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The Janus Kinase Inhibitor Ruxolitinib Prevents Terminal Shock in a Mouse Model of Arenavirus Hemorrhagic Fever. Microorganisms 2021; 9:microorganisms9030564. [PMID: 33803310 PMCID: PMC8001354 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9030564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2021] [Revised: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Arenaviruses such as Lassa virus cause arenavirus hemorrhagic fever (AVHF), but protective vaccines and effective antiviral therapy remain unmet medical needs. Our prior work has revealed that inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) induction by IFN-γ represents a key pathway to microvascular leak and terminal shock in AVHF. Here we hypothesized that Ruxolitinib, an FDA-approved JAK inhibitor known to prevent IFN-γ signaling, could be repurposed for host-directed therapy in AVHF. We tested the efficacy of Ruxolitinib in MHC-humanized (HHD) mice, which develop Lassa fever-like disease upon infection with the monkey-pathogenic lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus strain WE. Anti-TNF antibody therapy was tested as an alternative strategy owing to its expected effect on macrophage activation. Ruxolitinib but not anti-TNF antibody prevented hypothermia and terminal disease as well as pleural effusions and skin edema, which served as readouts of microvascular leak. As expected, neither treatment influenced viral loads. Intriguingly, however, and despite its potent disease-modifying activity, Ruxolitinib did not measurably interfere with iNOS expression or systemic NO metabolite levels. These findings suggest that the FDA-approved JAK-inhibitor Ruxolitinib has potential in the treatment of AVHF. Moreover, our observations indicate that besides IFN-γ-induced iNOS additional druggable pathways contribute essentially to AVHF and are amenable to host-directed therapy.
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Analysis of the Function of the Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus S Segment Untranslated Region on Growth Capacity In Vitro and on Virulence In Vivo. Viruses 2020; 12:v12080896. [PMID: 32824338 PMCID: PMC7474432 DOI: 10.3390/v12080896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Revised: 08/11/2020] [Accepted: 08/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) is a prototypic arenavirus. The function of untranslated regions (UTRs) of the LCMV genome has not been well studied except for the extreme 19 nucleotide residues of both the 5′ and 3′ termini. There are internal UTRs composed of 58 and 41 nucleotide residues in the 5′ and 3′ UTRs, respectively, in the LCMV S segment. Their functional roles have yet to be elucidated. In this study, reverse genetics and minigenome systems were established for LCMV strain WE and the function of these regions were analyzed. It was revealed that nucleotides 20–40 and 20–38 located downstream of the 19 nucleotides in the 5′ and 3′ termini, respectively, were involved in viral genome replication and transcription. Furthermore, it was revealed that the other internal UTRs (nucleotides 41–77 and 39–60 in the 5′ and 3′ termini, respectively) in the S segment were involved in virulence in vivo, even though these regions did not affect viral growth capacity in Vero cells. The introduction of LCMV with mutations in these regions attenuates the virus and may enable the production of LCMV vaccine candidates.
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Hickerson BT, Westover JB, Jung KH, Komeno T, Furuta Y, Gowen BB. Effective Treatment of Experimental Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus Infection: Consideration of Favipiravir for Use With Infected Organ Transplant Recipients. J Infect Dis 2018; 218:522-527. [PMID: 29762684 PMCID: PMC6047442 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiy159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2018] [Accepted: 03/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) poses a substantial risk to immunocompromised individuals. The case fatality rate in recent clusters of LCMV infection in immunosuppressed organ transplantation recipients has exceeded 70%. In the present study, we demonstrate potent antiviral activity of favipiravir against acute, disseminated LCMV infection in NZB mice. Treatment resulted in complete protection against mortality and dramatic reductions in viral loads. In contrast, ribavirin, the current antiviral of choice, was mostly ineffective. Our findings, and the high lethality associated with LCMV infection in transplant recipients, support the consideration of favipiravir as a first-line therapeutic option.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brady T Hickerson
- Department of Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, Utah State University, Logan
| | - Jonna B Westover
- Department of Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, Utah State University, Logan
| | - Kie-Hoon Jung
- Department of Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, Utah State University, Logan
| | | | | | - Brian B Gowen
- Department of Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, Utah State University, Logan
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Mammarenaviral Infection Is Dependent on Directional Exposure to and Release from Polarized Intestinal Epithelia. Viruses 2018; 10:v10020075. [PMID: 29439402 PMCID: PMC5850382 DOI: 10.3390/v10020075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2018] [Revised: 02/02/2018] [Accepted: 02/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Mammarenavirusesare single-stranded RNA viruses with a bisegmented ambisense genome. Ingestion has been shown as a natural route of transmission for both Lassa virus (LASV) and Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV). Due to the mechanism of transmission, epithelial tissues are among the first host cells to come in contact with the viruses, and as such they potentially play a role in spread of virus to naïve hosts. The role of the intestinal epithelia during arenavirus infection remains to be uncharacterized. We have utilized a well-established cell culture model, Caco-2, to investigate the role of intestinal epithelia during intragastric infection. We found that LCMV-Armstrong, LCMV-WE, and Mopeia (MOPV) release infectious progeny via similar patterns. However, the reassortant virus, ML-29, containing the L segment of MOPV and S segment of LASV, exhibits a unique pattern of viral release relative to LCMV and MOPV. Furthermore, we have determined attachment efficacy to Caco-2 cells is potentially responsible for observed replication kinetics of these viruses in a polarized Caco-2 cell model. Collectively, our data shows that viral dissemination and interaction with intestinal epithelia may be host, tissue, and viral specific.
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Salvato MS, Lukashevich IS, Yang Y, Medina-Moreno S, Djavani M, Bryant J, Rodas JD, Zapata JC. A Primate Model for Viral Hemorrhagic Fever. Methods Mol Biol 2018; 1604:279-290. [PMID: 28986843 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-6981-4_22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus strain WE (LCMV-WE), a Risk Group 3 virus, causes a disease in rhesus monkeys that closely resembles human infection with Lassa fever virus, a Risk Group 4 agent. Three stages of disease progression have been defined and profiled in this model: pre-viremic, viremic, and terminal. The earliest or pre-viremic stage reveals changes in the blood profile predictive of the later stages of disease. In order to identify whether specific changes are pathognomonic, it was necessary to perform a parallel infection with an attenuated virus (LCMV-Armstrong). Here we review the use of nonhuman primates to model viral hemorrhagic fever and offer a step-by-step guide to using a rhesus macaque model for Lassa fever.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria S Salvato
- University of Maryland School of Medicine, 725 W. Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.
