Coevolution of cells and viruses in a persistent infection of foot-and-mouth disease virus in cell culture.

Virus and cells evolve during serial passage of cloned BHK-21 cells persistently infected with foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). These carrier cells, termed C1-BHK-Rc1 (J.C. de la Torre, M. Dávila, F. Sobrino, J. Ortín, and E. Domingo, Virology 145:24-35, 1985), become constitutively resistant to the parental FMDV C-S8c1. Curing of late-passage C1-BHK-Rc1 cells of FMDV by ribavirin treatment (J.C. de la Torre, B. Alarcón, E. Martínez-Salas, L. Carrasco, and E. Domingo, J. Virol. 61:233-235, 1987) did not restore sensitivity to FMDV C-S8c1. The resistance of C1-BHK-Rc1 cells to FMDV C-S8c1 was not due to an impairment of attachment, penetration, or uncoating of the particles but to some intracellular block that resulted in a 100-fold decrease in the amount of FMDV RNA in the infected cells. FMDV R59, the virus isolated from late-passage carrier cells, partly overcame the cellular block and was more cytolytic than FMDV C-S8c1 for BHK-21 cells. Sequencing of the VP1 gene from nine viral clones from C1-BHK-Rc1 cells showed genetic heterogeneity of 5 X 10(-4) substitutions per nucleotide. Mutations were sequentially fixed during persistence. In addition to resistance to FMDV C-S8c1, C1-BHK-Rc1 cells showed a characteristic round cell morphology, and compared with BHK-21 cells, they grew faster in liquid culture, were less subject to contact inhibition of growth, and had an increased ability to form colonies in semisolid agar. Reconstitution of a persistent infection was readily attained with late-passage C1-BHK-Rc1 cells and FMDV C-S8c1 or FMDV R59. The results suggest that coevolution of BHK-21 cells and FMDV contributes to the maintenance of persistence in cell culture.     

Resistance to foot-and-mouth disease virus mediated by trans-acting cellular products.

Upon serial passage of BHK-21 cells persistently infected with foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) C-S8c1, cells with increased resistance to the virus were selected (J. C. de la Torre, E. Martinez-Salas, J. Diez, and E. Domingo, J. Virol. 63:59-63, 1989). Two highly resistant cell clones, 74A11 and 74D12, were transformed to puromycin resistance (Purr) and were fused to BHK-21 cells transformed to neomycin resistance (Neor). The hybrid Neor Purr cells showed the specific resistance to FMDV C-S8c1 characteristic of clones 74A11 and 74D12. The results suggest that resistance to FMDV C-S8c1 is mediated by trans-acting cellular products. The possibility of engineering constitutive resistance to FMDV is discussed.     

Unique amino acid substitutions in the capsid proteins of foot-and-mouth disease virus from a persistent infection in cell culture.

Maintenance of a persistent foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) infection in BHK-21 cells involves a coevolution of cells and virus (J. C. de la Torre, E. Martínez-Salas, J. Díez, A. Villaverde, F. Gebauer, E. Rocha, M. Dávila, and E. Domingo, J. Virol. 62:2050-2058, 1988). The resident FMDV undergoes a number of phenotypic changes, including a gradual decrease in virion stability. Here we report the nucleotide sequence of the P1 genomic segment of the virus rescued after 100 passages of the carrier cells (R100). Only 5 of 15 mutations in P1 of R100 were silent. Nine amino acid substitutions were fixed on the viral capsid during persistence, and three of the variant amino acids are not represented in the corresponding position of any picornavirus sequenced to date. Cysteine at position 7 of VP3, that provides disulfide bridges at the FMDV fivefold axis, was substituted by valine, as determined by RNA, cDNA, and protein sequencing. The modified virus shows high buoyant density in cesium chloride and depicts the same sensitivity to photoinactivation by intercalating dyes as the parental FMDV C-S8c1. Amino acid substitutions fixed in VP1 resulted in altered antigenicity, as revealed by reactivity with monoclonal antibodies. In addition to defining at the molecular level the alterations the FMDV capsid underwent during persistence, the results show that positions which are highly invariant in an RNA genome may change when viral replication occurs in a modified environment.     

Evolution of a persistent aphthovirus in cytolytic infections: partial reversion of phenotypic traits accompanied by genetic diversification.

Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) shows a dual potential to be cytolytic or to establish persistent infections in cell culture. FMDV R100, a virus rescued after 100 passages of carrier BHK-21 cells persistently infected with FMDV clone C-S8c1, showed multiple genetic and phenotypic alterations relative to the parental clone C-S8c1. Several FMDV R100 populations have been subjected to 100 serial cytolytic infections in BHK-21 cells, and the reversion of phenotypic and genetic alterations has been analyzed. An extreme temperature sensitivity of R100 reverted totally or partially in some passage series but not in others. The small-plaque morphology reverted to normal size in all cases. The hypervirulence for BHK-21 cells did not revert, and even showed an increase, upon cytolytic passage. Most of the mutations that had been fixed in the R100 genome during persistence did not revert in the course of cytolytic passages, but the extended polyribocytidylate tract of R100 (about 460 residues, versus 290 in C-S8c1) decreased dramatically in length, to the range of 220 to 260 residues in all passage series examined. In passages involving very large viral populations, a variant with two amino acid substitutions (L-144-->V and A-145-->P) next to the highly conserved Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD motif; positions 141 to 143) within the G-H loop of capsid protein VP1 became dominant. A clonal analysis allowed isolation of a mutant with the single replacement A-145-->P. Viral production and growth competition experiments showed the two variants to have a fitness very close to that of the parental virus. The results provide evidence that the repertoire of variants that could potentially become dominant in viral quasispecies may be influenced by the population size of the evolving virus. The net results of a series of persistent-infection passages followed by a series of cytolytic passages was progressive genomic diversification despite reversion or stasis of phenotypic traits. Implications for the evolution of RNA viruses are discussed.     

Extensive cell heterogeneity during persistent infection with foot-and-mouth disease virus.

Coevolution of viruses and the host cells occurred in BHK-21 cell cultures persistently infected with foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) (J. C. de la Torre, E. Martínez-Salas, J. Diez, A. Villaverde, F. Gebauer, E. Rocha, M. Dávila, and E. Domingo, J. Virol. 62:2050-2058, 1988). In the present report we provide evidence of an extreme phenotypic heterogeneity of the cells, which was generated in the course of persistence. A total of 248 stable cell clones isolated from FMDV carrier cultures at early or late passages were analyzed. At least six distinct cell phenotypes were distinguished with regard to cell morphology, resistance to FMDV strain C-S8c1, and cell growth characteristics. No infectious FMDV or viral RNA was detected in variant cell clones, suggesting that the altered phenotypes were caused by inheritable cell modifications, selected in the course of persistence. Thus, the FMDV-BHK-21 carrier cell system must be described as a dynamic interaction between an evolving heterogeneous population of virus and multiple cell variants. We suggest that cell heterogeneity confers a selective advantage for long-term virus and cell survival by providing the cell population with a range of responses toward FMDV.     

Analysis of a foot-and-mouth disease virus type A24 isolate containing an SGD receptor recognition site in vitro and its pathogenesis in cattle

Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) initiates infection by binding to integrin receptors via an Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) sequence found in the G-H loop of the structural protein VP1. Following serial passages of a type A(24) Cruzeiro virus (A(24)Cru) in bovine, via tongue inoculation, a virus was generated which contained an SGD sequence in the cell receptor-binding site and expressed a turbid plaque phenotype in BHK-21 cells. Propagation of this virus in these cells resulted in the rapid selection of viruses that grew to higher titers, produced clear plaques, and now contained an RGD sequence in place of the original SGD. To study the role of the SGD sequence in FMDV receptor recognition and bovine virulence, we assembled an infectious cDNA clone of an RGD-containing A(24)Cru and derived mutant clones containing either SGD with a single nucleotide substitution in the R(144) codon or double substitutions at this position to prevent mutation of the S to an R. The SGD viruses grew poorly in BHK-21 cells and stably maintained the sequence during propagation in BHK-21 cells expressing the bovine alpha(V)beta(6) integrin (BHK3-alpha(V)beta(6)), as well as in experimentally infected and contact steers. While all the SGD-containing viruses used only the bovine alpha(V)beta(6) integrin as a cellular receptor with relatively high efficiency, the revertant RGD viruses utilized either the alpha(V)beta(1) or alpha(V)beta(3) bovine integrins with higher efficiency than alpha(V)beta(6) and grew well in BHK-21 cells. Replacing the R at the -1 SGD position with either K or E showed that this residue did not contribute to integrin utilization in vitro. These results illustrate the rapid evolution of FMDV with alteration in receptor specificity and suggest that viruses with sequences other than RGD, but closely related to it, can still infect via integrin receptors and induce and transmit the disease to susceptible animals.     

Identification of an essential region for internal initiation of translation in the aphthovirus internal ribosome entry site and implications for viral evolution.

