Identification of a calicivirus isolate of unknown origin

Multiple novel caliciviruses identified from stoats (Mustela erminea) in the United Kingdom

The Caliciviridae family, comprising positive-sense RNA viruses, is characterised by its non-enveloped, small virions, broad host range, and notable tendency for host switching. These viruses are primarily associated with gastroenteric disease, though they can lead to haemorrhagic or respiratory infections. Our study employed a metagenomics analysis of faecal samples from stoats (Mustela erminea), identifying two novel calicivirus species, named stoat vesivirus and stoat valovirus. Stoat vesivirus was identified in three samples (ST008, ST006, ST004), exhibiting a genome wide nucleotide identity of approximately 92 %. The complete coding sequences of these samples were 8471 (ST004) and 8322 (ST006) nucleotides in length, respectively. Each comprised three open reading frames (ORF), closely resembling the Vesivirus mink calicivirus (China/2/2016), with 70-72 % similarity in ORF1, 61-62 % in ORF2 and 71 % in ORF3. Phylogenetic analysis robustly supported stoat vesivirus as belonging within the Vesivirus genus. The second calivicirus (stoat valovirus), detected solely in sample ST008, was 6527 nucleotides in length and with complete coding sequences present. It shared highest similarity with St-Valérien swine virus and marmot norovirus HT16, showing 39.5 and 38.8 % protein identity with ORF1 and 43.3 and 42.9 % for VP1. Stoat valovirus is borderline for meeting the ICTV criteria for a new genus, demonstrating 60 % divergence in ORF1 compared to the other valovirus', however it clusters basally within the Valovirus genus, supporting leaving it included in this genus.

The Cryo-EM Structure of Vesivirus 2117 Highlights Functional Variations in Entry Pathways for Viruses in Different Clades of the Vesivirus Genus

Vesivirus 2117 is an adventitious agent that has been responsible for lost productivity in biopharmaceutical production following contamination of Chinese hamster ovary cell cultures in commercial bioreactors. A member of the Caliciviridae, 2117 is classified within the Vesivirus genus in a clade that includes canine and mink caliciviruses but is distinct from the vesicular exanthema of swine virus (VESV) clade, which includes the extensively studied feline calicivirus (FCV). We have used cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to determine the structure of the capsid of this small, icosahedral, positive-sense-RNA-containing virus. We show that the outer face of the dimeric capsomeres, which contains the receptor binding site and major immunodominant epitopes in all caliciviruses studied thus far, is quite different from that of FCV. This is a consequence of a 22-amino-acid insertion in the sequence of the FCV major capsid protein that forms a "cantilevered arm" that both plays an important role in receptor engagement and undergoes structural rearrangements thought to be important for genome delivery to the cytosol. Our data highlight a potentially important difference in the attachment and entry pathways employed by the different clades of the Vesivirus genus. IMPORTANCE Vesivirus 2117 has caused significant losses in manufacturing of biopharmaceutical products following contamination of cell cultures used in their production. We report the structure of the vesivirus 2117 capsid, the shell that encloses the virus's genome. Comparison of this structure with that of a related vesivirus, feline calicivirus (FCV), highlighted potentially important differences related to virus attachment and entry. Our findings suggest that these two viruses may bind differently to receptors at the host cell surface. We also show that a region of the capsid protein of FCV that rearranges following receptor engagement is not present in vesivirus 2117. These structural changes in the FCV capsid have been shown to allow the assembly of a portal-like structure that is hypothesized to deliver the viral genome to the cell's interior. Our data suggest that the 2117 portal assembly may employ a different means of anchoring to the outer face of the capsid.

Review: High temperature short time treatment of cell culture media and feed solutions to mitigate adventitious viral contamination in the biopharmaceutical industry

Events of viral contaminations occurring during the production of biopharmaceuticals have been publicly reported by the biopharmaceutical industry. Upstream raw materials were often identified as the potential source of contamination. Viral contamination risk can be mitigated by inactivating or eliminating potential viruses of cell culture media and feed solutions. Different methods can be used alone or in combination on raw materials, cell culture media, or feed solutions such as viral inactivation technologies consisting mainly of high temperature short time, ultraviolet irradiation, and gamma radiation technologies or such as viral removal technology for instance nanofiltration. The aim of this review is to present the principle, the advantages, and the challenges of high temperature short time (HTST) technology. Here, we reviewed effectiveness of HTST treatment and its impact on media (filterability of media, degradation of components), on process performance (cell growth, cell metabolism, productivity), and product quality based on knowledge shared in the literature.

