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Doratt BM, Malherbe DC, Messaoudi I. Transcriptional and functional remodeling of lung-resident T cells and macrophages by Simian varicella virus infection. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1408212. [PMID: 38887303 PMCID: PMC11180879 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1408212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Varicella zoster virus (VZV) causes varicella and can reactivate as herpes zoster, and both diseases present a significant burden worldwide. However, the mechanisms by which VZV establishes latency in the sensory ganglia and disseminates to these sites remain unclear. Methods We combined a single-cell sequencing approach and a well-established rhesus macaque experimental model using Simian varicella virus (SVV), which recapitulates the VZV infection in humans, to define the acute immune response to SVV in the lung as well as compare the transcriptome of infected and bystander lung-resident T cells and macrophages. Results and discussion Our analysis showed a decrease in the frequency of alveolar macrophages concomitant with an increase in that of infiltrating macrophages expressing antiviral genes as well as proliferating T cells, effector CD8 T cells, and T cells expressing granzyme A (GZMA) shortly after infection. Moreover, infected T cells harbored higher numbers of viral transcripts compared to infected macrophages. Furthermore, genes associated with cellular metabolism (glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation) showed differential expression in infected cells, suggesting adaptations to support viral replication. Overall, these data suggest that SVV infection remodels the transcriptome of bystander and infected lung-resident T cells and macrophages.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ilhem Messaoudi
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
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Gray WL. Insertion of foreign genes into the simian varicella virus genome by Tn7-mediated site-specific transposition. J Virol Methods 2024; 327:114936. [PMID: 38583808 PMCID: PMC11129925 DOI: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2024.114936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2024] [Revised: 04/04/2024] [Accepted: 04/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024]
Abstract
A Tn7-transposition approach was utilized for site-specific insertion of foreign genes into the genome of simian varicella virus (SVV), the causative agent of simian varicella in nonhuman primates. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) nucleocapsid (N) gene and receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike gene were inserted into the ORF 14 region of the SVV genome cloned into a bacterial artificial chromosome and then transfected into Vero cells to generate the infectious recombinant SVV (rSVV). The rSVV replicated efficiently in infected Vero cells and expressed the N and RBD antigens as indicated by immunoblot and immunofluorescence assays. Tn7-mediated transposition provides a rapid and efficient method for constructing rSVVs which may be evaluated as live-attenuated vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wayne L Gray
- Biology Department, University of Mississippi, MS 38677, USA.
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Jankeel A, Coimbra-Ibraim I, Messaoudi I. Simian Varicella Virus: Molecular Virology and Mechanisms of Pathogenesis. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol 2023; 438:163-188. [PMID: 34669041 PMCID: PMC9577235 DOI: 10.1007/82_2021_241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Simian varicella virus (SVV) was first isolated in 1966 from African green monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) imported from Nairobi, Kenya, to the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in the United Kingdom (UK) (Clarkson et al., Arch Gesamte Virusforsch 22:219-234, 1967). SVV infection caused severe disease that resulted in a 56% case fatality rate (CFR) in the imported animals within 48 h of the appearance of a varicella-like rash (Clarkson et al., Arch Gesamte Virusforsch 22:219-234, 1967; Hemme et al., Am J Trop Med Hyg 94:1095-1099, 2016). The deceased animals presented with fever, widespread vesicular rash, and multiple hemorrhagic foci throughout the lungs, liver, and spleen (Clarkson et al., Arch Gesamte Virusforsch 22:219-234, 1967). This outbreak was quickly followed by a second outbreak in 47 patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas) imported from Chad and Nigeria by Glaxo Laboratories (London, England, UK), which quickly spread within the facility (McCarthy et al., Lancet 2:856-857, 1968).
