scholarly journals Single amino acid changes in the mumps virus haemagglutinin–neuraminidase and polymerase proteins are associated with neuroattenuation

2009 ◽  
Vol 90 (7) ◽  
pp. 1741-1747 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tahir H. Malik ◽  
Candie Wolbert ◽  
Laura Nerret ◽  
Christian Sauder ◽  
Steven Rubin

It has previously been shown that three amino acid changes, one each in the fusion (F; Ala/Thr-91→Thr), haemagglutinin–neuraminidase (HN; Ser-466→Asn) and polymerase (L; Ile-736→Val) proteins, are associated with attenuation of a neurovirulent clinical isolate of mumps virus (88-1961) following serial passage in vitro. Here, using full-length cDNA plasmid clones and site-directed mutagenesis, it was shown that the single amino acid change in the HN protein and to a lesser extent, the change in the L protein, resulted in neuroattenuation, as assessed in rats. The combination of both amino acid changes caused neuroattenuation of the virus to levels previously reported for the clinical isolate following attenuation in vitro. The amino acid change in the F protein, despite having a dramatic effect on protein function in vitro, was previously shown to not be involved in the observed neuroattenuation, highlighting the importance of conducting confirmatory in vivo studies. This report provides additional supporting evidence for the role of the HN protein as a virulence factor and, as far as is known, is the first report to associate an amino acid change in the L protein with mumps virus neuroattenuation.

2017 ◽  
Vol 91 (15) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sujit K. Mohanty ◽  
Bryan Donnelly ◽  
Phylicia Dupree ◽  
Inna Lobeck ◽  
Sarah Mowery ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Rotavirus infection is one of the most common causes of diarrheal illness in humans. In neonatal mice, rhesus rotavirus (RRV) can induce biliary atresia (BA), a disease resulting in inflammatory obstruction of the extrahepatic biliary tract and intrahepatic bile ducts. We previously showed that the amino acid arginine (R) within the sequence SRL (amino acids 445 to 447) in the RRV VP4 protein is required for viral binding and entry into biliary epithelial cells. To determine if this single amino acid (R) influences the pathogenicity of the virus, we generated a recombinant virus with a single amino acid mutation at this site through a reverse genetics system. We demonstrated that the RRV mutant (RRVVP4-R446G) produced less symptomatology and replicated to lower titers both in vivo and in vitro than those seen with wild-type RRV, with reduced binding in cholangiocytes. Our results demonstrate that a single amino acid change in the RRV VP4 gene influences cholangiocyte tropism and reduces pathogenicity in mice. IMPORTANCE Rotavirus is the leading cause of diarrhea in humans. Rhesus rotavirus (RRV) can also lead to biliary atresia (a neonatal human disease) in mice. We developed a reverse genetics system to create a mutant of RRV (RRVVP4-R446G) with a single amino acid change in the VP4 protein compared to that of wild-type RRV. In vitro, the mutant virus had reduced binding and infectivity in cholangiocytes. In vivo, it produced fewer symptoms and lower mortality in neonatal mice, resulting in an attenuated form of biliary atresia.


1999 ◽  
Vol 337 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lulu A. BRIX ◽  
Ronald G. DUGGLEBY ◽  
Andrea GAEDIGK ◽  
Michael E. McMANUS

Human aryl sulphotransferase (HAST) 1, HAST3, HAST4 and HAST4v share greater than 90% sequence identity, but vary markedly in their ability to catalyse the sulphonation of dopamine and p-nitrophenol. In order to investigate the amino acid(s) involved in determining differing substrate specificities of HASTs, a range of chimaeric HAST proteins were constructed. Analysis of chimaeric substrate specificities showed that enzyme affinities are mainly determined within the N-terminal end of each HAST protein, which includes two regions of high sequence divergence, termed Regions A (amino acids 44–107) and B (amino acids 132–164). To investigate the substrate-binding sites of HASTs further, site-directed mutagenesis was performed on HAST1 to change 13 individual residues within these two regions to the HAST3 equivalent. A single amino acid change in HAST1 (A146E) was able to change the specificity for p-nitrophenol to that of HAST3. The substrate specificity of HAST1 towards dopamine could not be converted into that of HAST3 with a single amino acid change. However, compared with wild-type HAST1, a number of the mutations resulted in interference with substrate binding, as shown by elevated Ki values towards the co-substrate 3´-phosphoadenosine 5´-phosphosulphate, and in some cases loss of activity towards dopamine. These findings suggest that a co-ordinated change of multiple amino acids in HAST proteins is needed to alter the substrate specificities of these enzymes towards dopamine, whereas a single amino acid at position 146 determines p-nitrophenol affinity. A HAST1 mutant was constructed to express a protein with four amino acids deleted (P87–P90). These amino acids were hypothesized to correspond to a loop region in close proximity to the substrate-binding pocket. Interestingly, the protein showed substrate specificities more similar to wild-type HAST3 than HAST1 and indicates an important role of these amino acids in substrate binding.