| | | | - Yida Yang
- Institute of Infectious Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China
| | - Sandra Medina-Moreno
- University of Maryland School of Medicine, 725 W. Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
| | - Mahmoud Djavani
- Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 725 W. Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
| | - Joseph Bryant
- University of Maryland School of Medicine, 725 W. Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
| | - Juan David Rodas
- Linea de zoonosis Emergentes y Re-emergentes, Grupo Centauro, Facultad de, Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia
| | - Juan Carlos Zapata
- Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 725 W. Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
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Interferon-γ-Driven iNOS: A Molecular Pathway to Terminal Shock in Arenavirus Hemorrhagic Fever. Cell Host Microbe 2017; 22:354-365.e5. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2017.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2017] [Revised: 05/11/2017] [Accepted: 07/11/2017] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
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Abstract
INTRODUCTION Lassa virus (LASV), the most prominent human pathogen of the Arenaviridae, is transmitted to humans from infected rodents and can cause Lassa Fever (LF). The sizeable disease burden in West Africa, numerous imported LF cases worldwide, and the possibility that LASV can be used as an agent of biological warfare make a strong case for vaccine development. There are no licensed LASV vaccines and the antiviral treatment is limited to an off-label use of ribavirin that is only partially effective. AREAS COVERED LASV vaccine development is hampered by high cost of biocontainment requirement, the absence of appropriate small animal models, genetic diversity of LASV species, and by high HIV-1 prevalence in LASV endemic areas. Over the past 15 years several vaccine platforms have been developed. Natural history of LASV and pathogenesis of the disease provide strong justification for replication-competent (RC) vaccine as one of the most feasible approaches to control LF. Development of LASV vaccine candidates based on reassortant, recombinant, and alphavirus replicon technologies is covered in this review. Expert commentary: Two lead RC vaccine candidates, reassortant ML29 and recombinant VSV/LASV, have been successfully tested in non-human primates and have been recommended by international vaccine experts for rapid clinical development. Both platforms have powerful molecular tools to further secure safety, improve immunogenicity, and cross-protection. These platforms are well positioned to design multivalent vaccines to protect against all LASV strains citculatrd in West Africa. The regulatory pathway of Candid #1, the first live-attenuated arenaviral vaccine against Argentine hemorrhagic, will be a reasonable guideline for LASV vaccine efficacy trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor S Lukashevich
- a Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Medicine, and the Center for Predictive Medicine for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases , University of Louisville , Louisville , KY , USA
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Beier JI, Jokinen JD, Holz GE, Whang PS, Martin AM, Warner NL, Arteel GE, Lukashevich IS. Novel mechanism of arenavirus-induced liver pathology. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0122839. [PMID: 25822203 PMCID: PMC4378851 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0122839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2014] [Accepted: 02/20/2015] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) encompass a group of diseases with cardinal symptoms of fever, hemorrhage, and shock. The liver is a critical mediator of VHF disease pathogenesis and high levels of ALT/AST transaminases in plasma correlate with poor prognosis. In fact, Lassa Fever (LF), the most prevalent VHF in Africa, was initially clinically described as hepatitis. Previous studies in non-human primate (NHP) models also correlated LF pathogenesis with a robust proliferative response in the liver. The purpose of the current study was to gain insight into the mechanism of liver injury and to determine the potential role of proliferation in LF pathogenesis. C57Bl/6J mice were infected with either the pathogenic (for NHPs) strain of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV, the prototypic arenavirus), LCMV-WE, or with the non-pathogenic strain, LCMV-ARM. As expected, LCMV-WE, but not ARM, caused a hepatitis-like infection. LCMV-WE also induced a robust increase in the number of actively cycling hepatocytes. Despite this increase in proliferation, there was no significant difference in liver size between LCMV-WE and LCMV-ARM, suggesting that cell cycle was incomplete. Indeed, cells appeared arrested in the G1 phase and LCMV-WE infection increased the number of hepatocytes that were simultaneously stained for proliferation and apoptosis. LCMV-WE infection also induced expression of a non-conventional virus receptor, AXL-1, from the TAM (TYRO3/AXL/MERTK) family of receptor tyrosine kinases and this expression correlated with proliferation. Taken together, these results shed new light on the mechanism of liver involvement in VHF pathogenesis. Specifically, it is hypothesized that the induction of hepatocyte proliferation contributes to expansion of the infection to parenchymal cells. Elevated levels of plasma transaminases are likely explained, at least in part, by abortive cell cycle arrest induced by the infection. These results may lead to the development of new therapies to prevent VHF progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliane I. Beier
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Louisville Health Sciences Center, Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America
- Center for Predictive Medicine for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America
| | - Jenny D. Jokinen
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Louisville Health Sciences Center, Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America
- Center for Predictive Medicine for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America
| | - Gretchen E. Holz
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Louisville Health Sciences Center, Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America
- Center for Predictive Medicine for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America
| | - Patrick S. Whang
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Louisville Health Sciences Center, Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America
- Center for Predictive Medicine for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America
| | - Amah M. Martin
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Louisville Health Sciences Center, Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America
| | - Nikole L. Warner
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Louisville Health Sciences Center, Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America
- Center for Predictive Medicine for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America
| | - Gavin E. Arteel
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Louisville Health Sciences Center, Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America
| | - Igor S. Lukashevich
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Louisville Health Sciences Center, Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Louisville Health Sciences Center, Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America
- Center for Predictive Medicine for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Smith DR, Holbrook MR, Gowen BB. Animal models of viral hemorrhagic fever. Antiviral Res 2014; 112:59-79. [PMID: 25448088 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2014.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2014] [Revised: 09/24/2014] [Accepted: 10/05/2014] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The term "viral hemorrhagic fever" (VHF) designates a syndrome of acute febrile illness, increased vascular permeability and coagulation defects which often progresses to bleeding and shock and may be fatal in a significant percentage of cases. The causative agents are some 20 different RNA viruses in the families Arenaviridae, Bunyaviridae, Filoviridae and Flaviviridae, which are maintained in a variety of animal species and are transferred to humans through direct or indirect contact or by an arthropod vector. Except for dengue, which is transmitted among humans by mosquitoes, the geographic distribution of each type of VHF is determined by the range of its animal reservoir. Treatments are available for Argentine HF and Lassa fever, but no approved countermeasures have been developed against other types of VHF. The development of effective interventions is hindered by the sporadic nature of most infections and their occurrence in geographic regions with limited medical resources. Laboratory animal models that faithfully reproduce human disease are therefore essential for the evaluation of potential vaccines and therapeutics. The goal of this review is to highlight the current status of animal models that can be used to study the pathogenesis of VHF and test new countermeasures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darci R Smith
- Southern Research Institute, Frederick, MD 21701, United States.