The Impact of Product and Process Related Critical Quality Attributes on Immunogenicity and Adverse Immunological Effects of Biotherapeutics

The pharmaceutical industry has experienced great successes with protein therapeutics in the last two decades and with novel modalities, including cell therapies and gene therapies, more recently. Biotherapeutics are complex in structure and present challenges for discovery, development, regulatory, and life cycle management. Biotherapeutics can interact with the immune system that may lead to undesired immunological responses, including immunogenicity, hypersensitivity reactions (HSR), injection site reactions (ISR), and others. Many product and process related critical quality attributes (CQAs) have the potential to trigger or augment such immunological responses to the product. Tremendous efforts, both clinically and preclinically, have been invested to understand the impact of product and process related CQAs on adverse immunological effects. The information and knowledge are critical for the implementation of Quality by Design (QbD), which requires risk assessment and establishment of specifications and control strategies for CQAs. A quality target product profile (QTPP) that identifies the key CQAs through process development can help assign severity scores based on safety, immunogenicity, pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of the molecule. Gaps and future directions related to biotherapeutics and emerging novel modalities are presented.

Risk Mitigation in Preventing Adventitious Agent Contamination of Mammalian Cell Cultures

Industrial-scale mammalian cell culture processes have been contaminated by viruses during the culturing phase. Although the historical frequency of such events has been quite low, the impact of contamination can be significant for the manufacturing company and for the supply of the product to patients. This chapter discusses sources of adventitious agent contamination risk in a cell culture process, provides a semiquantitative assessment of such risks, and describes potential process barriers that can be used to reduce contamination risk. High-temperature, short-time (HTST) heat treatment is recommended as the process barrier of choice, when compatible with the process. A case study assessing the compatibility of HTST heat treatment with a cell culture medium is presented, and lessons learned are shared from our experiences over many years of developing and implementing virus barriers in mammalian cell culture processes. Graphical Abstract.

Characterization of a Vesivirus Associated with an Outbreak of Acute Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis in Domestic Dogs

Four of eleven affected dogs died despite aggressive treatment during a 2015 focal outbreak of hemorrhagic gastroenteritis following a stay in a pet housing facility. Routine diagnostic investigations failed to identify a specific cause. Virus isolation from fresh necropsy tissues yielded a calicivirus with sequence homology to a vesivirus within the group colloquially known as the vesivirus 2117 strains that were originally identified as contaminants in CHO cell bioreactors. In situ hybridization and reverse transcription-PCR assays of tissues from the four deceased dogs confirmed the presence of canine vesivirus (CaVV) nucleic acids that localized to endothelial cells of arterial and capillary blood vessels. CaVV nucleic acid corresponded to areas of necrosis and hemorrhage primarily in the intestinal tract, but also in the brain of one dog with nonsuppurative meningoencephalitis. This is the first report of an atypical disease association with a putative hypervirulent vesivirus strain in dogs, as all other known strains of CaVV appear to cause nonclinical infections or relatively mild disease. After identification of the CU-296 vesivirus strain from this outbreak, four additional CaVV strains were amplified from unrelated fecal specimens and archived stocks provided by other laboratories. Broader questions include the origins, reservoir(s), and potential for reemergence and spread of these related CaVVs.

Canine caliciviruses of four serotypes from military and research dogs recovered in 1963-1978 belong to two phylogenetic clades in the Vesivirus genus

BACKGROUND

Vesiviruses (family Caliciviridae) had been shown capable of invading a variety of host species, raising concern of their zoonotic potential. Since the 1980's, several canine caliciviruses (CaCV) isolates have been reported and are phylogenetically related to the vesiviruses with features distinct from both Vesicular exanthema of swine virus (VESV) and Feline calicivirus (FCV) species in phylogeny, serology and cell culture specificities. Etiological studies of canine diseases in dogs used for military services and laboratory studies were conducted in 1963-1978 at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Multiple known and unknown viral pathogens including caliciviruses were recovered.

