scholarly journals Attenuation of Influenza A Virus mRNA Levels by Promoter Mutations

1998 ◽  
Vol 72 (8) ◽  
pp. 6283-6290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ervin Fodor ◽  
Peter Palese ◽  
George G. Brownlee ◽  
Adolfo García-Sastre
Keyword(s):  
Influenza Virus ◽  
Transcription Initiation ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Reverse Genetics ◽  
Mrna Levels ◽  
Double Mutation ◽  
Ribonucleoprotein Complexes ◽  
Virus Rna ◽  
Infected Cells

ABSTRACT We have engineered influenza A/WSN/33 viruses which have viral RNA (vRNA) segments with altered base pairs in the conserved double-stranded region of their vRNA promoters. The mutations were introduced into the segment coding for the neuraminidase (NA) by using a reverse genetics system. Two of the rescued viruses which share a C-G→A-U double mutation at positions 11 and 12′ at the 3′ and 5′ ends of the NA-specific vRNA, respectively, showed approximately a 10-fold reduction of NA levels. The mutations did not dramatically affect the NA-specific vRNA levels found in virions or the NA-specific vRNA and cRNA levels in infected cells. In contrast, there was a significant decrease in the steady-state levels of NA-specific mRNAs in infected cells. Transcription studies in vitro with ribonucleoprotein complexes isolated from the two transfectant viruses indicated that transcription initiation of the NA-specific segment was not affected. However, the majority of NA-specific transcripts lacked poly(A) tails, suggesting that mutations in the double-stranded region of the influenza virus vRNA promoter can attenuate polyadenylation of mRNA molecules. This is the first time that a promoter mutation in an engineered influenza virus has shown a differential effect on influenza virus RNA transcription and replication.

scholarly journals Role of Initiating Nucleoside Triphosphate Concentrations in the Regulation of Influenza Virus Replication and Transcription

2008 ◽  
Vol 82 (14) ◽  
pp. 6902-6910 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank T. Vreede ◽  
Hugh Gifford ◽  
George G. Brownlee
Keyword(s):  
Influenza Virus ◽  
Virus Replication ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Nucleoside Triphosphate ◽  
Ribonucleoprotein Complexes ◽  
Influenza Virus Replication ◽  
High Concentrations

ABSTRACT The mechanisms regulating the synthesis of mRNA, cRNA, and viral genomic RNA (vRNA) by the influenza A virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase are not fully understood. Previous studies in our laboratory have shown that virion-derived viral ribonucleoprotein complexes synthesize both mRNA and cRNA in vitro and early in the infection cycle in vivo. Our continued studies showed that de novo synthesis of cRNA in vitro is more sensitive to the concentrations of ATP, CTP, and GTP than capped-primer-dependent synthesis of mRNA. Using rescued recombinant influenza A/WSN/33 viruses, we now demonstrate that the 3′-terminal sequence of the vRNA promoter dictates the requirement for a high nucleoside triphosphate (NTP) concentration during de novo-initiated replication to cRNA, whereas this is not the case for the extension of capped primers during transcription to mRNA. In contrast to some other viral polymerases, for which only the initiating NTP is required at high concentrations, influenza virus polymerase requires high concentrations of the first three NTPs. In addition, we show that base pair mutations in the vRNA promoter can lead to nontemplated dead-end mutations during replication to cRNA in vivo. Based on our observations, we propose a new model for the de novo initiation of influenza virus replication.

scholarly journals The mechanism of resistance to favipiravir in influenza

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (45) ◽  
pp. 11613-11618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel H. Goldhill ◽  
Aartjan J. W. te Velthuis ◽  
Robert A. Fletcher ◽  
Pinky Langat ◽  
Maria Zambon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Influenza Virus ◽  
Influenza A Virus ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
H1n1 Influenza ◽  
Viral Fitness ◽  
Virus Infections ◽  
Virus Rna ◽  
Evolution Of Resistance ◽  
Emergence Of Resistance

