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Zimmerman O, Zimmerman MI, Raju S, Nelson CA, Errico JM, Madden EA, Holmes AC, Hassan AO, VanBlargan LA, Kim AS, Adams LJ, Basore K, Whitener BM, Palakurty S, Davis-Adams HG, Sun C, Gilliland T, Earnest JT, Ma H, Ebel GD, Zmasek C, Scheuermann RH, Klimstra WB, Fremont DH, Diamond MS. Vertebrate-class-specific binding modes of the alphavirus receptor MXRA8. Cell 2023; 186:4818-4833.e25. [PMID: 37804831 PMCID: PMC10615782 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2022] [Revised: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/09/2023]
Abstract
MXRA8 is a receptor for chikungunya (CHIKV) and other arthritogenic alphaviruses with mammalian hosts. However, mammalian MXRA8 does not bind to alphaviruses that infect humans and have avian reservoirs. Here, we show that avian, but not mammalian, MXRA8 can act as a receptor for Sindbis, western equine encephalitis (WEEV), and related alphaviruses with avian reservoirs. Structural analysis of duck MXRA8 complexed with WEEV reveals an inverted binding mode compared with mammalian MXRA8 bound to CHIKV. Whereas both domains of mammalian MXRA8 bind CHIKV E1 and E2, only domain 1 of avian MXRA8 engages WEEV E1, and no appreciable contacts are made with WEEV E2. Using these results, we generated a chimeric avian-mammalian MXRA8 decoy-receptor that neutralizes infection of multiple alphaviruses from distinct antigenic groups in vitro and in vivo. Thus, different alphaviruses can bind MXRA8 encoded by different vertebrate classes with distinct engagement modes, which enables development of broad-spectrum inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ofer Zimmerman
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Maxwell I Zimmerman
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Saravanan Raju
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Christopher A Nelson
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - John M Errico
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Emily A Madden
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Autumn C Holmes
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Ahmed O Hassan
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Laura A VanBlargan
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Arthur S Kim
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Pathology & Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Lucas J Adams
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Katherine Basore
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Bradley M Whitener
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Sathvik Palakurty
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Hannah G Davis-Adams
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Chengqun Sun
- Center for Vaccine Research, Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Theron Gilliland
- Center for Vaccine Research, Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - James T Earnest
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Hongming Ma
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | | | - Richard H Scheuermann
- J. Craig Venter Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA 92161, USA; Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA; Global Virus Network, Baltimore, MD 92037, USA
| | - William B Klimstra
- Center for Vaccine Research, Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Daved H Fremont
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA.
| | - Michael S Diamond
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Pathology & Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA; Andrew M. and Jane M. Bursky Center for Human Immunology and Immunotherapy Programs, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA.
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Fassbinder-Orth CA, Killpack TL, Goto DS, Rainwater EL, Shearn-Bochsler VI. High costs of infection: Alphavirus infection reduces digestive function and bone and feather growth in nestling house sparrows (Passer domesticus). PLoS One 2018; 13:e0195467. [PMID: 29624598 PMCID: PMC5889171 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2017] [Accepted: 03/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Increasingly, ecoimmunology studies aim to use relevant pathogen exposure to examine the impacts of infection on physiological processes in wild animals. Alphaviruses are arthropod-borne, single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) viruses ("arboviruses") responsible for millions of cases of human illnesses each year. Buggy Creek virus (BCRV) is a unique alphavirus that is transmitted by a cimicid insect, the swallow bug, and is amplified in two avian species: the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) and the cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota). BCRV, like many alphaviruses, exhibits age-dependent susceptibility where the young are most susceptible to developing disease and exhibit a high mortality rate. However, alphavirus disease etiology in nestling birds is unknown. In this study, we infected nestling house sparrows with Buggy Creek virus and measured virological, pathological, growth, and digestive parameters following infection. Buggy Creek virus caused severe encephalitis in all infected nestlings, and the peak viral concentration in brain tissue was over 34 times greater than any other tissue. Growth, tissue development, and digestive function were all significantly impaired during BCRV infection. However, based on histopathological analysis performed, this impairment does not appear to be the result of direct tissue damage by the virus, but likely caused by encephalitis and neuronal invasion and impairment of the central nervous system. This is the first study to examine the course of alphavirus diseases in nestling birds and these results will improve our understanding of age-dependent infections of alphaviruses in vertebrate hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tess L. Killpack
- Biology Department, Salem State University, Salem, MA, United States of America
| | - Dylan S. Goto
- School of Medicine, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, United States of America
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Newhouse DJ, Hofmeister EK, Balakrishnan CN. Transcriptional response to West Nile virus infection in the zebra finch ( Taeniopygia guttata). ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2017; 4:170296. [PMID: 28680683 PMCID: PMC5493925 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.170296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2017] [Accepted: 05/22/2017] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
West Nile virus (WNV) is a widespread arbovirus that imposes a significant cost to both human and wildlife health. WNV exists in a bird-mosquito transmission cycle in which passerine birds act as the primary reservoir host. As a public health concern, the mammalian immune response to WNV has been studied in detail. Little, however, is known about the avian immune response to WNV. Avian taxa show variable susceptibility to WNV and what drives this variation is unknown. Thus, to study the immune response to WNV in birds, we experimentally infected captive zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). Zebra finches provide a useful model, as like many natural avian hosts they are moderately susceptible to WNV and thus provide sufficient viremia to infect mosquitoes. We performed RNAseq in spleen tissue during peak viremia to provide an overview of the transcriptional response. In general, we find strong parallels with the mammalian immune response to WNV, including upregulation of five genes in the Rig-I-like receptor signalling pathway, and offer insights into avian-specific responses. Together with complementary immunological assays, we provide a model of the avian immune response to WNV and set the stage for future comparative studies among variably susceptible populations and species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J. Newhouse
- Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA
- Author for correspondence: Daniel J. Newhouse e-mail:
| | - Erik K. Hofmeister
- US Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, 6006 Schroeder Road, Madison, WI 53711, USA
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Fassbinder-Orth CA. Methods for quantifying gene expression in ecoimmunology: from qPCR to RNA-Seq. Integr Comp Biol 2014; 54:396-406. [PMID: 24812328 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icu023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Historically, the use of cutting-edge molecular techniques to study immunological gene expression and related cellular pathways has been largely limited to model organisms. Few studies have been performed that quantify the molecular immunological responses of non-model species, especially in response to environmental factors, life-history events, or exposure to parasites. This dearth of information has largely occurred due to the lack of available non-model species-specific gene sequences and immunological reagents and also due to prohibitively expensive technology. However, with the rapid development of various sequencing and transcriptomic technologies, profiling the gene expression of non-model organisms has become possible. Technologies and concepts explored here include an overview of current technologies for quantifying gene expression, including: qPCR, multiplex branched DNA assays, microarrays, and profiling gene expression (RNA sequencing [RNA-Seq]) based on next-generation sequencing. Examples of the advancement of these technologies in non-model systems are discussed. Additionally, applications, limitations, and feasibility of the use of these methodologies in non-model systems to address questions in ecological immunology and disease-ecology are specifically addressed.
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