| | - Michael R Holbrook
- Integrated Research Facility, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD, United States
| | - Brian B Gowen
- Institute for Antiviral Research and Department of Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, United States
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Zapata JC, Carrion R, Patterson JL, Crasta O, Zhang Y, Mani S, Jett M, Poonia B, Djavani M, White DM, Lukashevich IS, Salvato MS. Transcriptome analysis of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells exposed to Lassa virus and to the attenuated Mopeia/Lassa reassortant 29 (ML29), a vaccine candidate. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2013; 7:e2406. [PMID: 24069471 PMCID: PMC3772037 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2012] [Accepted: 07/24/2013] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Lassa virus (LASV) is the causative agent of Lassa Fever and is responsible for several hundred thousand infections and thousands of deaths annually in West Africa. LASV and the non-pathogenic Mopeia virus (MOPV) are both rodent-borne African arenaviruses. A live attenuated reassortant of MOPV and LASV, designated ML29, protects rodents and primates from LASV challenge and appears to be more attenuated than MOPV. To gain better insight into LASV-induced pathology and mechanism of attenuation we performed gene expression profiling in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) exposed to LASV and the vaccine candidate ML29. PBMC from healthy human subjects were exposed to either LASV or ML29. Although most PBMC are non-permissive for virus replication, they remain susceptible to signal transduction by virus particles. Total RNA was extracted and global gene expression was evaluated during the first 24 hours using high-density microarrays. Results were validated using RT-PCR, flow cytometry and ELISA. LASV and ML29 elicited differential expression of interferon-stimulated genes (ISG), as well as genes involved in apoptosis, NF-kB signaling and the coagulation pathways. These genes could eventually serve as biomarkers to predict disease outcomes. The remarkable differential expression of thrombomodulin, a key regulator of inflammation and coagulation, suggests its involvement with vascular abnormalities and mortality in Lassa fever disease. The virulent Lassa fever virus (LASV) and the non-pathogenic Mopeia virus (MOPV) infect rodents and, incidentally, people in West Africa. The mechanism of LASV damage in human beings is unclear. There is no licensed Lassa fever vaccine and therapeutic intervention is usually too late. The ML29 vaccine candidate derived from Lassa and Mopeia viruses protects rodents and primates from Lassa fever disease. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy human subjects were exposed to either LASV or ML29 in order to identify early cellular responses that could be attributed to the difference in virulence between the two viruses. Differential expression of interferon-stimulated genes as well as coagulation-related genes could lead to an explanation for Lassa fever pathogenesis and indicate protective treatments for Lassa fever disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Carlos Zapata
- Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
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Lukashevich IS. The search for animal models for Lassa fever vaccine development. Expert Rev Vaccines 2013; 12:71-86. [PMID: 23256740 DOI: 10.1586/erv.12.139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Lassa virus (LASV) is the most prevalent arenavirus in West Africa and is responsible for several hundred thousand infections and thousands of deaths annually. The sizeable disease burden, numerous imported cases of Lassa fever (LF) and the possibility that LASV can be used as an agent of biological warfare make a strong case for vaccine development. Currently there is no licensed LF vaccine and research and devlopment is hampered by the high cost of nonhuman primate animal models and by biocontainment requirements (BSL-4). In addition, a successful LF vaccine has to induce a strong cell-mediated cross-protective immunity against different LASV lineages. All of these challenges will be addressed in this review in the context of available and novel animal models recently described for evaluation of LF vaccine candidates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor S Lukashevich
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Medicine and the Center for Predictive Medicine for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USA.
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12
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Zapata JC, Poonia B, Bryant J, Davis H, Ateh E, George L, Crasta O, Zhang Y, Slezak T, Jaing C, Pauza CD, Goicochea M, Moshkoff D, Lukashevich IS, Salvato MS. An attenuated Lassa vaccine in SIV-infected rhesus macaques does not persist or cause arenavirus disease but does elicit Lassa virus-specific immunity. Virol J 2013; 10:52. [PMID: 23402317 PMCID: PMC3602176 DOI: 10.1186/1743-422x-10-52] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2012] [Accepted: 01/28/2013] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Lassa hemorrhagic fever (LHF) is a rodent-borne viral disease that can be fatal for human beings. In this study, an attenuated Lassa vaccine candidate, ML29, was tested in SIV-infected rhesus macaques for its ability to elicit immune responses without instigating signs pathognomonic for arenavirus disease. ML29 is a reassortant between Lassa and Mopeia viruses that causes a transient infection in non-human primates and confers sterilizing protection from lethal Lassa viral challenge. However, since the LHF endemic area of West Africa also has high HIV seroprevalence, it is important to determine whether vaccination could be safe in the context of HIV infection. Results SIV-infected and uninfected rhesus macaques were vaccinated with the ML29 virus and monitored for specific humoral and cellular immune responses, as well as for classical and non-classical signs of arenavirus disease. Classical disease signs included viremia, rash, respiratory distress, malaise, high liver enzyme levels, and virus invasion of the central nervous system. Non-classical signs, derived from profiling the blood transcriptome of virulent and non-virulent arenavirus infections, included increased expression of interferon-stimulated genes (ISG) and decreased expression of COX2, IL-1β, coagulation intermediates and nuclear receptors needed for stress signaling. All vaccinated monkeys showed ML29-specific antibody responses and ML29-specific cell-mediated immunity. Conclusion SIV-infected and uninfected rhesus macaques responded similarly to ML29 vaccination, and none developed chronic arenavirus infection. Importantly, none of the macaques developed signs, classical or non-classical, of arenavirus disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan C Zapata
- Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 725 West Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
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Abstract
Arenaviruses are a family of enveloped negative-stranded RNA viruses that can cause severe human disease ranging from encephalitis symptoms to fulminant hemorrhagic fever. The bi‑segmented RNA genome encodes four polypeptides: the nucleoprotein NP, the surface glycoprotein GP, the polymerase L, and the RING finger protein Z. Although it is the smallest arenavirus protein with a length of 90 to 99 amino acids and a molecular weight of approx. 11 kDa, the Z protein has multiple functions in the viral life cycle including (i) regulation of viral RNA synthesis, (ii) orchestration of viral assembly and budding, (iii) interaction with host cell proteins, and (iv) interferon antagonism. In this review, we summarize our current understanding of the structural and functional role of the Z protein in the arenavirus replication cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Katharina Fehling
- Institut für Virologie der Philipps-Universität Marburg, Hans-Meerwein-Str. 2, 35043 Marburg, Germany.
