scholarly journals A Respiratory Syncytial Virus Attachment Gene Variant Associated with More Severe Disease in Infants Decreases Fusion Protein Expression, Which May Facilitate Immune Evasion

2020 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. e01201-20
Author(s):  
Stacey Human ◽  
Anne L. Hotard ◽  
Christina A. Rostad ◽  
Sujin Lee ◽  
Louise McCormick ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThis study identified a genotype of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) associated with increased acute respiratory disease severity in a cohort of previously healthy term infants. The genotype (2stop+A4G) consists of two components. The A4G component is a prevalent point mutation in the 4th position of the gene end transcription termination signal of the G gene of currently circulating RSV strains. The 2stop component is two tandem stop codons at the G gene terminus, preceding the gene end transcription termination signal. To investigate the biological role of these RSV G gene mutations, recombinant RSV strains harboring either a wild-type A2 strain G gene (one stop codon preceding a wild-type gene end signal), an A4G gene end signal preceded by one stop codon, or the 2stop+A4G virulence-associated combination were generated and characterized. Infection with the recombinant A4G (rA4G) RSV mutant resulted in transcriptional readthrough and lower G and fusion (F) protein levels than for the wild type. Addition of a second stop codon preceding the A4G point mutation (2stop+A4G) restored G protein expression but retained lower F protein levels. These data suggest that RSV G and F glycoprotein expression is regulated by transcriptional and translational readthrough. Notably, while rA4G and r2stop+A4G RSV were attenuated in cells and in naive BALB/c mice compared to that for wild-type RSV, the r2stop+A4G RSV was better able to infect BALB/c mice in the presence of preexisting immunity than rA4G RSV. Together, these factors may contribute to the maintenance and virulence of the 2stop+A4G genotype in currently circulating RSV-A strains.IMPORTANCE Strain-specific differences in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) isolates are associated with differential pathogenesis in mice. However, the role of RSV genotypes in human infection is incompletely understood. This work demonstrates that one such genotype, 2stop+A4G, present in the RSV attachment (G) gene terminus is associated with greater infant disease severity. The genotype consists of two tandem stop codons preceding an A-to-G point mutation in the 4th position of the G gene end transcription termination signal. Virologically, the 2stop+A4G RSV genotype results in reduced levels of the RSV fusion (F) glycoprotein. A recombinant 2stop+A4G RSV was better able to establish infection in the presence of existing RSV immunity than a virus harboring the common A4G mutation. These data suggest that regulation of G and F expression has implications for virulence and, potentially, immune evasion.

1998 ◽  
Vol 72 (5) ◽  
pp. 4467-4471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen S. Whitehead ◽  
Katalin Juhasz ◽  
Cai-Yen Firestone ◽  
Peter L. Collins ◽  
Brian R. Murphy

ABSTRACT A set of five missense mutations previously identified by nucleotide sequence analysis of subgroup A cold-passaged (cp) respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has been introduced into a recombinant wild-type strain of RSV. This recombinant virus, designated rA2cp, appears to replicate less efficiently in the upper and lower respiratory tracts of seronegative chimpanzees than either biologically derived or recombinant wild-type RSV. Infection with rA2cp also resulted in significantly less rhinorrhea and cough than infection with wild-type RSV. These findings confirm the role of thecp mutations in attenuation of RSV and identify their usefulness for inclusion in future live attenuated recombinant RSV vaccine candidates.


2004 ◽  
Vol 78 (19) ◽  
pp. 10303-10309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koichi Hashimoto ◽  
Barney S. Graham ◽  
Mark W. Geraci ◽  
Garret A. FitzGerald ◽  
Karine Egan ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The role of prostanoids in modulating respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is unknown. We found that RSV infection in mice increases production of prostaglandin I2 (PGI2). Mice that overexpress PGI2 synthase selectively in bronchial epithelium are protected against RSV-induced weight loss and have decreased peak viral replication and gamma interferon levels in the lung compared to nontransgenic littermates. In contrast, mice deficient in the PGI2 receptor IP have exacerbated RSV-induced weight loss with delayed viral clearance and increased levels of gamma interferon in the lung compared to wild-type mice. These results suggest that signaling through IP has antiviral effects while protecting against RSV-induced illness and that PGI2 is a potential therapeutic target in the treatment of RSV.


