1
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Pitchai FNN, Tanner EJ, Khetan N, Vasen G, Levrel C, Kumar AJ, Pandey S, Ordonez T, Barnette P, Spencer D, Jung SY, Glazier J, Thompson C, Harvey-Vera A, Son HI, Son HI, Strathdee SA, Holguin L, Urak R, Burnett J, Burgess W, Busman-Sahay K, Estes JD, Hessell A, Fennessey CM, Keele BF, Haigwood NL, Weinberger LS. Engineered deletions of HIV replicate conditionally to reduce disease in nonhuman primates. Science 2024; 385:eadn5866. [PMID: 39116226 DOI: 10.1126/science.adn5866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024]
Abstract
Antiviral therapies with reduced frequencies of administration and high barriers to resistance remain a major goal. For HIV, theories have proposed that viral-deletion variants, which conditionally replicate with a basic reproductive ratio [R0] > 1 (termed "therapeutic interfering particles" or "TIPs"), could parasitize wild-type virus to constitute single-administration, escape-resistant antiviral therapies. We report the engineering of a TIP that, in rhesus macaques, reduces viremia of a highly pathogenic model of HIV by >3log10 following a single intravenous injection. Animal lifespan was significantly extended, TIPs conditionally replicated and were continually detected for >6 months, and sequencing data showed no evidence of viral escape. A single TIP injection also suppressed virus replication in humanized mice and cells from persons living with HIV. These data provide proof of concept for a potential new class of single-administration antiviral therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fathima N Nagoor Pitchai
- Gladstone Center for Cell Circuitry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Gladstone Institute of Virology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Elizabeth J Tanner
- Gladstone Center for Cell Circuitry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Gladstone Institute of Virology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Neha Khetan
- Gladstone Center for Cell Circuitry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Gladstone Institute of Virology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Gustavo Vasen
- Gladstone Center for Cell Circuitry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Gladstone Institute of Virology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Clara Levrel
- Gladstone Center for Cell Circuitry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Gladstone Institute of Virology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Arjun J Kumar
- Gladstone Center for Cell Circuitry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Gladstone Institute of Virology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Shilpi Pandey
- Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR, USA
| | - Tracy Ordonez
- Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR, USA
| | - Philip Barnette
- Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR, USA
| | - David Spencer
- Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR, USA
- Absci Corporation, Vancouver, WA, USA
| | - Seung-Yong Jung
- Gladstone Center for Cell Circuitry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Joshua Glazier
- Gladstone Center for Cell Circuitry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Cassandra Thompson
- Gladstone Center for Cell Circuitry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | | | - Hye-In Son
- Global Health Sciences, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- US-Mexico Border Health Commission, Tijuana, Mexico
- Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR, USA
| | - Hye-In Son
- Gladstone Center for Cell Circuitry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Steffanie A Strathdee
- Global Health Sciences, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Leo Holguin
- Global Health Sciences, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Ryan Urak
- Center for Gene Therapy, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, USA
| | - John Burnett
- Center for Gene Therapy, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
| | - William Burgess
- Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR, USA
| | - Kathleen Busman-Sahay
- Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR, USA
| | - Jacob D Estes
- Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR, USA
- Faculty of Health, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- School of Health and Biomedical Sciences College of Science, Engineering and Health RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Ann Hessell
- Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR, USA
| | - Christine M Fennessey
- AIDS and Cancer Virus Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Brandon F Keele
- AIDS and Cancer Virus Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Nancy L Haigwood
- Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR, USA
| | - Leor S Weinberger
- Gladstone Center for Cell Circuitry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Gladstone Institute of Virology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
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2
