1
|
Ávila-Pérez G, Nogales A, Park JG, Márquez-Jurado S, Iborra FJ, Almazan F, Martínez-Sobrido L. A natural polymorphism in Zika virus NS2A protein responsible of virulence in mice. Sci Rep 2019; 9:19968. [PMID: 31882898 PMCID: PMC6934710 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-56291-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2019] [Accepted: 12/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Zika virus (ZIKV) infection is currently one of the major concerns in human public health due to its association with neurological disorders. Intensive effort has been implemented for the treatment of ZIKV, however there are not currently approved vaccines or antivirals available to combat ZIKV infection. In this sense, the identification of virulence factors associated with changes in ZIKV virulence could help to develop safe and effective countermeasures to treat ZIKV or to prevent future outbreaks. Here, we have compared the virulence of two related ZIKV strains from the recent outbreak in Brazil (2015), Rio Grande do Norte Natal (RGN) and Paraiba. In spite of both viruses being identified in the same period of time and region, significant differences in virulence and replication were observed using a validated mouse model of ZIKV infection. While ZIKV-RGN has a 50% mouse lethal dose (MLD50) of ~105 focus forming units (FFUs), ZIKV-Paraiba infection resulted in 100% of lethality with less than 10 FFUs. Combining deep-sequencing analysis and our previously described infectious ZIKV-RGN cDNA clone, we identified a natural polymorphism in the non-structural protein 2 A (NS2A) that increase the virulence of ZIKV. Moreover, results demonstrate that the single amino acid alanine to valine substitution at position 117 (A117V) in the NS2A was sufficient to convert the attenuated rZIKV-RGN in a virulent Paraiba-like virus (MLD50 < 10 FFU). The mechanism of action was also evaluated and data indicate that substitution A117V in ZIKV NS2A protein reduces host innate immune responses and viral-induced apoptosis in vitro. Therefore, amino acid substitution A117V in ZIKV NS2A could be used as a genetic risk-assessment marker for future ZIKV outbreaks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gines Ávila-Pérez
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, New York, 14642, USA
| | - Aitor Nogales
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, New York, 14642, USA
- Center for Animal Health Research, INIA-CISA, 28130, Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jun-Gyu Park
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, New York, 14642, USA
| | - Silvia Márquez-Jurado
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Universidad Autonóma de Madrid, 3 Darwin Street, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco J Iborra
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Universidad Autonóma de Madrid, 3 Darwin Street, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Fernando Almazan
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Universidad Autonóma de Madrid, 3 Darwin Street, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Luis Martínez-Sobrido
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, New York, 14642, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Márquez-Jurado S, Nogales A, Ávila-Pérez G, Iborra FJ, Martínez-Sobrido L, Almazán F. An Alanine-to-Valine Substitution in the Residue 175 of Zika Virus NS2A Protein Affects Viral RNA Synthesis and Attenuates the Virus In Vivo. Viruses 2018; 10:v10100547. [PMID: 30301244 PMCID: PMC6212934 DOI: 10.3390/v10100547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2018] [Revised: 10/02/2018] [Accepted: 10/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The recent outbreaks of Zika virus (ZIKV), its association with Guillain–Barré syndrome and fetal abnormalities, and the lack of approved vaccines and antivirals, highlight the importance of developing countermeasures to combat ZIKV disease. In this respect, infectious clones constitute excellent tools to accomplish these goals. However, flavivirus infectious clones are often difficult to work with due to the toxicity of some flavivirus sequences in bacteria. To bypass this problem, several alternative approaches have been applied for the generation of ZIKV clones including, among others, in vitro ligation, insertions of introns and using infectious subgenomic amplicons. Here, we report a simple and novel DNA-launched approach based on the use of a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) to generate a cDNA clone of Rio Grande do Norte Natal ZIKV strain. The sequence was identified from the brain tissue of an aborted fetus with microcephaly. The BAC clone was fully stable in bacteria and the infectious virus was efficiently recovered in Vero cells through direct delivery of the cDNA clone. The rescued virus yielded high titers in Vero cells and was pathogenic in a validated mouse model (A129 mice) of ZIKV infection. Furthermore, using this infectious clone we have generated a mutant ZIKV containing a single amino acid substitution (A175V) in the NS2A protein that presented reduced viral RNA synthesis in cell cultures, was highly attenuated in vivo and induced fully protection against a lethal challenge with ZIKV wild-type. This BAC approach provides a stable and reliable reverse genetic system for ZIKV that will help to identify viral determinants of virulence and facilitate the development of vaccine and therapeutic strategies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Márquez-Jurado
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Campus Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 3 Darwin street, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Aitor Nogales
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY 14642, USA.