Translation of aphthovirus RNA is initiated at an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) element, preceding the first functional AUG initiation codon. The effect of mutations at the base of domain 3 of the aphthovirus IRES on translation activity has been analyzed by site-directed mutagenesis and expression of bicistronic RNAs in transfected cells. The results have shown that the enhanced IRES activity associated with a single pyrimidine transition fixed in a persistent aphthovirus variant (E. Martínez-Salas, J. C. Sáiz, M. Dávila, G. J. Belsham, and E. Domingo, J. Virol. 67:3748-3755, 1993) is base specific. Mutations predicted to destabilize the base of domain 3 were detrimental to IRES function, but subsequent restoration of the RNA structure gave rise to fully competent IRES. In contrast, single or multiple mutations that did not affect predicted helical structures modified the relative efficiency of translation by at most 10-fold, suggesting that primary sequence also plays a role in IRES activity. A correlation between the energy of stabilization of the IRES structure and the efficiency of translation has been noted. None of the 15 mutations studied reached a level of initiation of translation comparable to that of the IRES from the persistent variant. The results indicate a critical participation of the base of domain 3 in the activity of the aphthovirus IRES, with a strong effect of secondary or higher-order structures and minor effects of primary structure.     

基于FMDV IRES的双顺反子载体的构建及体外表达分析

利用RT-PCR扩增出口蹄疫病毒小核糖体进入位点（IRES）序列,并定向克隆进pcDNA3.1(+)载体,构建成双顺反子真核表达载体。为了验证该载体是否能够转录出双顺反子mRNA,在IRES起始密码（ATG）下游正确插入增强型的绿色荧光蛋白基因（egfp）,把重组质粒转染BHK-21细胞,培养20～48 h,在紫外显微镜下观察,能够看到典型的绿色荧光,表明载体能够体能够利用FMDV的IRES能够介导非帽依赖性表达外源基因。并通过流式细胞仪,与同样是CMV启动转录egfp的pGFPN1质粒在细胞中的表达的水平进行了比较。该载体的成功构建为体外表达双基因、双顺反子逆转录载体构建以及相关应用奠定基础,并有作为基因疫苗和标记定位基因治疗载体的潜力。     

A novel protein-RNA binding assay: functional interactions of the foot-and-mouth disease virus internal ribosome entry site with cellular proteins

Translation initiation on foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) RNA occurs by a cap-independent mechanism directed by a highly structured element (approximately 435 nt) termed an internal ribosome entry site (IRES). A functional assay to identify proteins that bind to the FMDV IRES and are necessary for FMDV IRES-mediated translation initiation has been developed. In vitro-transcribed polyadenylated RNAs corresponding to the whole or part of the FMDV IRES were immobilized on oligo-dT Dynabeads and used to deplete rabbit reticulocyte lysate (RRL) of IRES-binding proteins. Translation initiation factors eIF4G, eIF4A, and eIF4B bound to the 3' domain of the FMDV IRES. Depletion of eIF4G from RRL by this region of the FMDV IRES correlated with the loss of translational capacity of the RRL for capped, uncapped, and FMDV IRES-dependent mRNAs. However, this depleted RRL still supported hepatitis C virus IRES-directed translation. Poly (rC) binding protein-2 bound to the central domain of the FMDV IRES, but depletion of RRL with this IRES domain had no effect on FMDV IRES-directed translation initiation.     

A three-nucleotide insertion in the H stem-loop of the 5' untranslated region of Theiler's virus attenuates neurovirulence.

The highly structured 5' untranslated region (5' UTR) of Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus is involved in cap-independent translation of the viral RNA. Previously, we reported that the bicistronic mRNA chloramphenicol acetyltransferase-5' UTR-luciferase (Luc) efficiently expressed Luc both in a rabbit reticulocyte lysate and when transfected into BHK-21 cells. Insertion of 3 nucleotides at position 665 in the 5' UTR of this bicistronic mRNA resulted in greatly reduced Luc expression in BHK-21 cells but had little effect on expression of Luc in rabbit reticulocyte lysate. This mutation was also introduced into a virulent Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus chimera, Chi-VL. The kinetics of viral RNA and protein synthesis and virus production in BHK-21 cells were slower for the mutant chimera [Chi-VL(IN668)] than for Chi-VL; however, the final virus yields were comparable. Intracerebral inoculation of mice with the chimeras revealed that Chi-VL(IN668) was completely attenuated in neurovirulence. The reduced neurovirulence of Chi-VL(IN668) may be ascribed to its reduced growth in the central nervous system, most likely due to an impaired ability to synthesize viral proteins.     