METHODS

Four unidentified isolates were recovered in Walter Reed Canine Cells (WRCC) from respiratory, fecal and penile specimens. Physicochemical tests, electron microscopy, viral cultivation in human and animal cells, antibody neutralization assays, and recently the genome sequencing were used to characterize the isolates. Sera from these dogs and their cohorts were tested with the isolates to determine origin and prevalence of the infections.

RESULTS

The viral isolates were small non-enveloped spherical RNA virions, 27 to 42 nm in diameter with cup-like structures, indicating they are caliciviruses. They propagated in WRCC and MDCK cells, not in either other canine cells or human and other animal cells. Each isolate is antigenically distinct and react with dog sera in respective cohorts. The genomes have nucleotide identities ranging from 70.3% to 90.7% and encode the non-structural polyprotein (1810 amino acids), major capsid protein (691 amino acids) and minor structural protein (134 amino acids). They belong to two different phylogenetic clades in Vesivirus genus with close relation with canine calicivirus (CaCV).

CONCLUSIONS

These CaCV isolates have restricted cell tropism, antigenic diversity and genetic variation. Further investigation will shed light on antigenic relation to other vesiviruses, and its pathogenicity for dogs and potential infectivity to other animals. Together with the previously reported CaCV strains provides significant evidence to support the formation of a new CaCV species in the Vesivirus genus.

Serological and molecular investigation of 2117-like vesiviruses in cats

Vesivirus 2117 was first discovered as a contaminant in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell cultures used for human drug production. Similar vesiviruses (VeVs) have been detected recently in dogs. In order to address the hypothesis that cats may also be exposed to 2117-like VeVs, in this study, we screened 236 feline sera using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on a recombinant VP1 protein from the canine VeV Bari/212/07/ITA. IgG antibodies against the 2117-like VeV were detected in 37.3% of the sera tested. Also, by screening cat faecal specimens, the RNA of a 2117-like VeV was detected in a clinically healthy cat.

Seroprevalence for 2117-like vesiviruses in Italian household dogs

In 2003, a novel calicivirus, the vesivirus (VeV) strain 2117, was identified incidentally as a contaminant in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell cultures by a German pharmaceutical company. Similar contaminations have been documented in three additional episodes, in bio-reactors used for production of recombinant drugs. More, recently 2117-like VeVs have also been identified at high prevalence in the stools from asymptomatic kennel dogs and only sporadically in diarrhoeic and healthy household dogs. In this study, antibodies for 2117-like viruses were detected in 21.5% of sera from household dogs, indicating that they are common viruses in the canine host.

Vesivirus 2117 capsids more closely resemble sapovirus and lagovirus particles than other known vesivirus structures

Vesivirus 2117 is an adventitious agent that, in 2009, was identified as a contaminant of Chinese hamster ovary cells propagated in bioreactors at a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant belonging to Genzyme. The consequent interruption in supply of Fabrazyme and Cerezyme (drugs used to treat Fabry and Gaucher diseases, respectively) caused significant economic losses. Vesivirus 2117 is a member of the Caliciviridae, a family of small icosahedral viruses encoding a positive-sense RNA genome. We have used cryo-electron microscopy and three-dimensional image reconstruction to calculate a structure of vesivirus 2117 virus-like particles as well as feline calicivirus and a chimeric sapovirus. We present a structural comparison of several members of the Caliciviridae, showing that the distal P domain of vesivirus 2117 is morphologically distinct from that seen in other known vesivirus structures. Furthermore, at intermediate resolutions, we found a high level of structural similarity between vesivirus 2117 and Caliciviridae from other genera: sapovirus and rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus. Phylogenetic analysis confirms vesivirus 2117 as a vesivirus closely related to canine vesiviruses. We postulate that morphological differences in virion structure seen between vesivirus clades may reflect differences in receptor usage.

Detection and Full-Length Genome Characterization of Novel Canine Vesiviruses

Vesiviruses have been detected in several animal species and as accidental contaminants of cells. We detected vesiviruses in asymptomatic kennel dogs (64.8%) and symptomatic (1.1%) and asymptomatic (3.5%) household dogs in Italy. The full-length genome of 1 strain, Bari/212/07/ITA, shared 89%–90% nt identity with vesiviruses previously detected in contaminated cells.

