Analysis of Host Range Restriction Determinants in the Rabbit Model: Comparison of Homologous and Heterologous Rotavirus Infections

The main limitation of both the rabbit and mouse models of rotavirus infection is that human rotavirus (HRV) strains do not replicate efficiently in either animal. The identification of individual genes necessary for conferring replication competence in a heterologous host is important to an understanding of the host range restriction of rotavirus infections. We recently reported the identification of the P type of the spike protein VP4 of four lapine rotavirus strains as being P[14]. To determine whether VP4 is involved in host range restriction in rabbits, we evaluated infection in rotavirus antibody-free rabbits inoculated orally with two P[14] HRVs, PA169 (G6) and HAL1166 (G8), and with several other HRV strains and animal rotavirus strains of different P and G types. We also evaluated whether the parental rhesus rotavirus (RRV) (P5B[3], G3) and the derived RRV-HRV reassortant candidate vaccine strains RRV × D (G1), RRV × DS-1 (G2), and RRV × ST3 (G4) would productively infect rabbits. Based on virus shedding, limited replication was observed with the P[14] HRV strains and with the SA11 Cl3 (P[2], G3) and SA11 4F (P6[1], G3) animal rotavirus strains, compared to the homologous ALA strain (P[14], G3). However, even limited infection provided complete protection from rotavirus infection when rabbits were challenged orally 28 days postinoculation (DPI) with 10³ 50% infective doses of ALA rabbit rotavirus. Other HRVs did not productively infect rabbits and provided no significant protection from challenge, in spite of occasional seroconversion. Simian RRV replicated as efficiently as lapine ALA rotavirus in rabbits and provided complete protection from ALA challenge. Live attenuated RRV reassortant vaccine strains resulted in no, limited, or productive infection of rabbits, but all rabbits were completely protected from heterotypic ALA challenge. The altered replication efficiency of the reassortants in rabbits suggests a role for VP7 in host range restriction. Also, our results suggest that VP4 may be involved in, but is not exclusively responsible for, host range restriction in the rabbit model. The replication efficiency of rotavirus in rabbits also is not controlled by the product of gene 5 (NSP1) alone, since a reassortant rotavirus with ALA gene 5 and all other genes from SA11 was more severely replication restricted than either parental rotavirus strain.Rotaviruses are the leading cause of acute viral gastroenteritis in humans and animals throughout the world. Rotaviruses belong to the Reoviridae family and are characterized by a genome consisting of 11 segments of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), enclosed in a triple-layered protein capsid (28). Serotype designations are based on independent neutralization determinants on the two outer capsid proteins VP4 (P serotypes, for protease-sensitive protein) and VP7 (G serotypes, for glycoprotein) (28). Serotype specificity determined by cross-neutralization assays using hyperimmune sera against the whole virus is mainly defined by VP7, and 14 G serotypes have been identified (28). Recently, antisera or monoclonal antibodies raised to VP4 and sequence analysis of VP4 identified 12 P serotypes and 20 P genotypes, respectively (28, 39). Rotavirus VP4 protein is responsible for a number of important biological functions, such as the enhancement of infectivity by proteolytic cleavage of VP4 into VP8* and VP5*, hemagglutination, restricted growth in cell culture, virulence, initial virus attachment to cells, and protease sensitivity associated with plaque formation (1, 4, 25, 34, 40, 51).The use of animal models, including the rabbit and mouse models, has been essential to the understanding of rotavirus infection, pathology, disease, immunity, and testing of prospective vaccines in children (21). The limitations of the rabbit and adult mouse models of rotavirus infection for vaccine testing are as follows: (i) human rotavirus (HRV) strains do not efficiently replicate in either animal, (ii) clinical disease is not observed, and (iii) only homologous virus strains (isolated from the same species) replicate efficiently and spread horizontally to uninoculated control animals, whereas heterologous virus strains (isolated from a different species) do not (6, 15, 16, 29, 31, 35, 37, 44, 50, 55). We and others developed a rabbit model of rotavirus infection that is useful for defining basic parameters of active immunity, immunogenicity, and protective efficacy of vaccines (12, 15–21, 36, 61). Rabbits are productively infected with homologous lapine rotavirus strains up to at least the age of 5 years, which allows examination of active and long-term immunity for vaccine studies (13, 15–17, 36, 61). Group A lapine rotavirus strains have been isolated in Canada, Japan, Italy, and the United States, and those that have been characterized are serotype G3 (8, 11, 15, 53, 56, 61). Recently, the P type of four different strains was identified as genotype P[14] (11). Previously, limited infection of rabbits with a heterologous strain had been obtained only with SA11 Cl3 (P[2], G3) (15).Attempts to identify host range and virulence determinants for rotavirus have implicated different constellations of genes, including genes 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, and 11 (5, 23, 30, 33, 37, 38, 41, 43, 44, 60, 62, 65). Although host range restriction and virulence may be multigenic, two genes, 4 and 5, are of interest because they cluster according to species of origin, suggesting a role in host range restriction. The finding that genome segment 5 (NSP1) sequences cluster according to species of origin (24, 39, 65) and that, in the mouse model, gene 5 segregates with transmission of virus among littermates (5), led to the hypothesis that NSP1 is involved in host range restriction. VP4 sequence analyses of rotavirus strains isolated from different species revealed that specific VP4 types also generally correlate with the species of origin of each rotavirus strain (43, 60). Therefore, once we identified the P type of four lapine rotaviruses as P[14], we tested two P[14] HRV strains, PA169 (G6) and HAL1166 (G8) (32) to determine if VP4 is involved in host range restriction. We also tested several other HRV strains, live attenuated reassortant candidate vaccine strains [rhesus rotavirus (RRV) × D (G1), RRV × DS-1 (G2), and RRV × ST3 (G4)], and animal rotavirus strains of different P and G types to determine if they could productively infect rabbits. In addition, to evaluate whether the single rotavirus gene 5 is responsible for replication efficiency in rabbits, rabbits were inoculated with a reassortant rotavirus with the lapine ALA gene 5 and all the other genes from the simian rotavirus SA11 Cl3 strain.     