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Hillung J, Olmo-Uceda MJ, Muñoz-Sánchez JC, Elena SF. Accumulation Dynamics of Defective Genomes during Experimental Evolution of Two Betacoronaviruses. Viruses 2024; 16:644. [PMID: 38675984 PMCID: PMC11053736 DOI: 10.3390/v16040644] [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: 03/21/2024] [Revised: 04/18/2024] [Accepted: 04/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Virus-encoded replicases often generate aberrant RNA genomes, known as defective viral genomes (DVGs). When co-infected with a helper virus providing necessary proteins, DVGs can multiply and spread. While DVGs depend on the helper virus for propagation, they can in some cases disrupt infectious virus replication, impact immune responses, and affect viral persistence or evolution. Understanding the dynamics of DVGs alongside standard viral genomes during infection remains unclear. To address this, we conducted a long-term experimental evolution of two betacoronaviruses, the human coronavirus OC43 (HCoV-OC43) and the murine hepatitis virus (MHV), in cell culture at both high and low multiplicities of infection (MOI). We then performed RNA-seq at regular time intervals, reconstructed DVGs, and analyzed their accumulation dynamics. Our findings indicate that DVGs evolved to exhibit greater diversity and abundance, with deletions and insertions being the most common types. Notably, some high MOI deletions showed very limited temporary existence, while others became prevalent over time. We observed differences in DVG abundance between high and low MOI conditions in HCoV-OC43 samples. The size distribution of HCoV-OC43 genomes with deletions differed between high and low MOI passages. In low MOI lineages, short and long DVGs were the most common, with an additional cluster in high MOI lineages which became more prevalent along evolutionary time. MHV also showed variations in DVG size distribution at different MOI conditions, though they were less pronounced compared to HCoV-OC43, suggesting a more random distribution of DVG sizes. We identified hotspot regions for deletions that evolved at a high MOI, primarily within cistrons encoding structural and accessory proteins. In conclusion, our study illustrates the widespread formation of DVGs during betacoronavirus evolution, influenced by MOI and cell- and virus-specific factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Hillung
- Instituto de Biología Integrativa de Sistemas (I2SysBio), CSIC-UV, Catedrático Agustín Escardino Benlloch 9, 46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain; (J.H.); (M.J.O.-U.); (J.C.M.-S.)
| | - María J. Olmo-Uceda
- Instituto de Biología Integrativa de Sistemas (I2SysBio), CSIC-UV, Catedrático Agustín Escardino Benlloch 9, 46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain; (J.H.); (M.J.O.-U.); (J.C.M.-S.)
| | - Juan C. Muñoz-Sánchez
- Instituto de Biología Integrativa de Sistemas (I2SysBio), CSIC-UV, Catedrático Agustín Escardino Benlloch 9, 46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain; (J.H.); (M.J.O.-U.); (J.C.M.-S.)
| | - Santiago F. Elena
- Instituto de Biología Integrativa de Sistemas (I2SysBio), CSIC-UV, Catedrático Agustín Escardino Benlloch 9, 46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain; (J.H.); (M.J.O.-U.); (J.C.M.-S.)
- Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
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3
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Elena SF. Bridging quasispecies theory and social evolution models for sociovirology insights: a commentary on Leeks et al. 2023. J Evol Biol 2023; 36:1590-1594. [PMID: 37975502 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Revised: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Santiago F Elena
- Instituto de Biología Integrativa de Sistemas (I2SysBio), CSIC-Universitat de València, Paterna (Valencia), Spain
- The Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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4
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Ibrahim AM. The conditional defector strategies can violate the most crucial supporting mechanisms of cooperation. Sci Rep 2022; 12:15157. [PMID: 36071078 PMCID: PMC9449918 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-18797-2] [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: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Cooperation is essential for all domains of life. Yet, ironically, it is intrinsically vulnerable to exploitation by cheats. Hence, an explanatory necessity spurs many evolutionary biologists to search for mechanisms that could support cooperation. In general, cooperation can emerge and be maintained when cooperators are sufficiently interacting with themselves. This communication provides a kind of assortment and reciprocity. The most crucial and common mechanisms to achieve that task are kin selection, spatial structure, and enforcement (punishment). Here, we used agent-based simulation models to investigate these pivotal mechanisms against conditional defector strategies. We concluded that the latter could easily violate the former and take over the population. This surprising outcome may urge us to rethink the evolution of cooperation, as it illustrates that maintaining cooperation may be more difficult than previously thought. Moreover, empirical applications may support these theoretical findings, such as invading the cooperator population of pathogens by genetically engineered conditional defectors, which could be a potential therapy for many incurable diseases.
