Rotaviruses (RVs) are a leading cause of acute viral gastroenteritis in young children and livestock worldwide. Growing evidence suggests that host cellular glycans, such as histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs) and sialic acids (SA), are recognized by the RV surface protein VP4. However, a mechanistic understanding of these interactions and their effects on RV infection and pathogenesis is lacking. Here, we established a porcine crypt-derived 3D intestinal enteroids (PIEs) culture system which contains all intestinal epithelial cells identified in vivo and represents a unique physiologically functional model to study RV-glycan interactions in vitro. PIEs expressing different HBGAs (A+, H+, and A+/H+) were established and isolation, propagation, differentiation and RV infection conditions were optimized. Differentiated PIEs were infected with human RV (HRV) G1P[8] Wa, porcine RV (PRV) G9P[13], PRV Gottfried G4P[6] or PRV OSU G5P[7] virulent and attenuated strains and virus replication was measured by qRT-PCR. Our results indicated that virulent HRV G1P[8] Wa replicated to the highest titers in A+ PIEs, while a distinct trend was observed for PRV G9P[13] or G5P[7] with highest titers in H+ PIEs. Attenuated Wa and Gottfried strains replicated poorly in PIEs while the replication of attenuated G9P[13] and OSU strains in PIEs was relatively efficient. However, the replication of all 4 attenuate strains was less affected by the PIE HBGA phenotypes. HBGA synthesis inhibitor 2-F-Peracetyl-Fucose (2F) treatment demonstrated that HBGAs are essential for G1P[8] Wa replication; however, they may only serve as a cofactor for PRVs G9P[13] and OSU G5P[7]. Interestingly, contrasting outcomes were observed following sialidase treatment which significantly enhanced G9P[13] replication, but inhibited the growth of G5P[7]. These observations suggest that some additional receptors recognized by G9P[13] become unmasked after removal of terminal SA. Overall, our results confirm that differential HBGAs-RV and SA-RV interactions determine replication efficacy of virulent group A RVs in PIEs. Consequently, targeting individual glycans for development of therapeutics may not yield uniform results for various RV strains.
Lewis Blood Group Antigens are Associated with Altered Susceptibility to Shigellosis