| | - Ginés Ávila-Pérez
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY 14642, USA.
| | - Francisco J Iborra
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Campus Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 3 Darwin street, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Luis Martínez-Sobrido
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY 14642, USA.
| | - Fernando Almazán
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Campus Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 3 Darwin street, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Márquez-Jurado S, Díaz-Colunga J, das Neves RP, Martinez-Lorente A, Almazán F, Guantes R, Iborra FJ. Mitochondrial levels determine variability in cell death by modulating apoptotic gene expression. Nat Commun 2018; 9:389. [PMID: 29374163 PMCID: PMC5785974 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02787-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2017] [Accepted: 12/28/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Fractional killing is the main cause of tumour resistance to chemotherapy. This phenomenon is observed even in genetically identical cancer cells in homogeneous microenvironments. To understand this variable resistance, here we investigate the individual responses to TRAIL in a clonal population of HeLa cells using live-cell microscopy and computational modelling. We show that the cellular mitochondrial content determines the apoptotic fate and modulates the time to death, cells with higher mitochondrial content are more prone to die. We find that all apoptotic protein levels are modulated by the mitochondrial content. Modelling the apoptotic network, we demonstrate that these correlations, and especially the differential control of anti- and pro-apoptotic protein pairs, confer mitochondria a powerful discriminatory capacity of apoptotic fate. We find a similar correlation between the mitochondria and apoptotic proteins in colon cancer biopsies. Our results reveal a different role of mitochondria in apoptosis as the global regulator of apoptotic protein expression. It is unclear what causes variation in cell death in response to chemotherapy. Here, the authors show that cellular mitochondrial content modulates apoptotic protein levels, which in turn regulates response to agents such as TRAIL.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Márquez-Jurado
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Díaz-Colunga
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ricardo Pires das Neves
- UC-Biotech, Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC), Biocant, Center of Innovation in Biotechnology, 3060-197, Cantanhede, Portugal
| | - Antonio Martinez-Lorente
- Department of Pathology of Torrevieja and Vinalopó Hospitals, 031186, Alicante, Spain.,Biotechnology Department, Universidad de Alicante, 03690, San Vicente del Raspeig Alicante, Spain
| | - Fernando Almazán
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Raúl Guantes
- Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Materials Science Institute "Nicolás Cabrera" and Institute of Condensed Matter Physics (IFIMAC), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Francisco J Iborra
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain. .,Program for Systems Biology of Molecular Interactions and Regulation, Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), Campus Burjassot/Paterna Parc Cientific, 46980, Valencia, Spain.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Nogales A, Galán C, Márquez-Jurado S, García-Gallo M, Kremer L, Enjuanes L, Almazán F. Immunogenic characterization and epitope mapping of transmissible gastroenteritis virus RNA dependent RNA polymerase. J Virol Methods 2011; 175:7-13. [PMID: 21513742 PMCID: PMC7112926 DOI: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2011.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2010] [Revised: 03/28/2011] [Accepted: 04/05/2011] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Coronavirus RNA synthesis is a sophisticated process performed by a viral multienzymatic replicase complex, together with cellular factors. A key enzyme of this replication complex is the RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). To study the replication of coronavirus genome, six monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) specific for transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) RdRp were generated and characterized. His-tagged RdRp was expressed in baculovirus, purified and used as immunogen to produce mAbs. The TGEV RdRp was recognized by these mAbs in the context of virus infection by immunofluorescence analysis and Western blot. Epitope mapping by Pepscan indicated that RdRp mAbs recognized four non-overlapping linear epitopes located in a 62-amino acid region of the N-terminal domain, suggesting that this region may constitute an immunodominant domain. The availability of TGEV RdRp mAbs will be instrumental to study coronavirus replication and to analyze the function of RdRp in pathogenesis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Aitor Nogales
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), C/ Darwin 3, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Carmen Galán
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), C/ Darwin 3, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Silvia Márquez-Jurado
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), C/ Darwin 3, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Mónica García-Gallo
- Protein Tools Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Darwin 3, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Leonor Kremer
- Protein Tools Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Darwin 3, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Luis Enjuanes
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), C/ Darwin 3, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Fernando Almazán
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), C/ Darwin 3, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| |
Collapse
|