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Thiiru JW, Langat S, Mulwa F, Cinkovich S, Koka H, Yalwala S, Khamadi S, Onguso J, Odemba N, Ngere F, Johnson J, Egbo T, Garges E, Ojwang E, Eyase F. Characterization of West Nile virus Koutango lineage from phlebotomine sandflies in Kenya. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0301956. [PMID: 39173002 PMCID: PMC11341046 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301956] [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: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 07/16/2024] [Indexed: 08/24/2024] Open
Abstract
The West Nile virus (WNV), primarily transmitted by mosquitoes, is one of the most widespread flaviviruses globally, with past outbreaks occurring in the USA and Europe. Recent studies in parts of Africa, including Kenya, have identified the West Nile virus Koutango lineage (WN-KOUTV) among phlebotomine sandfly populations, however, our understanding of this virus remains limited. This study aimed to characterize WN-KOUTV from phlebotomine sandflies. Sandflies were sampled between 12th -16th March 2021 and 16th -20th March 2023 from six villages each in Baringo and Isiolo Counties, using CDC light traps. Female sandflies were taxonomically identified and pooled based on genus and site of collection. Virus isolation was performed in Vero cells. Viral genomes were determined using next-generation sequencing. Phylogenetic and molecular clock analyses were done to decipher the virus's evolutionary relationships. Comparative analyses of amino acid sequences were performed to determine variations. Protein modeling in Pymol was conducted to elucidate variations in key protein regions. Evolutionary pressure analysis investigated the selection pressures on the virus. In vitro experiments were done to investigate the virus growth kinetics in mammalian Vero E6 and mosquito C6/36 cells. We report the isolation of WN-KOUTV from Salabani in Baringo and Aremet in Isiolo, Kenya. The isolated WN-KOUTVs clustered with previously identified WN-KOUTV strains. Comparative analysis revealed a unique amino acid at NS5 653. The WN-KOUTV lineage as a whole is under purifying selective pressure, with diversifying pressure acting at site NS3 267. The current WN-KOUTV replicated in Vero E6 and C6/36 cells comparable to West Nile virus Lineage 1a, isolated from mosquitoes. Subsequent isolations of WN-KOUTV in phlebotomine sandflies suggest potential vectors, however, vector competence studies would confirm this. Replication in mammalian and insect cell lines suggests there may exist a vector/host relationship. We speculate the close genetic relationship of WN-KOUTV strains from East and West Africa may potentially be enabled by bird migratory routes between the two regions. If proven, this could point to a potential future pandemic pathway for this virus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jane Wambui Thiiru
- Department of Emerging Infectious Diseases, United States Army Medical Research Directorate-Africa, Nairobi, Kenya
- Centre for Virus Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
- Institute for Biotechnology Research, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Solomon Langat
- Centre for Virus Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Francis Mulwa
- Centre for Virus Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Stephanie Cinkovich
- Global Emerging Infections Surveillance Branch, United States Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Hellen Koka
- Centre for Virus Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Santos Yalwala
- Department of Emerging Infectious Diseases, United States Army Medical Research Directorate-Africa, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Samoel Khamadi
- Centre for Virus Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Justus Onguso
- Institute for Biotechnology Research, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Nicholas Odemba
- Department of Emerging Infectious Diseases, United States Army Medical Research Directorate-Africa, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Francis Ngere
- Department of Emerging Infectious Diseases, United States Army Medical Research Directorate-Africa, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Jaree Johnson
- United States Armed Forces Pest Management Board, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Timothy Egbo
- Department of Emerging Infectious Diseases, United States Army Medical Research Directorate-Africa, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Eric Garges
- Department of Emerging Infectious Diseases, United States Army Medical Research Directorate-Africa, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Elly Ojwang
- Department of Emerging Infectious Diseases, United States Army Medical Research Directorate-Africa, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Fredrick Eyase
- Department of Emerging Infectious Diseases, United States Army Medical Research Directorate-Africa, Nairobi, Kenya
- Centre for Virus Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
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Vilca-Machaca LS, Calvay-Sanchez KD, Zarate-Sulca Y, Jimenez-Vasquez V, Ramirez P, Mendoza-Mujica G. Baculovirus-Assisted Production of Bartonella bacilliformis Proteins: A Potential Strategy for Improving Serological Diagnosis of Carrion's Disease. Pathogens 2024; 13:690. [PMID: 39204290 PMCID: PMC11357310 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens13080690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2024] [Revised: 07/08/2024] [Accepted: 07/10/2024] [Indexed: 09/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Carrion's disease, caused by Bartonella bacilliformis, is a neglected tropical disease prevalent in the Andean region of South America. Without antimicrobial treatment, this disease has a mortality rate of up to 88% in infected patients. The most common method for diagnosing B. bacilliformis infection is serological testing. However, the current serological assays are limited in sensitivity and specificity, underscoring the need for the development of novel and more accurate diagnostic tools. Recombinant proteins have emerged as promising candidates to improve the serological diagnosis of Carrion's disease. So, we focused on evaluating the conditions for producing two previously predicted proteins of B. bacilliformis using the baculovirus-insect cell expression system, mainly the flashBAC ULTRA technology. We assessed various parameters to identify the conditions that yield the highest protein production, including cell lines, temperature, and hours post-infection (hpi). The results showed that the expression conditions for achieving the highest yields of the Prot_689 and Prot_504 proteins were obtained using High Five™ cells at 21 °C and harvesting at 120 hpi. Subsequently, the seroreactivity of recombinant proteins was evaluated using positive sera from patients diagnosed with Carrion's disease. These findings offer valuable insights into the production conditions of B. bacilliformis recombinant proteins using the baculovirus system, which could significantly contribute to developing more precise diagnostic tools for Carrion's disease. Therefore, this research provides implications for improving diagnostics and potentially developing therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lizbeth Sally Vilca-Machaca
