scholarly journals Eurasian Avian-like M1 Plays More Important Role than M2 in Pathogenicity of 2009 Pandemic H1N1 Influenza Virus in Mice

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2335
Author(s):  
Lixiang Xie ◽  
Guanlong Xu ◽  
Lingxiang Xin ◽  
Zhaofei Wang ◽  
Rujuan Wu ◽  
...  

Reassortant variant viruses generated between 2009 H1N1 pandemic influenza virus [A(H1N1)pdm09] and endemic swine influenza viruses posed a potential risk to humans. Surprisingly, genetic analysis showed that almost all of these variant viruses contained the M segment from A(H1N1)pdm09, which originated from Eurasian avian-like swine influenza viruses. Studies have shown that the A(H1N1)pdm09 M gene is critical for the transmissibility and pathogenicity of the variant viruses. However, the M gene encodes two proteins, M1 and M2, and which of those plays a more important role in virus pathogenicity remains unknown. In this study, the M1 and M2 genes of A(H1N1)pdm09 were replaced with those of endemic H3N2 swine influenza virus, respectively. The chimeric viruses were rescued and evaluated in vitro and in mice. Both M1 and M2 of H3N2 affected the virus replication in vitro. In mice, the introduction of H3N2 M1 attenuated the chimeric virus, where all the mice survived from the infection, compared with the wild type virus that caused 100 % mortality. However, the chimeric virus containing H3N2 M2 was still virulent to mice, and caused 16.6% mortality, as well as similar body weight loss to the wild type virus infected group. Compared with the wild type virus, the chimeric virus containing H3N2 M1 induced lower levels of inflammatory cytokines and higher levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines, whereas the chimeric virus containing H3N2 M2 induced substantial pro-inflammatory responses, but higher levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines. The study demonstrated that Eurasian avian-like M1 played a more important role than M2 in the pathogenicity of A(H1N1)pdm09 in mice.

2009 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 1527-1535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark L. Reed ◽  
Olga A. Bridges ◽  
Patrick Seiler ◽  
Jeong-Ki Kim ◽  
Hui-Ling Yen ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT While the molecular mechanism of membrane fusion by the influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) protein has been studied extensively in vitro, the role of acid-dependent HA protein activation in virus replication, pathogenesis, and transmission in vivo has not been characterized. To investigate the biological significance of the pH of activation of the HA protein, we compared the properties of four recombinant viruses with altered HA protein acid stability to those of wild-type influenza virus A/chicken/Vietnam/C58/04 (H5N1) in vitro and in mallards. Membrane fusion by wild-type virus was activated at pH 5.9. Wild-type virus had a calculated environmental persistence of 62 days and caused extensive morbidity, mortality, shedding, and transmission in mallards. An N114K mutation that increased the pH of HA activation by 0.5 unit resulted in decreased replication, genetic stability, and environmental stability. Changes of +0.4 and −0.5 unit in the pH of activation by Y23H and K58I mutations, respectively, reduced weight loss, mortality, shedding, and transmission in mallards. An H24Q mutation that decreased the pH of activation by 0.3 unit resulted in weight loss, mortality, clinical symptoms, and shedding similar to those of the wild type. However, the HA-H241Q virus was shed more extensively into drinking water and persisted longer in the environment. The pH of activation of the H5 HA protein plays a key role in the propagation of H5N1 influenza viruses in ducks and may be a novel molecular factor in the ecology of influenza viruses. The data also demonstrate that H5N1 neuraminidase activity increases the pH of activation of the HA protein in vitro.


1998 ◽  
Vol 42 (12) ◽  
pp. 3234-3241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun Y. Tai ◽  
Paul A. Escarpe ◽  
Robert W. Sidwell ◽  
Matthew A. Williams ◽  
Willard Lew ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT An oral prodrug of GS 4071, a potent and selective inhibitor of influenza neuraminidases, is currently under clinical development for the treatment and prophylaxis of influenza virus infections in humans. To investigate the potential development of resistance during the clinical use of this compound, variants of the human influenza A/Victoria/3/75 (H3N2) virus with reduced susceptibility to the neuraminidase inhibitor GS 4071 were selected in vitro by passaging the virus in MDCK cells in the presence of inhibitor. After eight passages, variants containing two amino acid substitutions in the hemagglutinin (A28T in HA1 and R124M in HA2) but no changes in the neuraminidase were isolated. These variants exhibited a 10-fold reduction in susceptibility to GS 4071 and zanamivir (GG167) in an in vitro plaque reduction assay. After 12 passages, a second variant containing these hemagglutinin mutations and a Lys substitution for the conserved Arg292 of the neuraminidase was isolated. The mutant neuraminidase enzyme exhibited high-level (30,000-fold) resistance to GS 4071, but only moderate (30-fold) resistance to zanamivir and 4-amino-Neu5Ac2en, the amino analog of zanamivir. The mutant enzyme had weaker affinity for the fluorogenic substrate 2′-(4-methylumbelliferyl)-α-d- N -acetylneuraminic acid and lower enzymatic activity compared to the wild-type enzyme. The viral variant containing the mutant neuraminidase did not replicate as well as the wild-type virus in culture and was 10,000-fold less infectious than the wild-type virus in a mouse model. These results suggest that although the R292K neuraminidase mutation confers high-level resistance to GS 4071 in vitro, its effect on viral virulence is likely to render this mutation of limited clinical significance.