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5
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A Virus Is a Community: Diversity within Negative-Sense RNA Virus Populations. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 2022; 86:e0008621. [PMID: 35658541 DOI: 10.1128/mmbr.00086-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Negative-sense RNA virus populations are composed of diverse viral components that interact to form a community and shape the outcome of virus infections. At the genomic level, RNA virus populations consist not only of a homogeneous population of standard viral genomes but also of an extremely large number of genome variants, termed viral quasispecies, and nonstandard viral genomes, which include copy-back viral genomes, deletion viral genomes, mini viral RNAs, and hypermutated RNAs. At the particle level, RNA virus populations are composed of pleomorphic particles, particles missing or having additional genomes, and single particles or particle aggregates. As we continue discovering more about the components of negative-sense RNA virus populations and their crucial functions during virus infection, it will become more important to study RNA virus populations as a whole rather than their individual parts. In this review, we will discuss what is known about the components of negative-sense RNA virus communities, speculate how the components of the virus community interact, and summarize what vaccines and antiviral therapies are being currently developed to target or harness these components.
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6
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Bhat T, Cao A, Yin J. Virus-like Particles: Measures and Biological Functions. Viruses 2022; 14:383. [PMID: 35215979 PMCID: PMC8877645 DOI: 10.3390/v14020383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Revised: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Virus-like particles resemble infectious virus particles in size, shape, and molecular composition; however, they fail to productively infect host cells. Historically, the presence of virus-like particles has been inferred from total particle counts by microscopy, and infectious particle counts or plaque-forming-units (PFUs) by plaque assay; the resulting ratio of particles-to-PFUs is often greater than one, easily 10 or 100, indicating that most particles are non-infectious. Despite their inability to hijack cells for their reproduction, virus-like particles and the defective genomes they carry can exhibit a broad range of behaviors: interference with normal virus growth during co-infections, cell killing, and activation or inhibition of innate immune signaling. In addition, some virus-like particles become productive as their multiplicities of infection increase, a sign of cooperation between particles. Here, we review established and emerging methods to count virus-like particles and characterize their biological functions. We take a critical look at evidence for defective interfering virus genomes in natural and clinical isolates, and we review their potential as antiviral therapeutics. In short, we highlight an urgent need to better understand how virus-like genomes and particles interact with intact functional viruses during co-infection of their hosts, and their impacts on the transmission, severity, and persistence of virus-associated diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - John Yin
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 330 N. Orchard Street, Madison, WI 53715, USA; (T.B.); (A.C.)
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7
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Kalamvoki M, Norris V. A Defective Viral Particle Approach to COVID-19. Cells 2022; 11:302. [PMID: 35053418 PMCID: PMC8774189 DOI: 10.3390/cells11020302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has caused a pandemic resulting in millions of deaths worldwide. While multiple vaccines have been developed, insufficient vaccination combined with adaptive mutations create uncertainty for the future. Here, we discuss novel strategies to control COVID-19 relying on Defective Interfering Particles (DIPs) and related particles that arise naturally during an infection. Our intention is to encourage and to provide the basis for the implementation of such strategies by multi-disciplinary teams. We therefore provide an overview of SARS-CoV-2 for a multi-disciplinary readership that is specifically tailored to these strategies, we identify potential targets based on the current knowledge of the properties and functions of coronaviruses, and we propose specific strategies to engineer DIPs and other interfering or therapeutic nanoparticles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Kalamvoki
- Department of Microbiology, Molecular Genetics and Immunology, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Blvd, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA
| | - Vic Norris
- Laboratory of Microbiology Signals and Microenvironment, University of Rouen, 76821 Mont Saint Aignan, France;
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8
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Fatehi F, Bingham RJ, Dechant PP, Stockley PG, Twarock R. Therapeutic interfering particles exploiting viral replication and assembly mechanisms show promising performance: a modelling study. Sci Rep 2021; 11:23847. [PMID: 34903795 PMCID: PMC8668974 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-03168-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Defective interfering particles arise spontaneously during a viral infection as mutants lacking essential parts of the viral genome. Their ability to replicate in the presence of the wild-type (WT) virus (at the expense of viable viral particles) is mimicked and exploited by therapeutic interfering particles. We propose a strategy for the design of therapeutic interfering RNAs (tiRNAs) against positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses that assemble via packaging signal-mediated assembly. These tiRNAs contain both an optimised version of the virus assembly manual that is encoded by multiple dispersed RNA packaging signals and a replication signal for viral polymerase, but lack any protein coding information. We use an intracellular model for hepatitis C viral (HCV) infection that captures key aspects of the competition dynamics between tiRNAs and viral genomes for virally produced capsid protein and polymerase. We show that only a small increase in the assembly and replication efficiency of the tiRNAs compared with WT virus is required in order to achieve a treatment efficacy greater than 99%. This demonstrates that the proposed tiRNA design could be a promising treatment option for RNA viral infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Farzad Fatehi
- York Cross-disciplinary Centre for Systems Analysis, University of York, York, YO10 5GE, UK
- Department of Mathematics, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Richard J Bingham
- York Cross-disciplinary Centre for Systems Analysis, University of York, York, YO10 5GE, UK
- Department of Mathematics, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
- Department of Biology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Pierre-Philippe Dechant
- York Cross-disciplinary Centre for Systems Analysis, University of York, York, YO10 5GE, UK
- Department of Mathematics, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
- School of Science, Technology and Health, York St John University, York, YO31 7EX, UK
| | - Peter G Stockley
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.