Antibodies for strain 2117-like vesiviruses (caliciviruses) in humans

The vesivirus strain 2117 has been identified as contaminant of bioreactors used for production of human drugs, due to possible contamination of the reagents used for cell cultivation. Using an ELISA assay, antibodies specific for 2117-like viruses were detected in 32/410 (7.8%) human sera, indicating exposure to these viruses.

Comprehensive review of human sapoviruses

Sapoviruses cause acute gastroenteritis in humans and animals. They belong to the genus Sapovirus within the family Caliciviridae. They infect and cause disease in humans of all ages, in both sporadic cases and outbreaks. The clinical symptoms of sapovirus gastroenteritis are indistinguishable from those caused by noroviruses, so laboratory diagnosis is essential to identify the pathogen. Sapoviruses are highly diverse genetically and antigenically. Currently, reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) assays are widely used for sapovirus detection from clinical specimens due to their high sensitivity and broad reactivity as well as the lack of sensitive assays for antigen detection or cell culture systems for the detection of infectious viruses. Sapoviruses were first discovered in 1976 by electron microscopy in diarrheic samples of humans. To date, sapoviruses have also been detected from several animals: pigs, mink, dogs, sea lions, and bats. In this review, we focus on genomic and antigenic features, molecular typing/classification, detection methods, and clinical and epidemiological profiles of human sapoviruses.

Matrix and backstage: cellular substrates for viral vaccines

Vaccines are complex products that are manufactured in highly dynamic processes. Cellular substrates are one critical component that can have an enormous impact on reactogenicity of the final preparation, level of attenuation of a live virus, yield of infectious units or antigens, and cost per vaccine dose. Such parameters contribute to feasibility and affordability of vaccine programs both in industrialized countries and developing regions. This review summarizes the diversity of cellular substrates for propagation of viral vaccines from primary tissue explants and embryonated chicken eggs to designed continuous cell lines of human and avian origin.

Opinion on adventitious agents testing for vaccines: why do we worry so much about adventitious agents in vaccines?

The manner in which viral vaccines are produced in a biological system makes them vulnerable to microbial contamination. Considerable effort is expended to avoid such contamination and to detect it if it occurred. Is this effort warranted, efficient, scientifically sound, and rational? When asked for my opinion on these matters, I agreed to discuss the basis and historical context for why we do what we do and proffer opinion on what we might do instead or in addition, as we look forward to the inclusion of new strategies and methods in our arsenal. Being an advocate of the 3 R's policy, I invite a re-examination of the traditional in vivo methods in particular. I also advocate for a risk-based approach consistent with "Quality by Design" as a more scientific and rational means of addressing these issues. In the end, vaccinologists need to reassure the public that the vaccines they or their children receive are safe and pure and that all reasonable measures are taken to safeguard them.

Inactivation of caliciviruses

The Caliciviridae family of viruses contains clinically important human and animal pathogens, as well as vesivirus 2117, a known contaminant of biopharmaceutical manufacturing processes employing Chinese hamster cells. An extensive literature exists for inactivation of various animal caliciviruses, especially feline calicivirus and murine norovirus. The caliciviruses are susceptible to wet heat inactivation at temperatures in excess of 60 °C with contact times of 30 min or greater, to UV-C inactivation at fluence ≥30 mJ/cm2, to high pressure processing >200 MPa for >5 min at 4 °C, and to certain photodynamic inactivation approaches. The enteric caliciviruses (e.g.; noroviruses) display resistance to inactivation by low pH, while the non-enteric species (e.g.; feline calicivirus) are much more susceptible. The caliciviruses are inactivated by a variety of chemicals, including alcohols, oxidizing agents, aldehydes, and β-propiolactone. As with inactivation of viruses in general, inactivation of caliciviruses by the various approaches may be matrix-, temperature-, and/or contact time-dependent. The susceptibilities of the caliciviruses to the various physical and chemical inactivation approaches are generally similar to those displayed by other small, non-enveloped viruses, with the exception that the parvoviruses and circoviruses may require higher temperatures for inactivation, while these families appear to be more susceptible to UV-C inactivation than are the caliciviruses.

