次突变,基于以上几个因素建立突变评价体系。结果:建立了大规模自动化寻找突变的方法,计算得到HA进化过程中的氨基酸突变435个,通过氨基酸频率图表分析这些突变可以很好地反映病毒适应性进化过程,其中79个突变是有效变换,发生的位点为正选择位点,且多数位点落在HA抗原表位上;29个突变是高频次突变,其中多数也为有效变换,因而与病毒适应性进化密切相关。结论:大规模自动化寻找突变的方法可靠,建立的突变评价体系准确性高,找到的关键突变及位点对实验有很好的指导意义。     

Single Hemagglutinin Mutations That Alter both Antigenicity and Receptor Binding Avidity Influence Influenza Virus Antigenic Clustering

The hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) assay is the primary measurement used for identifying antigenically novel influenza virus strains. HAI assays measure the amount of reference sera required to prevent virus binding to red blood cells. Receptor binding avidities of viral strains are not usually taken into account when interpreting these assays. Here, we created antigenic maps of human H3N2 viruses that computationally account for variation in viral receptor binding avidities. These new antigenic maps differ qualitatively from conventional antigenic maps based on HAI measurements alone. We experimentally focused on an antigenic cluster associated with a single N145K hemagglutinin (HA) substitution that occurred between 1992 and 1995. Reverse-genetics experiments demonstrated that the N145K HA mutation increases viral receptor binding avidity. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) revealed that the N145K HA mutation does not prevent antibody binding; rather, viruses possessing this mutation escape antisera in HAI assays simply by attaching to cells more efficiently. Unexpectedly, we found an asymmetric antigenic effect of the N145K HA mutation. Once H3N2 viruses acquired K145, an epitope involving amino acid 145 became antigenically dominant. Antisera raised against an H3N2 strain possessing K145 had reduced reactivity to H3N2 strains possessing N145. Thus, individual mutations in HA can influence antigenic groupings of strains by altering receptor binding avidity and by changing the dominance of antibody responses. Our results indicate that it will be important to account for variation in viral receptor binding avidity when performing antigenic analyses in order to identify genuine antigenic differences among influenza virus variants.     

Properties of an Antigenic Glycoprotein Isolated from Influenza Virus Hemagglutinin

A purified antigen, HABA protein, has been derived from influenza virus concentrates by extraction with denaturing solvents. The protein lacks hemagglutinating activity but binds completely strain-specific, hemagglutination-inhibiting antibodies and induces neutralizing antibodies in experimental animals. Physicochemical characterization of HABA protein identifies it as a single homogeneous glycoprotein with a molecular weight of 78,000. On dissociation with guanidine or sodium dodecyl sulfate, in the presence of reducing agents, only one size of polypeptide with a molecular weight of the order of 40,000 is characteristic of the preparations. The data indicate that HABA protein is a dimer of HA(1) polypeptide of the influenza virus hemagglutinin substructure, and that only trace amounts of other polypeptides are present.     