Favipiravir is a broad-spectrum antiviral that has shown promise in treatment of influenza virus infections. While emergence of resistance has been observed for many antiinfluenza drugs, to date, clinical trials and laboratory studies of favipiravir have not yielded resistant viruses. Here we show evolution of resistance to favipiravir in the pandemic H1N1 influenza A virus in a laboratory setting. We found that two mutations were required for robust resistance to favipiravir. We demonstrate that a K229R mutation in motif F of the PB1 subunit of the influenza virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP) confers resistance to favipiravir in vitro and in cell culture. This mutation has a cost to viral fitness, but fitness can be restored by a P653L mutation in the PA subunit of the polymerase. K229R also conferred favipiravir resistance to RNA polymerases of other influenza A virus strains, and its location within a highly conserved structural feature of the RdRP suggests that other RNA viruses might also acquire resistance through mutations in motif F. The mutations identified here could be used to screen influenza virus-infected patients treated with favipiravir for the emergence of resistance.

scholarly journals Protective Role of Combined Polyphenols and Micronutrients against Influenza A Virus and SARS-CoV-2 Infection In Vitro

Biomedicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 1721
Author(s):  
Marta De Angelis ◽  
David Della-Morte ◽  
Gabriele Buttinelli ◽  
Angela Di Martino ◽  
Francesca Pacifici ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Influenza Virus ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Viral Proteins ◽  
Antiviral Effect ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Protective Role ◽  
Virus Infections ◽  
Infected Cells ◽  
Respiratory Virus Infections

Polyphenols have been widely studied for their antiviral effect against respiratory virus infections. Among these, resveratrol (RV) has been demonstrated to inhibit influenza virus replication and more recently, it has been tested together with pterostilbene against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. In the present work, we evaluated the antiviral activity of polydatin, an RV precursor, and a mixture of polyphenols and other micronutrients, named A5+, against influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2 infections. To this end, we infected Vero E6 cells and analyzed the replication of both respiratory viruses in terms of viral proteins synthesis and viral titration. We demonstrated that A5+ showed a higher efficacy in inhibiting both influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2 infections compared to polydatin treatment alone. Indeed, post infection treatment significantly decreased viral proteins expression and viral release, probably by interfering with any step of virus replicative cycle. Intriguingly, A5+ treatment strongly reduced IL-6 cytokine production in influenza virus-infected cells, suggesting its potential anti-inflammatory properties during the infection. Overall, these results demonstrate the synergic and innovative antiviral efficacy of A5+ mixture, although further studies are needed to clarify the mechanisms underlying its inhibitory effect.

scholarly journals A Novel Sulfonated Derivative of β-Cyclodextrin Effectively Inhibits Influenza A Virus Infection in vitro and in vivo

Acta Naturae ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 20-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. P. Goncharova ◽  
Y. A. Kostyro ◽  
A. V. Ivanov ◽  
M. A. Zenkova
Keyword(s):  
Influenza Virus ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Influenza Infection ◽  
Lethal Infection ◽  
Novel Drugs ◽  
Infected Cells ◽  
Low Toxicity

The development of novel drugs against the influenza virus with high efficiency and low toxicity is an urgent and important task. Previous reports have demonstrated that compounds based on sulfo derivatives of oligo- and polysaccharides possess high antiviral activity. In this study, we have examined the ability of a novel sulfonated derivative of -cyclodextrin (KS-6469) to inhibit the influenza virus A/WSN/33 (H1N1) infection in vitro and in vivo. The antiviral potential of KS-6469 against the influenza virus was evaluated in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney epithelial cells treated with serially diluted KS-6469. We found out that KS-6469 completely inhibited viral reproduction after treatment of the infected cells with the compound for 48 h. Our data show that double intranasal treatment of mice with KS-6469 fully protected the animals from a lethal infection and significantly decreased the viral titers in the lungs of the infected animals. Thus, the novel sulfonated -cyclodextrin derivative KS-6469 is a promising candidate for the development of antiviral drugs for preventing and treating the influenza infection.

scholarly journals NF-κB Signaling Differentially Regulates Influenza Virus RNA Synthesis

2008 ◽  
Vol 82 (20) ◽  
pp. 9880-9889 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naveen Kumar ◽  
Zhong-tao Xin ◽  
Yuhong Liang ◽  
Hinh Ly ◽  
Yuying Liang
Keyword(s):  
Influenza Virus ◽  
Signaling Pathway ◽  
Virus Replication ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Rna Synthesis ◽  
Nucleocytoplasmic Trafficking ◽  
Rna Transcription ◽  
Virus Rna ◽  
Infected Cells

