Tissue culture adaptation of foot-and-mouth disease virus selects viruses that bind to heparin and are attenuated in cattle

First gene-edited calf with reduced susceptibility to a major viral pathogen

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is one of the most important viruses affecting the health and well-being of bovine species throughout the world. Here, we used CRISPR-mediated homology-directed repair and somatic cell nuclear transfer to produce a live calf with a six amino acid substitution in the BVDV binding domain of bovine CD46. The result was a gene-edited calf with dramatically reduced susceptibility to infection as measured by reduced clinical signs and the lack of viral infection in white blood cells. The edited calf has no off-target edits and appears normal and healthy at 20 months of age without obvious adverse effects from the on-target edit. This precision bred, proof-of-concept animal provides the first evidence that intentional genome alterations in the CD46 gene may reduce the burden of BVDV-associated diseases in cattle and is consistent with our stepwise, in vitro and ex vivo experiments with cell lines and matched fetal clones.

Heparin mimetics as potential intervention for COVID-19 and their bio-manufacturing

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused severe health problems worldwide and unprecedented decimation of the global economy. Moreover, after more than 2 years, many populations are still under pressure of infection. Thus, a broader perspective in developing antiviral strategies is still of great importance. Inspired by the observed multiple benefits of heparin in the treatment of thrombosis, the potential of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) for the treatment of COVID-19 have been explored. Clinical applications found that LMWH decreased the level of inflammatory cytokines in COVID-19 patients, accordingly reducing lethality. Furthermore, several in vitro studies have demonstrated the important roles of heparan sulfate in SARS-CoV-2 infection and the inhibitory effects of heparin and heparin mimetics in viral infection. These clinical observations and designed studies argue for the potential to develop heparin mimetics as anti-SARS-CoV-2 drug candidates. In this review, we summarize the properties of heparin as an anticoagulant and the pharmaceutical possibilities for the treatment of virus infection, focusing on the perspectives of developing heparin mimetics via chemical synthesis, chemoenzymatic synthesis, and bioengineered production by microbial cell factories. The ultimate goal is to pave the eminent need for exploring novel compounds to treat coronavirus infection-caused diseases.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus: Molecular Interplays with IFN Response and the Importance of the Model

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals with a significant socioeconomic impact. One of the issues related to this disease is the ability of its etiological agent, foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), to persist in the organism of its hosts via underlying mechanisms that remain to be elucidated. The establishment of a virus–host equilibrium via protein–protein interactions could contribute to explaining these phenomena. FMDV has indeed developed numerous strategies to evade the immune response, especially the type I interferon response. Viral proteins target this innate antiviral response at different levels, ranging from blocking the detection of viral RNAs to inhibiting the expression of ISGs. The large diversity of impacts of these interactions must be considered in the light of the in vitro models that have been used to demonstrate them, some being sometimes far from biological systems. In this review, we have therefore listed the interactions between FMDV and the interferon response as exhaustively as possible, focusing on both their biological effect and the study models used.

SLC35B2 Acts in a Dual Role in the Host Sulfation Required for EV71 Infection

As an important neurotropic enterovirus, enterovirus 71 (EV71) is occasionally associated with severe neurological diseases and high mortality rates in infants and young children. Understanding the interaction between host factors and EV71 will play a vital role in developing antivirals and optimizing vaccines. Here, we performed a genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screen and revealed that scavenger receptor class B member 2 (SCARB2), solute carrier family 35 member B2 (SLC35B2), and beta-1,3-glucuronyltransferase 3 (B3GAT3) are essential in facilitating EV71 replication. Subsequently, the exploration of molecular mechanisms suggested that the knockout of SLC35B2 or B3GAT3, not SCARB2, led to a remarkable decrease in the binding of EV71 to cells and internalization into cells. Furthermore, we found that the infection efficiency for EV71 was positively correlated with the level of host cell sulfation, not simply with the amount of heparan sulfate, suggesting that an unidentified sulfated protein(s) must contribute to EV71 infection. In support of this idea, we screened possible sulfated proteins among the proteinous receptors for EV71 and confirmed that SCARB2 could uniquely interact with both tyrosyl protein sulfotransferases in humans. We then performed mass spectrometric analysis of SCARB2, identifying five sites with tyrosine sulfation. The function verification test indicated that there were more than five tyrosine-sulfated sites on SCARB2. Finally, we constructed a model for EV71 entry in which both heparan sulfate and SCARB2 are regulated by SLC35B2 and act cooperatively to support viral binding, internalization, and uncoating. Taken together, this is the first time that we performed the pooled CRISPR-Cas9 genetic screening to investigate the interplay of host cells and EV71. Furthermore, we found that a novel host factor, SLC35B2, played a dual role in regulating the overall sulfation comprising heparan sulfate sulfation and protein tyrosine sulfation, which are critical for EV71 entry. IMPORTANCE As the most important nonpolio neurotropic enterovirus lacking specific treatments, EV71 can transmit to the central nervous system, leading to severe and fatal neurological complications in infants and young children. The identification of new factors that facilitate or inhibit EV71 replication is crucial to uncover the mechanisms of viral infection and pathogenesis. To date, only a few host factors involved in EV71 infection have been characterized. Herein, we conducted a genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 functional knockout (GeCKO) screen for the first time to study EV71 in HeLa cells. The screening results are presented as a ranked list of candidates, including 518 hits in the positive selection that facilitate EV71 replication and 1,044 hits in the negative selection that may be essential for cell growth and survival or for suppressing EV71 infection. We subsequently concentrated on the top three hits in the positive selection: SCARB2, SLC35B2, and B3GAT3. The knockout of any of these three genes confers strong resistance against EV71 infection. We confirmed that EV71 infection is codependent on two receptors, heparan sulfate and SCARB2. We also identified a host entry factor, SLC35B2, indirectly facilitating EV71 infection through regulation of the host cell sulfation, and determined a novel posttranslational modification, protein tyrosine sulfation existing in SCARB2. This study revealed that EV71 infectivity exhibits a significant positive correlation with the level of cellular sulfation regulated by SLC35B2. Due to the sulfation pathway being required for many distinct viruses, including but not limited to EV71 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which were tested in this study, SLC35B2 represents a target of broad-spectrum antiviral therapy.

Innate immune surveillance of the circulation: A review on the removal of circulating virions from the bloodstream

Many viruses utilize the lymphohematogenous route for dissemination; however, they may not freely use this highway unchecked. The reticuloendothelial system (RES) is an innate defense system that surveys circulating blood, recognizing and capturing viral particles. Examination of the literature shows that the bulk of viral clearance is mediated by the liver; however, the precise mechanism(s) mediating viral vascular clearance vary between viruses and, in many cases, remains poorly defined. Herein, we summarize what is known regarding the recognition and capture of virions from the circulation prior to the generation of a specific antibody response. We also discuss the consequences of viral capture on viral pathogenesis and the fate of the captor cell. Finally, this understudied topic has implications beyond viral pathogenesis, including effects on arbovirus ecology and the application of virus-vectored gene therapies.

An Improved αvβ6-Receptor-Expressing Suspension Cell Line for Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccine Production

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is endemic in large parts of sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and South America, where outbreaks in cloven-hooved livestock threaten food security and have severe economic impacts. Vaccination in endemic regions remains the most effective control strategy. Current FMD vaccines are produced from chemically inactivated foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) grown in suspension cultures of baby hamster kidney 21 cells (BHK-21). Strain diversity means vaccines produced from one subtype may not fully protect against circulating disparate subtypes, necessitating the development of new vaccine strains that "antigenically match". However, some viruses have proven difficult to adapt to cell culture, slowing the manufacturing process, reducing vaccine yield and limiting the availability of effective vaccines, as well as potentiating the selection of undesired antigenic changes. To circumvent the need to cell culture adapt FMDV, we have used a systematic approach to develop recombinant suspension BHK-21 that stably express the key FMDV receptor integrin αvβ6. We show that αvβ6 expression is retained at consistently high levels as a mixed cell population and as a clonal cell line. Following exposure to field strains of FMDV, these recombinant BHK-21 facilitated higher virus yields compared to both parental and control BHK-21, whilst demonstrating comparable growth kinetics. The presented data supports the application of these recombinant αvβ6-expressing BHK-21 in future FMD vaccine production.

Clinical severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 isolation and antiviral testing

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is an RNA virus currently causing a pandemic. Due to errors during replication, mutations can occur and result in cell adaptation by the virus or in the rise of new variants. This can change the attachment receptors' usage, result in different morphology of plaques, and can affect as well antiviral development. Indeed, a molecule can be active on laboratory strains but not necessarily on circulating strains or be effective only against some viral variants. Experiments with clinical samples with limited cell adaptation should be performed to confirm the efficiency of drugs of interest. In this protocol, we present a method to culture severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 from nasopharyngeal swabs, obtain a high viral titer while limiting cell adaptation, and assess antiviral efficiency.

Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans in Viral Infection and Treatment: A Special Focus on SARS-CoV-2

Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) encompass a group of glycoproteins composed of unbranched negatively charged heparan sulfate (HS) chains covalently attached to a core protein. The complex HSPG biosynthetic machinery generates an extraordinary structural variety of HS chains that enable them to bind a plethora of ligands, including growth factors, morphogens, cytokines, chemokines, enzymes, matrix proteins, and bacterial and viral pathogens. These interactions translate into key regulatory activity of HSPGs on a wide range of cellular processes such as receptor activation and signaling, cytoskeleton assembly, extracellular matrix remodeling, endocytosis, cell-cell crosstalk, and others. Due to their ubiquitous expression within tissues and their large functional repertoire, HSPGs are involved in many physiopathological processes; thus, they have emerged as valuable targets for the therapy of many human diseases. Among their functions, HSPGs assist many viruses in invading host cells at various steps of their life cycle. Viruses utilize HSPGs for the attachment to the host cell, internalization, intracellular trafficking, egress, and spread. Recently, HSPG involvement in the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection has been established. Here, we summarize the current knowledge on the molecular mechanisms underlying HSPG/SARS-CoV-2 interaction and downstream effects, and we provide an overview of the HSPG-based therapeutic strategies that could be used to combat such a fearsome virus.

Adherent and suspension baby hamster kidney cells have a different cytoskeleton and surface receptor repertoire

Animal cell culture, with single cells growing in suspension, ideally in a chemically defined environment, is a mainstay of biopharmaceutical production. The synthetic environment lacks exogenous growth factors and usually requires a time-consuming adaptation process to select cell clones that proliferate in suspension to high cell numbers. The molecular mechanisms that facilitate the adaptation and that take place inside the cell are largely unknown. Especially for cell lines that are used for virus antigen production such as baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells, the restriction of virus growth through the evolution of undesired cell characteristics is highly unwanted. The comparison between adherently growing BHK cells and suspension cells with different susceptibility to foot-and-mouth disease virus revealed differences in the expression of cellular receptors such as integrins and heparan sulfates, and in the organization of the actin cytoskeleton. Transcriptome analyses and growth kinetics demonstrated the diversity of BHK cell lines and confirmed the importance of well-characterized parental cell clones and mindful screening to make sure that essential cellular features do not get lost during adaptation.

Less severe clinical symptoms of Norwalk virus 8fIIb inoculum compared to its precursor 8fIIa from human challenge studies

Noroviruses (NoV) are a leading cause of epidemic gastroenteritis. Human challenge studies have been used to examine the infectivity, pathogenicity, and host immune response to NoV as well as vaccine efficacy. The goal of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis of data from five previously completed human challenge trials and compare the response to the secondary NV inoculum (8fIIb) to its precursor (8fIIa). We investigated a total of 158 subjects: 76 subjects were experimentally challenged with NV inoculum 8fIIa, and 82 subjects were challenged with 8fIIb. We compared demographic characteristics, infection, illness, mean severity score, blood types, and duration of viral shedding between the two groups of subjects. There were no statistically significant differences in overall infection and illness rates between subjects inoculated with 8fIIa and 8fIIb. However, individuals challenged with 8fIIa had significantly higher severity scores (5.05 vs. 3.22, p = .008) compared with those challenged with 8fIIb. We also observed that infection with 8fIIb was associated with significantly longer duration of viral shedding compared with 8fIIa (11.0 days vs. 5.0 days, p = .0005). These results have serious implications for the development of new NoV inocula for human challenge studies to test candidate vaccine efficacy-where illness severity and duration of viral shedding are important outcomes.

A Vaccine Strain of the A/ASIA/Sea-97 Lineage of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus with a Single Amino Acid Substitution in the P1 Region That Is Adapted to Suspension Culture Provides High Immunogenicity

There are seven viral serotypes of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV): A, O, C, Asia 1, and Southern African Territories 1, 2, and 3 (SAT 1–3). Unlike serotype O FMDV vaccine strains, vaccine strains of serotype A FMDV do not provide broad-range cross-reactivity in serological matching tests with field isolates. Therefore, the topotype/lineage vaccine strain circulating in many countries and a highly immunogenic strain might be advantageous to control serotype A FMDV. We developed a new vaccine strain, A/SKR/Yeoncheon/2017 (A-1), which belongs to the A/ASIA/Sea-97 lineage that frequently occurs in Asian countries. Using virus plaque purification, we selected a vaccine virus with high antigen productivity and the lowest numbers of P1 mutations among cell-adapted virus populations. The A/SKR/Yeoncheon/2017 (A-1) vaccine strain has a single amino acid mutation, VP2 E82K, in the P1 region, and it is perfectly adapted to suspension culture. The A/SKR/Yeoncheon/2017 (A-1) experimental vaccine conferred high immunogenicity in pigs. The vaccine strain was serologically matched with various field isolates in two-dimensional virus neutralization tests using bovine serum. Vaccinated mice were protected against an A/MAY/97 virus that was serologically mismatched with the vaccine strain. Thus, A/SKR/Yeoncheon/2017 (A-1) might be a promising vaccine candidate for protection against the emerging FMDV serotype A in Asia.

Polymerase Fidelity Contributes to Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus Pathogenicity and Transmissibility In Vivo

The low fidelity of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) RNA-dependent RNA polymerase allows FMDV to exhibit high genetic diversity. Previously, we showed that the genetic diversity of FMDV plays an important role in virulence in suckling mice. Here, we mutated the amino acid residue Phe257, located in the finger domain of FMDV polymerase and conserved across FMDV serotypes, to a cysteine (F257C) to study the relationship between viral genetic diversity, virulence, and transmissibility in natural hosts. The single amino acid substitution in FMDV polymerase resulted in a high-fidelity virus variant, rF257C, with growth kinetics indistinguishable from those of wild-type (WT) virus in cell culture, but it displayed smaller plaques and impaired fitness in direct competition assays. Furthermore, we found that rF257C was attenuated in vivo in both suckling mice and pigs (one of its natural hosts). Importantly, contact exposure experiments showed that the rF257C virus exhibited reduced transmissibility compared to that of wild-type FMDV in the porcine model. This study provides evidence that FMDV genetic diversity is important for viral virulence and transmissibility in susceptible animals. Given that type O FMDV exhibits the highest genetic diversity among all seven serotypes of FMDV, we propose that the lower polymerase fidelity of the type O FMDV could contribute to its dominance worldwide.IMPORTANCE Among the seven serotypes of FMDV, serotype O FMDV have the broadest distribution worldwide, which could be due to their high virulence and transmissibility induced by high genetic diversity. In this paper, we generated a single amino acid substitution FMDV variant with a high-fidelity polymerase associated with viral fitness, virulence, and transmissibility in a natural host. The results highlight that maintenance of viral population diversity is essential for interhost viral spread. This study provides evidence that higher genetic diversity of type O FMDV could increase both virulence and transmissibility, thus leading to their dominance in the global epidemic.

Investigation of bovine ephemeral fever virus transmission by putative dipteran vectors under experimental conditions

BACKGROUND

Bovine ephemeral fever virus (Rhabdoviridae: Ephemerovirus) (BEFV) causes bovine ephemeral fever (BEF), an economically important disease of cattle and water buffalo. Outbreaks of BEF in Africa, Australia, Asia and the Middle East are characterized by high rates of morbidity and highly efficient transmission between cattle hosts. Despite this, the vectors of BEFV remain poorly defined.

METHODS

Colony lines of biting midges (Culicoides sonorensis) and mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti, Culex pipiens and Culex quinquefasciatus) were infected with a strain of BEFV originating from Israel by feeding on blood-virus suspensions and by intrathoracic inoculation. In addition, in vivo transmission of BEFV was also assessed by allowing C. sonorensis inoculated by the intrathoracic route to feed on male 6 month-old Holstein-Friesian calves.

RESULTS

There was no evidence of BEFV replication within mosquitoes fed on blood/virus suspensions for mosquitoes of any species tested for each of the three colony lines. In 170 C. sonorensis fed on the blood/virus suspension, BEFV RNA was detected in the bodies of 13 individuals and in the heads of two individuals, indicative of fully disseminated infections and an oral susceptibility rate of 1.2%. BEFV RNA replication was further demonstrated in all C. sonorensis that were inoculated by the intrathoracic route with virus after 5, 6 or 7 days post-infection. Despite this, transmission of BEFV could not be demonstrated when infected C. sonorensis were allowed to feed on calves.

CONCLUSIONS

No evidence for infection or dissemination of BEFV (bovine/Israel/2005-6) in mosquitoes of three different species was found. Evidence was found for infection of C. sonorensis by the oral route. However, attempts to transmit BEFV to calves from infected C. sonorensis failed. These results highlight the challenge of defining the natural vector of BEFV and of establishing an in vivo transmission model. The results are discussed with reference to the translation of laboratory-based studies to inference of vector competence in the field.

