1
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Bilotti K, Keep S, Sikkema AP, Pryor JM, Kirk J, Foldes K, Doyle N, Wu G, Freimanis G, Dowgier G, Adeyemi O, Tabatabaei SK, Lohman GJS, Bickerton E. One-pot Golden Gate Assembly of an avian infectious bronchitis virus reverse genetics system. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0307655. [PMID: 39052682 PMCID: PMC11271894 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0307655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2024] [Accepted: 07/09/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Avian infectious bronchitis is an acute respiratory disease of poultry of particular concern for global food security. Investigation of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), the causative agent of avian infectious bronchitis, via reverse genetics enables deeper understanding of virus biology and a rapid response to emerging variants. Classic methods of reverse genetics for IBV can be time consuming, rely on recombination for the introduction of mutations, and, depending on the system, can be subject to genome instability and unreliable success rates. In this study, we have applied data-optimized Golden Gate Assembly design to create a rapidly executable, flexible, and faithful reverse genetics system for IBV. The IBV genome was divided into 12 fragments at high-fidelity fusion site breakpoints. All fragments were synthetically produced and propagated in E. coli plasmids, amenable to standard molecular biology techniques for DNA manipulation. The assembly can be carried out in a single reaction, with the products used directly in subsequent viral rescue steps. We demonstrate the use of this system for generation of point mutants and gene replacements. This Golden Gate Assembly-based reverse genetics system will enable rapid response to emerging variants of IBV, particularly important to vaccine development for controlling spread within poultry populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Bilotti
- New England Biolabs, Ipswich, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Sarah Keep
- The Pirbright Institute, Woking, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew P. Sikkema
- New England Biolabs, Ipswich, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - John M. Pryor
- New England Biolabs, Ipswich, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - James Kirk
- The Pirbright Institute, Woking, United Kingdom
| | | | | | - Ge Wu
- The Pirbright Institute, Woking, United Kingdom
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2
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Marinho MDS, Zhang YN, Cassani NM, Santos IA, Costa Oliveira AL, dos Santos Pereira AK, Corbi PP, Zhang B, Jardim ACG. Development and validation of Mayaro virus with luciferase reporter genes as a tool for antiviral assays. Heliyon 2024; 10:e33885. [PMID: 39071632 PMCID: PMC11283106 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e33885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2024] [Accepted: 06/28/2024] [Indexed: 07/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Arboviruses are etiological agents in an extensive group of emerging diseases with great clinical relevance in Brazil, due to the wide distribution of their vectors and the favorable environmental conditions. Among them, the Mayaro virus (MAYV) has drawn attention since its emergence as the etiologic agent of Mayaro fever, a highly debilitating disease. To study viral replication and identify new drug candidates, traditional antiviral assays based on viral antigens and/or plaque assays have been demonstrating low throughput, making it difficult to carry out larger-scale assays. Therefore, we developed and characterized two DNA-launched infectious clones reporter viruses based on the MAYV strain BeAr 20290 containing the reporter genes of firefly luciferase (FLuc) and nanoluciferase (NLuc), designated as MAYV-firefly and MAYV-nanoluc, respectively. The viruses replicated efficiently with similar properties to the parental wild-type MAYV, and luminescence expression levels reflected viral replication. Reporter genes were also preserved during passage in cell culture, remaining stably expressed for one round of passage for MAYV-firefly and three rounds for MAYV-nanoluc. Employing the infectious clone, we described the effect of Rimantadine, an FDA-approved Alzheimer's drug, as a repurposing agent for MAYV but with a broad-spectrum activity against Zika virus infection. Additionally, we validated MAYV-nanoluc as a tool for antiviral drug screening using the compound EIDD-2749 (4'-Fluorouridine), which acts as an inhibitor of alphavirus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mikaela dos Santos Marinho
- Laboratory of Antiviral Research, Institute of Biomedical Science, Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU), Uberlândia, MG, Brazil
| | - Ya-Nan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Virology and Biosafety, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China
| | - Natasha Marques Cassani
- Laboratory of Antiviral Research, Institute of Biomedical Science, Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU), Uberlândia, MG, Brazil
| | - Igor Andrade Santos
- Laboratory of Antiviral Research, Institute of Biomedical Science, Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU), Uberlândia, MG, Brazil
| | - Ana Laura Costa Oliveira
- Laboratory of Antiviral Research, Institute of Biomedical Science, Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU), Uberlândia, MG, Brazil
| | | | - Pedro Paulo Corbi