2005 ◽  
Vol 79 (12) ◽  
pp. 7327-7337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valery Z. Grdzelishvili ◽  
Sherin Smallwood ◽  
Dallas Tower ◽  
Richard L. Hall ◽  
D. Margaret Hunt ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) RNA polymerase synthesizes viral mRNAs with 5′-cap structures methylated at the guanine-N7 and 2′-O-adenosine positions (7mGpppAm). Previously, our laboratory showed that a VSV host range (hr) and temperature-sensitive (ts) mutant, hr1, had a complete defect in mRNA cap methylation and that the wild-type L protein could complement the hr1 defect in vitro. Here, we sequenced the L, P, and N genes of mutant hr1 and found only two amino acid substitutions, both residing in the L-polymerase protein, which differentiate hr1 from its wild-type parent. These mutations (N505D and D1671V) were introduced separately and together into the L gene, and their effects on VSV in vitro transcription and in vivo chloramphenicol acetyltransferase minigenome replication were studied under conditions that are permissive and nonpermissive for hr1. Neither L mutation significantly affected viral RNA synthesis at 34°C in permissive (BHK) and nonpermissive (HEp-2) cells, but D1671V reduced in vitro transcription and genome replication by about 50% at 40°C in both cell lines. Recombinant VSV bearing each mutation were isolated, and the hr and ts phenotypes in infected cells were the result of a single D1671V substitution in the L protein. While the mutations did not significantly affect mRNA synthesis by purified viruses, 5′-cap analyses of product mRNAs clearly demonstrated that the D1671V mutation abrogated all methyltransferase activity. Sequence analysis suggests that an aspartic acid at amino acid 1671 is a critical residue within a putative conserved S-adenosyl-l-methionine-binding domain of the L protein.


2003 ◽  
Vol 47 (11) ◽  
pp. 3539-3541 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Pérez-Vázquez ◽  
Federico Román ◽  
Belen Aracil ◽  
Rafael Cantón ◽  
José Campos

ABSTRACT The in vitro activity of garenoxacin (BMS-284756) against 62 clinical Haemophilus influenzae isolates with different fluoroquinolone susceptibilities was determined by the microdilution susceptibility testing method and compared with the activities of other oral quinolones and nonquinolone oral antimicrobial agents. Cefixime presented the highest intrinsic activity (MIC at which 50% of the isolates tested were inhibited [MIC50], 0.01 μg/ml), followed by garenoxacin, moxifloxacin, and ciprofloxacin (MIC50, 0.06 μg/ml), levofloxacin (MIC50, 0.12 μg/ml), cefuroxime (MIC50, 1.0 μg/ml), and amoxicillin-clavulanate (MIC50, 1.0/0.5 μg/ml), amoxicillin (MIC50, 2 μg/ml), azithromycin (MIC50, 4 μg/ml), and erythromycin (MIC50, 8 μg/ml). In strains with ciprofloxacin MICs of ≤0.06 μg/ml, ciprofloxacin and garenoxacin displayed similar MIC50s and MIC90s, one dilution lower than those of moxifloxacin and levofloxacin. For strains for which ciprofloxacin MICs were ≥0.12 μg/ml, MIC50s were similar for the four quinolones tested, although garenoxacin presented the widest activity range (0.03 to 32 μg/ml) and the highest MIC at which 90% of the isolates tested were inhibited (16.0 μg/ml). For strains without amino acid changes in the quinolone resistance determining region (QRDR) of GyrA and ParC, garenoxacin MICs were ≤0.03 μg/ml; with a single amino acid change in GyrA, garenoxacin MICs were 0.06 to 0.12 μg/ml; with one amino acid change each in GyrA and ParC, garenoxacin MICs were 0.5 to 2.0 μg/ml; one amino acid change in ParC combined with two amino acid changes in GyrA increased the MICs to ≥4 μg/ml for all assayed quinolones. We conclude that garenoxacin has excellent activity against H. influenzae, although progressive acquired resistance was observed by step-by-step mutation in the QRDR of gyrA and parC.


FEBS Letters ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 470 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Vais ◽  
S. Atkinson ◽  
N. Eldursi ◽  
A.L. Devonshire ◽  
M.S. Williamson ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 589-595
Author(s):  
Guy Lemay ◽  
Martin Bisaillon

Many temperature-sensitive mutants have been isolated in early studies of mammalian reovirus. However, the biological properties and nature of the genetic alterations remain incompletely explored for most of these mutants. The mutation harbored by the tsI138 mutant was already assigned to the L3 gene encoding the λ1 protein. In the present study, this mutant was further studied as a possible tool to establish the role of the putative λ1 enzymatic activities in viral multiplication. It was observed that synthesis of viral proteins is only marginally reduced, while it was difficult to recover viral particles at the nonpermissive temperature. A single nucleotide substitution resulting in an amino acid change was found; the position of this amino acid is consistent with a probable defect in assembly of the inner capsid at the nonpermissive temperature.


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