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima 15081, Peru
- Laboratory of Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Bacterial Diseases, National Institute of Health, Lima 15072, Peru
| | | | - Yanina Zarate-Sulca
- Laboratory of Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Bacterial Diseases, National Institute of Health, Lima 15072, Peru
| | - Victor Jimenez-Vasquez
- Laboratory of Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Bacterial Diseases, National Institute of Health, Lima 15072, Peru
| | - Pablo Ramirez
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima 15081, Peru
| | - Giovanna Mendoza-Mujica
- Laboratory of Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Bacterial Diseases, National Institute of Health, Lima 15072, Peru
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Cannet A, Simon-Chane C, Histace A, Akhoundi M, Romain O, Souchaud M, Jacob P, Sereno D, Volf P, Dvorak V, Sereno D. Species identification of phlebotomine sandflies using deep learning and wing interferential pattern (WIP). Sci Rep 2023; 13:21389. [PMID: 38049590 PMCID: PMC10696019 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48685-2] [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: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Sandflies (Diptera; Psychodidae) are medical and veterinary vectors that transmit diverse parasitic, viral, and bacterial pathogens. Their identification has always been challenging, particularly at the specific and sub-specific levels, because it relies on examining minute and mostly internal structures. Here, to circumvent such limitations, we have evaluated the accuracy and reliability of Wing Interferential Patterns (WIPs) generated on the surface of sandfly wings in conjunction with deep learning (DL) procedures to assign specimens at various taxonomic levels. Our dataset proves that the method can accurately identify sandflies over other dipteran insects at the family, genus, subgenus, and species level with an accuracy higher than 77.0%, regardless of the taxonomic level challenged. This approach does not require inspection of internal organs to address identification, does not rely on identification keys, and can be implemented under field or near-field conditions, showing promise for sandfly pro-active and passive entomological surveys in an era of scarcity in medical entomologists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arnaud Cannet
- Direction des Affaires Sanitaires et Sociales de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, Nouméa, France
| | | | - Aymeric Histace
- ETIS UMR 8051, Cergy Paris University, ENSEA, CNRS, 95000, Cergy, France
| | | | | | - Marc Souchaud
- ETIS UMR 8051, Cergy Paris University, ENSEA, CNRS, 95000, Cergy, France
| | - Pierre Jacob
- ETIS UMR 8051, Cergy Paris University, ENSEA, CNRS, 95000, Cergy, France
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Bordeaux INP, LaBRI, UMR 5800, 33400, Talence, France
| | - Darian Sereno
- InterTryp, Univ Montpellier, IRD, CIRAD, Infectiology, Entomology and One Health Research Group, Montpellier, France
| | - Petr Volf
- Laboratory of Vector Biology, Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Vit Dvorak
- Laboratory of Vector Biology, Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Denis Sereno
- InterTryp, Univ Montpellier, IRD, CIRAD, Infectiology, Entomology and One Health Research Group, Montpellier, France.
- MIVEGEC, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, Montpellier, France.
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Zarate-Sulca Y, Calvay-Sanchez KD, Jimenez-Vasquez V, Ruiz J, Acosta-Conchucos O, Mendoza-Mujica G. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms in ialB, gltA and rpoB genes of Bartonella bacilliformis isolated from patients in endemic Peruvian regions. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2023; 17:e0011615. [PMID: 37815991 PMCID: PMC10564245 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011615] [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: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Bartonella bacilliformis is a Gram-negative, aerobic bacterium and the known causal agent of Carrion's disease, still considered a neglected disease. There is limited information about the nucleotide sequences of this bacterium in international databases, and few studies have addressed the genetic diversity of B. bacilliformis. We analyzed a total of 20 isolates of B. bacilliformis from the Peruvian regions of Ancash and Cajamarca. Three genes (ialB, gltA, and rpoB) were sequenced in each isolate and nucleotide sequences retrieved from GenBank (16 B. bacilliformis genomes) were also included in the study. All this information was merged in order to obtain clearer evidence of the phylogenetic relationships of B. bacilliformis. In the phylogenetic analysis conducted with the concatenated markers, four isolates (B.b-1, B. b-3, B. b- 7, B.b-8) from the Ancash region were observed to form a subgroup different from B. bacilliformis type strain KC583, showing dissimilarity levels of 5.96% (ialB), 3.69% (gltA) and 3.04% (rpoB). Our results suggest that B. bacilliformis consists of two different subgroups. Future investigations are needed to establish the taxonomic status of these subgroups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanina Zarate-Sulca
- Laboratorio de Referencia Nacional de Metaxénicas y Zoonosis Bacterianas, Centro Nacional de Salud Pública, Instituto Nacional de Salud Perú, Lima, Perú
| | - Karen Daphne Calvay-Sanchez
- Laboratorio de Referencia Nacional de Metaxénicas y Zoonosis Bacterianas, Centro Nacional de Salud Pública, Instituto Nacional de Salud Perú, Lima, Perú
| | - Víctor Jimenez-Vasquez
- Laboratorio de Referencia Nacional de Metaxénicas y Zoonosis Bacterianas, Centro Nacional de Salud Pública, Instituto Nacional de Salud Perú, Lima, Perú
| | - Joaquim Ruiz
- Grupo de Investigación en Enfermedades Infecciosas Emergentes, Universidad Científica del Sur, Lima, Perú
| | | | - Giovanna Mendoza-Mujica
- Laboratorio de Referencia Nacional de Metaxénicas y Zoonosis Bacterianas, Centro Nacional de Salud Pública, Instituto Nacional de Salud Perú, Lima, Perú
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