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Gao M, Yang X, Wu Y, Wang J, Hu X, Ma Z, Zhou JH. Analysis for codon usage bias in membrane anchor of nonstructural protein 5A from BVDV. J Basic Microbiol 2023; 63:1106-1114. [PMID: 37407515 DOI: 10.1002/jobm.202300080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Revised: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023]
Abstract
The nonstructural protein 5A (NS5A) of the bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is a monotopic membrane protein. This protein can anchor to the cell membrane by an in-plane amphipathic ⍺-helix, which participates in the viral replication complex. In this study, the effects of synonymous codon usage pattern of NS5A and the overall transfer RNA (tRNA) abundance in cells on the formation of the in-plane membrane anchor of NS5A were analyzed, based on NS5A coding sequences of different BVDV genotypes. BVDV NS5A coding sequences represent the most potential for BVDV genotyping. Moreover, the nucleotide usage of BVDV NS5A dominates the genotype-specific pattern of synonymous codon usage. There is an obvious relationship between synonymous codon usage bias and the spatial conformation of the in-plane membrane anchor. Furthermore, the overall tRNA abundance profiling displays that codon positions with a high level of tRNA abundance are more than ones with a low level of tRNA abundance in the in-plane membrane anchor, implying that high translation speed probably acts on the spatial conformation of in-plane membrane anchor of BVDV NS5A. These results give a new opinion on the effect of codon usage bias in the formation of the in-plane membrane anchor of BVDV NS5A.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingyang Gao
- Key Laboratory of Biotechnology and Bioengineering of State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Biomedical Research Center, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou
- College of Life Science and Engineering, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China
| | - Xuanye Yang
- Key Laboratory of Biotechnology and Bioengineering of State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Biomedical Research Center, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou
- College of Life Science and Engineering, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China
| | - Yuhu Wu
- Key Laboratory of Biotechnology and Bioengineering of State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Biomedical Research Center, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou
- College of Life Science and Engineering, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China
| | - Jinqian Wang
- Key Laboratory of Biotechnology and Bioengineering of State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Biomedical Research Center, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou
- College of Life Science and Engineering, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China
| | - Xinyan Hu
- Key Laboratory of Biotechnology and Bioengineering of State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Biomedical Research Center, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou
- College of Life Science and Engineering, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China
| | - Zhongren Ma
- Key Laboratory of Biotechnology and Bioengineering of State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Biomedical Research Center, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou
| | - Jian-Hua Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Biotechnology and Bioengineering of State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Biomedical Research Center, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou
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Xue W, Li T, Gu Y, Li S, Xia N. Molecular engineering tools for the development of vaccines against infectious diseases: current status and future directions. Expert Rev Vaccines 2023. [PMID: 37339445 DOI: 10.1080/14760584.2023.2227699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/22/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The escalating global changes have fostered conditions for the expansion and transmission of diverse biological factors, leading to the rise of emerging and reemerging infectious diseases. Complex viral infections, such as COVID-19, influenza, HIV, and Ebola, continue to surface, necessitating the development of effective vaccine technologies. AREAS COVERED This review article highlights recent advancements in molecular biology, virology, and genomics that have propelled the design and development of innovative molecular tools. These tools have promoted new vaccine research platforms and directly improved vaccine efficacy. The review summarizes the cutting-edge molecular engineering tools used in creating novel vaccines and explores the rapidly expanding molecular tools landscape and potential directions for future vaccine development. EXPERT OPINION The strategic application of advanced molecular engineering tools can address conventional vaccine limitations, enhance the overall efficacy of vaccine products, promote diversification in vaccine platforms, and form the foundation for future vaccine development. Prioritizing safety considerations of these novel molecular tools during vaccine development is crucial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenhui Xue
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, School of Life Sciences, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Diseases, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- Xiang an Biomedicine Laboratory, Xiamen, China