| | - Reidun Twarock
- York Cross-disciplinary Centre for Systems Analysis, University of York, York, YO10 5GE, UK.
- Department of Mathematics, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK.
- Department of Biology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK.
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9
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López CB. Defective Viral Particles. Virology 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/9781119818526.ch5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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10
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Kupke SY, Ly LH, Börno ST, Ruff A, Timmermann B, Vingron M, Haas S, Reichl U. Single-Cell Analysis Uncovers a Vast Diversity in Intracellular Viral Defective Interfering RNA Content Affecting the Large Cell-to-Cell Heterogeneity in Influenza A Virus Replication. Viruses 2020; 12:E71. [PMID: 31936115 PMCID: PMC7019491 DOI: 10.3390/v12010071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2019] [Revised: 12/20/2019] [Accepted: 01/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Virus replication displays a large cell-to-cell heterogeneity; yet, not all sources of this variability are known. Here, we study the effect of defective interfering (DI) particle (DIP) co-infection on cell-to-cell variability in influenza A virus (IAV) replication. DIPs contain a large internal deletion in one of their eight viral RNAs (vRNA) and are, thus, defective in virus replication. Moreover, they interfere with virus replication. Using single-cell isolation and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, we uncovered a large between-cell heterogeneity in the DI vRNA content of infected cells, which was confirmed for DI mRNAs by single-cell RNA sequencing. A high load of intracellular DI vRNAs and DI mRNAs was found in low-productive cells, indicating their contribution to the large cell-to-cell variability in virus release. Furthermore, we show that the magnitude of host cell mRNA expression (some factors may inhibit virus replication), but not the ribosome content, may further affect the strength of single-cell virus replication. Finally, we show that the load of viral mRNAs (facilitating viral protein production) and the DI mRNA content are, independently from one another, connected with single-cell virus production. Together, these insights advance single-cell virology research toward the elucidation of the complex multi-parametric origin of the large cell-to-cell heterogeneity in virus infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sascha Young Kupke
- Department of Bioprocess Engineering, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany; (A.R.); (U.R.)
| | - Lam-Ha Ly
- Department of Computational Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, 14195 Berlin, Germany; (M.V.); (S.H.)
| | - Stefan Thomas Börno
- Sequencing Core Facility, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, 14195 Berlin, Germany;
| | - Alexander Ruff
- Department of Bioprocess Engineering, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany; (A.R.); (U.R.)
| | - Bernd Timmermann
- Sequencing Core Facility, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, 14195 Berlin, Germany;
| | - Martin Vingron
- Department of Computational Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, 14195 Berlin, Germany; (M.V.); (S.H.)
| | - Stefan Haas
- Department of Computational Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, 14195 Berlin, Germany; (M.V.); (S.H.)
| | - Udo Reichl
- Department of Bioprocess Engineering, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany; (A.R.); (U.R.)
- Bioprocess Engineering, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany
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11
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Defective viral genomes are key drivers of the virus-host interaction. Nat Microbiol 2019; 4:1075-1087. [PMID: 31160826 PMCID: PMC7097797 DOI: 10.1038/s41564-019-0465-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 188] [Impact Index Per Article: 37.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2018] [Accepted: 04/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Viruses survive often harsh host environments, yet we know little about the strategies they utilize to adapt and subsist given their limited genomic resources. We are beginning to appreciate the surprising versatility of viral genomes and how replication-competent and -defective virus variants can provide means for adaptation, immune escape and virus perpetuation. This Review summarizes current knowledge of the types of defective viral genomes generated during the replication of RNA viruses and the functions that they carry out. We highlight the universality and diversity of defective viral genomes during infections and discuss their predicted role in maintaining a fit virus population, their impact on human and animal health, and their potential to be harnessed as antiviral tools. This Review describes recent findings on the biogenesis and the role of defective viral genomes during replication of RNA viruses and discusses their impact on viral dynamics and evolution.