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Abstract
Lassa fever is a hemorrhagic fever endemic to West Africa and caused by Lassa virus, an Old World arenavirus. It may be fatal, but most patients recover from acute disease and some experience asymptomatic infection. The immune mechanisms associated with these different outcomes have not yet been fully elucidated, but considerable progress has recently been made, through the use of in vitro human models and nonhuman primates, the only relevant animal model that mimics the pathophysiology and immune responses induced in patients. We discuss here the roles of the various components of the innate and adaptive immune systems in Lassa virus infection and in the control of viral replication and pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marion Russier
- Unité de Biologie des Infections Virales Emergentes, Institut Pasteur, 21 avenue Tony Garnier, 69365 Lyon, France;
| | - Delphine Pannetier
- Laboratoire P4 Jean Mérieux-Inserm, 21 avenue Tony Garnier, 69365 Lyon, France;
| | - Sylvain Baize
- Unité de Biologie des Infections Virales Emergentes, Institut Pasteur, 21 avenue Tony Garnier, 69365 Lyon, France;
- Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; ; Tel.: +33-4-3728-2440; Fax: +33-4-3728-2441
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Lukashevich IS. Advanced vaccine candidates for Lassa fever. Viruses 2012; 4:2514-57. [PMID: 23202493 PMCID: PMC3509661 DOI: 10.3390/v4112514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2012] [Revised: 10/20/2012] [Accepted: 10/22/2012] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Lassa virus (LASV) is the most prominent human pathogen of the Arenaviridae. The virus is transmitted to humans by a rodent reservoir, Mastomys natalensis, and is capable of causing lethal Lassa Fever (LF). LASV has the highest human impact of any of the viral hemorrhagic fevers (with the exception of Dengue Fever) with an estimated several hundred thousand infections annually, resulting in thousands of deaths in Western Africa. The sizeable disease burden, numerous imported cases of LF in non-endemic countries, and the possibility that LASV can be used as an agent of biological warfare make a strong case for vaccine development. Presently there is no licensed vaccine against LF or approved treatment. Recently, several promising vaccine candidates have been developed which can potentially target different groups at risk. The purpose of this manuscript is to review the LASV pathogenesis and immune mechanisms involved in protection. The current status of pre-clinical development of the advanced vaccine candidates that have been tested in non-human primates will be discussed. Major scientific, manufacturing, and regulatory challenges will also be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor S Lukashevich
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Medicine, and Center for Predictive Medicine for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
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Animal models, prophylaxis, and therapeutics for arenavirus infections. Viruses 2012; 4:1802-29. [PMID: 23170184 PMCID: PMC3499831 DOI: 10.3390/v4091802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2012] [Revised: 09/19/2012] [Accepted: 09/21/2012] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Arenaviruses are enveloped, bipartite negative single-stranded RNA viruses that can cause a wide spectrum of disease in humans and experimental animals including hemorrhagic fever. The majority of these viruses are rodent-borne and the arenavirus family can be divided into two groups: the Lassa-Lymphocytic choriomeningitis serocomplex and the Tacaribe serocomplex. Arenavirus-induced disease may include characteristic symptoms ranging from fever, malaise, body aches, petechiae, dehydration, hemorrhage, organ failure, shock, and in severe cases death. Currently, there are few prophylactic and therapeutic treatments available for arenavirus-induced symptoms. Supportive care and ribavirin remain the predominant strategies for treating most of the arenavirus-induced diseases. Therefore, efficacy testing of novel therapeutic and prophylactic strategies in relevant animal models is necessary. Because of the potential for person-to-person spread, the ability to cause lethal or debilitating disease in humans, limited treatment options, and potential as a bio-weapon, the development of prophylactics and therapeutics is essential. This article reviews the current arenavirus animal models and prophylactic and therapeutic strategies under development to treat arenavirus infection.
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Linero FN, Sepúlveda CS, Giovannoni F, Castilla V, García CC, Scolaro LA, Damonte EB. Host cell factors as antiviral targets in arenavirus infection. Viruses 2012; 4:1569-91. [PMID: 23170173 PMCID: PMC3499820 DOI: 10.3390/v4091569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2012] [Revised: 08/31/2012] [Accepted: 09/04/2012] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Among the members of the Arenaviridae family, Lassa virus and Junin virus generate periodic annual outbreaks of severe human hemorrhagic fever (HF) in endemic areas of West Africa and Argentina, respectively. Given the human health threat that arenaviruses represent and the lack of a specific and safe chemotherapy, the search for effective antiviral compounds is a continuous demanding effort. Since diverse host cell pathways and enzymes are used by RNA viruses to fulfill their replicative cycle, the targeting of a host process has turned an attractive antiviral approach in the last years for many unrelated virus types. This strategy has the additional benefit to reduce the serious challenge for therapy of RNA viruses to escape from drug effects through selection of resistant variants triggered by their high mutation rate. This article focuses on novel strategies to identify inhibitors for arenavirus therapy, analyzing the potential for antiviral developments of diverse host factors essential for virus infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florencia N Linero
- Laboratorio de Virología, Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires/IQUIBICEN (CONICET), Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellón 2, Piso 4, Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina.
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18
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Irwin NR, Bayerlová M, Missa O, Martínková N. Complex patterns of host switching in New World arenaviruses. Mol Ecol 2012; 21:4137-50. [PMID: 22693963 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2012.05663.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
We empirically tested the long-standing hypothesis of codivergence of New World arenaviruses (NWA) with their hosts. We constructed phylogenies for NWA and all known hosts and used them in reconciliation analyses. We also constructed a phylogenetic tree of all Sigmodontinae and Neotominae rodents and tested whether viral-host associations were phylogenetically clustered. We determined host geographical overlap to determine to what extent opportunity to switch hosts was limited by host relatedness or physical proximity. With the exception of viruses from North America, no phylogenetically codivergent pattern between NWA and their hosts was found. We found that different virus clades were clustered differently and that Clade B with members pathogenic to humans was randomly distributed across the rodent phylogeny. Furthermore, viral relatedness within Clade B was significantly explained by the geographic overlap of their hosts' ranges rather than host relatedness, indicating that they are capable of host switching opportunistically. This has important bearings on their potential to become panzootic. Together, these analyses suggest that NWA have not codiverged with their hosts and instead have evolved predominantly via host switching.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nancy R Irwin
- Department of Biology, University of York, POBOX 373, York, YO10 5DD, UK.