Internal ribosomal entry site-mediated translation initiation in equine rhinitis A virus: similarities to and differences from that of foot-and-mouth disease virus

Equine rhinitis A virus (ERAV) has recently been classified as an aphthovirus, a genus otherwise comprised of the different serotypes of Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). FMDV initiates translation via a type II internal ribosomal entry site (IRES) and utilizes two in-frame AUG codons to produce the leader proteinases Lab and Lb. Here we show that the ERAV 5' nontranslated region also possesses the core structures of a type II IRES. The functional activity of this region was characterized by transfection of bicistronic plasmids into BHK-21 cells. In this system the core type II structures, stem-loops D to L, in addition to a stem-loop (termed M) downstream of the first putative initiation codon, are required for translation of the second reporter gene. In FMDV, translation of Lb is more efficient than that of Lab despite the downstream location of the Lb AUG codon. The ERAV genome also has putative initiation sites in positions similar to those utilized in FMDV, except that in ERAV these are present as two AUG pairs (AUGAUG). Using the bicistronic expression system, we detected initiation from both AUG pairs, although in contrast to FMDV, the first site is strongly favored over the second. Mutational analysis of the AUG codons indicated that AUG2 is the major initiation site, although AUG1 can be accessed, albeit inefficiently, in the absence of AUG2. Further mutational analysis indicated that codons downstream of AUG2 appear to be accessed by a mechanism other than leaky scanning. Furthermore, we present preliminary evidence that it is possible for ribosomes to access downstream of the two AUG pairs. This study reveals important differences in IRES function between aphthoviruses.     

New Vaccine Design Based on Defective Genomes That Combines Features of Attenuated and Inactivated Vaccines

Background

New vaccine designs are needed to control diseases associated with antigenically variable RNA viruses. Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious disease of livestock that inflicts severe economic losses. Although the current whole-virus chemically inactivated vaccine has proven effective, it has led to new outbreaks of FMD because of incomplete inactivation of the virus or the escape of infectious virus from vaccine production premises. We have previously shown that serial passages of FMD virus (FMDV) C-S8c1 at high multiplicity of infection in cell culture resulted in virus populations consisting of defective genomes that are infectious by complementation (termed C-S8p260).

Principal Finding

Here we evaluate the immunogenicity of C-S8p260, first in a mouse model system to establish a proof of principle, and second, in swine, the natural host of FMDV C-S8c1. Mice were completely protected against a lethal challenge with FMDV C-S8c1, after vaccination with a single dose of C-S8p260. Pigs immunized with different C-S8p260 doses and challenged with FMDV C-S8c1 either did not develop any clinical signs or showed delayed and mild disease symptoms. C-S8p260 induced high titers of both FMDV-specific, neutralizing antibodies and activated FMDV-specific T cells in swine, that correlated with solid protection against FMDV.

Conclusions

The defective virus-based vaccine did not produce detectable levels of transmissible FMDV. Therefore, a segmented, replication-competent form of a virus, such as FMDV C-S8p260, can provide the basis of a new generation of attenuated antiviral vaccines with two safety barriers. The design can be extended to any viral pathogen that encodes trans-acting gene products, allowing complementation between replication-competent, defective forms.     

牛α-IFN及FMDV P12A3C双表达载体的构建及其在BHK-21细胞中的表达

从口蹄疫病毒Asia I/Jiangsu毒株的细胞毒中提取总RNA,通过RT-PCR方法分别获得FMDV的P12A及3C基因;同时以pMD18-T-α-IFN质粒为模板,PCR扩增得到α-IFN基因.将α-IFN基因及FMDV P12A及3C基因连接至双启动子表达载体pBudCE4.1上,构建成双效表达质粒pBudCE4.1-α-IFN-P12A3C,经电泳、PCR、双酶切和DNA测序鉴定表明双效质粒载体构建成功.用此重组质粒转染BHK-21细胞后并对其表达情况进行检测,表明该双表达质粒在BHK-21细胞中能够成功表达.以此重组质粒免疫乳鼠后12 h,按100 TCID50/O.1 mL的量进行攻毒,结果发现该质粒能够抑制病毒的增殖,对乳鼠有一定的保护作用.结果表明成功构建了牛α-IFN及FMDV P12A3C组合基因双表达载体,为进一步研究口蹄疫基因疫苗提供前期基础.     

Foot-and-mouth disease virus Lb proteinase can stimulate rhinovirus and enterovirus IRES-driven translation and cleave several proteins of cellular and viral origin.