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12
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A Novel Type of Influenza A Virus-Derived Defective Interfering Particle with Nucleotide Substitutions in Its Genome. J Virol 2019; 93:JVI.01786-18. [PMID: 30463972 PMCID: PMC6364022 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01786-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2018] [Accepted: 11/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Defective interfering particles (DIPs) replicate at the expense of coinfecting, fully infectious homologous virus. Typically, they contain a highly deleted form of the viral genome. Utilizing single-cell analysis, here we report the discovery of a yet-unknown DIP type, derived from influenza A viruses (IAVs), termed OP7 virus. Instead of deletions, the genomic viral RNA (vRNA) of segment 7 (S7) carried 37 point mutations compared to the reference sequence, affecting promoter regions, encoded proteins, and genome packaging signals. Coinfection experiments demonstrated strong interference of OP7 virus with IAV replication, manifested by a dramatic decrease in the infectivity of released virions. Moreover, an overproportional quantity of S7 in relation to other genome segments was observed, both intracellularly and in the released virus population. Concurrently, OP7 virions lacked a large fraction of other vRNA segments, which appears to constitute its defect in virus replication. OP7 virus might serve as a promising candidate for antiviral therapy. Furthermore, this novel form of DIP may also be present in other IAV preparations.IMPORTANCE Defective interfering particles (DIPs) typically contain a highly deleted form of the viral genome, rendering them defective in virus replication. Yet upon complementation through coinfection with fully infectious standard virus (STV), interference with the viral life cycle can be observed, leading to suppressed STV replication and the release of mainly noninfectious DIPs. Interestingly, recent research indicates that DIPs may serve as an antiviral agent. Here we report the discovery of a yet-unknown type of influenza A virus-derived DIP (termed "OP7" virus) that contains numerous point mutations instead of large deletions in its genome. Furthermore, the underlying principles that render OP7 virions interfering and apparently defective seem to differ from those of conventional DIPs. In conclusion, we believe that OP7 virus might be a promising candidate for antiviral therapy. Moreover, it exerts strong effects, both on virus replication and on the host cell response, and may have been overlooked in other IAV preparations.
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13
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Nuismer SL, May R, Basinski A, Remien CH. Controlling epidemics with transmissible vaccines. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0196978. [PMID: 29746504 PMCID: PMC5945036 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0196978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2018] [Accepted: 04/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
As the density of human and domestic animal populations increases, the threat of localized epidemics and global pandemics grows. Although effective vaccines have been developed for a number of threatening pathogens, manufacturing and disseminating vaccines in the face of a rapidly spreading epidemic or pandemic remains a formidable challenge. One potentially powerful solution to this problem is the use of transmissible vaccines. Transmissible vaccines are capable of spreading from one individual to another and are currently being developed for a range of infectious diseases. Here we develop and analyze mathematical models that allow us to quantify the benefits of vaccine transmission in the face of an imminent or ongoing epidemic. Our results demonstrate that even a small amount of vaccine transmission can greatly increase the rate at which a naïve host population can be protected against an anticipated epidemic and substantially reduce the size of unanticipated epidemics if vaccination is initiated shortly after pathogen detection. In addition, our results identify key biological properties and implementation practices that maximize the impact of vaccine transmission on infectious disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott L. Nuismer
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, United States of America
| | - Ryan May
- Department of Mathematics, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, United States of America
| | - Andrew Basinski
- Department of Mathematics, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, United States of America
| | - Christopher H. Remien
- Department of Mathematics, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, United States of America
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14
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Bull JJ, Smithson MW, Nuismer SL. Transmissible Viral Vaccines. Trends Microbiol 2017; 26:6-15. [PMID: 29033339 PMCID: PMC5777272 DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2017.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2017] [Revised: 08/15/2017] [Accepted: 09/22/2017] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Genetic engineering now enables the design of live viral vaccines that are potentially transmissible. Some designs merely modify a single viral genome to improve on the age-old method of attenuation whereas other designs create chimeras of viral genomes. Transmission has the benefit of increasing herd immunity above that achieved by direct vaccination alone but also increases the opportunity for vaccine evolution, which typically undermines vaccine utility. Different designs have different epidemiological consequences but also experience different evolution. Approaches that integrate vaccine engineering with an understanding of evolution and epidemiology will reap the greatest benefit from vaccine transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- James J Bull
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712 USA.
| | - Mark W Smithson
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164-4236, USA
| | - Scott L Nuismer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Department of Mathematics, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, 83844, USA.