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19
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Pathogenic Old World arenaviruses inhibit TLR2/Mal-dependent proinflammatory cytokines in vitro. J Virol 2012; 86:7216-26. [PMID: 22532679 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.06508-11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), the prototype arenavirus, and Lassa virus (LASV), the causative agent of Lassa fever (LF), have extensive strain diversity and significant variations in pathogenicity for humans and experimental animals. The WE strain of LCMV (LCMV-WE), but not the Armstrong (Arm) strain, induces a fatal LF-like disease in rhesus macaques. We also demonstrated that LASV infection of human macrophages and endothelial cells resulted in reduced levels of proinflammatory cytokines. Here we have shown that cells infected with LASV or with LCMV-WE suppressed Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2)-dependent proinflammatory cytokine responses. The persisting isolate LCMV clone 13 (CL13) also failed to stimulate interleukin-6 (IL-6) in macrophages. In contrast, nonpathogenic Mopeia virus, which is a genetic relative of LASV and LCMV-Arm induced robust responses that were TLR2/Mal dependent, required virus replication, and were enhanced by CD14. Superinfection experiments demonstrated that the WE strain of LCMV inhibited the Arm-mediated IL-8 response during the early stage of infection. In cells transfected with the NF-κB-luciferase reporter, infection with LCMV-Arm resulted in the induction of NF-κB, but cells infected with LCMV-WE and CL13 did not. These results suggest that pathogenic arenaviruses suppress NF-κB-mediated proinflammatory cytokine responses in infected cells.
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20
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Gowen BB, Bray M. Progress in the experimental therapy of severe arenaviral infections. Future Microbiol 2012; 6:1429-41. [PMID: 22122440 DOI: 10.2217/fmb.11.132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
A number of viruses in the family Arenaviridae cause severe illness in humans. Lassa virus in West Africa and a number of agents in South America produce hemorrhagic fever in persons exposed to aerosolized excretions of the pathogens' rodent hosts. Because arenaviruses are not transmitted by arthropods, and person-to-person spread is rare, human infections occur singly and sporadically, and are usually not diagnosed until the patient is severely ill. Because the arenaviruses are naturally transmitted by the airborne route, they also pose a potential threat as aerosolized bioterror weapons. The broad-spectrum antiviral drug ribavirin was shown to reduce mortality from Lassa fever, and has been tested against Argentine hemorrhagic fever, but it is not an approved treatment for either disease. Human immune convalescent plasma was proven to be effective for Argentine hemorrhagic fever in a controlled trial. New treatments are needed to block viral replication without causing toxicity and to prevent the increased vascular permeability that is responsible for hypotension and shock. In this paper, we review current developments in the experimental therapy of severe arenaviral infections, focusing on drugs that have been tested in animal models, and provide a perspective on future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian B Gowen
- Institute for Antiviral Research & Department of Animal, Dairy & Veterinary Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA.
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21
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Zapata JC, Pauza CD, Djavani MM, Rodas JD, Moshkoff D, Bryant J, Ateh E, Garcia C, Lukashevich IS, Salvato MS. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection of macaques: a model for Lassa fever. Antiviral Res 2011; 92:125-38. [PMID: 21820469 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2011.07.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2011] [Revised: 07/07/2011] [Accepted: 07/18/2011] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Arenaviruses such as Lassa fever virus (LASV) and lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) are benign in their natural reservoir hosts, and can occasionally cause severe viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) in non-human primates and in human beings. LCMV is considerably more benign for human beings than Lassa virus, however certain strains, like the LCMV-WE strain, can cause severe disease when the virus is delivered as a high-dose inoculum. Here we describe a rhesus macaque model for Lassa fever that employs a virulent strain of LCMV. Since LASV must be studied within Biosafety Level-4 (BSL-4) facilities, the LCMV-infected macaque model has the advantage that it can be used at BSL-3. LCMV-induced disease is rarely as severe as other VHF, but it is similar in cases where vascular leakage leads to lethal systemic failure. The LCMV-infected macaque has been valuable for describing the course of disease with differing viral strains, doses and routes of infection. By monitoring system-wide changes in physiology and gene expression in a controlled experimental setting, it is possible to identify events that are pathognomonic for developing VHF and potential treatment targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan C Zapata
- Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, United States
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22
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Abstract
Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) caused by arenaviruses belong to the most devastating emerging human diseases and represent serious public health problems. Arenavirus VHFs in humans are acute diseases characterized by fever and, in severe cases, different degrees of hemorrhages associated with a shock syndrome in the terminal stage. Over the past years, much has been learned about the pathogenesis of arenaviruses at the cellular level, in particular their ability to subvert the host cell's innate antiviral defenses. Clinical studies and novel animal models have provided important new information about the interaction of hemorrhagic arenaviruses with the host's adaptive immune system, in particular virus-induced immunosuppression, and have provided the first hints towards an understanding of the terminal hemorrhagic shock syndrome. The scope of this article is to review our current knowledge on arenavirus VHF pathogenesis with an emphasis on recent developments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie-Laurence Moraz
- Institute of Microbiology, University Hospital Center and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
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23
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Rodas JD, Cairo C, Djavani M, Zapata JC, Ruckwardt T, Bryant J, Pauza CD, Lukashevich IS, Salvato MS. Circulating natural killer and gammadelta T cells decrease soon after infection of rhesus macaques with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz 2010; 104:583-91. [PMID: 19722081 DOI: 10.1590/s0074-02762009000400009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2008] [Accepted: 05/15/2009] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Rhesus macaques infected with the WE strain of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV-WE) serve as a model for human infection with Lassa fever virus. To identify the earliest events of acute infection, rhesus macaques were monitored immediately after lethal infection for changes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Changes in CD3, CD4, CD8 and CD20 subsets did not vary outside the normal fluctuations of these blood cell populations; however, natural killer (NK) and gammadelta T cells increased slightly on day 1 and then decreased significantly after two days. The NK subsets responsible for the decrease were primarily CD3-CD8+ or CD3-CD16+ and not the NKT (primarily CD3+CD56+) subset. Macaques infected with a non-virulent arenavirus, LCMV-Armstrong, showed a similar drop in circulating NK and gammadelta T cells, indicating that this is not a pathogenic event. V(3)9 T cells, representing the majority of circulating gammadelta T cells in rhesus macaques, displayed significant apoptosis when incubated with LCMV in cell culture; however, the low amount of cell death for virus-co-cultured NK cells was insufficient to account for the observed disappearance of this subset. Our observations in primates are similar to those seen in LCMV-infected mice, where decreased circulating NK cells were attributed to margination and cell death. Thus, the disappearance of these cells during acute hemorrhagic fever in rhesus macaques may be a cytokine-induced lymphopenia common to many virus infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan D Rodas
- Grupo de Investigaciones en Ciencias Veterinarias Centauro, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
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24
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Steele KE, Anderson AO, Mohamadzadeh M. Fibroblastic reticular cells and their role in viral hemorrhagic fevers. Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther 2009; 7:423-35. [PMID: 19400762 DOI: 10.1586/eri.09.13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) caused by Ebola, Marburg and Lassa viruses often manifest as multiple organ dysfunction and hemorrhagic shock with high mortality. These viruses target numerous cell types, including monocytes and dendritic cells, which are primary early targets that mediate critical pathogenetic processes. This review focuses on fibroblastic reticular cells (FRCs), another prevalent infected cell type that is known as a key regulator of circulatory and immune functions. Viral infection of FRCs could have debilitating effects in secondary lymphoid organs and various other tissues. FRCs may also contribute to the spread of these deadly viruses throughout the body. Here, we review the salient features of these VHFs and the biology of FRCs, emphasizing the potential role of these cells in VHFs and the rapid deterioration of immune and hemovascular sytems that are characteristic of such acute infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keith E Steele
- Division of Pathology, US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, 1425 Porter Street, Frederick, MD 21702, USA.