猪轮状病毒vp4基因在大肠杆菌中的表达

以猪轮状病毒JL94株核酸为模板扩增该病毒vp4全基因,对扩增产物进行测序及序列比较;根据VP4的5'端(1bp～750bp)特异片段主要决定其活性的观点,再设计一对引物扩增该主要抗原位点基因,将此主要抗原位点基因同pGEX-6P-1载体连接并转化入E.coli.BL21(DE3)plays,经IPTG诱导表达出蛋白质;对表达的蛋白进行Westernblot分析、纯化和血清中和抗体试验.结果表明JL94株与国外分离株CRW-8株、BEN-307株vp4全基因片段氨基酸同源性分别为96.98%和98.05%,说明JL94株与CRW-8株、BEN-307株属于同一VP4血清型;经IPTG诱导VP4主要抗原位点基因获得了高效表达,表达量占菌体蛋白的26%;Westernblot结果和所表达的融合蛋白免疫小鼠产生的中和抗体能阻断JL94在MA104细胞上引起的细胞病变,说明所表达蛋白有良好的生物学活性.     

猪轮状病毒vp4基因在大肠杆菌中的表达

以猪轮状病毒JL94株核酸为模板扩增该病毒vp4全基因,对扩增产物进行测序及序列比较;根据VP4的5’端(1bp-750bp)特异片段主要决定其活性的观点,再设计一对引物扩增该主要抗原位点基因,将此主要抗原位点基因同pGEX-6P-1载体连接并转化入E．coli．BL2l(DE3)plays,经IPTG诱导表达出蛋白质;对表达的蛋白进行Westernblot分析、纯化和血清中和抗体试验。结果表明：JL94株与国外分离株CRW．8株、BEN．307株vp4全基因片段氨基酸同源性分别为96．98％和98．05％,说明JL94株与CRW．8株、BEN．307株属于同-vP4血清型;经IPTG诱导VP4主要抗原位点基因获得了高效表达,表达量占菌体蛋白的26％;Westernblot结果和所表达的融合蛋白免疫小鼠产生的中和抗体能阻断JL94在MAl04细胞上引起的细胞病变,说明所表达蛋白有良好的生物学活性。     

猪轮状病毒JL94中国分离株衣壳蛋白基因的分析

根据GenBank发表的猪轮状病毒衣壳蛋白vp4基因、vp6基因和vp7基因保守序列,设计合成3对引物,分别扩增猪轮状病毒中国分离株JL94株的此3段基因并进行序列分析。结果表明,JL94株vp4基因与国外分离株CRW-8株、OSU株、Gottfried株、4F株和4S株的VP4氨基酸同源性分别为97.16％、95％、71.88％、73.45％和70.88％;JL94株vp6与CRW-8株、OSU株、Gottfried株、4F株和4S株的VP6氨基酸同源性分别为96.98％、97.48％、93.20％、97.48％和93％;JL94株vp7基因与CRW-8株、OSU株、Gottfried株、4F株和4S株的VP7氨基酸同源性分别为98％、99.90％、75.40％、84.66％和80％。可见JL94株同CRW-8株、OSU株同源性更高些;vp4和vp7基因在同型间高度保守而不同型间差距较大,vp6基因在同群和非同群间差别不是很明显。同时可以判定JL94属于A群Ⅰ亚群G5P7血清型PRV。研究猪轮状病毒中国分离株JL94株衣壳蛋白基因的特征,为研制高效抗病毒疫苗奠定基础。     