- Institute of Chemistry, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Bo Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Virology and Biosafety, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China
| | - Ana Carolina Gomes Jardim
- Laboratory of Antiviral Research, Institute of Biomedical Science, Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU), Uberlândia, MG, Brazil
- Institute of Biosciences, Humanities, and Exact Sciences, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Campus, São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil
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3
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Li X, Yang Y, López CB. Indiscriminate activities of different henipavirus polymerase complex proteins allow for efficient minigenome replication in hybrid systems. J Virol 2024; 98:e0050324. [PMID: 38780245 PMCID: PMC11237569 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00503-24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
The henipaviruses, including Nipah virus (NiV) and Hendra virus (HeV), are biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) zoonotic pathogens that cause severe neurological and respiratory disease in humans. To study the replication machinery of these viruses, we developed robust minigenome systems that can be safely used in BSL-2 conditions. The nucleocapsid (N), phosphoprotein (P), and large protein (L) of henipaviruses are critical elements of their replication machinery and thus essential support components of the minigenome systems. Here, we tested the effects of diverse combinations of the replication support proteins on the replication capacity of the NiV and HeV minigenomes by exchanging the helper plasmids coding for these proteins among the two viruses. We demonstrate that all combinations including one or more heterologous proteins were capable of replicating both the NiV and HeV minigenomes. Sequence alignment showed identities of 92% for the N protein, 67% for P, and 87% for L. Notably, variations in amino acid residues were not concentrated in the N-P and P-L interacting regions implying that dissimilarities in amino acid composition among NiV and HeV polymerase complex proteins may not impact their interactions. The observed indiscriminate activity of NiV and HeV polymerase complex proteins is different from related viruses, which can support the replication of heterologous genomes only when the whole polymerase complex belongs to the same virus. This newly observed promiscuous property of the henipavirus polymerase complex proteins likely attributed to their conserved interaction regions could potentially be harnessed to develop universal anti-henipavirus antivirals.IMPORTANCEGiven the severity of disease induced by Hendra and Nipah viruses in humans and the continuous emergence of new henipaviruses as well as henipa-like viruses, it is necessary to conduct a more comprehensive investigation of the biology of henipaviruses and their interaction with the host. The replication of henipaviruses and the development of antiviral agents can be studied in systems that allow experiments to be performed under biosafety level 2 conditions. Here, we developed robust minigenome systems for the Nipah virus (NiV) and Hendra virus (HeV) that provide a convenient alternative for studying NiV and HeV replication. Using these systems, we demonstrate that any combination of the three polymerase complex proteins of NiV and HeV could effectively initiate the replication of both viral minigenomes, which suggests that the interaction regions of the polymerase complex proteins could be effective targets for universal and effective anti-henipavirus interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Li
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Center for Women's Infectious Diseases Research, Washington University in St Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Yanling Yang
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Center for Women's Infectious Diseases Research, Washington University in St Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Carolina B. López
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Center for Women's Infectious Diseases Research, Washington University in St Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
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4
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Li Y, Tan X, Deng J, Liu X, Liu Q, Zhang Z, Huang X, Shen C, Xu K, Zhou L, Chen Y. An optimized high-throughput SARS-CoV-2 dual reporter trans-complementation system for antiviral screening in vitro and in vivo. Virol Sin 2024; 39:447-458. [PMID: 38548102 PMCID: PMC11280264 DOI: 10.1016/j.virs.2024.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is still epidemic around the world. The manipulation of SARS-CoV-2 is restricted to biosafety level 3 laboratories (BSL-3). In this study, we developed a SARS-CoV-2 ΔN-GFP-HiBiT replicon delivery particles (RDPs) encoding a dual reporter gene, GFP-HiBiT, capable of producing both GFP signal and luciferase activities. Through optimal selection of the reporter gene, GFP-HiBiT demonstrated superior stability and convenience for antiviral evaluation. Additionally, we established a RDP infection mouse model by delivering the N gene into K18-hACE2 KI mouse through lentivirus. This mouse model supports RDP replication and can be utilized for in vivo antiviral evaluations. In summary, the RDP system serves as a valuable tool for efficient antiviral screening and studying the gene function of SARS-CoV-2. Importantly, this system can be manipulated in BSL-2 laboratories, decreasing the threshold of experimental requirements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingjian Li