Foot-and-mouth disease virus VP1 target the MAVS to inhibit type-I interferon signaling and VP1 E83K mutation results in virus attenuation

VP1, a pivotal capsid protein encoded by the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), plays an important role in receptor-mediated attachment and humoral immune responses. Previous studies show that amino acid changes in the VP1 protein of cell culture-adapted strains of FMDV alter the properties of the virus. In addition, FMDV VP1 modulates host IFN signal transduction. Here, we examined the ability of cell culture-adapted FMDV VP1(83K) and wild-type FMDV VP1(83E) to evade host immunity by blocking mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS)/TNF Receptor Associated Factor 3 (TRAF3) mediated cellular innate responses. Wild-type FMDV VP1(83E) interacted specifically with C-terminal TRAF3-binding site within MAVS and this interaction inhibited binding of TRAF3 to MAVS, thereby suppressing interferon-mediated responses. This was not observed for cell culture-adapted FMDV VP1(83K). Finally, chimeric FMDV harboring VP1(83K) showed very low pathogenicity in pigs. Collectively, these data highlight a critical role of VP1 with respect to suppression of type-I IFN pathway and attenuation of FMDV by the E83K mutation in VP1.

Foot-and-Mouth disease (FMD), a highly contagious viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals, causes huge economic losses. To generate a FMD vaccine, cell culture-adapted strains of FMDV that show improved growth properties and allow repeated passage are needed. Generally, adaptation of field-isolated FMDV is accompanied by changes in viral properties, including amino acid mutations. A VP1 E83K mutation in cell culture-adapted FMDV was identified previously; here, we examined the impact of VP1 E83K on virus pathogenicity and type-I IFN pathway. Cell culture-adapted FMDV O1 Manisa, and highly virulent strain of O/Andong/SKR/2010, acquired the E83K mutation in the VP1 protein, which attenuated the virus via disposing VP1 mediate negative regulation ability of host cellular IFN responses. The data suggest a rational approach to viral propagation in cell culture and virus attenuation, which could be utilized for future development of FMDV vaccines.

Single Amino Acid Substitutions Surrounding the Icosahedral Fivefold Symmetry Axis Are Critical for Alternative Receptor Usage of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus

The integrins function as the primary receptor molecules for the pathogenic infection of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) in vivo, while the acquisition of a high affinity for heparan sulfate (HS) of some FMDV variants could be privileged to facilitate viral infection and expanded cell tropism in vitro. Here, we noted that a BHK-adapted Cathay topotype derivative (O/HN/CHA/93tc) but not its genetically engineered virus (rHN), was able to infect HS-positive CHO-K1 cells and mutant pgsD-677 cells. There were one or three residue changes in the capsid proteins of O/HN/CHA/93tc and rHN, as compared with that of their tissue-originated isolate (O/HN/CHA/93wt). The phenotypic properties of a set of site-directed mutants of rHN revealed that E83K of VP1 surrounding the fivefold symmetry axis was necessary for the integrin-independent infection of O/HN/CHA/93tc. L80 in VP2 was essential for the occurrence of E83K in VP1 during the adaptation of O/HN/CHA/93wt to BHK-21 cells. L80M in VP2 and D138G in VP1 of rHN was deleterious, which could be compensated by K83R of VP1 for restoring an efficient infection of integrin-negative CHO cell lines. These might have important implications for understanding the molecular and evolutionary mechanisms of the recognition and binding of FMDV with alternative cellular receptors.

Analysis of Amino Acid Mutations of the Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus Serotype O Using both Heparan Sulfate and JMJD6 Receptors

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is an economically devastating animal disease. Adapting the field virus to cells is critical to the vaccine production of FMD viruses (FMDV), and heparan sulfate (HS) and Jumonji C-domain-containing protein 6 (JMJD6) are alternative receptors of cell-adapted FMDV. We performed serial passages of FMDV O/SKR/Andong/2010, classified as the O/Mya-98 topotype/lineage and known as a highly virulent strain, to develop a vaccine seed virus. We traced changes in the amino acid sequences of the P1 region, plaque phenotypes, and the receptor usage of the viruses, and then structurally analyzed the mutations. VP3 H56R and D60G mutations were observed in viruses using the HS receptor and led to changes in the hydrogen bonding between VP3 56 and 60. A VP1 P208L mutation was observed in the virus using the JMJD6 receptor during cell adaptation, enabling the interaction with JMJD6 through the formation of a new hydrogen bond with JMJD6 residue 300. Furthermore, VP1 208 was near the VP1 95/96 amino acids, previously reported as critical mutations for JMJD6 receptor interactions. Thus, the mutation at VP1 208 could be critical for cell adaptation related to the JMJD6 receptor and may serve as a basis for mechanism studies on FMDV cell adaptation.

Symmetrical arrangement of positively charged residues around the 5-fold axes of SAT type foot-and-mouth disease virus enhances cell culture of field viruses

Field isolates of foot-and-mouth disease viruses (FMDVs) utilize integrin-mediated cell entry but many, including Southern African Territories (SAT) viruses, are difficult to adapt to BHK-21 cells, thus hampering large-scale propagation of vaccine antigen. However, FMDVs acquire the ability to bind to cell surface heparan sulphate proteoglycans, following serial cytolytic infections in cell culture, likely by the selection of rapidly replicating FMDV variants. In this study, fourteen SAT1 and SAT2 viruses, serially passaged in BHK-21 cells, were virulent in CHO-K1 cells and displayed enhanced affinity for heparan, as opposed to their low-passage counterparts. Comparative sequence analysis revealed the fixation of positively charged residues clustered close to the icosahedral 5-fold axes of the virus, at amino acid positions 83-85 in the βD-βE loop and 110-112 in the βF-βG loop of VP1 upon adaptation to cultured cells. Molecular docking simulations confirmed enhanced binding of heparan sulphate to a model of the adapted SAT1 virus, with the region around VP1 arginine 112 contributing the most to binding. Using this information, eight chimeric field strain mutant viruses were constructed with additional positive charges in repeated clusters on the virion surface. Five of these bound heparan sulphate with expanded cell tropism, which should facilitate large-scale propagation. However, only positively charged residues at position 110-112 of VP1 enhanced infectivity of BHK-21 cells. The symmetrical arrangement of even a single amino acid residue in the FMD virion is a powerful strategy enabling the virus to generate novel receptor binding and alternative host-cell interactions.

A Single Mutation in the VP1 Gene of Enterovirus 71 Enhances Viral Binding to Heparan Sulfate and Impairs Viral Pathogenicity in Mice

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is the major causative pathogen of human hand, foot, and mouth disease (hHFMD) and has evolved to use various cellular receptors for infection. However, the relationship between receptor preference and EV71 virulence has not been fully revealed. By using reverse genetics, we identified that a single E98K mutation in VP1 is responsible for rapid viral replication in vitro. The E98K mutation enhanced binding of EV71-GZCII to cells in a heparan sulfate (HS)-dependent manner, and it attenuated the virulence of EV71-GZCII in BALB/c mice, indicating that the HS-binding property is negatively associated with viral virulence. HS is widely expressed in vascular endothelial cells in different mouse tissues, and weak colocalization of HS with scavenger receptor B2 (SCARB2) was detected. The cGZCII-98K virus bound more efficiently to mouse tissue homogenates, and the cGZCII-98K virus titers in mouse tissues and blood were much lower than the cGZCII virus titers. Together, these findings suggest that the enhanced adsorption of the cGZCII-98K virus, which likely occurs through HS, is unable to support the efficient replication of EV71 in vivo. Our study confirmed the role of HS-binding sites in EV71 infection and highlighted the importance of the HS receptor in EV71 pathogenesis.

Serial Passaging of the Human Rotavirus CDC-9 Strain in Cell Culture Leads to Attenuation: Characterization from In Vitro and In Vivo Studies

Live oral rotavirus vaccines have been developed by serial passaging in cell culture and found to be safe in infants. However, mechanisms for the adaptation and attenuation of rotavirus vaccines are not fully understood. We prepared a human rotavirus vaccine strain, CDC-9 (G1P[8]), which when grown in MA104 cells to passage 11 or 12 (P11/P12) had no nucleotide or amino acid sequence changes from the original virus in stool. Upon adaptation and passages in Vero cells, the strain underwent five amino acid changes at P28 and one additional change at P44/P45 in the VP4 gene. We performed virologic, immunological, and pathogenic characterization of wild-type CDC-9 virus at P11/P12 and its two mutants at P28 or P44/P45 using in vitro and in vivo model systems. We found that mutants CDC-9 P28 and P44 induced upregulated expression of immunomodulatory cytokines. On the other hand, the two mutant viruses induced lower STAT1 phosphorylation and grew to 2-log-higher titers than wild-type virus in human Caco-2 cells and simian Vero cells. In neonatal rats, CDC-9 P45 showed reduced rotavirus shedding in fecal specimens and did not induce diarrhea compared to wild-type virus and modulated cytokine responses comparably to Rotarix infection. These findings indicate that mutant CDC-9 is attenuated and safe. Our study is the first to provide insight into the possible mechanisms of human rotavirus adaptation and attenuation and supports ongoing efforts to develop CDC-9 as a new generation of rotavirus vaccine for live oral or parenteral administration.IMPORTANCE Mechanisms for in vitro adaptation and in vivo attenuation of human rotavirus vaccines are not known. The present study is the first to comprehensively compare the in vitro growth characteristics, virulence, and host response of a wild-type and an attenuated human rotavirus strain, CDC-9, in Caco-2 cells and neonatal rats. Our study identifies critical sequence changes in the genome that render human rotavirus adapted to growth to high levels in Vero cells and attenuated and safe in neonatal rats; thus, the study supports clinical development of CDC-9 for oral or parenteral vaccination in children.