Complete genome sequence of a mink calicivirus in China

We report the complete genome sequence of a novel calicivirus isolated from a diseased mink in China. The complete viral genome is approximately 8.4 kb in length and consists of three open reading frames. The availability of the complete genome sequence is helpful for further investigation into the molecular characteristics and epidemiology of calicivirus in mink.

The feline calicivirus leader of the capsid protein is associated with cytopathic effect

Open reading frame 2 (ORF2) of the feline calicivirus (FCV) genome encodes a capsid precursor that is posttranslationally processed to release the mature capsid protein (VP1) and a small protein of 124 amino acids, designated the leader of the capsid (LC). To investigate the role of the LC protein in the virus life cycle, mutations and deletions were introduced into the LC coding region of an infectious FCV cDNA clone. Three cysteine residues that are conserved among all vesivirus LC sequences were found to be critical for the recovery of FCV with a characteristic cytopathic effect in feline kidney cells. A cell-rounding phenotype associated with the transient expression of wild-type and mutagenized forms of the LC correlated with the cytopathic and growth properties of the corresponding engineered viruses. The host cellular protein annexin A2 was identified as a binding partner of the LC protein, consistent with a role for the LC in mediating host cell interactions that alter the integrity of the cell and enable virus spread.

Extraneous agent detection in vaccines--a review of technical aspects

The quality and safety of commercial vaccines have a profound importance. Contrary to all precautions and efforts the use of biological material in vaccine development and production may lead to potential contamination of the vaccines with known and unknown extraneous agents (EAs).

In veterinary field official lists of EAs have been compiled as legal framework to describe the potential agents, which must be tested during manufacture of vaccines. Nevertheless, detection of known and unknown contaminants in vaccines is a common duty for manufacturers and authorities of both veterinary and human field sharing similar needs of special technical approaches. State-of-art molecular methods such as randomly primed PCR combined with massive parallel sequencing (MPS) or microarrays may open new perspectives in extraneous agent testing. The robustness and efficacy of this technical approach in vaccine control was clearly demonstrated on a human vaccine example when porcine circovirus type 1 (PCV1) contamination was revealed in Rotarix, a human rotavirus vaccine. The consequences and implications are reviewed hereby from a veterinary regulatory point of view.

Gamma irradiation of animal sera for inactivation of viruses and mollicutes--a review

Animal-derived materials such as animal sera represent a low, but finite, risk for introduction of an adventitious agent (virus or mollicute) into a biological bulk harvest during upstream manufacturing processes involving mammalian cell substrates. Viral and mollicute (Mycoplasma sp. and Acholeplasma sp.) contamination events have been relatively rare, but many of those that have been reported have been attributed to use of infected animal sera in growth media during cell expansion. The risk of introduction of viruses and mollicutes may be mitigated by elimination of the use of animal sera and implementation instead of chemically defined or serum- and animal-derived material-free cell culture media. When use of animal sera is unavoidable, however, mitigation of the risk of introducing an adventitious contaminant may involve treatment of the sera to inactivate potential contaminants. Gamma irradiation is one of the most widely employed methods for viral and mollicute inactivation in animal sera. In this article, we review the inactivation results reported for viral and mollicute inactivation in frozen serum. Studies performed to assess the impact of gamma irradiation on serum quality and performance are also discussed. The available data indicate that inactivation of mollicutes in serum is essentially complete at the gamma radiation doses normally employed (25-40 kGy), while the efficacy and kinetics for viral inactivation in serum by gamma irradiation appear to be dependent in part upon the size of the target virus.

Overview of the nonclinical quality and toxicology testing for recombinant biopharmaceuticals produced in mammalian cells

Biopharmaceuticals represent significant advances in therapeutic approaches for unmet medical needs, and increasingly, traditional pharmaceutical firms have been incorporating biotechnology capabilities into their product portfolios. There are some differences in the overall safety testing paradigms for small molecules and biopharmaceuticals, this safety testing including both quality and toxicology aspects. These differences are associated with both the manufacturing processes involved and the molecules themselves. For example, for biopharmaceuticals, living cells represent the factories for synthesizing complex molecular entities. As a result of this, safety testing for this class of drugs includes adventitious agent testing (e.g. viral, mycoplasma, transmissible spongiform encephalopathy agents) not normally needed for small molecules. Also, strategies for nonclinical toxicology testing of biopharmaceuticals differ from the paradigms used for small molecules and often need to be defined on a case-by-case basis, primarily taking into consideration species cross-reactivity attributes of the molecule of interest. Certain studies required for small molecules are not applicable to most biopharmaceuticals (i.e. genotoxicity testing, testing for interactions with the hERG channel). This manuscript provides an overview of both the quality and nonclinical toxicology testing for these mammalian-cell-derived products, two elements pivotal to the overall nonclinical assessment of the safety of these biopharmaceutical products.