2005 ◽  
Vol 79 (12) ◽  
pp. 7535-7543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicia Solórzano ◽  
Richard J. Webby ◽  
Kelly M. Lager ◽  
Bruce H. Janke ◽  
Adolfo García-Sastre ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT It has been shown previously that the nonstructural protein NS1 of influenza virus is an alpha/beta interferon (IFN-α/β) antagonist, both in vitro and in experimental animal model systems. However, evidence of this function in a natural host has not yet been obtained. Here we investigated the role of the NS1 protein in the virulence of a swine influenza virus (SIV) isolate in pigs by using reverse genetics. The virulent wild-type A/Swine/Texas/4199-2/98 (TX/98) virus and various mutants encoding carboxy-truncated NS1 proteins were rescued. Growth properties of TX/98 viruses with mutated NS1, induction of IFN in tissue culture, and virulence-attenuation in pigs were analyzed and compared to those of the recombinant wild-type TX/98 virus. Our results indicate that deletions in the NS1 protein decrease the ability of the TX/98 virus to prevent IFN-α/β synthesis in pig cells. Moreover, all NS1 mutant viruses were attenuated in pigs, and this correlated with the amount of IFN-α/β induced in vitro. These data suggest that the NS1 protein of SIV is a virulence factor. Due to their attenuation, NS1-mutated swine influenza viruses might have a great potential as live attenuated vaccine candidates against SIV infections of pigs.


2007 ◽  
Vol 81 (22) ◽  
pp. 12418-12426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui-Ling Yen ◽  
Natalia A. Ilyushina ◽  
Rachelle Salomon ◽  
Erich Hoffmann ◽  
Robert G. Webster ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Effective antiviral drugs are essential for early control of an influenza pandemic. It is therefore crucial to evaluate the possible threat posed by neuraminidase (NA) inhibitor-resistant influenza viruses with pandemic potential. Four NA mutations (E119G, H274Y, R292K, and N294S) that have been reported to confer resistance to NA inhibitors were each introduced into recombinant A/Vietnam/1203/04 (VN1203) H5N1 influenza virus. For comparison, the same mutations were introduced into recombinant A/Puerto Rico/8/34 (PR8) H1N1 influenza virus. The E119G and R292K mutations significantly compromised viral growth in vitro, but the H274Y and N294S mutations were stably maintained in VN1203 and PR8 viruses. In both backgrounds, the H274Y and N294S mutations conferred resistance to oseltamivir carboxylate (50% inhibitory concentration [IC50] increases, >250-fold and >20-fold, respectively), and the N294S mutation reduced susceptibility to zanamivir (IC50 increase, >3.0-fold). Although the H274Y and N294S mutations did not compromise the replication efficiency of VN1203 or PR8 viruses in vitro, these mutations slightly reduced the lethality of PR8 virus in mice. However, the VN1203 virus carrying either the H274Y or N294S mutation exhibited lethality similar to that of the wild-type VN1203 virus. The different enzyme kinetic parameters (V max and Km ) of avian-like VN1203 NA and human-like PR8 NA suggest that resistance-associated NA mutations can cause different levels of functional loss in NA glycoproteins of the same subtype. Our results suggest that NA inhibitor-resistant H5N1 variants may retain the high pathogenicity of the wild-type virus in mammalian species. Patients receiving NA inhibitors for H5N1 influenza virus infection should be closely monitored for the emergence of resistant variants.