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25
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Early and strong immune responses are associated with control of viral replication and recovery in lassa virus-infected cynomolgus monkeys. J Virol 2009; 83:5890-903. [PMID: 19297492 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01948-08] [Citation(s) in RCA: 141] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Lassa virus causes a hemorrhagic fever endemic in West Africa. The pathogenesis and the immune responses associated with the disease are poorly understood, and no vaccine is available. We followed virological, pathological, and immunological markers associated with fatal and nonfatal Lassa virus infection of cynomolgus monkeys. The clinical picture was characterized by fever, weight loss, depression, and acute respiratory syndrome. Transient thrombocytopenia and lymphopenia, lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, infiltration of mononuclear cells, and alterations of the liver, lungs, and endothelia were observed. Survivors exhibited fewer lesions and a lower viral load than nonsurvivors. Although all animals developed strong humoral responses, antibodies appeared more rapidly in survivors and were directed against GP(1), GP(2), and NP. Type I interferons were detected early after infection in survivors but only during the terminal stages in fatalities. The mRNAs for CXCL10 (IP-10) and CXCL11 (I-TAC) were abundant in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and lymph nodes from infected animals, but plasma interleukin-6 was detected only in fatalities. In survivors, high activated-monocyte counts were followed by a rise in the total number of circulating monocytes. Activated T lymphocytes circulated in survivors, whereas T-cell activation was low and delayed in fatalities. In vitro stimulation with inactivated Lassa virus induced activation of T lymphocytes from all infected monkeys, but only lymphocytes from survivors proliferated. Thus, early and strong immune responses and control of viral replication were associated with recovery, whereas fatal infection was characterized by major alterations of the blood formula and, in organs, weak immune responses and uncontrolled viral replication.
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26
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Djavani M, Crasta OR, Zhang Y, Zapata JC, Sobral B, Lechner MG, Bryant J, Davis H, Salvato MS. Gene expression in primate liver during viral hemorrhagic fever. Virol J 2009; 6:20. [PMID: 19216742 PMCID: PMC2657139 DOI: 10.1186/1743-422x-6-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2009] [Accepted: 02/12/2009] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Rhesus macaques infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) provide a model for human Lassa fever. Disease begins with flu-like symptoms and progresses rapidly with fatal consequences. Previously, we profiled the blood transcriptome of LCMV-infected monkeys (M. Djavani et al J. Virol. 2007) showing distinct pre-viremic and viremic stages that discriminated virulent from benign infections. In the present study, changes in liver gene expression from macaques infected with virulent LCMV-WE were compared to gene expression in uninfected monkeys as well as to monkeys that were infected but not diseased. RESULTS Based on a functional pathway analysis of differentially expressed genes, virulent LCMV-WE had a broader effect on liver cell function than did infection with non-virulent LCMV-Armstrong. During the first few days after infection, LCMV altered expression of genes associated with energy production, including fatty acid and glucose metabolism. The transcriptome profile resembled that of an organism in starvation: mRNA for acetyl-CoA carboxylase, a key enzyme of fatty acid synthesis was reduced while genes for enzymes in gluconeogenesis were up-regulated. Expression was also altered for genes associated with complement and coagulation cascades, and with signaling pathways involving STAT1 and TGF-beta. CONCLUSION Most of the 4500 differentially expressed transcripts represented a general response to both virulent and mild infections. However, approximately 250 of these transcripts had significantly different expression in virulent infections as compared to mild infections, with approximately 30 of these being differentially regulated during the pre-viremic stage of infection. The genes that are expressed early and differently in mild and virulent disease are potential biomarkers for prognosis and triage of acute viral disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmoud Djavani
- Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
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27
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Characterization of Lassa virus cell entry and neutralization with Lassa virus pseudoparticles. J Virol 2009; 83:3228-37. [PMID: 19153226 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01711-08] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The cell entry and humoral immune response of the human pathogen Lassa virus (LV), a biosafety level 4 (BSL4) Old World arenavirus, are not well characterized. LV pseudoparticles (LVpp) are a surrogate model system that has been used to decipher factors and routes involved in LV cell entry under BSL2 conditions. Here, we describe LVpp, which are highly infectious, with titers approaching those obtained with pseudoparticles displaying G protein of vesicular stomatitis virus and their the use for the characterization of LV cell entry and neutralization. Upon cell attachment, LVpp utilize endocytic vesicles for cell entry as described for many pH-dependent viruses. However, the fusion of the LV glycoproteins is activated at unusually low pH values, with optimal fusion occurring between pH 4.5 and 3, a pH range at which fusion characteristics of viral glycoproteins have so far remained largely unexplored. Consistent with a shifted pH optimum for fusion activation, we found wild-type LV and LVpp to display a remarkable resistance to exposure to low pH. Finally, LVpp allow the fast and quantifiable detection of neutralizing antibodies in human and animal sera and will thus facilitate the study of the humoral immune response in LV infections.
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28
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Lukashevich IS, Carrion R, Salvato MS, Mansfield K, Brasky K, Zapata J, Cairo C, Goicochea M, Hoosien GE, Ticer A, Bryant J, Davis H, Hammamieh R, Mayda M, Jett M, Patterson J. Safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of the ML29 reassortant vaccine for Lassa fever in small non-human primates. Vaccine 2008; 26:5246-54. [PMID: 18692539 PMCID: PMC2582173 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2008.07.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2008] [Revised: 07/21/2008] [Accepted: 07/22/2008] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
A single injection of ML29 reassortant vaccine for Lassa fever induces low, transient viremia, and low or moderate levels of ML29 replication in tissues of common marmosets depending on the dose of the vaccination. The vaccination elicits specific immune responses and completely protects marmosets against fatal disease by induction of sterilizing cell-mediated immunity. DNA array analysis of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy donors exposed to ML29 revealed that gene expression patterns in ML29-exposed PBMC and control, media-exposed PBMC, clustered together confirming safety profile of the ML29 in non-human primates. The ML29 reassortant is a promising vaccine candidate for Lassa fever.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor S Lukashevich
- Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 725 West Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, United States.