Heparan sulfate attachment receptor is a major selection factor for attenuated enterovirus 71 mutants during cell culture adaptation

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is a causative agent of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD). However, this infection is sometimes associated with severe neurological complications. Identification of neurovirulence determinants is important to understand the pathogenesis of EV71. One of the problems in evaluating EV71 virulence is that its genome sequence changes rapidly during replication in cultured cells. The factors that induce rapid mutations in the EV71 genome in cultured cells are unclear. Here, we illustrate the population dynamics during adaptation to RD-A cells using EV71 strains isolated from HFMD patients. We identified a reproducible amino acid substitution from glutamic acid (E) to glycine (G) or glutamine (Q) in residue 145 of the VP1 protein (VP1-145) after adaptation to RD-A cells, which was associated with attenuation in human scavenger receptor B2 transgenic (hSCARB2 tg) mice. Because previous reports demonstrated that VP1-145G and Q mutants efficiently infect cultured cells by binding to heparan sulfate (HS), we hypothesized that HS expressed on the cell surface is a major factor for this selection. Supporting this hypothesis, selection of the VP1-145 mutant was prevented by depletion of HS and overexpression of hSCARB2 in RD-A cells. In addition, this mutation promotes the acquisition of secondary amino acid substitutions at various positions of the EV71 capsid to increase its fitness in cultured cells. These results indicate that attachment receptors, especially HS, are important factors for selection of VP1-145 mutants and subsequent capsid mutations. Moreover, we offer an efficient method for isolation and propagation of EV71 virulent strains with minimal selection pressure for attenuation.

Viruses must overcome various setbacks in a variety of tissues and cells during transmission from the initial replication site to the final target site. To achieve this, RNA viruses employ a strategy to adapt to different environments by creating a diverse viral population using low-fidelity RNA-dependent RNA polymerases. On the other hand, when the viruses are propagated in clonal cell cultures, in vitro adaptation occurs. The viruses may acquire new properties or lose some properties they had in vivo. In vitro adaptation is often associated with attenuation. Therefore, the selection pressures imposed on viruses replicating in vitro and in vivo are quite different. It is unclear how this environmental difference affects viral populations. Clinical isolates of EV71 replicate in cultured cells poorly. However, after a few passages, the viruses adapt to this condition and replicate efficiently. In this study, we demonstrate that attachment receptor usage is a major selection pressure for in vitro adaptation of EV71 by analyzing the population dynamics of cell culture-adapted viruses. This mechanism appears to be a major mode of attenuation.

Foot-and-mouth disease virus: Prospects for using knowledge of virus biology to improve control of this continuing global threat

Understanding of the biology of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) has grown considerably since the nucleotide sequence of the viral RNA was determined. The ability to manipulate the intact genome and also to express specific parts of the genome individually has enabled detailed analyses of viral components, both RNA and protein. Such studies have identified the requirements for specific functional elements for virus replication and pathogenicity. Furthermore, information about the functions of individual virus proteins has enabled the rational design of cDNA cassettes to express non-infectious empty capsid particles that can induce protective immunity in the natural host animals and thus represent new vaccine candidates. Similarly, attempts to block specific virus activities using antiviral agents have also been performed. However, currently, only the well-established, chemically inactivated FMDV vaccines are commercially available and suitable for use to combat this important disease of livestock animals. These vaccines, despite certain shortcomings, have been used very successfully (e.g. in Europe) to control the disease but it still remains endemic in much of Africa, southern Asia and the Middle East. Hence there remains a significant risk of reintroduction of the disease into highly susceptible animal populations with enormous economic consequences.

Pathogenesis, biophysical stability and phenotypic variance of SAT2 foot-and-mouth disease virus

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious vesicular disease of cloven-hoofed animals, which severely decreases livestock productivity. FMD virus (FMDV), the causative agent, initiates infection by interaction with integrin cellular receptors on pharyngeal epithelium cells, causing clinical signs one to four days after transmission to a susceptible host. However, some Southern African Territories (SAT) viruses have been reported to cause mild or subclinical infections that may go undiagnosed in field conditions and are likely to be more common than previously expected. The studies presented here demonstrate that not all SAT2 viruses are equally virulent in cattle. The two SAT2 viruses, ZIM/5/83 and ZIM/7/83, were both highly attenuated in cattle, as evidenced by the mild clinical signs observed after needle challenge, while two incongruent SAT2 viruses showed significantly different clinical signs in challenged cattle. We then explored the ability of the SAT2 viruses to infect different cell types with defined receptors that are utilised by FMDV and found differences in their ability to lyse cells in culture and to compete in a controlled cell culture environment. The population sequence variation between ZIM/5/83 and ZIM/7/83 revealed multiple sites of single nucleotide variants of low frequency between the predominant virus populations, as could be expected from the genome of an RNA virus. An assessment of the biophysical stability of SAT2 virions during acidification indicated that the SAT2 virus EGY/09/12 was more resilient to acidification than the ZIM/5/83 and ZIM/7/83 viruses; however, whether this difference relates to differences in virulence in vivo is unclear. This study is a consolidated view of the key findings of SAT2 viruses studied over a 14-year period involving many different experiments.

Cellular receptors for enterovirus A71

Enterovirus 71 (EV-A71) is one of the major causative agents of hand, foot, and mouth disease. EV-A71 infection is sometimes associated with severe neurological diseases such as acute encephalitis, acute flaccid paralysis, and cardiopulmonary failure. Therefore, EV-A71 is a serious public health concern. Scavenger receptor class B, member 2 (SCARB2) is a type III transmembrane protein that belongs to the CD36 family and is a major receptor for EV-A71. SCARB2 supports attachment and internalization of the virus and initiates conformational changes that lead to uncoating of viral RNA in the cytoplasm. The three-dimensional structure of the virus-receptor complex was elucidated by cryo-electron microscopy. Two α-helices in the head domain of SCARB2 bind to the G-H loop of VP1 and the E-F loop of VP2 capsid proteins of EV-A71. Uncoating takes place in a SCARB2- and low pH-dependent manner. In addition to SCARB2, other molecules support cell surface binding of EV-A71. Heparan sulfate proteoglycans, P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1, sialylated glycan, annexin II, vimentin, fibronectin, and prohibitin enhance viral infection by retaining the virus on the cell surface. These molecules are known as “attachment receptors” because they cannot initiate uncoating. In vivo, SCARB2 expression was observed in EV-A71 antigen-positive neurons and epithelial cells in the crypts of the palatine tonsils in patients that died of EV-A71 infection. Adult mice are not susceptible to infection by EV-A71, but transgenic mice that express human SCARB2 become susceptible to EV-A71 infection and develop neurological diseases similar to those observed in humans. Attachment receptors may also be involved in EV-A71 infection in vivo. Although heparan sulfate proteoglycans are expressed by many cultured cell lines and enhance infection by a subset of EV-A71 strains, they are not expressed by cells that express SCARB2 at high levels in vivo. Thus, heparan sulfate-positive cells merely adsorb the virus and do not contribute to replication or dissemination of the virus in vivo. In addition to these attachment receptors, cyclophilin A and human tryptophanyl aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase act as an uncoating regulator and an entry mediator that can confer susceptibility to non-susceptibile cells in the absence of SCARB2, respectively. The roles of attachment receptors and other molecules in EV-A71 pathogenesis remain to be elucidated.

Interaction of virus populations with their hosts

Viral population numbers are extremely large compared with those of their host species. Population bottlenecks are frequent during the life cycle of viruses and can reduce viral populations transiently to very few individuals. Viruses have to confront several types of constraints that can be divided into basal, cell-dependent, and organism-dependent constraints. Viruses overcome them exploiting a number of molecular mechanisms, with an important contribution of population numbers and genome variation. The adaptive potential of viruses is reflected in modifications of cell tropism and host range, escape to components of the host immune response, and capacity to alternate among different host species, among other phenotypic changes. Despite a fitness cost of most mutations required to overcome a selective constraint, viruses can find evolutionary pathways that ensure their survival in equilibrium with their hosts.