Rhinovirus and enterovirus 2A proteinases stimulate translation initiation driven from the cognate internal ribosome entry segment (IRES) (S. J. Hambidge and P. Sarnow, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:10272-10276, 1992; H.-D. Liebig, E. Ziegler, R. Yan, K. Hartmuth, H. Klump, H. Kowalski, D. Blaas, W. Sommergruber, L. Frasel, B. Lamphear, R. Rhoads, E. Kuechler, and T. Skern, Biochemistry 32:7581-7588, 1993). Given the functional similarities between the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) L proteinase and these 2A proteinases (autocatalytic excision from the nascent viral polyprotein and cleavage of eIF-4 gamma), we investigated whether the FMDV L proteinase would also be able to stimulate translation initiation. We found that purified recombinant FMDV Lb proteinase could stimulate in vitro translation driven from a rhinovirus or enterovirus IRES by 5- to 10-fold. In contrast, stimulation of translation initiation on a cardiovirus IRES by this proteinase was minimal, and stimulation of translation driven from the cognate FMDV IRES could not be evidenced. Studies using an inhibitor or a mutant Lb proteinase indicated that stimulation of IRES-driven translation is mediated via proteolysis of some cellular component(s). Our studies also demonstrated that the Lb proteinase is capable of stimulating initiation of translation on an uncapped cellular message. Unexpectedly, and in contrast to the 2A proteinases, the Lb proteinase specifically cleaved the products of the two reporter genes used in this study: Xenopus laevis cyclin B2 and influenza virus NS. Therefore, we also set out to investigate the requirements for substrate recognition by the Lb proteinase. Purified recombinant Lb proteinase recognized at least one mengovirus polypeptide and specifically cleaved human cyclin A and poliovirus replicase-related polypeptides. In the latter case, the site(s) of cleavage was located within the N-terminal part of polypeptide 3D. Sequence comparisons revealed no significant primary sequence similarities between the target proteins and the two sites already known to be recognized by the FMDV L proteinase.     

Recognition of picornavirus internal ribosome entry sites within cells; influence of cellular and viral proteins.

The ability of different picornavirus internal ribosome entry site (IRES) elements to direct initiation of protein synthesis has been assayed in different cell lines in the presence and absence of viral proteases that inhibit cap-dependent protein synthesis. Reporter plasmids that express dicistronic mRNAs, containing different IRES elements, with the general structure CAT/IRES/LUC, have been assayed. In each plasmid, the CAT sequence encodes chloramphenicol acetyl transferase and the LUC sequence encodes luciferase. The poliovirus (PV) 2A protease and the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) Lb protease induce the cleavage of the translation initiation factor elF4G and hence inhibit the activity of the cap-binding complex, elF4F. In human osteosarcoma (HTK-143) cells, each of the various IRES elements functioned efficiently. In these cells, the co-expression of the viral proteases severely inhibited the expression of CAT, but the proteases had little effect on the activities of the various IRES elements. In contrast, in baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells, the efficiencies of the different IRES elements varied significantly, whereas, in normal rat kidney (NRK) cells, each of the IRES elements was relatively inefficient. In both BHK and NRK cells, the activities of those IRES elements that functioned inefficiently were strongly stimulated by the co-expression of the PV 2A or FMDV Lb proteases. This stimulation was independent of the loss of cap-dependent protein synthesis and was not achieved by the co-expression of the C-terminal fragment of elF4G. The results suggest that the PV 2A and FMDV Lb proteases induce the cleavage of another cellular protein, in addition to elF4G, which influences IRES function.     

T7 RNA聚合酶表达系统的真核化及其偶联表达系统的建立

为了使T7RNA聚合酶(T7RNAP)表达系统真核化,首先,利用两种方法建立能够表达T7RNAP的真核细胞:(1)共转染表达T7RNAP的真核表达重组质粒于靶细胞;(2)利用稳定表达T7RNAP的BHK-21细胞系。然后,将FMDV内部核糖体进入位点(IRES)序列和增强型绿色荧光蛋白(EGFP)基因定向克隆进原核载体pET-40a-c( )的T7启动子下游,得到的重组质粒pIERS-EGFP-E。用该质粒分别转染上述两种细胞,在紫外显微镜下都能够观察到绿色荧光,表明真核化的T7RNAP偶联表达系统建立。并利用流式细胞仪对偶联表达水平进行了分析。这为利用该系统真核高效表达外源蛋白奠定了坚实的基础。用实验证明了FMDV5′端含有IERS具有介导非帽依赖性的翻译的功能,为以IERS为基础的双顺反子表达系统的建立及深入研究IERS与相关蛋白的功能奠定了基础。T7RNAP偶联表达体系是一种良好的外源基因表达体系。