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15
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Cuevas JM, Durán-Moreno M, Sanjuán R. Multi-virion infectious units arise from free viral particles in an enveloped virus. Nat Microbiol 2017; 2:17078. [PMID: 28530650 PMCID: PMC5447809 DOI: 10.1038/nmicrobiol.2017.78] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2016] [Accepted: 04/11/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Many animal viruses are enveloped in a lipid bilayer taken up from cellular membranes. Because viral surface proteins bind to these membranes to initiate infection, we hypothesized that free virions may also be capable of interacting with the envelopes of other virions extracellularly. Here, we demonstrate this hypothesis in the vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), a prototypic negative-strand RNA virus composed of an internal ribonucleocapsid, a matrix protein and an external envelope1. Using microscopy, dynamic light scattering, differential centrifugation and flow cytometry, we show that free viral particles can spontaneously aggregate into multi-virion infectious units. We also show that, following establishment of these contacts, different viral genetic variants are co-transmitted to the same target cell. Furthermore, virion-virion binding can determine key aspects of viral fitness such as antibody escape. In purified virions, this process is driven by protein-lipid interactions probably involving the VSV surface glycoprotein and phosphatidylserine. Whereas we found that multi-virion complexes occurred unfrequently in standard cell cultures, they were abundant in other fluids such as saliva, a natural VSV shedding route2. Our findings contrast with the commonly accepted perception of virions as passive propagules and show the ability of enveloped viruses to establish collective infectious units, which could in turn facilitate the evolution of virus-virus interactions and of social-like traits3.
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Affiliation(s)
- José M. Cuevas
- Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), Universitat de
València, Spain
- Department of Genetics, Universitat de València,
València, Spain
| | - María Durán-Moreno
- Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), Universitat de
València, Spain
| | - Rafael Sanjuán
- Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), Universitat de
València, Spain
- Department of Genetics, Universitat de València,
València, Spain
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16
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Chao L, Elena SF. Nonlinear trade-offs allow the cooperation game to evolve from Prisoner's Dilemma to Snowdrift. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 284:20170228. [PMID: 28490625 PMCID: PMC5443946 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.0228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2017] [Accepted: 04/10/2017] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The existence of cooperation, or the production of public goods, is an evolutionary problem. Cooperation is not favoured because the Prisoner's Dilemma (PD) game drives cooperators to extinction. We have re-analysed this problem by using RNA viruses to motivate a model for the evolution of cooperation. Gene products are the public goods and group size is the number of virions co-infecting the same host cell. Our results show that if the trade-off between replication and production of gene products is linear, PD is observed. However, if the trade-off is nonlinear, the viruses evolve into separate lineages of ultra-defectors and ultra-cooperators as group size is increased. The nonlinearity was justified by the existence of real viral ultra-defectors, known as defective interfering particles, which gain a nonlinear advantage by being smaller. The evolution of ultra-defectors and ultra-cooperators creates the Snowdrift game, which promotes high-level production of public goods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Chao
- Section of Ecology, Behavior and Evolution, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0116, USA
| | - Santiago F Elena
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Ingeniero Fausto Elio s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
- Instituto de Biología Integrativa y de Sistemas (ISysBio), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universitat de València, Catedrático Agustín Escardino 9, 46182 Paterna, Valencia, Spain
- The Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
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17
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Collective Infectious Units in Viruses. Trends Microbiol 2017; 25:402-412. [PMID: 28262512 DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2017.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2016] [Revised: 12/13/2016] [Accepted: 02/06/2017] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Increasing evidence indicates that viruses do not simply propagate as independent virions among cells, organs, and hosts. Instead, viral spread is often mediated by structures that simultaneously transport groups of viral genomes, such as polyploid virions, aggregates of virions, virion-containing proteinaceous structures, secreted lipid vesicles, and virus-induced cell-cell contacts. These structures increase the multiplicity of infection, independently of viral population density and transmission bottlenecks. Collective infectious units may contribute to the maintenance of viral genetic diversity, and could have implications for the evolution of social-like virus-virus interactions. These may include various forms of cooperation such as immunity evasion, genetic complementation, division of labor, and relaxation of fitness trade-offs, but also noncooperative interactions such as negative dominance and interference, potentially leading to conflict.