ABSTRACT The NF-κB signaling pathway has previously been shown to be required for efficient influenza A virus replication, although the molecular mechanism is not well understood. In this study, we identified a specific step of the influenza virus life cycle that is influenced by NF-κB signaling by using two known NF-κB inhibitors and a variety of influenza virus-specific assays. The results of time course experiments suggest that the NF-κB inhibitors Bay11-7082 and ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate inhibited an early postentry step of viral infection, but they did not appear to affect the nucleocytoplasmic trafficking of the viral ribonucleoprotein complex. Instead, we found that the levels of influenza virus genomic RNA (vRNA), but not the corresponding cRNA or mRNA, were specifically reduced by the inhibitors in virus-infected cells, indicating that NF-κB signaling is intimately involved in the vRNA synthesis. Furthermore, we showed that the NF-κB inhibitors specifically diminished influenza virus RNA transcription from the cRNA promoter but not from the vRNA promoter in a reporter assay, a result which is consistent with data obtained from virus-infected cells. The overexpression of the p65 NF-κB molecule could not only eliminate the inhibition but also activate influenza virus RNA transcription from the cRNA promoter. Finally, using p65-specific small interfering RNA, we have shown that p65 knockdown reduced the levels of influenza virus replication and vRNA synthesis. In summary, we have provided evidence showing, for the first time, that the NF-κB host signaling pathway can differentially regulate influenza virus RNA synthesis, which may also offer some new perspectives into understanding the host regulation of RNA synthesis by other RNA viruses.

scholarly journals Influenza Virion-Derived Viral Ribonucleoproteins Synthesize both mRNA and cRNA In Vitro

2006 ◽  
Vol 81 (5) ◽  
pp. 2196-2204 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. T. Vreede ◽  
G. G. Brownlee
Keyword(s):  
Influenza Virus ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Early Results ◽  
Virus Rna ◽  
Replicative Intermediates ◽  
Viral Genomic Rna

ABSTRACT The mechanisms regulating the synthesis of mRNA, cRNA, and viral genomic RNA (vRNA) by the influenza A virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase are not fully understood. Early results suggested that the RNA polymerase “switched” from a transcriptase to a replicase during the viral life cycle in response to the expression of viral proteins. However, recently an alternative model suggesting that replication of influenza virus is regulated by stabilization of the replicative intermediates was proposed. According to this model, the virion-associated polymerase is capable of synthesizing both mRNA and cRNA. We now demonstrate that virion-derived viral ribonucleoproteins (vvRNPs) synthesize both mRNA and cRNA in vitro in the absence of non-virion-associated RNA polymerase or nucleoproteins. The authenticity of the in vitro-transcribed mRNA and cRNA was confirmed by terminal sequence analysis. The addition of non-virion-associated polymerase or NP had no effect on vvRNP activity. De novo synthesis of cRNA was found to be more sensitive than the capped primer-dependent synthesis of mRNA to the concentration of ATP, CTP, and GTP. We conclude that vvRNPs intrinsically possess both transcriptase and replicase activities and that there is no switch in the synthesis of mRNA to cRNA during the influenza virus life cycle.

scholarly journals Identification of a Novel Viral Protein Expressed from the PB2 Segment of Influenza A Virus

2015 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 444-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seiya Yamayoshi ◽  
Mariko Watanabe ◽  
Hideo Goto ◽  
Yoshihiro Kawaoka
Keyword(s):  
Influenza Virus ◽  
Influenza A Virus ◽  
Viral Protein ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Viral Infections ◽  
Viral Proteins ◽  
Wild Type Virus ◽  
Infected Cells