| | - Tingting Li
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, School of Life Sciences, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Diseases, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- Xiang an Biomedicine Laboratory, Xiamen, China
| | - Ying Gu
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, School of Life Sciences, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Diseases, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- Xiang an Biomedicine Laboratory, Xiamen, China
| | - Shaowei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, School of Life Sciences, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Diseases, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- Xiang an Biomedicine Laboratory, Xiamen, China
| | - Ningshao Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, School of Life Sciences, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Diseases, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- Xiang an Biomedicine Laboratory, Xiamen, China
- The Research Unit of Frontier Technology of Structural Vaccinology of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Xiamen, China
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Khandia R, Khan AA, Karuvantevida N, Gurjar P, Rzhepakovsky IV, Legaz I. Insights into Synonymous Codon Usage Bias in Hepatitis C Virus and Its Adaptation to Hosts. Pathogens 2023; 12:pathogens12020325. [PMID: 36839597 PMCID: PMC9961758 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens12020325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Revised: 01/25/2023] [Accepted: 02/02/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is enveloped RNA virus, encoding for a polyprotein that is processed by cellular proteases. The virus is responsible for liver cirrhosis, allograft rejection, and human hepatocellular carcinoma. Based on studies including compositional analysis, odds ratio analysis, parity analysis, skew analysis, relative synonymous codon usage, codon bias, and protein properties, it was evident that codon usage bias in HCV is dependent upon the nucleotide composition. Codon context analysis revealed CTC-CTG as a preferred codon pair. While CGA and CGT codons were rare, none of the codons were rare in HCV-like viruses envisaged in the present study. Many of the preferred codon pairs were valine amino acid-initiated, which possibly infers viral infectivity; hence the role of selection forces appears to act on the HCV genome, which was further validated by neutrality analysis where selection accounted for 87.28%, while mutation accounted for 12.72% force shaping codon usage. Furthermore, codon usage was correlated with the length of the genome. HCV viruses prefer valine-initiated codon pairs, while HCV-like viruses prefer alanine-initiated codon pairs. The HCV host range is very narrow and is confined to only humans and chimpanzees. Based on indices including codon usage correlation analysis, similarity index, and relative codon deoptimization index, it is evident in the study that the chimpanzee is the primary host of the virus. The present study helped elucidate the preferred host for HCV. The information presented in the study paved the way for generating an attenuated vaccine candidate through viral recoding, with finely tuned nucleotide composition and a perfect balance of preferred and rare codons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rekha Khandia
- Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, Barkatullah University, Bhopal 462026, India
- Correspondence: (R.K.); (I.L.)
| | - Azmat Ali Khan
- Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Noushad Karuvantevida
- College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai P.O. Box 505055, United Arab Emirates
| | - Pankaj Gurjar
- Department of Science and Engineering, Novel Global Community Educational Foundation, Hebersham, NSW 2770, Australia
| | | | - Isabel Legaz
- Department of Legal and Forensic Medicine, Biomedical Research Institute (IMIB), Regional Campus of International Excellence “Campus Mare Nostrum”, Faculty of Medicine, University of Murcia, 30120 Murcia, Spain
- Correspondence: (R.K.); (I.L.)
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Implementing computational methods in tandem with synonymous gene recoding for therapeutic development. Trends Pharmacol Sci 2023; 44:73-84. [PMID: 36307252 DOI: 10.1016/j.tips.2022.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Revised: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Synonymous gene recoding, the substitution of synonymous variants into the genetic sequence, has been used to overcome many production limitations in therapeutic development. However, the safety and efficacy of recoded therapeutics can be difficult to evaluate because synonymous codon substitutions can result in subtle, yet impactful changes in protein features and require sensitive methods for detection. Given that computational approaches have made significant leaps in recent years, we propose that machine-learning (ML) tools may be leveraged to assess gene-recoded therapeutics and foresee an opportunity to adapt codon contexts to enhance some powerful existing tools. Here, we examine how synonymous gene recoding has been used to address challenges in therapeutic development, explain the biological mechanisms underlying its effects, and explore the application of computational platforms to improve the surveillance of functional variants in therapeutic design.