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, RNA Institute, College of Life Sciences and Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Xue Tan
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, RNA Institute, College of Life Sciences and Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Jikai Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, RNA Institute, College of Life Sciences and Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Xuemei Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, RNA Institute, College of Life Sciences and Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Qianyun Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, RNA Institute, College of Life Sciences and Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Zhen Zhang
- Institute for Vaccine Research at Animal Bio-safety Level Ⅲ Laboratory, Wuhan University School of Medicine, Wuhan, 430071, China
| | - Xiaoya Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, RNA Institute, College of Life Sciences and Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Chao Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, RNA Institute, College of Life Sciences and Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Ke Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, RNA Institute, College of Life Sciences and Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Li Zhou
- Institute for Vaccine Research at Animal Bio-safety Level Ⅲ Laboratory, Wuhan University School of Medicine, Wuhan, 430071, China
| | - Yu Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, RNA Institute, College of Life Sciences and Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China.
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5
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Wang X, Zhu Y, Wu Q, Jiang N, Xie Y, Deng Q. Development of a Cell Culture Model for Inducible SARS-CoV-2 Replication. Viruses 2024; 16:708. [PMID: 38793589 PMCID: PMC11125939 DOI: 10.3390/v16050708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2024] [Revised: 04/26/2024] [Accepted: 04/28/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) induces direct cytopathic effects, complicating the establishment of low-cytotoxicity cell culture models for studying its replication. We initially developed a DNA vector-based replicon system utilizing the CMV promoter to generate a recombinant viral genome bearing reporter genes. However, this system frequently resulted in drug resistance and cytotoxicity, impeding model establishment. Herein, we present a novel cell culture model with SARS-CoV-2 replication induced by Cre/LoxP-mediated DNA recombination. An engineered SARS-CoV-2 transcription unit was subcloned into a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) vector. To enhance biosafety, the viral spike protein gene was deleted, and the nucleocapsid gene was replaced with a reporter gene. An exogenous sequence was inserted within NSP1 as a modulatory cassette that is removable after Cre/LoxP-mediated DNA recombination and subsequent RNA splicing. Using the PiggyBac transposon strategy, the transcription unit was integrated into host cell chromatin, yielding a stable cell line capable of inducing recombinant SARS-CoV-2 RNA replication. The model exhibited sensitivity to the potential antivirals forsythoside A and verteporfin. An innovative inducible SARS-CoV-2 replicon cell model was introduced to further explore the replication and pathogenesis of the virus and facilitate screening and assessment of anti-SARS-CoV-2 therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyan Wang
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology (MOE/NHC/CAMS), School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Infectious Disease and Biosecurity, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; (X.W.); (Y.Z.); (Q.W.); (N.J.)
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Pathogenic Microorganisms and Infection, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Yuanfei Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology (MOE/NHC/CAMS), School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Infectious Disease and Biosecurity, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; (X.W.); (Y.Z.); (Q.W.); (N.J.)
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Pathogenic Microorganisms and Infection, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Qiong Wu
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology (MOE/NHC/CAMS), School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Infectious Disease and Biosecurity, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; (X.W.); (Y.Z.); (Q.W.); (N.J.)
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Pathogenic Microorganisms and Infection, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Nan Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology (MOE/NHC/CAMS), School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Infectious Disease and Biosecurity, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; (X.W.); (Y.Z.); (Q.W.); (N.J.)
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Pathogenic Microorganisms and Infection, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Youhua Xie
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology (MOE/NHC/CAMS), School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Infectious Disease and Biosecurity, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; (X.W.); (Y.Z.); (Q.W.); (N.J.)