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18
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Rast LI, Rouzine IM, Rozhnova G, Bishop L, Weinberger AD, Weinberger LS. Conflicting Selection Pressures Will Constrain Viral Escape from Interfering Particles: Principles for Designing Resistance-Proof Antivirals. PLoS Comput Biol 2016; 12:e1004799. [PMID: 27152856 PMCID: PMC4859541 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2015] [Accepted: 02/08/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The rapid evolution of RNA-encoded viruses such as HIV presents a major barrier to infectious disease control using conventional pharmaceuticals and vaccines. Previously, it was proposed that defective interfering particles could be developed to indefinitely control the HIV/AIDS pandemic; in individual patients, these engineered molecular parasites were further predicted to be refractory to HIV’s mutational escape (i.e., be ‘resistance-proof’). However, an outstanding question has been whether these engineered interfering particles—termed Therapeutic Interfering Particles (TIPs)—would remain resistance-proof at the population-scale, where TIP-resistant HIV mutants may transmit more efficiently by reaching higher viral loads in the TIP-treated subpopulation. Here, we develop a multi-scale model to test whether TIPs will maintain indefinite control of HIV at the population-scale, as HIV (‘unilaterally’) evolves toward TIP resistance by limiting the production of viral proteins available for TIPs to parasitize. Model results capture the existence of two intrinsic evolutionary tradeoffs that collectively prevent the spread of TIP-resistant HIV mutants in a population. First, despite their increased transmission rates in TIP-treated sub-populations, unilateral TIP-resistant mutants are shown to have reduced transmission rates in TIP-untreated sub-populations. Second, these TIP-resistant mutants are shown to have reduced growth rates (i.e., replicative fitness) in both TIP-treated and TIP-untreated individuals. As a result of these tradeoffs, the model finds that TIP-susceptible HIV strains continually outcompete TIP-resistant HIV mutants at both patient and population scales when TIPs are engineered to express >3-fold more genomic RNA than HIV expresses. Thus, the results provide design constraints for engineering population-scale therapies that may be refractory to the acquisition of antiviral resistance. A major obstacle to effective antimicrobial therapy campaigns is the rapid evolution of drug resistance. Given the static nature of current pharmaceuticals and vaccines, natural selection inevitably drives pathogens to mutate into drug-resistant variants that can resume productive replication. Further, these drug-resistant mutants transmit across populations, resulting in untreatable epidemics. Recently, a therapeutic strategy was proposed in which viral deletion mutants—termed therapeutic interfering particles (TIPs)—are engineered to only replicate by stealing their missing proteins from full-length viruses in co-infected cells. By stealing essential viral proteins, these engineered molecular parasites have been predicted to reduce viral levels in patients and viral transmission events across populations. Yet, a critical question is whether rapidly mutating viruses like HIV can evolve around TIP control by reducing production of the proteins that TIPs must steal in order to replicate (i.e., by ‘starving’ the TIPs). Here we develop a multi-scale model that tests whether TIP-starving HIV mutants can spread across populations to undermine TIP therapy campaigns at the population-scale. Strikingly, model results show that inherent evolutionary tradeoffs prevent these TIP-resistant HIV mutants from increasing in frequency (i.e., these TIP-resistant HIV mutants are continually outcompeted by TIP-sensitive mutants in both patients and populations). Maintained by natural selection, TIPs may offer a novel therapeutic approach to indefinitely control rapidly evolving viral pandemics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke I. Rast
- Gladstone Institutes (Virology and Immunology), San Francisco, California, United States of America
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Igor M. Rouzine
- Gladstone Institutes (Virology and Immunology), San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Ganna Rozhnova
- Gladstone Institutes (Virology and Immunology), San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Lisa Bishop
- Gladstone Institutes (Virology and Immunology), San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Ariel D. Weinberger
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- * E-mail: (ADW); (LSW)
| | - Leor S. Weinberger
- Gladstone Institutes (Virology and Immunology), San Francisco, California, United States of America
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
- QB3: California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
- * E-mail: (ADW); (LSW)
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19
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Abstract
Rapidly evolving viruses are a major threat to human health. Such viruses are often highly pathogenic (e.g., influenza virus, HIV, Ebola virus) and routinely circumvent therapeutic intervention through mutational escape. Error-prone genome replication generates heterogeneous viral populations that rapidly adapt to new selection pressures, leading to resistance that emerges with treatment. However, population heterogeneity bears a cost: when multiple viral variants replicate within a cell, they can potentially interfere with each other, lowering viral fitness. This genetic interference can be exploited for antiviral strategies, either by taking advantage of a virus’s inherent genetic diversity or through generating de novo interference by engineering a competing genome. Here, we discuss two such antiviral strategies, dominant drug targeting and therapeutic interfering particles. Both strategies harness the power of genetic interference to surmount two particularly vexing obstacles—the evolution of drug resistance and targeting therapy to high-risk populations—both of which impede treatment in resource-poor settings.