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Affiliation(s)
- Allen Jankeel
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, School of Biological Sciences, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Izabela Coimbra-Ibraim
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, School of Biological Sciences, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Ilhem Messaoudi
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, School of Biological Sciences, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA,Institute for Immunology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA,Center for Virus Research, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA,To whom correspondence should be addressed: Ilhem Messaoudi, PhD, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California Irvine, 2400 Biological Sciences III, Irvine, CA 92697, Phone: 949-824-3078,
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Current In Vivo Models of Varicella-Zoster Virus Neurotropism. Viruses 2019; 11:v11060502. [PMID: 31159224 PMCID: PMC6631480 DOI: 10.3390/v11060502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2019] [Revised: 04/24/2019] [Accepted: 05/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Varicella-zoster virus (VZV), an exclusively human herpesvirus, causes chickenpox and establishes a latent infection in ganglia, reactivating decades later to produce zoster and associated neurological complications. An understanding of VZV neurotropism in humans has long been hampered by the lack of an adequate animal model. For example, experimental inoculation of VZV in small animals including guinea pigs and cotton rats results in the infection of ganglia but not a rash. The severe combined immune deficient human (SCID-hu) model allows the study of VZV neurotropism for human neural sub-populations. Simian varicella virus (SVV) infection of rhesus macaques (RM) closely resembles both human primary VZV infection and reactivation, with analyses at early times after infection providing valuable information about the extent of viral replication and the host immune responses. Indeed, a critical role for CD4 T-cell immunity during acute SVV infection as well as reactivation has emerged based on studies using RM. Herein we discuss the results of efforts from different groups to establish an animal model of VZV neurotropism.
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Sorel O, Messaoudi I. Varicella Virus-Host Interactions During Latency and Reactivation: Lessons From Simian Varicella Virus. Front Microbiol 2018; 9:3170. [PMID: 30619226 PMCID: PMC6308120 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.03170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2018] [Accepted: 12/07/2018] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Varicella zoster virus (VZV) is a neurotropic alphaherpesvirus and the causative agent of varicella (chickenpox) in humans. Following primary infection, VZV establishes latency in the sensory ganglia and can reactivate to cause herpes zoster, more commonly known as shingles, which causes significant morbidity, and on rare occasions mortality, in the elderly. Because VZV infection is highly restricted to humans, the development of a reliable animal model has been challenging, and our understanding of VZV pathogenesis remains incomplete. As an alternative, infection of rhesus macaques with the homologous simian varicella virus (SVV) recapitulates the hallmarks of VZV infection and thus constitutes a robust animal model to provide critical insights into VZV pathogenesis and the host antiviral response. In this model, SVV infection results in the development of varicella during primary infection, generation of an adaptive immune response, establishment of latency in the sensory ganglia, and viral reactivation upon immune suppression. In this review, we discuss our current knowledge about host and viral factors involved in the establishment of SVV latency and reactivation as well as the important role played by T cells in SVV pathogenesis and antiviral immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Océane Sorel
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Ilhem Messaoudi
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
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Meyer C, Walker J, Dewane J, Engelmann F, Laub W, Pillai S, Thomas CR, Messaoudi I. Impact of irradiation and immunosuppressive agents on immune system homeostasis in rhesus macaques. Clin Exp Immunol 2015; 181:491-510. [PMID: 25902927 DOI: 10.1111/cei.12646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/19/2015] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
In this study we examined the effects of non-myeloablative total body irradiation (TBI) in combination with immunosuppressive chemotherapy on immune homeostasis in rhesus macaques. Our results show that the administration of cyclosporin A or tacrolimus without radiotherapy did not result in lymphopenia. The addition of TBI to the regimen resulted in lymphopenia as well as alterations in the memory/naive ratio following reconstitution of lymphocyte populations. Dendritic cell (DC) numbers in whole blood were largely unaffected, while the monocyte population was altered by immunosuppressive treatment. Irradiation also resulted in increased levels of circulating cytokines and chemokines that correlated with T cell proliferative bursts and with the shift towards memory T cells. We also report that anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) treatment and CD3 immunotoxin administration resulted in a selective and rapid depletion of naive CD4 and CD8 T cells and increased frequency of memory T cells. We also examined the impact of these treatments on reactivation of latent simian varicella virus (SVV) infection as a model of varicella zoster virus (VZV) infection of humans. None of the treatments resulted in overt SVV reactivation; however, select animals had transient increases in SVV-specific T cell responses following immunosuppression, suggestive of subclinical reactivation. Overall, we provide detailed observations into immune modulation by TBI and chemotherapeutic agents in rhesus macaques, an important research model of human disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Meyer