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Pathogenic Microorganisms and Infection, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Qiang Deng
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology (MOE/NHC/CAMS), School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Infectious Disease and Biosecurity, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; (X.W.); (Y.Z.); (Q.W.); (N.J.)
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Pathogenic Microorganisms and Infection, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
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6
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Zhang H, Guo H. Optimization of a DNA-launched SARS-CoV-2 replicon with RNA splicing inhibitor Isoginkgetin. J Med Virol 2024; 96:e29547. [PMID: 38511574 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.29547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Revised: 03/04/2024] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
We have previously developed a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC)-vectored SARS-CoV-2 replicon, namely BAC-CoV2-Rep, which, upon transfection into host cells, serves as a transcription template for SARS-CoV-2 replicon mRNA to initiate replicon replication and produce nanoluciferase (Nluc) reporter from the subgenomic viral mRNA. However, an inherent issue of such DNA-launched replicon system is that the nascent full-length replicon transcript undergoes process by host RNA splicing machinery, which reduces replicon replication and generates spliced mRNA species expressing NLuc reporter independent of replicon replication. To mitigate this problem, we employed Isoginkgetin, a universal eukaryotic host splicing inhibitor, to treat cells transfected with BAC-CoV2-Rep. Isoginkgetin effectively increased the level of full-length replicon transcripts while concurrently reducing the level of Nluc signal derived from spliced replicon mRNA, making the Nluc reporter signal more correlated with replicon replication, as evidenced by treatment with known SARS-CoV-2 replication inhibitors including Remdesivir, GC376, and EIDD-1931. Thus, our study emphasizes that host RNA splicing is a confounding factor for DNA-launched SARS-CoV-2 replicon systems, which can be mitigated by Isoginkgetin treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hu Zhang
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Cancer Virology Program, Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Haitao Guo
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Cancer Virology Program, Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
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7
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Cai HL, Huang YW. Reverse genetics systems for SARS-CoV-2: Development and applications. Virol Sin 2023; 38:837-850. [PMID: 37832720 PMCID: PMC10786661 DOI: 10.1016/j.virs.2023.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/07/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The recent emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused serious harm to human health and struck a blow to global economic development. Research on SARS-CoV-2 has greatly benefited from the use of reverse genetics systems, which have been established to artificially manipulate the viral genome, generating recombinant and reporter infectious viruses or biosafety level 2 (BSL-2)-adapted non-infectious replicons with desired modifications. These tools have been instrumental in studying the molecular biological characteristics of the virus, investigating antiviral therapeutics, and facilitating the development of attenuated vaccine candidates. Here, we review the construction strategies, development, and applications of reverse genetics systems for SARS-CoV-2, which may be applied to other CoVs as well.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hou-Li Cai
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Yao-Wei Huang
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China; State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China; Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China.
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8
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Löw K, Möller R, Stegmann C, Becker M, Rehburg L, Obernolte H, Schaudien D, Oestereich L, Braun A, Kunz S, Gerold G. Luminescent reporter cells enable the identification of broad-spectrum antivirals against emerging viruses. J Med Virol 2023; 95:e29211. [PMID: 37975336 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.29211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/21/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
The emerging viruses SARS-CoV-2 and arenaviruses cause severe respiratory and hemorrhagic diseases, respectively. The production of infectious particles of both viruses and virus spread in tissues requires cleavage of surface glycoproteins (GPs) by host proprotein convertases (PCs). SARS-CoV-2 and arenaviruses rely on GP cleavage by PCs furin and subtilisin kexin isozyme-1/site-1 protease (SKI-1/S1P), respectively. We report improved luciferase-based reporter cell lines, named luminescent inducible proprotein convertase reporter cells that we employ to monitor PC activity in its authentic subcellular compartment. Using these sensor lines we screened a small compound library in high-throughput manner. We identified 23 FDA-approved small molecules, among them monensin which displayed broad activity against furin and SKI-1/S1P. Monensin inhibited arenaviruses and SARS-CoV-2 in a dose-dependent manner. We observed a strong reduction in infectious particle release upon monensin treatment with little effect on released genome copies. This was reflected by inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 spike processing suggesting the release of immature particles. In a proof of concept experiment using human precision cut lung slices, monensin potently inhibited SARS-CoV-2 infection, evidenced by reduced infectious particle release. We propose that our PC sensor pipeline is a suitable tool to identify broad-spectrum antivirals with therapeutic potential to combat current and future emerging viruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin Löw