2013 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 2171-2181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenna E. Achenbach ◽  
Richard A. Bowen

ABSTRACTOseltamivir carboxylate (OC) has been detected in environmental waters at various levels during recent influenza seasons in humans, reflecting levels of usage and stability of this drug. In consideration of the role of waterfowl as hosts for influenza viruses that may contribute to human infections, we evaluated the effect of consumption of low doses of OC on development of oseltamivir-resistant influenza virus mutants in mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) infected with two different low-pathogenic (LP) H5N2 avian influenza viruses (AIV). We detected development of virus variants carrying a known molecular marker of oseltamivir resistance (neuraminidase E119V) in 4 out of 6 mallards infected with A/Mallard/Minnesota/182742/1998 (H5N2) and exposed to 1,000 ng/liter OC. The mutation first appeared as a minor population on days 5 to 6 and was the dominant genotype on days 6 to 8. Oseltamivir-resistant mutations were not detected in virus from ducks not exposed to the drug or in ducks infected with a second strain of virus and similarly exposed to OC. Virus isolates carrying the E119V mutation displayedin vitroreplication kinetics similar to those of the wild-type virus, butin vivo, the E119V virus rapidly reverted back to wild type in the absence of OC, and only the wild-type parental strain was transmitted to contact ducks. These results indicate that consumption by wild waterfowl of OC in drinking water may promote selection of the E119V resistance mutation in some strains of H5N2 AIV that could contribute to viruses infecting human populations.


2011 ◽  
Vol 92 (8) ◽  
pp. 1822-1831 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim L. Roberts ◽  
Holly Shelton ◽  
Margaret Scull ◽  
Raymond Pickles ◽  
Wendy S. Barclay

Influenza virus attaches to host cells by sialic acid (SA). Human influenza viruses show preferential affinity for α2,6-linked SA, whereas avian influenza viruses bind α2,3-linked SA. In this study, mutation of the haemagglutinin receptor-binding site of a human H3N2 influenza A virus to switch binding to α2,3-linked SA did not eliminate infection of ferrets but prevented transmission, even in a co-housed model. The mutant virus was shed from the noses of ferrets directly inoculated with virus in the same amounts and for the same length of time as wild-type virus. Mutant virus infection was localized to the same anatomical regions of the upper respiratory tract of directly inoculated animals. Interestingly, wild-type virus was more readily neutralized than the mutant virus in vitro by ferret nasal washes containing mucus. Moreover after inoculation of equal doses, the mutant virus grew poorly in ex vivo ferret nasal turbinate tissue compared with wild-type virus. The dose of mutant virus required to establish infection in the directly inoculated ferrets was 40-fold higher than for wild-type virus. It was concluded that minimum infectious dose is a predictor of virus transmissibility and it is suggested that, as virus passes from one host to another through stringent environmental conditions, viruses with a preference for α2,3-linked SA are unlikely to inoculate a new mammalian host in sufficient quantities to initiate a productive infection.


1999 ◽  
Vol 73 (12) ◽  
pp. 10551-10555 ◽  
Author(s):  
Armin Ensser ◽  
André Pfinder ◽  
Ingrid Müller-Fleckenstein ◽  
Bernhard Fleckenstein

ABSTRACT The herpesvirus saimiri strain C488 genome contains five genes for small nuclear RNAs, termed herpesvirus saimiri URNAs (or HSURs). Using a cosmid-based approach, all HSURs were precisely deleted from the genome. The mutant virus replicated at levels that were similar to those of wild-type viruses in OMK cells. Although the HSURs are expressed in wild-type virus-transformed human T-cell lines, the deletion does not affect viral transformation in cell culture.


2000 ◽  
Vol 74 (7) ◽  
pp. 3353-3365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chi-Long Lin ◽  
Che-Sheng Chung ◽  
Hans G. Heine ◽  
Wen Chang

ABSTRACT An immunodominant antigen, p35, is expressed on the envelope of intracellular mature virions (IMV) of vaccinia virus. p35 is encoded by the viral late gene H3L, but its role in the virus life cycle is not known. This report demonstrates that soluble H3L protein binds to heparan sulfate on the cell surface and competes with the binding of vaccinia virus, indicating a role for H3L protein in IMV adsorption to mammalian cells. A mutant virus defective in expression of H3L (H3L−) was constructed; the mutant virus has a small plaque phenotype and 10-fold lower IMV and extracellular enveloped virion titers than the wild-type virus. Virion morphogenesis is severely blocked and intermediate viral structures such as viral factories and crescents accumulate in cells infected with the H3L− mutant virus. IMV from the H3L− mutant virus are somewhat altered and less infectious than wild-type virions. However, cells infected by the mutant virus form multinucleated syncytia after low pH treatment, suggesting that H3L protein is not required for cell fusion. Mice inoculated intranasally with wild-type virus show high mortality and severe weight loss, whereas mice infected with H3L− mutant virus survive and recover faster, indicating that inactivation of the H3L gene attenuates virus virulence in vivo. In summary, these data indicate that H3L protein mediates vaccinia virus adsorption to cell surface heparan sulfate and is important for vaccinia virus infection in vitro and in vivo. In addition, H3L protein plays a role in virion assembly.