Virus susceptibility of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and detection of viral contaminations by adventitious agent testing

Biopharmaceuticals are of increasing importance in the treatment of a variety of diseases. A remaining concern associated with their production is the potential introduction of adventitious agents into their manufacturing process, which may compromise the pathogen safety of a product and potentially cause stock-out situations for important medical supplies. To ensure the safety of biological therapeutics, regulatory guidance requires adventitious agent testing (AAT) of the bulk harvest. AAT is a deliberately promiscuous assay procedure which has been developed to indicate, ideally, the presence of any viral contaminant. One of the most important cell lines used in the production of biopharmaceuticals is Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and while viral infections of CHO cells have occurred, a systematic screen of their virus susceptibility has never been published. We investigated the susceptibility of CHO cells to infection by 14 different viruses, including members of 12 families and representatives or the very species that were implicated in previously reported production cell infections. Based on our results, four different infection outcomes were distinguished, based on the possible combinations of the two factors (i) the induction, or not, of a cytopathic effect and (ii) the ability, or not, to replicate in CHO cells. Our results demonstrate that the current AAT is effective for the detection of viruses which are able to replicate in CHO cells. Due to the restricted virus susceptibility of CHO cells and the routine AAT of bulk harvests, our results provide re-assurance for the very high safety margins of CHO cell-derived biopharmaceuticals.

Structural and biological constraints on diversity of regions immediately upstream of cleavage sites in calicivirus precursor proteins

To address the regulation and evolution of precursor protein cleavability in caliciviruses, we examined constraints on diversity of upstream regions of calicivirus precursor cleavage sites. We performed alanine scanning and supplementary mutagenesis of amino acids at P1, P2, P3, and P4 sites using four viruses representing the four major genera of the family Caliciviridae. This study complements previous mutagenesis studies and shows strong restrictions in mutations at the P1 and P4 sites for effective cleavage reactions. By contrast, such restrictions were less frequently observed at the P2 and P3 sites. Shannon entropy analysis of the reported sequences showed that the P2, P3, and P4 sites allow variations in amino acid size within a calicivirus genus whereas the P1 sites do not. Notably, the human sapovirus precursor protein exceptionally retains a basic rather than aromatic amino acid at the P4 site of the NS4/NS5 cleavage site in reported strains, and a substitution from basic to aromatic amino acid significantly enhanced cleavability at this site. Taken together, these data suggest the existence of (i) structural constraints on the P1 site that restrict size changes within each calicivirus genus, (ii) plastic substrate surfaces that accommodate size variation at the P2, P3, and P4 sites and modulate their own cleavabilities, and (iii) biological constraints on the P4 site that maintain the lower cleavability of the NS4/NS5 site in sapovirus.

A DNA-launched reverse genetics system for rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus reveals that the VP2 protein is not essential for virus infectivity

Rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV), a member of the family Caliciviridae comprising positive-stranded RNA viruses, is a highly virulent pathogen of rabbits. Until recently, studies into the molecular mechanisms of RHDV replication and pathogenesis have been hindered by the lack of an in vitro culture system and reverse genetics. This study describes the generation of a DNA-based reverse genetics system for RHDV and the subsequent investigation of the biological role of the RHDV VP2 protein. The full-length RHDV genome was assembled as a single cDNA clone and placed under the control of the eukaryotic human cytomegalovirus promoter. Transfection of cells with the DNA clone resulted in a clear cytopathic effect and the generation of infectious progeny virions. The reconstituted virus was stable and grew to titres similar to that of the parental virus. Although previous reports have suggested that the minor structural protein (VP2) of other caliciviruses is essential for the production of infectious virions, using the DNA-launch-based RHDV reverse genetics system described here it was demonstrated that VP2 is not essential for RHDV infectivity. Transfection of cells with a cDNA clone of RHDV lacking VP2 resulted in the generation of infectious virions. These studies indicate that the presence of VP2 could reduce the replication of RHDV, suggesting that it may play a regulatory role in the life cycle of RHDV.