- Department of Biochemistry & Research Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonoses (RIZ), University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany
- Institute of Microbiology, University Hospital Center and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Rebecca Möller
- Department of Biochemistry & Research Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonoses (RIZ), University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany
| | - Cora Stegmann
- Department of Biochemistry & Research Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonoses (RIZ), University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany
| | - Miriam Becker
- Department of Biochemistry & Research Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonoses (RIZ), University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany
| | - Laura Rehburg
- Department of Biochemistry & Research Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonoses (RIZ), University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany
| | - Helena Obernolte
- Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine (ITEM), Hannover, Germany
- Fraunhofer International Consortium for Anti-Infective Research (iCAIR), Hannover, Germany
- Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Immune-Mediated Diseases, (CIMD), Hannover, Germany
- Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Biomedical Research in Endstage and Obstructive Lung Disease (BREATH) Research Network, Hannover, Germany
- Institute of Immunology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Dirk Schaudien
- Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine (ITEM), Hannover, Germany
- Fraunhofer International Consortium for Anti-Infective Research (iCAIR), Hannover, Germany
- Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Immune-Mediated Diseases, (CIMD), Hannover, Germany
- Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Biomedical Research in Endstage and Obstructive Lung Disease (BREATH) Research Network, Hannover, Germany
- Institute of Immunology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Lisa Oestereich
- Department of Virology, Bernhard-Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany
- German Center for Infectious Research (DZIF), Partner Site Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems, Hamburg
| | - Armin Braun
- Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine (ITEM), Hannover, Germany
- Fraunhofer International Consortium for Anti-Infective Research (iCAIR), Hannover, Germany
- Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Immune-Mediated Diseases, (CIMD), Hannover, Germany
- Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Biomedical Research in Endstage and Obstructive Lung Disease (BREATH) Research Network, Hannover, Germany
- Institute of Immunology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Stefan Kunz
- Institute of Microbiology, University Hospital Center and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Gisa Gerold
- Department of Biochemistry & Research Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonoses (RIZ), University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå University, Sweden
- Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine (WCMM), Umeå University, Sweden
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9
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Ali A, Zhang GF, Hu C, Yuan B, Jahan S, Kitsios GD, Morris A, Gao SJ, Panat R. Ultrarapid and ultrasensitive detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in COVID-19 patients via a 3D-printed nanomaterial-based biosensing platform. J Med Virol 2022; 94:5808-5826. [PMID: 35981973 PMCID: PMC9538259 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.28075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Revised: 08/07/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Rapid detection of antibodies during infection and after vaccination is critical for the control of infectious outbreaks, understanding immune response, and evaluating vaccine efficacy. In this manuscript, we evaluate a simple ultrarapid test for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in COVID-19 patients, which gives quantitative results (i.e., antibody concentration) in 10-12 s using a previously reported nanomaterial-based three-dimensional (3D)-printed biosensing platform. This platform consists of a micropillar array electrode fabricated via 3D printing of aerosolized gold nanoparticles and coated with nanoflakes of graphene and specific SARS-CoV-2 antigens, including spike S1, S1 receptor-binding domain (RBD) and nucleocapsid (N). The sensor works on the principle of electrochemical transduction, where the change of sensor impedance is realized by the interactions between the viral proteins attached to the sensor electrode surface and the antibodies. The three sensors were used to test samples from 17 COVID-19 patients and 3 patients without COVID-19. Unlike other serological tests, the 3D sensors quantitatively detected antibodies at a concentration as low as picomole within 10-12 s in human plasma samples. We found that the studied COVID-19 patients had higher concentrations of antibodies to spike proteins (RBD and S1) than to the N protein. These results demonstrate the enormous potential of the rapid antibody test platform for understanding patients' immunity, disease epidemiology and vaccine efficacy, and facilitating the control and prevention of infectious epidemics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Azahar Ali