- Division of Pathobiology and Immunology, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, OR, USA
| | - J Walker
- Department of Radiation Medicine, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - J Dewane
- Division of Pathobiology and Immunology, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, OR, USA
| | - F Engelmann
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, University of California-Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - W Laub
- Department of Radiation Medicine, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - S Pillai
- Department of Radiation Medicine, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Charles R Thomas
- Department of Radiation Medicine, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - I Messaoudi
- Division of Pathobiology and Immunology, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, OR, USA.,Division of Biomedical Sciences, University of California-Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
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Drug resistance of clinical varicella-zoster virus strains confirmed by recombinant thymidine kinase expression and by targeted resistance mutagenesis of a cloned wild-type isolate. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2015; 59:2726-34. [PMID: 25712361 DOI: 10.1128/aac.05115-14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2014] [Accepted: 02/16/2015] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
In this study, approaches were developed to examine the phenotypes of nonviable clinical varicella-zoster virus (VZV) strains with amino acid substitutions in the thymidine kinase (TK) (open reading frame 36 [ORF36]) and/or DNA polymerase (Pol) (ORF28) suspected to cause resistance to antivirals. Initially, recombinant TK proteins containing amino acid substitutions described as known or suspected causes of antiviral resistance were analyzed by measuring the TK activity by applying a modified commercial enzyme immunoassay. To examine the effects of these TK and Pol substitutions on the replication of recombinant virus strains, the method of en passant mutagenesis was used. Targeted mutations within ORF36 and/or ORF28 and an autonomously expressed gene of the monomeric red fluorescent protein for plaque identification were introduced into the European wild-type VZV strain HJO. Plaque reduction assays revealed that the amino acid substitutions with unknown functions in TK, Q303stop, N334stop, A163stop, and the deletion of amino acids 7 to 74 aa (Δaa 7 to 74), were associated with resistance against acyclovir (ACV), penciclovir, or brivudine, whereas the L73I substitution and the Pol substitutions T237K and A955T revealed sensitive viral phenotypes. The results were confirmed by quantitative PCR by measuring the viral load under increasing ACV concentrations. In conclusion, analyzing the enzymatic activities of recombinant TK proteins represent a useful tool for evaluating the significance of amino acid substitutions in the antiviral resistance of clinical VZV strains. However, direct testing of replication-competent viruses by the introduction of nonsynonymous mutations in a VZV bacterial artificial chromosome using en passant mutagenesis led to reliable phenotypic characterization results.
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Abortive intrabronchial infection of rhesus macaques with varicella-zoster virus provides partial protection against simian varicella virus challenge. J Virol 2014; 89:1781-93. [PMID: 25410871 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.03124-14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is a human neurotropic alphaherpesvirus and the etiological agent of varicella (chickenpox) and herpes zoster (HZ, shingles). Previously, inoculation of monkeys via the subcutaneous, intratracheal, intravenous, or oral-nasal-conjunctival routes did not recapitulate all the hallmarks of VZV infection, including varicella, immunity, latency, and reactivation. Intrabronchial inoculation of rhesus macaques (RMs) with simian varicella virus (SVV), a homolog of VZV, recapitulates virologic and immunologic hallmarks of VZV infection in humans. Given that VZV is acquired primarily via the respiratory route, we investigated whether intrabronchial inoculation of RMs with VZV would result in a robust model. Despite the lack of varicella and viral replication in either the lungs or whole blood, all four RMs generated an immune response characterized by the generation of VZV-specific antibodies and T cells. Two of 4 VZV-inoculated RMs were challenged with SVV to determine cross-protection. VZV-immune RMs displayed no varicella rash and had lower SVV viral loads and earlier and stronger humoral and cellular immune responses than controls. In contrast to the results for SVV DNA, no VZV DNA was detected in sensory ganglia at necropsy. In summary, following an abortive VZV infection, RMs developed an adaptive immune response that conferred partial protection against SVV challenge. These data suggest that a replication-incompetent VZV vaccine that does not establish latency may provide sufficient protection against VZV disease and that VZV vaccination of RMs followed by SVV challenge provides a model to evaluate new vaccines and therapeutics against VZV. IMPORTANCE Although VZV vaccine strain Oka is attenuated, it can cause mild varicella, establish latency, and in rare cases, reactivate to cause herpes zoster (HZ). Moreover, studies suggest that the HZ vaccine (Zostavax) only confers short-lived immunity. The development of more efficacious vaccines would be facilitated by a robust animal model of VZV infection. The data presented in this report show that intrabronchial inoculation of rhesus macaques (RMs) with VZV resulted in an abortive VZV infection. Nevertheless, all animals generated a humoral and cellular immune response that conferred partial cross-protection against simian varicella virus (SVV) challenge. Additionally, VZV DNA was not detected in the sensory ganglia, suggesting that viremia might be required for the establishment of latency. Therefore, VZV vaccination of RMs followed by SVV challenge is a model that will support the development of vaccines that boost protective T cell responses against VZV.
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