Cleavage map and proteolytic processing of the murine norovirus nonstructural polyprotein in infected cells

Murine norovirus (MNV) is presently the only member of the genus Norovirus in the Caliciviridae that can be propagated in cell culture. The goal of this study was to elucidate the proteolytic processing strategy of MNV during an authentic replication cycle in cells. A proteolytic cleavage map of the ORF1 polyprotein was generated, and the virus-encoded 3C-like (3CL) proteinase (Pro) mediated cleavage at five dipeptide cleavage sites, 341E/G342, Q705/N706, 870E/G871, 994E/A995, and 1177Q/G1178, that defined the borders of six proteins with the gene order p38.3 (Nterm)-p39.6 (NTPase)-p18.6-p14.3 (VPg)-p19.2 (Pro)-p57.5 (Pol). Bacterially expressed MNV 3CL Pro was sufficient to mediate trans cleavage of the ORF1 polyprotein containing the mutagenized Pro sequence into products identical to those observed during cotranslational processing of the authentic ORF1 polyprotein in vitro and to those observed in MNV-infected cells. Immunoprecipitation and Western blot analysis of proteins produced in virus-infected cells demonstrated efficient cleavage of the proteinase-polymerase precursor. Evidence for additional processing of the Nterm protein in MNV-infected cells by caspase 3 was obtained, and Nterm sequences 118DRPD121 and 128DAMD131 were mapped as caspase 3 cleavage sites by site-directed mutagenesis. The availability of the MNV nonstructural polyprotein cleavage map in concert with a permissive cell culture system should facilitate studies of norovirus replication.

Isolation and characterization of a new Vesivirus from rabbits

This report describes the isolation, cDNA cloning, complete genome nucleotide sequence, and partial characterization of a new cultivable calicivirus isolated from juvenile feeder European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) showing symptoms of diarrhea. Absence of neutralization by type-specific neutralizing antibodies for 40 caliciviruses and phylogenetic sequence comparisons of the open reading frame 1-encoded polyprotein with those of other caliciviruses demonstrate that this new calicivirus is a putative novel member of the Vesivirus genus which is closely related to the marine calicivirus subgroup. According to its putative classification, this new virus has been named rabbit vesivirus.

Feline calicivirus VP2 is essential for the production of infectious virions

The third open reading frame (ORF3) located at the 3' end of the genomic RNA of feline calicivirus (FCV) encodes a small (12.2-kDa) minor structural protein of 106 amino acids designated VP2. Point mutations and deletions were introduced into an infectious FCV cDNA clone in order to evaluate the functional importance of ORF3 and its encoded protein, VP2. Deletion of the entire ORF3 sequence was lethal for the virus, and evidence was found for strong selective pressure to produce the VP2 protein. Extended deletions in the 5' end and small deletions in the 3' end of ORF3, as well as the introduction of stop codons into the ORF3 sequence, were tolerated by the viral replication machinery, but infectious virus could not be recovered. Infectious virus particles could be rescued from a full-length FCV cDNA clone encoding a nonfunctional VP2 when VP2 was provided in trans from a eukaryotic expression plasmid. Our data indicate that VP2, a protein apparently unique to the caliciviruses, is essential for productive replication that results in the synthesis and maturation of infectious virions and that the ORF3 nucleotide sequence itself overlaps a cis-acting RNA signal at the genomic 3' end.

A novel nested PCR for the diagnosis of calicivirus infections in the cat

A novel nested PCR (nPCR) assay is reported on the diagnosis of the feline calicivirus (FCV) infection. The test was performed on 47 ocular and 40 pharyngeal swabs collected from 47 cats with respiratory syndrome; among the 87 samples examined, 18 ocular and 23 pharyngeal swabs were positive in nPCR. The nPCR sensitivity was compared to other diagnostic techniques such as virus isolation on cell culture and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The nPCR was more sensitive than the virus isolation and RT-PCR; therefore, it can be used for calicivirosis diagnosis in cats.