Three-percent sucrose acts as a thermostabilizer for cell-adapted foot-and-mouth disease virus without any negative effect on viral growth

AIMS

As cell-adapted foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) with H56R mutation in VP3 has reduced thermostability, this study aimed to investigate the effect of thermostabilizers on cell-adapted FMDV for vaccine production.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We examined the effect of 3% sucrose, 10% (or 25%) glycerol or 10% FBS on cell-adapted FMDV O/SKR/JC/2014, containing H56R mutation in VP3, as vaccine seed virus at -80, 4, 25 or 37°C for 2, 4 or 7 days. The stabilizing effect of 3% sucrose on O/SKR/JC/2014 was observed at 25, 37°C, and after repeated freeze-thaw cycles. Additionally, we tested the effect of 3% sucrose on the growth of FMDV or cells and did not observe any decrease in either viral growth or cell viability.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study showed the protective effect of 3% sucrose on FMDV infectivity at various temperatures; this virus stock in 3% sucrose could be used for infecting cells without the removal of sucrose.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

We suggest that 3% sucrose-containing medium could be beneficial for the stable storage and transport of cell-adapted FMDV.

Minimum Determinants of Transmissible Gastroenteritis Virus Enteric Tropism Are Located in the N-Terminus of Spike Protein

Transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) is an enteric coronavirus causing high morbidity and mortality in porcine herds worldwide, that possesses both enteric and respiratory tropism. The ability to replicate in the enteric tract directly correlates with virulence, as TGEVs with an exclusive respiratory tropism are attenuated. The tissue tropism is determined by spike (S) protein, although the molecular bases for enteric tropism remain to be fully characterized. Both pAPN and sialic acid binding domains (aa 506–655 and 145–155, respectively) are necessary but not sufficient for enteric tract infection. Using a TGEV infectious cDNA and enteric (TGEV-SC11) or respiratory (TGEV-SPTV) isolates, encoding a full-length S protein, a set of chimeric recombinant viruses, with a sequential modification in S protein amino terminus, was engineered. In vivo tropism, either enteric, respiratory or both, was studied by inoculating three-day-old piglets and analyzing viral titers in lung and gut. The data indicated that U655>G change in S gene (S219A in S protein) was required to confer enteric tropism to a respiratory virus that already contains the pAPN and sialic acid binding domains in its S protein. Moreover, an engineered virus containing U655>G and a 6 nt insertion at position 1124 (Y374-T375insND in S protein) was genetically stable after passage in cell cultures, and increased virus titers in gut by 1000-fold. We postulated that the effect of these residues in enteric tropism may be mediated by the modification of both glycosaminoglycan binding and S protein structure.

Cell culture propagation of foot-and-mouth disease virus: adaptive amino acid substitutions in structural proteins and their functional implications

Foot-and-mouth disease is endemic in livestock in large parts of Africa and Asia, where it is an important driver of food insecurity and a major obstacle to agricultural development and the international trade in animal products. Virtually all commercially available vaccines are inactivated whole-virus vaccines produced in cell culture, but the adaptation of a field isolate of the virus to growth in culture is laborious and time-consuming. This is of particular concern for the development of vaccines to newly emerging virus lineages, where long lead times from virus isolate to vaccine can delay the implementation of effective control programs. High antigen yields in production cells are also necessary to make vaccines affordable for less developed countries in endemic areas. Therefore, a rational approach to cell culture adaptation that combines prior knowledge of common adaptive mutations and reverse genetics techniques is urgently required. This review provides an overview of amino acid exchanges in the viral capsid proteins in the context of adaptation to cell culture.

The VP3 protein of duck hepatitis A virus mediates host cell adsorption and apoptosis

Duck hepatitis A virus (DHAV) causes an infectious disease that mainly affects 1- to 4-week-old ducklings, resulting in considerable loss to the duck industry. Although there have been many studies on DHAV in recent years, the effects on host infection and pathogenesis of DHAV-1 remain largely unknown. This study investigated the effects of the DHAV-1 structural protein VP3 on DHAV-1 virus adsorption and apoptosis to explore the role of VP3 in the viral life cycle. The effects of DHAV-1 VP3 and an antibody against the protein on virion adsorption was analyzed by qRT-PCR. The results showed that the virus copy number for the rabbit anti-VP3 IgG-treated group was significantly lower than that for the negative control group but higher than that for the rabbit anti-DHAV-1 IgG-treated group. This result indicates that VP3 mediates DHAV-1 virus adsorption but that it is not the only protein that involved in this process. In addition, a eukaryotic recombinant plasmid, pCAGGS/VP3, was transfected into duck embryo fibroblasts (DEFs), and the apoptotic rate was determined by DAPI staining, the TUNEL assay and flow cytometry. DAPI staining showed nucleus fragmentation and nuclear edge shifting. TUNEL assay results revealed yellow nuclei, and flow cytometry indicated a significant increase in the apoptotic rate. In addition, qRT-PCR revealed increased in the transcriptional levels of the apoptotic caspase-3, −8 and −9, with the largest increase for caspase-3, followed by caspase-9 and caspase-8. Enzyme activity analysis confirmed these results. Furthermore, the VP3 protein decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential, and the transcriptional levels of the proapoptotic factors Bak, Cyt c and Apaf-1 in the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway were significantly upregulated. These data suggest that expression of VP3 in DEFs induces apoptosis and may primarily activate caspase-3-induced apoptosis through mitochondrion-mediated intrinsic pathways. The findings provide scientific data to clarify DHAV-1 infection and pathogenesis.

Heparin sulfate is the attachment factor of duck Tembus virus on both BHK21 and DEF cells

BACKGROUND

Duck tembusu virus (DTMUV, genus Flaviviruses, family Flaviviridae) is an emerging flavivirus that can infect a wide range of cells and cell lines in vitro, though the initial step of virus invasion remains obscure.

METHODS

In this study, drug treatments that including heparin, chondroitin sulfate, heparinase I, chondroitinase ABC and trypsin were applied to detect the influence of DTMUV absorption, subsequently, the copy number of viral genome RNA was analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR. The inhibition process of viral absorption or entry by heparin was determined by western blotting, and the cytotoxicity of drug treated cells was detected by cell counting kit-8.

RESULTS

We found that the desulfation of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) with sodium chlorate had a significant effect on the adsorption of DTMUV in both BHK21 and DEF cells. Based on this result, we incubated cells with a mixture of DTMUV and GAGs competition inhibitors or pre-treated cells with inhibitors, after incubation with the virus, the NS5 expression of DTMUV and viral titers were detected. The data suggested that heparin can significantly inhibit the absorption of DTMUV in a dose dependent manner but not at the step of viral entry in BHK21 and DEF cells. Meanwhile, heparinase I can significantly inhibit DTMUV attachment step.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results clearly proved that heparin sulfate plays an important role in the first step of DTMUV entry, viral attachment, in both BHK21 and DEF cells, which sheds light on the entry mechanism of DTMUV.

The Role of Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans as an Attachment Factor for Rabies Virus Entry and Infection

Rabies virus (RABV) is the causative agent of fatal neurological disease. Cellular attachment is the initial and essential step for viral infections. Although extensive studies have demonstrated that RABV uses various target cell molecules to mediate infection, no specific molecule has been identified as an attachment factor for RABV infection. Here we demonstrate that cellular heparan sulfate (HS) supports RABV adhesion and subsequent entry into target cells. Enzymatic removal of HS reduced cellular susceptibility to RABV infection, and heparin, a highly sulfated form of HS, blocked viral adhesion and infection. The direct binding between RABV glycoprotein and heparin was demonstrated, and this interaction was shown to require HS N- and 6-O-sulfation. We also revealed that basic amino acids in the ectodomain of RABV glycoprotein serve as major determinants for the RABV-HS interaction. Collectively, our study highlights a previously undescribed role of HS as an attachment factor for RABV infection.

Genetic Determinants of Virulence between Two Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus Isolates Which Caused Outbreaks of Differing Severity

Individual foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) strains reveal different degrees of infectivity and pathogenicity in host animals. The differences in severity among outbreaks might be ascribable to these differences in infectivity among FMDV strains. To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying these differences, we estimated the infectivity of O/JPN/2000 and O/JPN/2010, which caused outbreaks of markedly different scales, in cell lines, Holstein cattle, and suckling mice. Viral growth of the two strains in cells was not remarkably different; however, O/JPN/2000 showed apparently low transmissibility in cattle. Mortality rates of suckling mice inoculated intraperitoneally with a 50% tissue culture infective dose (TCID₅₀) of 10 for O/JPN/2000 and O/JPN/2010 also differed, at 0% and 100%, respectively. To identify genes responsible for this difference in infectivity, genetic regions of the full-length cDNA of O/JPN/2010 were replaced with corresponding fragments of O/JPN/2000. A total of eight recombinant viruses were successfully recovered, and suckling mice were intraperitoneally inoculated. Strikingly, recombinants having either VP1 or 3D derived from O/JPN/2000 showed 0% mortality in suckling mice, whereas other recombinants showed 100% mortality. This finding indicates that VP1, the outermost component of the virus particle, and 3D, an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, are individually involved in the virulence of O/JPN/2010. Three-dimensional structural analysis of VP1 confirmed that amino acid differences between the two strains were located mainly at the domain interacting with the cellular receptor. On the other hand, measurement of their mutation frequencies demonstrated that O/JPN/2000 had higher replication fidelity than O/JPN/2010.IMPORTANCE Efforts to understand the universal mechanism of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) infection may be aided by knowledge of the molecular mechanisms which underlie differences in virulence beyond multiple topotypes and serotypes of FMDV. Here, we demonstrated independent genetic determinants of two FMDV isolates which have different transmissibility in cattle, namely, VP1 and 3D protein. Findings suggested that the selectivity of VP1 for host cell receptors and replication fidelity during replication were important individual factors in the induction of differences in virulence in the host as well as in the severity of outbreaks in the field. These findings will aid the development of safe live vaccines and antivirals which obstruct viral infection in natural hosts.

Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans and Viral Attachment: True Receptors or Adaptation Bias?

Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPG) are composed of unbranched, negatively charged heparan sulfate (HS) polysaccharides attached to a variety of cell surface or extracellular matrix proteins. Widely expressed, they mediate many biological activities, including angiogenesis, blood coagulation, developmental processes, and cell homeostasis. HSPG are highly sulfated and broadly used by a range of pathogens, especially viruses, to attach to the cell surface.

The Pseudoknot Region of the 5' Untranslated Region Is a Determinant of Viral Tropism and Virulence of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus

This study demonstrates that the deletion in the PK region occurred naturally in the FMDV genome. The isolated O/ME-SA/PanAsia lineage FMDV with an 86-nt deletion in the PK region showed a pig-adapted characteristic that could cause clinical signs in swine but not bovines. Compared to the wild-type FMDV strain, which possesses full infection capacity in both swine and bovines, the recombinant virus with the 86-nt deletion in the PK region is deficient in causing disease in bovines. Deletion of the previously reported 43 nt in the PK region also led to significantly decreased pathogenicity of FMDV in bovines. This study indicates that the PK region is a novel determinant of the tropism and virulence of FMDV.

Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is the causative agent of foot-and-mouth disease. It is characterized by genetic instability and different antigenic properties. The nonstructural protein 3A is a primary determinant of the tropism and virulence of Cathay topotype FMDVs. However, several other determinants are also speculated to be involved in viral tropism and virulence. Deletion of 43 nucleotides (nt) in the pseudoknot (PK) region of the 5′ untranslated region (UTR) has been found to coexist with the identified 3A deletion in Cathay topotype FMDV genomes. In this study, we isolated an O/ME-SA/PanAsia lineage FMDV strain, O/GD/CHA/2015, that includes an 86-nt deletion in the PK region and shows a porcinophilic phenotype. To investigate the potential role of the PK region in viral pathogenicity, we generated a recombinant FMDV strain with an incomplete PK region and compared its virulence and pathogenesis to the intact FMDV strain in swine and bovines. Deletion of the 86 nt in the PKs had no major effects on the pathogenicity of the virus in swine but significantly attenuated its ability to infect bovine cells and cattle, indicating that the PK region is a newly discovered determinant of viral tropism and virulence. The role of the 43-nt deletion existing in the Cathay topotype FMDV was also investigated by evaluating the infection properties of genetically engineered viruses. Consistently, the 43-nt deletion in the PK region significantly decreased the pathogenicity of the virus in bovines. Overall, our findings suggest that the PK region deletion occurred naturally in the FMDV genome and that the PK region is highly associated with viral host range and functions as a novel determinant for FMDV pathogenesis.

IMPORTANCE This study demonstrates that the deletion in the PK region occurred naturally in the FMDV genome. The isolated O/ME-SA/PanAsia lineage FMDV with an 86-nt deletion in the PK region showed a pig-adapted characteristic that could cause clinical signs in swine but not bovines. Compared to the wild-type FMDV strain, which possesses full infection capacity in both swine and bovines, the recombinant virus with the 86-nt deletion in the PK region is deficient in causing disease in bovines. Deletion of the previously reported 43 nt in the PK region also led to significantly decreased pathogenicity of FMDV in bovines. This study indicates that the PK region is a novel determinant of the tropism and virulence of FMDV.

Engineering Responses to Amino Acid Substitutions in the VP0- and VP3-Coding Regions of PanAsia-1 Strains of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus Serotype O

The presence of sequence divergence through adaptive mutations in the major capsid protein VP1, and also in VP0 (VP4 and VP2) and VP3, of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is relevant to a broad range of viral characteristics. To explore the potential role of isolate-specific residues in the VP0 and VP3 coding regions of PanAsia-1 strains in genetic and phenotypic properties of FMDV, a series of recombinant full-length genomic clones were constructed using Cathay topotype infectious cDNA as the original backbone. The deleterious and compensatory effects of individual amino acid substitutions at positions 4008 and 3060 and in several different domains of VP2 illustrated that the chain-based spatial interaction patterns of VP1, VP2, and VP3 (VP1-3), as well as between the internal VP4 and the three external capsid proteins of FMDV, might contribute to the assembly of eventually viable viruses. The Y2079H site-directed mutants dramatically induced a decrease in plaque size on BHK-21 cells and viral pathogenicity in suckling mice. Remarkably, the 2079H-encoding viruses displayed a moderate increase in acid sensitivity correlated with NH4Cl resistance compared to the Y2079-encoding viruses. Interestingly, none of all the 16 rescued viruses were able to infect heparan sulfate-expressing CHO-K1 cells. However, viral infection in BHK-21 cells was facilitated by utilizing non-integrin-dependent, heparin-sensitive receptor(s) and replacements of four uncharged amino acids at position 3174 in VP3 of FMDV had no apparent influence on heparin affinity. These results provide particular insights into the correlation of evolutionary biology with genetic diversity in adapting populations of FMDV.IMPORTANCE The sequence variation within the capsid proteins occurs frequently in the infection of susceptible tissue cultures, reflecting the high levels of genetic diversity of FMDV. A systematic study for the functional significance of isolate-specific residues in VP0 and VP3 of FMDV PanAsia-1 strains suggested that the interaction of amino acid side chains between the N terminus of VP4 and several potential domains of VP1-3 had cascading effects on the viability and developmental characteristics of progeny viruses. Y2079H in VP0 of the indicated FMDVs could affect plaque size and pathogenicity, as well as acid sensitivity correlated with NH4Cl resistance, whereas there was no inevitable correlation in viral plaque and acid-sensitive phenotypes. The high affinity of non-integrin-dependent FMDVs for heparin might be explained by the differences in structures of heparan sulfate proteoglycans on the surfaces of different cell lines. These results may contribute to our understanding of the distinct phenotypic properties of FMDV in vitro and in vivo.

Inherent biophysical stability of foot-and-mouth disease SAT1, SAT2 and SAT3 viruses

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus (FMDV) isolates show variation in their ability to withstand an increase in temperature. The FMDV is surprisingly thermolabile, even though this virus is probably subjected to a strong extracellular selective pressure by heat in hot climate regions where FMD is prevalent. The three SAT serotypes, with their particularly low biophysical stability also only yield vaccines of low protective capacity, even with multiple booster vaccinations. The aim of the study was to determine the inherent biophysical stability of field SAT isolates. To characterise the biophysical stability of 20 SAT viruses from Southern Africa, the thermofluor assay was used to monitor capsid dissociation by the release of the RNA genome under a range of temperature, pH and ionic conditions. The SAT2 and SAT3 viruses had a similar range of thermostability of 48-54 °C. However, the SAT1 viruses had a wider range of thermostability with an 8 °C difference but with many viruses being unstable at 43-46 °C. The thermostable A-serotype A24 control virus had the highest thermostability of 55 °C with some SAT2 and SAT3 viruses of similar thermostability. There was a 10 °C difference between the most unstable SAT virus (SAT1/TAN/2/99) and the highly stable A24 control virus. SAT1 viruses were generally more stable compared to SAT2 and SAT3 viruses at the pH range of 6.7-9.1. The effect of ionic buffers on capsid stability showed that SAT1 and SAT2 viruses had an increased stability of 2-9 °C and 2-6 °C, respectively, with the addition of 1 M NaCl. This is in contrast to the SAT3 viruses, which did not show improved stabilisation after addition of 1 M or 0.5 M NaCl buffers. Some buffers showed differing results dependent on the virus tested, highlighting the need to test SAT viruses with different solutions to establish the most stabilising option for storage of each virus. This study confirms for the first time that more stable SAT field viruses are present in the southern Africa region. This could facilitate the selection of the most stable circulating field strains, for adaptation to cultured BHK-21 cells or manipulation by reverse genetics and targeted mutation to produce improved vaccine master seed viruses.