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Lorenzo MM, Nogales A, Chiem K, Blasco R, Martínez-Sobrido L. Vaccinia Virus Attenuation by Codon Deoptimization of the A24R Gene for Vaccine Development. Microbiol Spectr 2022; 10:e0027222. [PMID: 35583360 PMCID: PMC9241885 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.00272-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Poxviruses have large DNA genomes, and they are able to infect multiple vertebrate and invertebrate animals, including humans. Despite the eradication of smallpox, poxvirus infections still remain a significant public health concern. Vaccinia virus (VV) is the prototypic member in the poxviridae family and it has been used extensively for different prophylactic applications, including the generation of vaccines against multiple infectious diseases and/or for oncolytic treatment. Many attempts have been pursued to develop novel attenuated forms of VV with improved safety profiles for their implementation as vaccines and/or vaccines vectors. We and others have previously demonstrated how RNA viruses encoding codon-deoptimized viral genes are attenuated, immunogenic and able to protect, upon a single administration, against challenge with parental viruses. In this study, we employed the same experimental approach based on the use of misrepresented codons for the generation of a recombinant (r)VV encoding a codon-deoptimized A24R gene, which is a key component of the viral RNA polymerase. Similar to our previous studies with RNA viruses, the A24R codon-deoptimized rVV (v-A24cd) was highly attenuated in vivo but able to protect, after a single intranasal dose administration, against an otherwise lethal challenge with parental VV. These results indicate that poxviruses can be effectively attenuated by synonymous codon deoptimization and open the possibility of using this methodology alone or in combination with other experimental approaches for the development of attenuated vaccines for the treatment of poxvirus infection, or to generate improved VV-based vectors. Moreover, this approach could be applied to other DNA viruses. IMPORTANCE The family poxviridae includes multiple viruses of medical and veterinary relevance, being vaccinia virus (VV) the prototypic member in the family. VV was used during the smallpox vaccination campaign to eradicate variola virus (VARV), which is considered a credible bioterrorism threat. Because of novel innovations in genetic engineering and vaccine technology, VV has gained popularity as a viral vector for the development of vaccines against several infectious diseases. Several approaches have been used to generate attenuated VV for its implementation as vaccine and/or vaccine vector. Here, we generated a rVV containing a codon-deoptimized A24R gene (v-A24cd), which encodes a key component of the viral RNA polymerase. v-A24cd was stable in culture cells and highly attenuated in vivo but able to protect against a subsequent lethal challenge with parental VV. Our findings support the use of this approach for the development of safe, stable, and protective live-attenuated VV and/or vaccine vectors.
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Affiliation(s)
- María M. Lorenzo
- Departamento de Biotecnología, Centro Nacional INIA, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Aitor Nogales
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
- Animal Health Research Centre (CISA), National Institute for Agriculture and Food Research and Technology (INIA-CSIC), Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Kevin Chiem
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
- Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, USA
| | - Rafael Blasco
- Departamento de Biotecnología, Centro Nacional INIA, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Luis Martínez-Sobrido
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
- Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, USA
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He Z, Qin L, Xu X, Ding S. Evolution and host adaptability of plant RNA viruses: Research insights on compositional biases. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2022; 20:2600-2610. [PMID: 35685354 PMCID: PMC9160401 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2022.05.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2022] [Revised: 05/10/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
During recent decades, many new emerging or re-emerging RNA viruses have been found in plants through the development of deep-sequencing technology and big data analysis. These findings largely changed our understanding of the origin, evolution and host range of plant RNA viruses. There is evidence that their genetic composition originates from viruses, and host populations play a key role in the evolution and host adaptability of plant RNA viruses. In this mini-review, we describe the state of our understanding of the evolution of plant RNA viruses in view of compositional biases and explore how they adapt to the host. It appears that adenine rich (A-rich) coding sequences, low CpG and UpA dinucleotide frequencies and lower codon usage patterns were found in the vast majority of plant RNA viruses. The codon usage pattern of plant RNA viruses was influenced by both natural selection and mutation pressure, and natural selection mostly from hosts was the dominant factor. The codon adaptation analyses support that plant RNA viruses probably evolved a dynamic balance between codon adaptation and deoptimization to maintain efficient replication cycles in multiple hosts with various codon usage patterns. In the future, additional combinations of computational and experimental analyses of the nucleotide composition and codon usage of plant RNA viruses should be addressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhen He
- School of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Yangzhou University, Wenhui East Road No. 48, Yangzhou 225009, Jiangsu Province, PR China
- Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety of Ministry of Education of China, Yangzhou University, Wenhui East Road No. 48, Yangzhou 225009, Jiangsu Province, PR China
- Corresponding author.