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29
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Abstract
Macaques have served as models for more than 70 human infectious diseases of diverse etiologies, including a multitude of agents—bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, prions. The remarkable diversity of human infectious diseases that have been modeled in the macaque includes global, childhood, and tropical diseases as well as newly emergent, sexually transmitted, oncogenic, degenerative neurologic, potential bioterrorism, and miscellaneous other diseases. Historically, macaques played a major role in establishing the etiology of yellow fever, polio, and prion diseases. With rare exceptions (Chagas disease, bartonellosis), all of the infectious diseases in this review are of Old World origin. Perhaps most surprising is the large number of tropical (16), newly emergent (7), and bioterrorism diseases (9) that have been modeled in macaques. Many of these human diseases (e.g., AIDS, hepatitis E, bartonellosis) are a consequence of zoonotic infection. However, infectious agents of certain diseases, including measles and tuberculosis, can sometimes go both ways, and thus several human pathogens are threats to nonhuman primates including macaques. Through experimental studies in macaques, researchers have gained insight into pathogenic mechanisms and novel treatment and vaccine approaches for many human infectious diseases, most notably acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which is caused by infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Other infectious agents for which macaques have been a uniquely valuable resource for biomedical research, and particularly vaccinology, include influenza virus, paramyxoviruses, flaviviruses, arenaviruses, hepatitis E virus, papillomavirus, smallpox virus, Mycobacteria, Bacillus anthracis, Helicobacter pylori, Yersinia pestis, and Plasmodium species. This review summarizes the extensive past and present research on macaque models of human infectious disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Murray B Gardner
- Center for Comparative Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
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30
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Djavani MM, Crasta OR, Zapata JC, Fei Z, Folkerts O, Sobral B, Swindells M, Bryant J, Davis H, Pauza CD, Lukashevich IS, Hammamieh R, Jett M, Salvato MS. Early blood profiles of virus infection in a monkey model for Lassa fever. J Virol 2007; 81:7960-73. [PMID: 17522210 PMCID: PMC1951294 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00536-07] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Acute arenavirus disease in primates, like Lassa hemorrhagic fever in humans, begins with flu-like symptoms and leads to death approximately 2 weeks after infection. Our goal was to identify molecular changes in blood that are related to disease progression. Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) infected intravenously with a lethal dose of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) provide a model for Lassa virus infection of humans. Blood samples taken before and during the course of infection were used to monitor gene expression changes that paralleled disease onset. Changes in blood showed major disruptions in eicosanoid, immune response, and hormone response pathways. Approximately 12% of host genes alter their expression after LCMV infection, and a subset of these genes can discriminate between virulent and non-virulent LCMV infection. Major transcription changes have been given preliminary confirmation by quantitative PCR and protein studies and will be valuable candidates for future validation as biomarkers for arenavirus disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmoud M Djavani
- Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, 725 West Lombard St., Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
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31
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Bergthaler A, Merkler D, Horvath E, Bestmann L, Pinschewer DD. Contributions of the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus glycoprotein and polymerase to strain-specific differences in murine liver pathogenicity. J Gen Virol 2007; 88:592-603. [PMID: 17251578 DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.82428-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatic involvement is commonly observed in arenavirus infections, but the viral determinants of liver disease are only partially understood. Here we exploited newly developed reverse-genetic techniques with Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), the prototype arenavirus, to address specifically the contribution of the viral glycoprotein (GP) to liver pathogenicity. It is well established that strain WE, but not ARM, causes hepatitis in mice. We found that this property correlated with the superior capacity of WE to propagate in cultured macrophages and hepatocyte-derived cells. In mice, the ability to establish prolonged viraemia allowed the virus to propagate from initially infected Kupffer cells in the liver to neighbouring hepatocytes that underwent apoptosis. Reverse-genetic replacement of the GP in strain ARM with WE-GP resulted in only a very modest increase in liver pathogenicity, if any. Yet, an ARM-derived variant virus with a mutated polymerase gene caused severe liver disease when engineered to display WE-GP but considerably less when expressing ARM-GP. This reverse-genetic approach to an animal model of arenaviral hepatitis reveals a previously underestimated contributory role of the GP that alone is, however, insufficient to cause disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Bergthaler
- Institute of Experimental Immunology, Department of Pathology, University Hospital of Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 12, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Doron Merkler
- Department of Neuropathology, Georg August University, Robert-Koch-Strasse 40, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Edit Horvath
- Institute of Experimental Immunology, Department of Pathology, University Hospital of Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 12, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lukas Bestmann
- Institute of Clinical Chemistry, University Hospital of Zurich, Ramistrasse 100, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Daniel D Pinschewer
- Institute of Experimental Immunology, Department of Pathology, University Hospital of Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 12, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
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32
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Lukashevich IS, Patterson J, Carrion R, Moshkoff D, Ticer A, Zapata J, Brasky K, Geiger R, Hubbard GB, Bryant J, Salvato MS. A live attenuated vaccine for Lassa fever made by reassortment of Lassa and Mopeia viruses. J Virol 2005; 79:13934-42. [PMID: 16254329 PMCID: PMC1280243 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.79.22.13934-13942.2005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2005] [Accepted: 08/18/2005] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Lassa virus (LASV) and Mopeia virus (MOPV) are closely related Old World arenaviruses that can exchange genomic segments (reassort) during coinfection. Clone ML29, selected from a library of MOPV/LASV (MOP/LAS) reassortants, encodes the major antigens (nucleocapsid and glycoprotein) of LASV and the RNA polymerase and zinc-binding protein of MOPV. Replication of ML29 was attenuated in guinea pigs and nonhuman primates. In murine adoptive-transfer experiments, as little as 150 PFU of ML29 induced protective cell-mediated immunity. All strain 13 guinea pigs vaccinated with clone ML29 survived at least 70 days after LASV challenge without either disease signs or histological lesions. Rhesus macaques inoculated with clone ML29 developed primary virus-specific T cells capable of secreting gamma interferon in response to homologous MOP/LAS and heterologous MOPV and lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. Detailed examination of two rhesus macaques infected with this MOPV/LAS reassortant revealed no histological lesions or disease signs. Thus, ML29 is a promising attenuated vaccine candidate for Lassa fever.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor S Lukashevich
- Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
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33