Pleiotropic Mutations Are Subject to Strong Stabilizing Selection

The assumption that pleiotropic mutations are more deleterious than mutations with more restricted phenotypic effects is an important premise in models of evolution. However, empirical evidence supporting this assumption is limited. Here, we estimated the strength of stabilizing selection on mutations affecting gene expression in male Drosophila serrata. We estimated the mutational variance (V_M) and the standing genetic variance (V_G) from two well-matched panels of inbred lines: a panel of mutation accumulation (MA) lines derived from a single inbred ancestral line and a panel of inbred lines derived from an outbred population. For 855 gene-expression traits, we estimated the strength of stabilizing selection as s = V_M/V_G. Selection was observed to be relatively strong, with 17% of traits having s > 0.02, a magnitude typically associated with life-history traits. Randomly assigning expression traits to five-trait sets, we used factor analytic mixed modeling in the MA data set to identify covarying traits that shared pleiotropic mutations. By assigning traits to the same trait sets in the outbred line data set, we then estimated s for the combination of traits affected by pleiotropic mutation. For these pleiotropic combinations, the median s was three times greater than s acting on the individual component traits, and 46% of the pleiotropic trait combinations had s > 0.02. Although our analytical approach was biased toward detecting mutations with relatively large effects, likely overestimating the average strength of selection, our results provide widespread support for the prediction that stronger selection can act against mutations with pleiotropic effects.THE extent to which new mutations have pleiotropic effects on multiple traits, and ultimately on fitness is central to our understanding of the maintenance of genetic variation and the process of adaptation (Kondrashov and Turelli 1992; Otto 2004; Johnson and Barton 2005; Zhang and Hill 2005). Analyses of Fisher’s (1930) geometric model of adaptation have shown that a mutation with effects on many traits will have a reduced probability of contributing to adaptive evolution (Orr 2000; Welch and Waxman 2003; see also Haygood 2006). For a population close to its optimum under mutation–selection balance, a direct corollary of this is that selection must act more strongly against mutations with wider pleiotropic effects (Zhang 2012).Evidence for the strength of selection increasing with the number of traits that are pleiotropically affected by a mutation is limited. At a phenotypic level, nonlinear (stabilizing) selection is much stronger on combinations of metric traits than on each individual trait contributing to the combination (Blows and Brooks 2003; Walsh and Blows 2009). Given that genetic correlations among such traits are expected to be a consequence of pleiotropic alleles (Lande 1980), stronger selection on trait combinations is consistent with stronger selection on pleiotropic mutations that are likely to underlie the genetic covariance among such traits. There is some evidence that per-trait allelic effects might be greater for alleles with more widespread pleiotropic effects (Wagner et al. 2008; Wang et al. 2010); as mutations with larger phenotypic effects might be more effectively targeted by selection, this also suggests stronger selection against more pleiotropic mutation.Mutation accumulation (MA) breeding designs, in which the opportunity for selection is reduced, allowing new mutations to drift to fixation, provide an opportunity to characterize the strength of selection acting directly against new mutations. Rice and Townsend (2012) proposed an approach for determining the strength of selection acting against mutations at individual loci, combining information from QTL mapping and MA studies. This approach could conceivably be extended to associate the strength of selection with the number of traits a QTL affects. More typically, estimates of selection from MA designs are focused on traits, rather than alleles. Under the assumption that most mutations are deleterious, an assumption supported by MA studies (Halligan and Keightley 2009), the strength of selection acting on mutations affecting quantitative traits can be measured as the ratio of the mutational to the standing genetic variance, s = V_M/V_G, where s is the selection coefficient of the mutation in heterozygous form (Barton 1990; Houle et al. 1996). While estimating s in this way provides a framework for estimating selection on pleiotropic combinations of traits, we are not aware of any studies adopting this approach to directly estimate the strength of selection acting on mutations affecting multiple traits.Within an MA framework, Estes and Phillips (2006) manipulated the opportunity for selection, providing rare direct evidence of stronger selection against mutations with pleiotropic effects. In a DNA repair-deficient strain of Caenorhabditis elegans, Estes and Phillips (2006) observed lower mutational covariance among life-history components when selection was allowed (larger populations) than when the opportunity for selection was limited (small populations). Similarly, McGuigan et al. (2011) compared Drosophila serrata MA lines accumulating mutations in the presence or absence of sexual selection on males, reporting reduced covariance between two fitness components in the selection treatment. These studies reveal that selection can eliminate nonlethal alleles with pleiotropic effects, but whether traits other than life-history components exhibit similar evidence of selection against pleiotropic alleles remains unknown.In parallel to the quantitative genetic predictions that pleiotropic alleles will be under stronger selection, molecular genetic theory predicts that the rate of gene evolution will be negatively correlated with pleiotropy (Pal et al. 2006; Salathe et al. 2006). More highly pleiotropic genes, as identified through the extent of connectivity (the number of interactions) in protein–protein interaction networks (Jeong et al. 2001), or the number of gene ontology (GO) terms (Jovelin and Phillips 2009) are more likely to be essential (i.e., knockout mutations result in lethality), suggesting that selection is stronger against large-effect (knockout) mutations in more highly pleiotropic genes. However, the selection acting against small-effect, nonlethal mutations in pleiotropic genes is less clear (Pal et al. 2006). Several studies have found an association between gene pleiotropy indices, such GO annotation of the number of biological processes or tissue specificity of expression, and the rate of sequence evolution (e.g., Pal et al. 2001; Salathe et al. 2006; Jovelin and Phillips 2009; Su et al. 2010). These pleiotropy indices typically explain little of the variation in sequence evolutionary rates, and it remains unclear whether more highly pleiotropic mutations are typically under stronger selection (Pal et al. 2006; Salathe et al. 2006).Here, we estimate the selection coefficients acting against naturally occurring mutations affecting gene-expression traits in male D. serrata to quantitatively test if selection is stronger on mutations that affect multiple traits. Gene-expression phenotypes are uniquely positioned to enable detailed investigations of pleiotropy: there are many of them, they represent a broad coverage of biological function, they can be analyzed to quantify developmental pleiotropy in the same way as traits traditionally considered in quantitative genetics, and GO information can be used to index molecular genetic pleiotropy. We use multivariate mixed-model analyses of expression traits in a set of inbred lines from a mutation accumulation experiment to estimate the mutational variance in individual expression traits, and the pleiotropic mutational covariance among random sets of five expression traits. Using a second panel of inbred lines, derived from a natural, outbred, population, we estimate the standing genetic variance in the same individual traits and five-trait combinations. From these estimates of mutational and standing genetic variance, we calculate s for each of the individual traits and trait combinations to determine whether selection has typically been stronger on mutations with pleiotropic effects than on other mutations affecting each trait. We complement this quantitative genetic analysis of developmental pleiotropy with an analysis of molecular genetic pleiotropy (Paaby and Rockman 2013), determining whether the strength of selection acting on individual expression traits can be predicted from the number of biological functions that the gene annotates to in the GO database or to the range of tissues in which the gene is expressed.     