| | - Lang Qin
- School of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Yangzhou University, Wenhui East Road No. 48, Yangzhou 225009, Jiangsu Province, PR China
| | - Xiaowei Xu
- School of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Yangzhou University, Wenhui East Road No. 48, Yangzhou 225009, Jiangsu Province, PR China
| | - Shiwen Ding
- School of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Yangzhou University, Wenhui East Road No. 48, Yangzhou 225009, Jiangsu Province, PR China
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Bias at the third nucleotide of codon pairs in virus and host genomes. Sci Rep 2022; 12:4522. [PMID: 35296743 PMCID: PMC8927144 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-08570-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Genomes of different sizes and complexity can be compared using common features. Most genomes contain open reading frames, and most genomes use the same genetic code. Redundancy in the genetic code means that different biases in the third nucleotide position of a codon exist in different genomes. However, the nucleotide composition of viruses can be quite different from host nucleotide composition making it difficult to assess the relevance of these biases. Here we show that grouping codons of a codon-pair according to the GC content of the first two nucleotide positions of each codon reveals patterns in nucleotide usage at the third position of the 1st codon. Differences between the observed and expected biases occur predominantly when the first two nucleotides of the 2nd codon are both S (strong, G or C) or both W (weak, A or T), not a mixture of strong and weak. The data indicates that some codon pairs are preferred because of the strength of the interactions between the codon and anticodon, the adjacent tRNAs and the ribosome. Using base-pairing strength and third position bias facilitates the comparison of genomes of different size and nucleotide composition and reveals patterns not previously described.
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Jordan-Paiz A, Franco S, Martinez MA. Reducing HIV-1 env gene CpG frequency increases the replication capacity of the HXB2 virus strain. Virus Res 2022; 310:198685. [PMID: 35041864 DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2022.198685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2021] [Revised: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Synonymous replacement of CpG dinucleotides in the HIV-1 envelope (env) coding region has been correlated with evasion of the antiviral activity of the zinc-finger antiviral protein (ZAP). We aimed to explore the effect of depleting HIV-1 env CpG dinucleotides by synonymous substitution on ex vivo viral replication capacity. To this end, we eliminated 11 env CpG dinucleotides through synonymous substitutions in the CXCR4-tropic HXB2 strain. The replication kinetics in MT-4 cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of the WT and synonymously recoded mutant viruses were indistinguishable. However, virus competition assays in MT4 cells between the WT and recoded viruses showed that the mutant with fewer CpG dinucleotides quickly overgrew the WT virus. These results demonstrate that a reduction in HIV-1 env CpG dinucleotide frequency can improve viral replication capacity in cell culture. Our results support the previous observation that the frequency of CpGs in the HIV-1 env region correlates with differences in clinical progression rates in infected individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Jordan-Paiz
- IrsiCaixa, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 08916 Badalona, Spain.
| | - Sandra Franco
- IrsiCaixa, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 08916 Badalona, Spain.
| | - Miguel Angel Martinez
- IrsiCaixa, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 08916 Badalona, Spain.
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New Insights in the Fight against HIV. Cells 2021; 10:cells10123549. [PMID: 34944057 PMCID: PMC8700486 DOI: 10.3390/cells10123549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
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