猪流行性腹泻抗原基因在乳酸菌中的表达及优化

目的：优化猪流行性腹泻抗原基因COE在乳酸乳球菌中的表达。方法：将表达猪流行性腹泻抗原基因COE的重组乳酸菌活化,酶切鉴定其稳定性,然后设计实验分别从pH值、温度、Nisin浓度、诱导时间、菌体密度等条件对COE表达进行优化,SDS-PAGE检测表达效果。结果：COE在乳酸乳球菌中的最佳表达条件为pH 7.0、T（温度）=30℃、Nisin=2ng/mLt、（诱导时间）=4h和OD600=0.5,在以上条件下相对表达量分别达到了15.48%、15.05%、15.82%、14.72%和20.47%。在最佳表达条件下得到SOE的相对表达含量达到21%。结论：COE重组质粒稳定,其在乳酸菌中经优化表达后可为今后研制猪流行性腹泻乳酸菌疫苗提供数据。     

Dietary Leucine Supplementation Improves the Mucin Production in the Jejunal Mucosa of the Weaned Pigs Challenged by Porcine Rotavirus

The present study was mainly conducted to determine whether dietary leucine supplementation could attenuate the decrease of the mucin production in the jejunal mucosa of weaned pigs infected by porcine rotavirus (PRV). A total of 24 crossbred barrows weaned at 21 d of age were assigned randomly to 1 of 2 diets supplemented with 1.00% L-leucine or 0.68% L-alanine (isonitrogenous control) for 17 d. On day 11, all pigs were orally infused PRV or the sterile essential medium. During the first 10 d of trial, dietary leucine supplementation could improve the feed efficiency (P = 0.09). The ADG and feed efficiency were impaired by PRV infusion (P<0.05). PRV infusion also increased mean cumulative score of diarrhea, serum rotavirus antibody concentration and crypt depth of the jejunal mucosa (P<0.05), and decreased villus height: crypt depth (P = 0.07), goblet cell numbers (P<0.05), mucin 1 and 2 concentrations (P<0.05) and phosphorylated mTOR level (P<0.05) of the jejunal mucosa in weaned pigs. Dietary leucine supplementation could attenuate the effects of PRV infusion on feed efficiency (P = 0.09) and mean cumulative score of diarrhea (P = 0.09), and improve the effects of PRV infusion on villus height: crypt depth (P = 0.06), goblet cell numbers (P<0.05), mucin 1 (P = 0.08) and 2 (P = 0.07) concentrations and phosphorylated mTOR level (P = 0.08) of the jejunal mucosa in weaned pigs. These results suggest that dietary 1% leucine supplementation alleviated the decrease of mucin production and goblet cell numbers in the jejunal mucosa of weaned pigs challenged by PRV possibly via activation of the mTOR signaling.     

猪流行性腹泻病毒S基因片段的克隆及原核表达

为研究猪流行性腹泻病毒(porcine epidemic diarrhea virus PEDV)S基因片段的原核表达产物是否具有抗原性,分析S基因抗原位点后,用PCR技术扩增S蛋白主要抗原区的核酸序列,经克隆后将目的片段连接到原核表达载体pET-28a(+)中,成功构建了重组质粒pET-28a-PEDV-Sp,其重组菌于37℃、0.5 mmol/L IPTG诱导表达4 h后进行SDS-PAGE分析,在分子质量约为29 kDa处出现一新蛋白带,与预期相符。质谱鉴定表明,已成功表达了目的蛋白。纯化后的重组蛋白免疫兔制备多克隆抗体,抗体效价检测结果显示该蛋白具有良好的抗原性。该研究为猪流行性腹泻基因工程疫苗的研制奠定基础。     

Persistent Hz-1 Virus Infection in Insect Cells: Evidence for Insertion of Viral DNA into Host Chromosomes and Viral Infection in a Latent Status