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20
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Akpinar F, Timm A, Yin J. High-Throughput Single-Cell Kinetics of Virus Infections in the Presence of Defective Interfering Particles. J Virol 2016; 90:1599-612. [PMID: 26608322 PMCID: PMC4719634 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.02190-15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2015] [Accepted: 11/18/2015] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED Defective interfering particles (DIPs) are virus mutants that lack essential genes for growth. In coinfections with helper virus, the diversion of viral proteins to the replication and packaging of DIP genomes can interfere with virus production. Mounting cases of DIPs and DIP-like genomes in clinical and natural isolates, as well as growing interest in DIP-based therapies, underscore a need to better elucidate how DIPs work. DIP activity is primarily measured by its inhibition of virus infection yield, an endpoint that masks the dynamic and potentially diverse individual cell behaviors. Using vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) as a model, we coinfected BHK cells with VSV DIPs and recombinant helper virus carrying a gene encoding a red fluorescent protein (RFP) whose expression correlates with the timing and level of virus release. For single cells within a monolayer, 10 DIPs per cell suppressed the reporter expression in only 1.2% of the cells. In most cells, it slowed and reduced viral gene expression, manifested as a shift in mean latent time from 4 to 6 h and reduced virus yields by 10-fold. For single cells isolated in microwells, DIP effects were more pronounced, reducing virus yields by 100-fold and extending latent times to 12 h, including individual instances above 20 h. Together, these results suggest that direct or indirect cell-cell interactions prevent most coinfected cells from being completely suppressed by DIPs. Finally, a gamma distribution model captures well how the infection kinetics quantitatively depends on the DIP dose. Such models will be useful for advancing a predictive biology of DIP-associated virus growth and infection spread. IMPORTANCE During the last century, basic studies in virology have focused on developing a molecular mechanistic understanding of how infectious viruses reproduce in their living host cells. However, over the last 10 years, the advent of deep sequencing and other powerful technologies has revealed in natural and patient infections that viruses do not act alone. Instead, viruses are often accompanied by defective virus-like particles that carry large deletions in their genomes and fail to replicate on their own. Coinfections of viable and defective viruses behave in unpredictable ways, but they often interfere with normal virus growth, potentially enabling infections to evade host immune surveillance. In the current study, controlled levels of defective viruses are coinfected with viable viruses that have been engineered to express a fluorescent reporter protein during infection. Unique profiles of reporter expression acquired from thousands of coinfected cells reveal how interference acts at multiple stages of infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fulya Akpinar
- Systems Biology Theme, Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Andrea Timm
- Systems Biology Theme, Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - John Yin
- Systems Biology Theme, Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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21
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Giaretta A, Di Camillo B, Barzon L, Toffolo GM. Modeling HPV early promoter regulation. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2016; 2015:6493-6. [PMID: 26737780 DOI: 10.1109/embc.2015.7319880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
In high risk forms, human papillomaviruses (HPV) can either induce or promote cancerous lesions, especially cervical cancer which is considered the second most common cancer in the women worldwide. HPV life cycle is tightly linked to the infected cell differentiation program and its evolution is strictly joined to the switch between the early and the late viral polycistronic promoters.The aim of this study is to develop a novel mathematical model which collects and structures the available biologic knowledge on the early promoter regulation for HPV in episomal form. The model includes the main regulation by E2 viral protein as well as a novel discovered co-regulation function mediated by the viral E1 protein. Only by including both E2 and E1 regulatory effect the model is able to correctly predict the temporal behaviour of the early promoter switching off. A possible use of the model as in silico tool to evaluate new antiviral therapies is discussed.
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