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon
University, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213 USA,Current address: Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences,
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061 USA
| | - George Fei Zhang
- Cancer Virology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and
Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School
of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213 USA
| | - Chunshan Hu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon
University, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213 USA
| | - Bin Yuan
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon
University, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213 USA
| | - Sanjida Jahan
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon
University, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213 USA
| | - Georgios D. Kitsios
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine,
Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA,
15213 USA
| | - Alison Morris
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine,
Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA,
15213 USA
| | - Shou-Jiang Gao
- Cancer Virology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and
Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School
of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213 USA,Corresponding Authors: R. Panat,
, phone: +1-412-268-2501; and S.-J. Gao,
, phone: +1-412-339-9484
| | - Rahul Panat
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon
University, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213 USA,Corresponding Authors: R. Panat,
, phone: +1-412-268-2501; and S.-J. Gao,
, phone: +1-412-339-9484
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10
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Cheung PH, Ye Z, Lui W, Ong CP, Chan P, Lee TT, Tang T, Yuen T, Fung S, Cheng Y, Chan C, Chan C, Jin D. Production of single-cycle infectious SARS-CoV-2 through a trans-complemented replicon. J Med Virol 2022; 94:6078-6090. [PMID: 35941087 PMCID: PMC9539037 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.28057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2022] [Revised: 08/02/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Single-cycle infectious virus can elicit close-to-natural immune response and memory. One approach to generate single-cycle severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is through deletion of structural genes such as spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N). Transcomplementation of the resulting ΔS or ΔN virus through enforced expression of S or N protein in the cells gives rise to a live but unproductive virus. In this study, ΔS and ΔN BAC clones were constructed and their live virions were rescued by transient expression of S and N proteins from the ancestral and the Omicron strains. ΔS and ΔN virions were visualized by transmission electron microscopy. Virion production of ΔS was more efficient than that of ΔN. The coated S protein from ΔS was delivered to infected cells in which the expression of N protein was also robust. In contrast, expression of neither S nor N was detected in ΔN-infected cells. ΔS underwent viral RNA replication, induced type I interferon (IFN) response, but did not form plaques. Despite RNA replication in cells, ΔS infection did not produce viral progeny in culture supernatant. Interestingly, viral RNA replication was not further enhanced upon overexpression of S protein. Taken together, our work provides a versatile platform for development of single-cycle vaccines for SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Zi‐Wei Ye
- School of Biomedical SciencesThe University of Hong KongPokfulamHong Kong
| | - Wai‐Yin Lui
- School of Biomedical SciencesThe University of Hong KongPokfulamHong Kong
| | - Chon Phin Ong
- School of Biomedical SciencesThe University of Hong KongPokfulamHong Kong
| | - Pearl Chan
- School of Biomedical SciencesThe University of Hong KongPokfulamHong Kong
| | | | - Tze‐Tung Tang
- School of Biomedical SciencesThe University of Hong KongPokfulamHong Kong
| | - Tin‐Long Yuen
- School of Biomedical SciencesThe University of Hong KongPokfulamHong Kong
| | - Sin‐Yee Fung
- School of Biomedical SciencesThe University of Hong KongPokfulamHong Kong
| | - Yun Cheng
- School of Biomedical SciencesThe University of Hong KongPokfulamHong Kong
| | - Ching‐Ping Chan
- School of Biomedical SciencesThe University of Hong KongPokfulamHong Kong
| | - Chi‐Ping Chan
- School of Biomedical SciencesThe University of Hong KongPokfulamHong Kong
| | - Dong‐Yan Jin
- School of Biomedical SciencesThe University of Hong KongPokfulamHong Kong
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11
