Rescue of hepatitis A virus from cDNA-transfected but not virion RNA-transfected mouse Ltk- cells

Nucleotide variability and translation efficiency of the 5' untranslated region of hepatitis A virus: update from clinical isolates associated with mild and severe hepatitis

Mutations in the internal ribosome entry site (IRES) of hepatitis A virus (HAV) have been associated with enhanced in vitro replication and viral attenuation in animal models. To address the possible role of IRES variability in clinical presentation, IRES sequences were obtained from HAV isolates associated with benign (n = 8) or severe (n = 4) hepatitis. IRES activity was assessed using a bicistronic dual-luciferase expression system in adenocarcinoma (HeLa) and hepatoma (HuH7) cell lines. Activity was higher in HuH7 than in HeLa cells, except for an infrequently isolated genotype IIA strain. Though globally low, significant variation in IRES-dependent translation efficiency was observed between field isolates, reflecting the low but significant genetic variability of this region (94.2% +/- 0.5% nucleotide identity). No mutation was exclusive of benign or severe hepatitis, and variations in IRES activity were not associated with a clinical phenotype, indirectly supporting the preponderance of host factors in determining the clinical presentation.

Amantadine inhibits hepatitis A virus internal ribosomal entry site-mediated translation in human hepatoma cells

The effect of six drugs (amantadine, glycyrrhizin, ribavirin, ursodeoxycholic acid, alcohol, and IFN) on HAV RNA translation from the HAV internal ribosomal entry site (IRES) was investigated using a bicistronic reporter construct containing HAV IRES as intragenic spacer. Huh-7 cells and derivatives were transfected with in vitro transcripts, and the reporter gene activity was determined. IFN suppressed both cap-dependent and HAV IRES-dependent translation, while amantadine specifically inhibited HAV IRES-dependent translation. In contrast to IFN, by reporter assay, amantadine did not activate the interferon-stimulated response element (ISRE) or interferon gamma-activated sequence (GAS)-associated pathways. Immunoblot analysis revealed that amantadine had no effect on PKR and on IFN-regulatory factor-1 (IRF-1) expression. These findings demonstrated a novel antiviral effect of amantadine against HAV with or without HCV infection.

Growth of hepatitis A virus in a mouse liver cell line

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) has been adapted to grow efficiently in primate and some nonprimate cell lines but not in cells of murine origin. To understand the inability of the virus to grow in mouse cells, we studied the replication of HAV in immortalized and nontransformed MMH-D3 mouse liver cells, which require growth factors and collagen to maintain their phenotype. HAV grew in MMH-D3 cells transfected with virion RNA but not in those infected with viral particles, indicating a cell entry block for HAV. However, MMH-D3 cells cultured under suboptimal conditions in the absence of growth factors acquired susceptibility to HAV infection. Serial passages of the virus in MMH-D3 cells under suboptimal growth conditions resulted in the selection of HAV variants that grew efficiently in MMH-D3 cells cultured under both optimal and suboptimal conditions. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the MMH-D3 cell-adapted HAV revealed that N1237D and D2132G substitutions were present in the capsid regions of six viral clones. These two mutations are most likely located on the surface of the virion and may play a role in the entry of HAV into the mouse liver cells. Our results demonstrate that mouse hepatocyte-like cells code for all factors required for the efficient growth of HAV in cell culture.