2006 ◽  
Vol 87 (5) ◽  
pp. 1267-1273 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Mekseepralard ◽  
G. L. Toms ◽  
E. G. Routledge

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to conserved epitopes on the G glycoprotein of human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) subgroup A fail to neutralize the virus in cell culture in the absence of complement, but are protective in rodent models of infection. They may have potential as prophylactic agents in human infants. In order to investigate the role of Fc-dependent pathways in protection by one such antibody, 1C2, the VH and VL genes were isolated by RT-PCR and assembled with human κ light-chain and human γ1 heavy-chain constant-region genes to form two mouse–human chimaeras, which were expressed in NS0 cells. One of the chimaeras carried a wild-type γ1 chain, whilst the other had an aglycosyl mutation in the CH2 domain rendering the antibody defective in complement activation and FcγR binding. Whilst both chimaeric antibodies exhibited similar avidity for HRSV in ELISA, only the fully glycosylated wild type was capable of neutralizing the virus in the presence of complement. In mice passively immunized with either murine or wild-type γ1 chimaeric antibody, no virus could be recovered from the lungs 4 days after intranasal inoculation of HRSV. In mice immunized with the aglycosyl γ1 chimaera, however, virus was present in the lungs following challenge, although virus titres were significantly reduced compared with controls (P<0·005). These results indicate that the protective effect of this antibody is mediated by both Fc-dependent and Fc-independent pathways.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. eabe7920
Author(s):  
Meihui Song ◽  
Binyuan Zhai ◽  
Xiao Yang ◽  
Taicong Tan ◽  
Ying Wang ◽  
...  

Meiotic chromosomes have a loop/axis architecture, with axis length determining crossover frequency. Meiosis-specific Pds5 depletion mutants have shorter chromosome axes and lower homologous chromosome pairing and recombination frequency. However, it is poorly understood how Pds5 coordinately regulates these processes. In this study, we show that only ~20% of wild-type level of Pds5 is required for homolog pairing and that higher levels of Pds5 dosage-dependently regulate axis length and crossover frequency. Moderate changes in Pds5 protein levels do not explicitly impair the basic recombination process. Further investigations show that Pds5 does not regulate chromosome axes by altering Rec8 abundance. Conversely, Rec8 regulates chromosome axis length by modulating Pds5. These findings highlight the important role of Pds5 in regulating meiosis and its relationship with Rec8 to regulate chromosome axis length and crossover frequency with implications for evolutionary adaptation.


Reproduction ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 152 (6) ◽  
pp. 665-672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha A M Young ◽  
Haruhiko Miyata ◽  
Yuhkoh Satouh ◽  
Masanaga Muto ◽  
Martin R Larsen ◽  
...  

IZUMO1 is a protein found in the head of spermatozoa that has been identified as essential for sperm–egg fusion. Its binding partner in the egg has been discovered (JUNO); however, the roles of several domains within IZUMO1 remain unexplored. One such domain is the C-terminus, which undergoes major phosphorylation changes in the cytoplasmic portion of the protein during rat epididymal transit. However, the cytoplasmic tail of IZUMO1 in many species is highly variable, ranging from 55 to one amino acid. Therefore, to understand the role of the cytoplasmic tail of IZUMO1 in mouse, we utilised the gene manipulation system of CRISPR/Cas9 to generate a point mutation resulting in a premature stop codon, producing mice with truncated IZUMO1. Mice without the cytoplasmic tail of IZUMO1 showed normal fertility but decreased the amount of protein, indicating that whilst this region is important for the expression level of IZUMO1, it is dispensable for fertilisation in the mouse.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
pp. 391-391
Author(s):  
Leon S. Greos

Alveolar macrophages are infected by RSV in vivo and coexpress potent immunomodulatory molecules that potentially regulate local immune response or lung injury caused by RSV infection.


2005 ◽  
Vol 86 (4) ◽  
pp. 1103-1107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blanca García-Barreno ◽  
John Steel ◽  
Monica Payá ◽  
Luis Martínez-Sobrido ◽  
Teresa Delgado ◽  
...  

The reactivity of a panel of 12 monoclonal antibodies raised against the human respiratory syncytial virus 22 kDa (22K) protein was tested by Western blotting with a set of 22K deletion mutants. The results obtained identified sequences in the C-terminal half of the 22K polypeptide required for integrity of most antibody epitopes, except for epitope 112, which was lost in mutants with short N-terminal deletions. This antibody, in contrast to the others, failed to immunoprecipitate the native 22K protein, indicating that the N terminus of this protein is buried in the native molecule and exposed only under the denaturing conditions of Western blotting. In addition, N-terminal deletions that abolished reactivity with monoclonal antibody 112 also inhibited phosphorylation of the 22K protein previously identified at Ser-58 and Ser-61, suggesting that the N terminus is important in regulating the 22K protein phosphorylation status, most likely as a result of its requirement for protein folding.


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