A Computationally Designed Hemagglutinin Stem-Binding Protein Provides In Vivo Protection from Influenza Independent of a Host Immune Response

Broadly neutralizing antibodies targeting a highly conserved region in the hemagglutinin (HA) stem protect against influenza infection. Here, we investigate the protective efficacy of a protein (HB36.6) computationally designed to bind with high affinity to the same region in the HA stem. We show that intranasal delivery of HB36.6 affords protection in mice lethally challenged with diverse strains of influenza independent of Fc-mediated effector functions or a host antiviral immune response. This designed protein prevents infection when given as a single dose of 6.0 mg/kg up to 48 hours before viral challenge and significantly reduces disease when administered as a daily therapeutic after challenge. A single dose of 10.0 mg/kg HB36.6 administered 1-day post-challenge resulted in substantially better protection than 10 doses of oseltamivir administered twice daily for 5 days. Thus, binding of HB36.6 to the influenza HA stem region alone, independent of a host response, is sufficient to reduce viral infection and replication in vivo. These studies demonstrate the potential of computationally designed binding proteins as a new class of antivirals for influenza.     

基于相互作用的蛋白质功能预测

蛋白质功能预测是后基因时代研究的热点问题。基于相互作用的蛋白质功能预测方法目前应用比较广泛,但是当"伙伴蛋白质"(interacting partners)数目k较小时,其预测准确率不高。从蛋白质相互作用网络入手,结合"小世界网络"特性,有效解决了k较小时预测准确率不高的问题。对酵母(Saccharomyces cerevisiae)蛋白质的相互作用网络进行预测,当k≤4时其预测准确率比相同条件下的GO(global optimization)方法有一定提高。实验结果表明:该方法能够有效的应用于伙伴蛋白质数目较小时的蛋白质功能预测。     

Fusion Peptide from Influenza Hemagglutinin Increases Membrane Surface Order: An Electron-Spin Resonance Study

A spin-labeling study of interactions of a fusion peptide from the hemagglutinin of the influenza virus, wt20, and a fusion-inactive mutant ΔG1 with dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-phosphatdylcholine bilayers was performed. We found that upon binding of wt20, the ordering of headgroups and the ordering of acyl chains near the headgroup increased significantly, in a manner consistent with a cooperative phenomenon. However, changes in the order at the end of the acyl chains were negligible. The ordering effect of wt20 on the headgroup was much stronger at pH 5 than at pH 7. No effect of ΔG1 binding on the order of bilayers was evident. We also found that 1-palmitoyl-2-hydroxyl phosphatidylcholine, a membrane-fusion inhibitor, decreased the ordering of DMPC headgroups, whereas arachidonic acid, a membrane-fusion promoter, increased the ordering of DMPC headgroups. These results suggest that increases in headgroup ordering may be important for membrane fusion. We propose that upon binding of wt20, which is known to affect only the outer leaflet of the bilayer, this outer leaflet becomes more ordered, and thus more solid-like. Then the coupling between the hardened outer leaflet and the softer inner leaflet generates bending stresses in the bilayer, which tend to increase the negative curvature of the bilayer. We suggest that the increased ordering in the headgroup region enhances dipolar interactions and lowers electrostatic energy, which may provide an energy source for membrane fusion. Possible roles of bending stresses in promoting membrane fusion are discussed.     

GroEL/ES Buffering and Compensatory Mutations Promote Protein Evolution by Stabilizing Folding Intermediates

Maintaining stability is a major constraint in protein evolution because most mutations are destabilizing. Buffering and/or compensatory mechanisms that counteract this progressive destabilization during functional adaptation are pivotal for protein evolution as well as protein engineering. However, the interplay of these two mechanisms during a full evolutionary trajectory has never been explored. Here, we unravel such dynamics during the laboratory evolution of a phosphotriesterase into an arylesterase. A controllable GroEL/ES chaperone co-expression system enabled us to vary the selection environment between buffering and compensatory, which smoothened the trajectory along the fitness landscape to achieve a > 10⁴ increase in arylesterase activity. Biophysical characterization revealed that, in contrast to prevalent models of protein stability and evolution, the variants' soluble cellular expression did not correlate with in vitro stability, and compensatory mutations were linked to a stabilization of folding intermediates. Thus, folding kinetics in the cell are a key feature of protein evolvability.     

Adjuvants and Immunization Strategies to Induce Influenza Virus Hemagglutinin Stalk Antibodies

The global population remains vulnerable in the face of the next pandemic influenza virus outbreak, and reformulated vaccinations are administered annually to manage seasonal epidemics. Therefore, development of a new generation of vaccines is needed to generate broad and persistent immunity to influenza viruses. Here, we describe three adjuvants that enhance the induction of stalk-directed antibodies against heterologous and heterosubtypic influenza viruses when administered with chimeric HA proteins. Addavax, an MF59-like nanoemulsion, poly(I:C), and an RNA hairpin derived from Sendai virus (SeV) Cantell were efficacious intramuscularly. The SeV RNA and poly(I:C) also proved to be effective respiratory mucosal adjuvants. Although the quantity and quality of antibodies induced by the adjuvants varied, immunized mice demonstrated comparable levels of protection against challenge with influenza A viruses on the basis of HA stalk reactivity. Finally, we present that intranasally, but not intramuscularly, administered chimeric HA proteins induce mucosal IgA antibodies directed at the HA stalk.