2003 ◽  
Vol 77 (22) ◽  
pp. 12266-12275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ehud Katz ◽  
Brian M. Ward ◽  
Andrea S. Weisberg ◽  
Bernard Moss

ABSTRACT The spread of vaccinia virus in cell cultures is mediated by virions that adhere to the tips of specialized actin-containing microvilli and also by virions that are released into the medium. The use of a small plaque-forming A36R gene deletion mutant to select spontaneous second-site mutants exhibiting enhanced virus release was described previously. Two types of mutations were found: C-terminal truncations of the A33R envelope protein and a single amino acid substitution of the B5R envelope protein. In the present study, we transferred each type of mutation into a wild-type virus background in order to study their effects in vitro and in vivo. The two new mutants conserved the enhanced virus release properties of the original isolates; the A33R mutant produced considerably more extracellular virus than the B5R mutant. The extracellular virus particles contained the truncated A33R protein in one case and the mutated B5R protein in the other. Remarkably, both mutants failed to form actin tails and specialized microvilli, despite the presence of an intact A36R gene. The synthesis of the A36R protein as well as its physical association with the mutated or wild-type A33R protein was demonstrated. Moreover, the A36R protein was tyrosine phosphorylated, a step mediated by a membrane-associated Src kinase that regulates the nucleation of actin polymerization. The presence of large numbers of adherent virions on the cell surface argued against rapid dissociation as having a key role in preventing actin tail formation. Thus, the A33R and B5R proteins may be more directly involved in the formation or stabilization of actin tails than had been previously thought. When mice were inoculated intranasally, the A33R mutant was highly attenuated and the B5R mutant was mildly attenuated compared to wild-type virus. Enhanced virus release, therefore, did not compensate for the loss of actin tails and specialized microvilli.


2020 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. e01526-20
Author(s):  
Z. Beau Reneer ◽  
Parker J. Jamieson ◽  
Amanda L. Skarlupka ◽  
Ying Huang ◽  
Ted M. Ross

ABSTRACTInfluenza viruses have caused numerous pandemics throughout human history. The 1957 influenza pandemic was initiated by an H2N2 influenza virus. This H2N2 influenza virus was the result of a reassortment event between a circulating H2N2 avian virus and the seasonal H1N1 viruses in humans. Previously, our group has demonstrated the effectiveness of hemagglutinin (HA) antigens derived using computationally optimized broadly reactive antigen (COBRA) methodology against H1N1, H3N2, and H5N1 viruses. Using the COBRA methodology, H2 HA COBRA antigens were designed using sequences from H2N2 viruses isolated from humans in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as H2Nx viruses isolated from avian and mammalian species between the 1950s and 2016. In this study, the effectiveness of H2 COBRA HA antigens (Z1, Z3, Z5, and Z7) was evaluated in DBA/2J mice and compared to that of wild-type H2 HA antigens. The COBRA HA vaccines elicited neutralizing antibodies to the majority of viruses in our H2 HA panel and across all three clades as measured by hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) and neutralization assays. Comparatively, several wild-type HA vaccines elicited antibodies against a majority of the viruses in the H2 HA panel. DBA/2J mice vaccinated with COBRA vaccines showed increase survival for all three viral challenges compared to the wild-type H2 vaccines. In particular, the Z1 COBRA is a promising candidate for future work toward a pandemic H2 influenza vaccine.IMPORTANCE H2N2 influenza has caused at least one pandemic in the past. Given that individuals born after 1968 have not been exposed to H2N2 influenza viruses, a future pandemic caused by H2 influenza is likely. An effective H2 influenza vaccine would need to elicit broadly cross-reactive antibodies to multiple H2 influenza viruses. Choosing a wild-type virus to create a vaccine may elicit a narrow immune response and not protect against multiple H2 influenza viruses. COBRA H2 HA vaccines were developed and evaluated in mice along with wild-type H2 HA vaccines. Multiple COBRA H2 HA vaccines protected mice from all three viral challenges and produced broadly cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies to H2 influenza viruses.


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