Pathogenesis of the attenuated foot-and-mouth disease virus O/JPN/2000 in experimentally infected pigs

We examined the pathogenesis of the attenuated foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) O/JPN/2000 in pigs. The virus used in this study was passaged three times in primary bovine kidney (BK) cells and once in baby hamster kidney-21 (BHK-21) cells after isolation. A plaque assay demonstrated that this virus exhibited the small plaque (SP) phenotype. There was no clinical or histological evidence of vesicular lesions in pigs intraorally inoculated with 10⁶ 50% tissue culture infectious dose (TCID₅₀)/ml of the SP virus (SPV) of FMDV O/JPN/2000. Although fever was detected from 2 or 3 days post inoculation (dpi), there was no other prominent clinical sign up to 6 dpi. Virus shedding from saliva and nasal swab samples was not observed in any pigs inoculated with the SPV of FMDV O/JPN/2000. In the foot, mild lamellar degeneration of prickle cells in the upper layer of the stratum spinosum was histologically observed without development into vesicular or necrotic lesions. Immunohistochemical virus antigen- and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-nick end labeling (TUNEL)-positive reactions observed in the foot at 1 dpi seemed to disappear after 3 and 6 dpi. Our findings suggest that the SPV of FMDV O/JPN/2000 had low pathogenicity against pigs by intraoral inoculation.

Amino Acid Variation at VP1-145 of Enterovirus 71 Determines Attachment Receptor Usage and Neurovirulence in Human Scavenger Receptor B2 Transgenic Mice

Infection by enterovirus 71 (EV71) is affected by cell surface receptors, including the human scavenger receptor B2 (hSCARB2), which are required for viral uncoating, and attachment receptors, such are heparan sulfate (HS), which bind virus but do not support uncoating. Amino acid residue 145 of the capsid protein VP1 affects viral binding to HS and virulence in mice. However, the contribution of this amino acid to pathogenicity in humans is not known. We produced EV71 having glycine (VP1-145G) or glutamic acid (VP1-145E) at position 145. VP1-145G, but not VP1-145E, enhanced viral infection in cell culture in an HS-dependent manner. However, VP1-145G virus showed an attenuated phenotype in wild-type suckling mice and in a transgenic mouse model expressing hSCARB2, while VP1-145E virus showed a virulent phenotype in both models. Thus, the HS-binding property and in vivo virulence are negatively correlated. Immunohistochemical analyses showed that HS is highly expressed in vascular endothelial cells and some other cell types where hSCARB2 is expressed at low or undetectable levels. VP1-145G virus bound to tissue homogenate of both hSCARB2 transgenic and nontransgenic mice in vitro, and the viral titer was reduced in the bloodstream immediately after intravenous inoculation. Furthermore, VP1-145G virus failed to disseminate well in the mouse organs. These data suggest that VP1-145G virus is adsorbed by attachment receptors such as HS during circulation in vivo, leading to abortive infection of HS-positive cells. This trapping effect is thought to be a major mechanism of attenuation of the VP1-145G virus.IMPORTANCE Attachment receptors expressed on the host cell surface are thought to enhance EV71 infection by increasing the chance of encountering true receptors. Although this has been confirmed using cell culture for some viruses, the importance of attachment receptors in vivo is unknown. This report provides an unexpected answer to this question. We demonstrated that the VP1-145G virus binds to HS and shows an attenuated phenotype in an hSCARB2-dependent animal infection model. HS is highly expressed in cells that express hSCARB2 at low or undetectable levels. Our data indicate that HS binding directs VP1-145G virus toward abortive infection and keeps virus away from hSCARB2-positive cells. Thus, although the ability of VP1-145G virus to use HS might be an advantage in replication in certain cultured cells, it becomes a serious disadvantage in replication in vivo This adsorption is thought to be a major mechanism of attenuation associated with attachment receptor usage.

A VP1 mutation acquired during an enterovirus 71 disseminated infection confers heparan sulfate binding ability and modulates ex vivo tropism

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) causes hand, foot and mouth disease, a mild and self-limited illness that is sometimes associated with severe neurological complications. EV71 neurotropic determinants remain ill-defined to date. We previously identified a mutation in the VP1 capsid protein (L97R) that was acquired over the course of a disseminated infection in an immunocompromised host. The mutation was absent in the respiratory tract but was present in the gut (as a mixed population) and in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (as a dominant species). In this study, we demonstrated that this mutation does not alter the dependence of EV71 on the human scavenger receptor class B2 (SCARB2), while it enables the virus to bind to the heparan sulfate (HS) attachment receptor and modifies viral tropism in cell lines and in respiratory, intestinal and neural tissues. Variants with VP197L or VP197R were able to replicate to high levels in intestinal and neural tissues and, to a lesser extent, in respiratory tissues, but their preferred entry site (from the luminal or basal tissue side) differed in respiratory and intestinal tissues and correlated with HS expression levels. These data account for the viral populations sequenced from the patient's respiratory and intestinal samples and suggest that improved dissemination, resulting from an acquired ability to bind HS, rather than specific neurotropism determinants, enabled the virus to reach and infect the central nervous system. Finally, we showed that iota-carrageenan, a highly sulfated polysaccharide, efficiently blocks the replication of HS-dependent variants in cells and 2D neural cultures. Overall, the results of this study emphasize the importance of HS binding in EV71 pathogenesis and open new avenues for the development of antiviral molecules that may prevent this virus's dissemination.

Heparan Sulfate Binding Coxsackievirus B3 Strain PD: A Novel Avirulent Oncolytic Agent Against Human Colorectal Carcinoma

Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3), a single-stranded RNA virus of the picornavirus family, has been described as a novel oncolytic virus. However, the CVB3 strain used induced hepatitis and myocarditis in vivo. It was hypothesized that oncolytic activity and safety of CVB3 depends on the virus strain and its specific receptor tropism. Different laboratory strains of CVB3 (Nancy, 31-1-93, and H3), which use the coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR), and the strain PD, which uses N- and 6-O-sulfated heparan sulfate (HS) for entry into the cells, were investigated for their potential to lyse tumor cells and for their safety profile. The investigations were carried out in colorectal carcinoma. In vitro investigations showed variable infection efficiency and lysis of colorectal carcinoma cell lines by the CVB3 strains. The most efficient strain was PD, which was the only one that could lyse all investigated colorectal carcinoma cell lines. Lytic activity of CAR-dependent CVB3 did not correlate with CAR expression on cells, whereas there was a clear correlation between lytic activity of PD and its ability to bind to HS at the cell surface of colorectal carcinoma cells. Intratumoral injection of Nancy, 31-1-93, or PD into subcutaneous colorectal DLD1 cell tumors in BALB/c nude mice resulted in strong inhibition of tumor growth. The effect was seen in the injected tumor, as well as in a non-injected, contralateral tumor. However, all animals treated with 31-1-93 and Nancy developed systemic infection and died or were moribund and sacrificed within 8 days post virus injection. In contrast, five of the six animals treated with PD showed no signs of a systemic viral infection, and PD was not detected in any organ. The data demonstrate the potential of PD as a new oncolytic virus and HS-binding of PD as a key feature of oncolytic activity and improved safety.

Influence of cell type and cell culture media on the propagation of foot-and-mouth disease virus with regard to vaccine quality

BACKGROUND

Suspension culture of BHK cells allows large-scale virus propagation and cost-efficient vaccine production, while the shift to animal-component-free cell culture media without serum is beneficial for the quality and downstream processing of the product. Foot-and-mouth disease virus is still endemic in many parts of the world and high-quality vaccines are essential for the eradication of this highly contagious and economically devastating disease.

METHODS

Changes to the viral genome sequence during passaging in an adherent and a suspension cell culture system were compared and the impact of amino acid substitutions on receptor tropism, antigenicity and particle stability was examined. Virus production in suspension cells in animal-component-free media and in serum-containing media as well as in adherent cells in serum-containing media was compared. Infection kinetics were determined and the yield of intact viral particles was estimated in all systems using sucrose density gradient centrifugation.

RESULTS

Capsid protein sequence alterations were serotype-specific, but varied between cell lines. But The A24-2P virus variant had expanded its receptor tropism, but virus neutralization tests found no changes in the antigenic profile in comparison to the original viruses. There were no differences in viral titer between a suspension and an adherent cell culture system, independent of the type of media used. Also, the usage of a serum-free suspension culture system promoted viral growth and allowed an earlier harvest. For serotype O isolates, no differences were seen in the yield of 146S particles. Serotype A preparations revealed a decreased yield of 146S particles in suspension cells independent of the culture media.

CONCLUSION

The selective pressure of the available surface receptors in different cell culture systems may be responsible for alterations in the capsid coding sequence of culture-grown virus. Important vaccine potency characteristics such as viral titer and the neutralization profile were unaffected, but the 146S particle yield differed for one of the tested serotypes.