Persistent/latent viral infections of insect cells are a prominent though poorly understood phenomenon. In this study, the long-term association between the Hz-1 virus and insect host cells, conventionally referred to as persistent viral infection, is described. With the aid of a newly developed fluorescent cell-labeling system, we found that productive viral replication occurs by spontaneous viral reactivation in fewer than 0.2% of persistently infected cell lines over a 5-day period. Once viral reactivation takes place, the host cell dies. The persistently infected cells contain various amounts of viral DNA, and, in an extreme case, up to 16% of the total DNA isolated from infected cells could be of viral origin. Both pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and in situ hybridization experiments showed that some of these viral DNA molecules are inserted into the host chromosomes but that the rest of viral DNA copies are free from host chromosomes. Thus, Hz-1 virus is the first nonretroviral insect virus known to insert its genome into the host chromosome during the infection process. These data also suggest that the previously described persistent infection of Hz-1 virus in insect cells should be more accurately referred to as latent viral infection.     

猪轮状病毒vp4基因的克隆及其在昆虫细胞中的表达

本研究扩增猪轮状病毒中国分离株JL94株VP4蛋白主要抗原编码区基因(1-756bp),将测序结果与国外分离株进行比较;将该基因片段同载体pMel BacA连接后,与杆状病毒DNA共转染入昆虫细胞Sf9,经蚀斑筛选纯化重组病毒并再感染Sf9细胞获得vp4基因的表达,对表达的VP4蛋白进行Western blot分析和血清中和抗体试验。结果表明：JL94株VP4主要抗原编码区基因与国外分离株CRW-8株、Gottfried株该基因片段氨基酸同源性分别为96．43％和67％,说明JL94株与CRW-8株属同一VP4血清型,而与Gottfried株属不同血清型。JL94株vP4主要抗原编码区氨基酸最大变异处位于aa81-aa207。vp4基因在昆虫细胞中表达量占细胞总蛋白的20％,Western Blot证实表达蛋白有良好的生物学活性。所表达的蛋白免疫小鼠产生中和抗体,阻断JL94在MA104细胞上引起的细胞病变。     

猪轮状病毒vp4基因的克隆及其在昆虫细胞中的表达

本研究扩增猪轮状病毒中国分离株JL94株VP4蛋白主要抗原编码区基因(1-756 bp),将测序结果与国外分离株进行比较;将该基因片段同载体pMel BacA连接后,与杆状病毒DNA共转染入昆虫细胞Sf9,经蚀斑筛选纯化重组病毒并再感染Sf9细胞获得vp4基因的表达,对表达的VP4蛋白进行Western blot分析和血清中和抗体试验.结果表明JL94株VP4主要抗原编码区基因与国外分离株CRW-8株、Gottfried株该基因片段氨基酸同源性分别为96.43%和67%,说明JL94株与CRW-8株属同一VP4血清型,而与Gottfried株属不同血清型.JL94株VP4主要抗原编码区氨基酸最大变异处位于aa81-aa207.vp4基因在昆虫细胞中表达量占细胞总蛋白的20%,Western Blot证实表达蛋白有良好的生物学活性.所表达的蛋白免疫小鼠产生中和抗体,阻断JL94在MA104细胞上引起的细胞病变.     

Silencing of the Host Factor eIF(iso)4E Gene Confers Plum Pox Virus Resistance in Plum

Plum pox virus (PPV) causes the most economically-devastating viral disease in Prunus species. Unfortunately, few natural resistance genes are available for the control of PPV. Recessive resistance to some potyviruses is associated with mutations of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) or its isoform eIF(iso)4E. In this study, we used an RNA silencing approach to manipulate the expression of eIF4E and eIF(iso)4E towards the development of PPV resistance in Prunus species. The eIF4E and eIF(iso)4E genes were cloned from plum (Prunus domestica L.). The sequence identity between plum eIF4E and eIF(iso)4E coding sequences is 60.4% at the nucleotide level and 52.1% at the amino acid level. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR analysis showed that these two genes have a similar expression pattern in different tissues. Transgenes allowing the production of hairpin RNAs of plum eIF4E or eIF(iso)4E were introduced into plum via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Gene expression analysis confirmed specific reduced expression of eIF4E or eIF(iso)4E in the transgenic lines and this was associated with the accumulation of siRNAs. Transgenic plants were challenged with PPV-D strain and resistance was evaluated by measuring the concentration of viral RNA. Eighty-two percent of the eIF(iso)4E silenced transgenic plants were resistant to PPV, while eIF4E silenced transgenic plants did not show PPV resistance. Physical interaction between PPV-VPg and plum eIF(iso)4E was confirmed. In contrast, no PPV-VPg/eIF4E interaction was observed. These results indicate that eIF(iso)4E is involved in PPV infection in plum, and that silencing of eIF(iso)4E expression can lead to PPV resistance in Prunus species.     