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Tian L, Liu Q, Pei R, Chen Y, Xu C, Tang J, Sun H, Liu K, Yang Q, Yang L, Li L, Zhang Y, Zhou Y, Shan C, Hu X, Chen X, Wang Y. Comparison of viral propagation and drug response among SARS-CoV-2 VOCs using replicons capable of recapitulating virion assembly and release. Virol Sin 2022; 37:695-703. [PMID: 35781091 PMCID: PMC9247232 DOI: 10.1016/j.virs.2022.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Several variants of concern (VOCs) have emerged since the WIV04 strain of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first isolated in January 2020. Due to mutations in the spike (S) protein, these VOCs have evolved to enhance viral infectivity and immune evasion. However, whether mutations of the other viral proteins lead to altered viral propagation and drug resistance remains obscure. The replicon is a noninfectious viral surrogate capable of recapitulating certain steps of the viral life cycle. Although several SARS-CoV-2 replicons have been developed, none of them were derived from emerging VOCs and could only recapitulate viral genome replication and subgenomic RNA (sgRNA) transcription. In this study, SARS-CoV-2 replicons derived from the WIV04 strain and two VOCs (the Beta and Delta variants) were prepared by removing the S gene from their genomes, while other structural genes remained untouched. These replicons not only recapitulate viral genome replication and sgRNA transcription but also support the assembly and release of viral-like particles, as manifested by electron microscopic assays. Thus, the S-deletion replicon could recapitulate virtually all the post-entry steps of the viral life cycle and provides a versatile tool for measuring viral intracellular propagation and screening novel antiviral drugs, including inhibitors of virion assembly and release. Through the quantification of replicon RNA released into the supernatant, we demonstrate that viral intracellular propagation and drug response to remdesivir have not yet substantially changed during the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 from the WIV04 strain to the Beta and Delta VOCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingqian Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Qiuhong Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Rongjuan Pei
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China
| | - Yingshan Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Chonghui Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Jielin Tang
- Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510530, China
| | - Hao Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Kunpeng Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Qi Yang
- Department of Gastroenterology, Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou, 510623, China
| | - Lei Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Leshan Li
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Yongli Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China
| | - Yuan Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China
| | - Chao Shan
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China
| | - Xue Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China.
| | - Xinwen Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China; Innovation Center for Pathogen Research, Guangzhou Laboratory, Guangzhou, 510320, China.
| | - Yun Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China.
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12
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Liu Y, Li L, Timani KA, He JJ. A Unique Robust Dual-Promoter-Driven and Dual-Reporter-Expressing SARS-CoV-2 Replicon: Construction and Characterization. Viruses 2022; 14:974. [PMID: 35632716 PMCID: PMC9143625 DOI: 10.3390/v14050974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Revised: 04/30/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2, SARS2) remains a great global health threat and demands identification of more effective and SARS2-targeted antiviral drugs, even with successful development of anti-SARS2 vaccines. Viral replicons have proven to be a rapid, safe, and readily scalable platform for high-throughput screening, identification, and evaluation of antiviral drugs against positive-stranded RNA viruses. In the study, we report a unique robust HIV long terminal repeat (LTR)/T7 dual-promoter-driven and dual-reporter firefly luciferase (fLuc) and green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing SARS2 replicon. The genomic organization of the replicon was designed with quite a few features that were to ensure the replication fidelity of the replicon, to maximize the expression of the full-length replicon, and to offer the monitoring flexibility of the replicon replication. We showed the success of the construction of the replicon and expression of reporter genes fLuc and GFP and SARS structural N from the replicon DNA or the RNA that was in vitro transcribed from the replicon DNA. We also showed detection of the negative-stranded genomic RNA (gRNA) and subgenomic RNA (sgRNA) intermediates, a hallmark of replication of positive-stranded RNA viruses from the replicon. Lastly, we showed that expression of the reporter genes, N gene, gRNA, and sgRNA from the replicon was sensitive to inhibition by Remdesivir. Taken together, our results support use of the replicon for identification of anti-SARS2 drugs and development of new anti-SARS strategies targeted at the step of virus replication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Liu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA; (Y.L.); (L.L.); (K.A.T.)
- Center for Cancer Cell Biology, Immunology and Infection, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA
- School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA
| | - Lu Li
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA; (Y.L.); (L.L.); (K.A.T.)
- Center for Cancer Cell Biology, Immunology and Infection, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA
- School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA
| | - Khalid A. Timani
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA; (Y.L.); (L.L.); (K.A.T.)
- Center for Cancer Cell Biology, Immunology and Infection, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA
- School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA
| | - Johnny J. He
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA; (Y.L.); (L.L.); (K.A.T.)
- Center for Cancer Cell Biology, Immunology and Infection, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA
- School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA
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