ABSTRACTOver the past 2 decades, several novel influenza virus proteins have been identified that modulate viral infectionsin vitroand/orin vivo. The PB2 segment, which is one of the longest influenza A virus segments, is known to encode only one viral protein, PB2. In the present study, we used reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) targeting viral mRNAs transcribed from the PB2 segment to look for novel viral proteins encoded by spliced mRNAs. We identified a new viral protein, PB2-S1, encoded by a novel spliced mRNA in which the region corresponding to nucleotides 1513 to 1894 of the PB2 mRNA is deleted. PB2-S1 was detected in virus-infected cells and in cells transfected with a protein expression plasmid encoding PB2. PB2-S1 localized to mitochondria, inhibited the RIG-I-dependent interferon signaling pathway, and interfered with viral polymerase activity (dependent on its PB1-binding capability). The nucleotide sequences around the splicing donor and acceptor sites for PB2-S1 were highly conserved among pre-2009 human H1N1 viruses but not among human H1N1pdm and H3N2 viruses. PB2-S1-deficient viruses, however, showed growth kinetics in MDCK cells and virulence in mice similar to those of wild-type virus. The biological significance of PB2-S1 to the replication and pathogenicity of seasonal H1N1 influenza A viruses warrants further investigation.IMPORTANCETranscriptome analysis of cells infected with influenza A virus has improved our understanding of the host response to viral infection, because such analysis yields considerable information about bothin vitroandin vivoviral infections. However, little attention has been paid to transcriptomes derived from the viral genome. Here we focused on the splicing of mRNA expressed from the PB2 segment and identified a spliced viral mRNA encoding a novel viral protein. This result suggests that other, as yet unidentified viral proteins encoded by spliced mRNAs could be expressed in virus-infected cells. A viral transcriptome including the viral spliceosome should be evaluated to gain new insights into influenza virus infection.

scholarly journals Role of Ran Binding Protein 5 in Nuclear Import and Assembly of the Influenza Virus RNA Polymerase Complex

2006 ◽  
Vol 80 (24) ◽  
pp. 11911-11919 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Deng ◽  
Othmar G. Engelhardt ◽  
Benjamin Thomas ◽  
Alexandre V. Akoulitchev ◽  
George G. Brownlee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Influenza Virus ◽  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Nuclear Import ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Binding Protein ◽  
Nuclear Accumulation ◽  
Polymerase Complex ◽  
Knock Down ◽  
Virus Rna ◽  
Infected Cells

ABSTRACT The influenza A virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase is a heterotrimeric complex of polymerase basic protein 1 (PB1), PB2, and polymerase acidic protein (PA) subunits. It performs transcription and replication of the viral RNA genome in the nucleus of infected cells. We have identified a nuclear import factor, Ran binding protein 5 (RanBP5), also known as karyopherin β3, importin β3, or importin 5, as an interactor of the PB1 subunit. RanBP5 interacted with either PB1 alone or with a PB1-PA dimer but not with a PB1-PB2 dimer or the trimeric complex. The interaction between RanBP5 and PB1-PA was disrupted by RanGTP in vitro, allowing PB2 to bind to the PB1-PA dimer to form a functional trimeric RNA polymerase complex. We propose a model in which RanBP5 acts as an import factor for the newly synthesized polymerase by targeting the PB1-PA dimer to the nucleus. In agreement with this model, small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated knock-down of RanBP5 inhibited the nuclear accumulation of the PB1-PA dimer. Moreover, siRNA knock-down of RanBP5 resulted in the delayed accumulation of viral RNAs in infected cells, confirming that RanBP5 plays a biological role during the influenza virus life cycle.

scholarly journals In Vitro and In Vivo Activities of Anti-Influenza Virus Compound T-705

2002 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 977-981 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Furuta ◽  
K. Takahashi ◽  
Y. Fukuda ◽  
M. Kuno ◽  
T. Kamiyama ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Influenza Virus ◽  
Inhibitory Activity ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Rna Viruses ◽  
Neuraminidase Inhibitor ◽  
Virus Infections ◽  
Dna Viruses ◽  
Virus Rna

ABSTRACT T-705 (6-fluoro-3-hydroxy-2-pyrazinecarboxamide) has been found to have potent and selective inhibitory activity against influenza virus. In an in vitro plaque reduction assay, T-705 showed potent inhibitory activity against influenza A, B, and C viruses, with 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50s) of 0.013 to 0.48 μg/ml, while it showed no cytotoxicity at concentrations up to 1,000 μg/ml in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. The selectivity index for influenza virus was more than 2,000. It was also active against a neuraminidase inhibitor-resistant virus and some amantadine-resistant viruses. T-705 showed weak activity against non-influenza virus RNA viruses, with the IC50s being higher for non-influenza virus RNA viruses than for influenza virus, and it had no activity against DNA viruses. Orally administered T-705 at 100 mg/kg of body weight/day (four times a day) for 5 days significantly reduced the mean pulmonary virus yields and the rate of mortality in mice infected with influenza virus A/PR/8/34 (3 × 102 PFU). These results suggest that T-705 may be a compound that is useful and highly selective against influenza virus infections and that has a mode of action different from those of commercially available drugs, such as amantadine, rimantadine, and neuraminidase inhibitors.

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