cis-Acting Signals in Bromovirus RNA Replication and Gene Expression: Networking with Viral Proteins and Host Factors

Bromoviruses are representative members of the alphavirus-like superfamily of animal and plant positive-strand RNA viruses. Tractable biochemical and genetic features have made bromoviruses useful systems forin vivoandin vitrostudies ofcis-acting RNA sequences andtrans-acting factors in RNA replication, subgenomic mRNA synthesis, translation, encapsidation, and virus–host interactions. Among other findings, bromoviruscis-acting RNA replication signals are large, structurally complex, and conserve potential conformational switches that may coordinate RNA replication with other infection processes. The tRNA-like 3′ ends of bromovirus RNAs are required for negative-strand synthesis and recognized by multiple tRNA-specific host enzymes. The presence of additional host regulatory sequence motifs in other bromoviruscis-acting regions suggests that their function also involves interaction with host as well as viral factors.     

Development of a Heterologous Model in Germfree Suckling Rats for Studies of Rotavirus Diarrhea

Germfree suckling rats were infected with an SA11 rotavirus strain. Infected pups developed diarrhea associated with histopathological changes. The virus was detected in feces and in the small intestine. Cellular vacuolation was observed in the villi of the jejunum. These results provide a new model for further investigations of group A rotavirus infection.     

牛病毒性腹泻病毒基因组cDNA文库的构建

以牛病毒性腹泻病毒（ＢＶＤＶ）┥ｎＬ株的基因组ＲＮＡ为模板,经逆向转录酶作用,合成第一链ｃＤＮＡ,再以ＲＮａｄｓｅ／Ｈ与ＤＮＡ聚合酶Ｉ联合作用合成ｄｓｃＤＮＡ,并以ｄＣ同聚物尾化。ｐＵＣ８ＤＮＡ在Ｐｓｔ Ｉ酶解后,以ｄＧ同聚物尾化,两者退火构成重组质粒,转化到Ｅ．ｃｏｌｉ ＪＭ１０１受体菌中,另以γ－＾３２Ｐ－ＡＴＰ标记ＢＶＤＶ ＲＮＡ制备探针,通过菌落原位杂交筛选重组子。酶切分配表明重组质粒插入     

Protective Effects of Cell-Free Supernatant and Live Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Thai Pigs Against a Pandemic Strain of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus

Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins - Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a coronavirus which causes severe diarrhea and fatal dehydration in piglets. In general, probiotic supplements...     

A Reverse Genetics System for the Great Lakes Strain of Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia Virus: the NV Gene is Required for Pathogenicity

Viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV), belonging to the genus Novirhabdovirus in the family of Rhabdoviridae, causes a highly contagious disease of fresh and saltwater fish worldwide. Recently, a novel genotype of VHSV, designated IVb, has invaded the Great Lakes in North America, causing large-scale epidemics in wild fish. An efficient reverse genetics system was developed to generate a recombinant VHSV of genotype IVb from cloned cDNA. The recombinant VHSV (rVHSV) was comparable to the parental wild-type strain both in vitro and in vivo, causing high mortality in yellow perch (Perca flavescens). A modified recombinant VHSV was generated in which the NV gene was substituted with an enhanced green fluorescent protein gene (rVHSV-ΔNV-EGFP), and another recombinant was made by inserting the EGFP gene into the full-length viral clone between the P and M genes (rVHSV-EGFP). The in vitro replication kinetics of rVHSV-EGFP was similar to rVHSV; however, the rVHSV-ΔNV-EGFP grew 2 logs lower. In yellow perch challenges, wtVHSV and rVHSV induced 82-100% cumulative per cent mortality (CPM), respectively, whereas rVHSV-EGFP produced 62% CPM and rVHSV-ΔNV-EGFP caused only 15% CPM. No reversion of mutation was detected in the recovered viruses and the recombinant viruses stably maintained the foreign gene after several passages. These results indicate that the NV gene of VHSV is not essential for viral replication in vitro and in vivo, but it plays an important role in viral replication efficiency and pathogenicity. This system will facilitate studies of VHSV replication, virulence, and production of viral vectored vaccines.