Mapping a Type-specific Epitope by Monoclonal Antibody against VP3 Protein of Duck Hepatitis A Type 1 Virus

Duck hepatitis A subtype 1 virus (DHAV-1) infection causes high mortality in ducklings, resulting in significant losses to duck industries. VP3 is a structural protein of DHAV-1. However, B-cell epitopes on VP3 have not been investigated. To stimulate VP3 antibody response, eukaryotic expression plasmid pCI-neo-VP3 was constructed and used as DNA immunogen to prepare mAbs. Western blot showed that 25.5 kDa VP3 could be detected by mAbs in duck embryo fibroblast (DEF) cells transfected with pCI-neo-VP3. Immunofluorescence assay showed that mAbs could specifically bind to DEF cells infected with DHAV-1. DAPI staining indicated that VP3 localizes to the cytoplasm and nucleus of DHAV-1 infected DEF. With neutralizing mAb 3B7, minimal epitope PSNI was mapped. Sequence alignment indicated that ²⁰⁵PSNI²⁰⁸ is highly conserved among DHAV-1, but different from those of DHAV-2 and DHAV-3. Epitope peptide reacted specifically with DHAV-1-positive duck sera by dot blotting, revealing PSNI is DHAV-1 type-specific epitope and the importance of these amino acids in antibody-epitope binding reactivity. These findings provided useful information for understanding the antigenicity of VP3 and might be valuable in the development of epitope-based vaccine or diagnostic kit for DHAV-1 infection and provide insights for understanding the pathogenesis of DHAV-1.

Differential replication of Foot-and-mouth disease viruses in mice determine lethality

Adult C57BL/6J mice have been used to study Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) biology. In this work, two variants of an FMDV A/Arg/01 strain exhibiting differential pathogenicity in adult mice were identified and characterized: a non-lethal virus (A01NL) caused mild signs of disease, whereas a lethal virus (A01L) caused death within 24-48h independently of the dose used. Both viruses caused a systemic infection with pathological changes in the exocrine pancreas. Virus A01L reached higher viral loads in plasma and organs of inoculated mice as well as increased replication in an ovine kidney cell line. Complete consensus sequences revealed 6 non-synonymous changes between A01L and A10NL genomes that might be linked to replication differences, as suggested by in silico prediction studies. Our results highlight the biological significance of discrete genomic variations and reinforce the usefulness of this animal model to study viral determinants of lethality.

Rules of engagement between αvβ6 integrin and foot-and-mouth disease virus

Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) mediates cell entry by attachment to an integrin receptor, generally αvβ6, via a conserved arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) motif in the exposed, antigenic, GH loop of capsid protein VP1. Infection can also occur in tissue culture adapted virus in the absence of integrin via acquired basic mutations interacting with heparin sulphate (HS); this virus is attenuated in natural infections. HS interaction has been visualized at a conserved site in two serotypes suggesting a propensity for sulfated-sugar binding. Here we determined the interaction between αvβ6 and two tissue culture adapted FMDV strains by cryo-electron microscopy. In the preferred mode of engagement, the fully open form of the integrin, hitherto unseen at high resolution, attaches to an extended GH loop via interactions with the RGD motif plus downstream hydrophobic residues. In addition, an N-linked sugar of the integrin attaches to the previously identified HS binding site, suggesting a functional role.

Insights into Jumonji C-domain containing protein 6 (JMJD6): a multifactorial role in foot-and-mouth disease virus replication in cells

The Jumonji C-domain containing protein 6 (JMJD6) has had a convoluted history, and recent reports indicating a multifactorial role in foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) infection have further complicated the functionality of this protein. It was first identified as the phosphatidylserine receptor on the cell surface responsible for recognizing phosphatidylserine on the surface of apoptotic cells resulting in their engulfment by phagocytic cells. Subsequent study revealed a nuclear subcellular localization, where JMJD6 participated in lysine hydroxylation and arginine demethylation of histone proteins and other non-histone proteins. Interestingly, to date, JMDJ6 remains the only known arginine demethylase with a growing list of known substrate molecules. These conflicting associations rendered the subcellular localization of JMJD6 to be quite nebulous. Further muddying this area, two different groups illustrated that JMJD6 could be induced to redistribute from the cell surface to the nucleus of a cell. More recently, JMJD6 was demonstrated to be a host factor contributing to the FMDV life cycle, where it was not only exploited for its arginine demethylase activity, but also served as an alternative virus receptor. This review attempts to coalesce these divergent roles for a single protein into one cohesive account. Given the diverse functionalities already characterized for JMJD6, it is likely to continue to be a confounding protein resulting in much contention going into the near future.

Alphaviruses suppress host immunity by preventing myeloid cell replication and antagonizing innate immune responses

Alphaviruses are medically important mosquito-borne viruses that cause a range of diseases in humans from febrile illness to arthritis or encephalitis. The innate immune response functions to suppress virus replication through upregulation of antiviral molecules and contributes to development of the adaptive immune response. Myeloid cells act as master regulators of virus infection by initiating both the innate and adaptive immune responses. Alphaviruses are capable of antagonizing individual components of these responses to increase replicative fitness in vivo. However, recently, studies have demonstrated that some alphaviruses avoid myeloid cell replication altogether to achieve a similar effect. In this review, we summarize how alphaviruses evade myeloid cell infection and individual inductive mechanisms, thereby limiting the activation of the innate immune response.

Secreted Interferon-Inducible Factors Restrict Hepatitis B and C Virus Entry In Vitro

Interferon-α (IFN-α) has been used for more than 20 years as the first-line therapy for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, because it has a number of antiviral effects. In this study, we describe a novel mode of its antiviral action. We demonstrate that the supernatant from IFN-α-treated cultured cells restricted HBV and HCV infection by inhibiting viral entry into hepatoma cells. The factors contained in the supernatant competed with the virus for binding to heparan glycosaminoglycans—the nonspecific attachment step shared by HBV and HCV. Secreted factors of high molecular mass that bind to heparin columns elicited the antiviral effect. In conclusion, IFN-α is able to induce soluble factors that can bind to heparan glycosaminoglycans thus leading to the inhibition of viral binding.

Mutations in VP1 and 3A proteins improve binding and replication of rhinovirus C15 in HeLa-E8 cells

Viruses in the rhinovirus C species (RV-C) can cause severe respiratory illnesses in children including pneumonia and asthma exacerbations. A transduced cell line (HeLa-E8) stably expressing the CDHR3-Y529 receptor variant, supports propagation of RV-C after infection. C15 clinical or recombinant isolates replicate in HeLa-E8, however progeny yields are lower than those of related strains of RV-A and RV-B. Serial passaging of C15 in HeLa-E8 resulted in stronger cytopathic effects and increased (≥10-fold) virus binding to cells and progeny yields. The adaptation was acquired by two mutations which increased binding (VP1 T125K) and replication (3A E41K), respectively. A similar 3A mutation engineered into C2 and C41 cDNAs also improved viral replication (2-8 fold) in HeLa but the heparan sulfate mediated cell-binding enhancement by the VP1 change was C15-specific. The findings now enable large-scale cost-effective C15 production by infection and the testing of RV-C infectivity by plaque assay.

VP1 residues around the five-fold axis of enterovirus A71 mediate heparan sulfate interaction

Enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) is a neurotropic enterovirus that uses heparan sulfate as an attachment receptor. The molecular determinants of EV-A71-heparan sulfate interaction are unknown. With In silico heparin docking and mutagenesis of all possible lysine residues in VP1, we identified that K162, K242 and K244 are responsible for heparin interaction and inhibition. EV-A71 mutants with K242A and K244A rapidly acquired compensatory mutations, T100K or E98A, and Q145R-T237N respectively, which restored the heparin-binding phenotype. Both VP1-98 and VP1-145 modulates heparin binding. Heparin-binding phenotype was completely abolished with VP1-E98-E145, but was restored by an E98K or E145Q substitution. During cell culture adaptation, EV-A71 rapidly acquired K98 or Q/G145 to restore the heparin-binding phenotype. Together with next-generation sequencing analysis, our results implied that EV-A71 has high genetic plasticity by modulating positively-charged residues at the five-fold axis during in vitro heparin adaptation. Our finding has impact on EV-A71 vaccine production, evolutionary studies and pathogenesis.

Amending Koch's postulates for viral disease: When "growth in pure culture" leads to a loss of virulence

It is a common laboratory practice to propagate viruses in cell culture. While convenient, these methodologies often result in unintentional genetic alterations, which have led to adaptation and even attenuation in animal models of disease. An example is the attenuation of hantaviruses (family: Bunyaviridae, genus: Hantavirus) when cultured in vitro. In this case, viruses propagated in the natural reservoir species cause disease in nonhuman primates that closely mimics the human disease, but passaging in cell culture attenuates these viruses to the extent that do not cause any measurable disease in nonhuman primates. As efforts to develop animal models progress, it will be important to take into account the influences that culture in vitro may have on the virulence of viruses. In this review we discuss this phenomenon in the context of past and recent examples in the published literature.