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Djavani M, Topisirovic I, Zapata JC, Sadowska M, Yang Y, Rodas J, Lukashevich IS, Bogue CW, Pauza CD, Borden KLB, Salvato MS. The proline-rich homeodomain (PRH/HEX) protein is down-regulated in liver during infection with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. J Virol 2005; 79:2461-73. [PMID: 15681447 PMCID: PMC546565 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.79.4.2461-2473.2005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The proline-rich homeodomain protein, PRH/HEX, participates in the early development of the brain, thyroid, and liver and in the later regenerative processes of damaged liver, vascular endothelial, and hematopoietic cells. A virulent strain of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV-WE) that destroys hematopoietic, vascular, and liver functions also alters the transcription and subcellular localization of PRH. A related virus (LCMV-ARM) that does not cause disease in primates can infect cells without affecting PRH. Biochemical experiments demonstrated the occurrence of binding between the viral RING protein (Z) and PRH, and genetic experiments mapped the PRH-suppressing phenotype to the large (L) segment of the viral genome, which encodes the Z and polymerase genes. The Z protein is clearly involved with PRH, but other viral determinants are needed to relocate PRH and to promote disease. By down-regulating PRH, the arenavirus is able to eliminate the antiproliferative effects of PRH and to promote liver cell division. The interaction of an arenavirus with a homeodomain protein suggests a mechanism for viral teratogenic effects and for the tissue-specific manifestations of arenavirus disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmoud Djavani
- Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, 725 West Lombard St., Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
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Abstract
Lassa virus is a RNA virus belonging to the family of Arenaviridae. It was discovered as the causative agent of a hemorrhagic fever--Lassa fever--about 30 years ago. Lassa fever is endemic in West Africa and is estimated to affect some 100,000 people annually. Great progress in the understanding of the life cycle of arenaviruses, including Lassa virus, has been made in recent years. New insights have been gained in the pathogenesis and molecular epidemiology of Lassa fever, and state-of the-art technologies for diagnosing this life-threatening disease have been developed. The intention of this review is to summarize in particular the recent literature on Lassa virus and Lassa fever. Several aspects ranging from basic research up to clinical practice and laboratory diagnosis are discussed and linked together.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephan Günther
- Department of Virology, Bernhard-Nocht-Institute of Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
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Lukashevich IS, Rodas JD, Tikhonov II, Zapata JC, Yang Y, Djavani M, Salvato MS. LCMV-mediated hepatitis in rhesus macaques: WE but not ARM strain activates hepatocytes and induces liver regeneration. Arch Virol 2004; 149:2319-36. [PMID: 15338320 PMCID: PMC1361292 DOI: 10.1007/s00705-004-0385-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2003] [Accepted: 06/18/2004] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Lymphocytic chorimeningitis virus (LCMV), the prototype arenavirus, and Lassa virus (LASV), causative agent of Lassa hemorrhagic fever (LHF), belong to the Old World group of the family Arenaviridae. Both viruses have extensive strain diversity and significant variations in lethality and pathogenicity for man and experimental animals. We have shown that the LHF-like infection of rhesus macaques with the WE strain of LCMV affects liver functions, induces hepatocyte proliferation, and causes a rise in IL-6 and soluble TNF receptors (sTNFR) concomitant with a rise in viremia. The levels of IL-6 and sTNFR can serve as an additional diagnostic tool for liver involvement in pathogenesis of arenavirus infection. Mucosal inoculation of rhesus macaques with LCMV-WE can result in attenuated infection with a transient viremia and liver enzyme abnormalities. The ARM strain of LCMV shares 88% amino acid homology with WE. In contrast to LCMV-WE, ARM strain does not induce manifested disease in monkeys, does not affect liver functions, and does not induce hepatocyte proliferation. Previously we demonstrated that LCMV-ARM infection protected rhesus macaques challenged with LCMV-WE. Here we have shown that the protected animals have no signs of hepatitis and hepatocyte proliferation.
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Affiliation(s)
- I S Lukashevich
- Biotechnology Center, Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA.
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Rodas JD, Lukashevich IS, Zapata JC, Cairo C, Tikhonov I, Djavani M, Pauza CD, Salvato MS. Mucosal arenavirus infection of primates can protect them from lethal hemorrhagic fever. J Med Virol 2004; 72:424-35. [PMID: 14748066 PMCID: PMC2562566 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.20000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Arenaviruses are transmitted from rodents to human beings by blood or mucosal exposure. The most devastating arenavirus in terms of human disease is Lassa fever virus, causing up to 300,000 annual infections in West Africa. We used a model for Lassa fever in which Rhesus macaques were infected with a related virus, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV). Our goals were to determine the outcome of infection after mucosal inoculation and later lethal challenge, to characterize protective immune responses, and to test cross-protection between a virulent (LCMV-WE) and an avirulent (LCMV-ARM) strain of virus. Although intravenous infections in the monkey model were uniformly lethal, intragastric infections recapitulated the spectrum of clinical outcomes seen in human exposure to Lassa fever virus: death, recovery from disease, and most often, subclinical infection. Plaque neutralization, ELISA, lymphocyte proliferation, and chromium-release assays were used to monitor humoral and cellular immune responses. Cross protection between the two strains was observed. The three out of seven monkeys that experienced protection were also the three with the strongest cell-mediated immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan D. Rodas
- Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Igor S. Lukashevich
- Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Juan C. Zapata
- Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Cristiana Cairo
- Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Ilia Tikhonov
- Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Mahmoud Djavani
- Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - C. David Pauza
- Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Maria S. Salvato
- Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
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Lukashevich IS, Tikhonov I, Rodas JD, Zapata JC, Yang Y, Djavani M, Salvato MS. Arenavirus-mediated liver pathology: acute lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection of rhesus macaques is characterized by high-level interleukin-6 expression and hepatocyte proliferation. J Virol 2003; 77:1727-37. [PMID: 12525606 PMCID: PMC140927 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.77.3.1727-1737.2003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2002] [Accepted: 10/22/2002] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) and Lassa virus can cause hemorrhagic fever and liver disease in primates. The WE strain of LCMV (LCMV-WE) causes a fatal Lassa fever-like disease in rhesus macaques and provides a model for arenavirus pathogenesis in humans. LCMV-WE delivered intravenously or intragastrically to rhesus macaques targets hepatocytes and induces high levels of liver enzymes, interleukin-6 (IL-6), soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R), and soluble tumor necrosis factor receptors (sTNFRI and -II) in plasma during acute infection. Proinflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha and IL-1beta were not detected in plasma of infected animals, but increased plasma gamma interferon was noted in fatally infected animals. Immunohistochemistry of acute liver biopsies revealed that 25 to 40% of nuclei were positive for proliferation antigen Ki-67. The increases in IL-6, sIL-6R, sTNFR, and proliferation antigen that we observe are similar to the profile of incipient liver regeneration after surgical or toxic injury (N. Fausto, Am. J. Physiol. 277:G917-G921, 1999). Although IL-6 was not directly induced by virus infection in vitro, peripheral blood mononuclear cells from acutely infected monkeys produced higher levels of IL-6 upon lipopolysaccharide stimulation than did healthy controls. Our data confirm that acute infection is associated with weak inflammatory responses in tissues and initiates a program of liver regeneration in primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor S Lukashevich
- Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA.
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