Sequence analysis, viral rescue from infectious clones and generation of recombinant virions of the avian adeno-associated virus

Aiming at the generation of a viral-vectored system for gene delivery and vaccination in poultry, the entire genomes of the VR-865 and DA-1 strains of the avian adeno-associated virus have been cloned and sequenced. Sequence analysis of the clones showed that the genomic distribution of the structural and non-structural protein-coding genes of these viruses is conserved and in agreement with what has been previously described for the primate adeno-associated viruses. Amino acid differences between the avian adeno-associated viruses and the primate adeno-associated viruses are more evident in the genes that code for the non-structural (Rep) proteins of the virus, while the Cap region amino acid sequence was found to be more conserved. Since all the regulatory and coding sequences of the virus were present in the plasmids obtained, complete infectious viral particles were rescued from these clones, and these rescued viral populations were amplified by co-infecting primary embryo liver cells with the rescued virus and the CELO strain of the avian adenovirus type 1. As a proof of concept of the validity of this system for the purpose of gene delivery, recombinant viruses encoding for the LacZ gene as a reporter system were also generated. These recombinant viruses were used to express beta galactosidase activity in primary chicken embryo cell cultures.     

MHV68 complement regulatory protein facilitates MHV68 replication in primary macrophages in a complement independent manner

Murine gammaherpesvirus-68 (MHV68) is genetically related to human Epstein-Barr virus and Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus and provides a tractable model to study gammaherpesvirus-host interactions in vivo and in vitro. The MHV68-encoded v-RCA product inhibits murine complement activation and shares sequence homology with other virus and host regulators of complement activation. Here we show that v-RCA is required for efficient MHV68 replication in primary murine macrophages, but not in murine embryonic fibroblasts. v-RCA-deficient MHV68 mutant viruses display defects in viral DNA synthesis in infected macrophages. Importantly, attenuated growth of v-RCA mutant viruses is not rescued in macrophages lacking critical components of the complement system including C3, indicating that the macrophage-specific role of v-RCA in MHV68 replication is complement-independent. This contrasts with the situation in vivo in which attenuated neurovirulence of v-RCA mutant viruses is rescued in C3-deficient mice. This study shows a novel, complement independent cell-type-specific function of a gammaherpesvirus RCA protein.     

Acquisition of host cell genetic information by avian sarcoma virus rescued from rat cells transformed by B77 virus

Summary The properties of avian sarcoma virus B77 grown in chick cells were compared with those of virus obtained by fusion of rat cells transformed by B77 virus (RB77 cells) with chick cells (FB77 virus). Differences in the B77 and FB77 viral genomes were demonstrated by the fingerprint technique. The rescued FB77 virus contained sequences homologous to the normal cell genome. These results suggest that the rescued FB77 virus is a recombinant between B77 virus and rat genomic elements.The RNAs from B77 and FB77 viruses were found to have similar molecular weights. The migration rates of the structural proteins and the large glycoprotein (gp85) in polyacrylamide gels were the same for the B77 and FB77 viruses, but the small glycoprotein (gp) of the FB77 virus was found to be slightly larger than the gp37 of the B77 virus.With 7 Figures     

Effect of receptor binding domain mutations on receptor binding and transmissibility of avian influenza H5N1 viruses

Although H5N1 influenza viruses have been responsible for hundreds of human infections, these avian influenza viruses have not fully adapted to the human host. The lack of sustained transmission in humans may be due, in part, to their avian-like receptor preference. Here, we have introduced receptor binding domain mutations within the hemagglutinin (HA) gene of two H5N1 viruses and evaluated changes in receptor binding specificity by glycan microarray analysis. The impact of these mutations on replication efficiency was assessed in vitro and in vivo. Although certain mutations switched the receptor binding preference of the H5 HA, the rescued mutant viruses displayed reduced replication in vitro and delayed peak virus shedding in ferrets. An improvement in transmission efficiency was not observed with any of the mutants compared to the parental viruses, indicating that alternative molecular changes are required for H5N1 viruses to fully adapt to humans and to acquire pandemic capability.     

Construction and characterization of an infectious cDNA clone of enterovirus type 71 subgenotype C4

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is the major causative agent of hand, foot, and mouth disease and induces fatal neurological complications. In recent years, this virus has become a major threat to public health in the Asia–Pacific region, while no effective antiviral therapies and vaccines are currently available. In this study, we constructed and characterized for the first time an infectious full-length EV71 cDNA clone derived from the SHZH98 strain, which was the first subgenotype C4 strain isolated in China. Our data demonstrate that the rescued EV71 viruses exhibited growth kinetics in vitro and morphologies similar to those of the BrCr-TR strain and reached a maximum titer of 10^7.5 TCID₅₀/ml. Although the rescued viruses were able to infect suckling mice, no typical symptoms of EV71 infection were observed for up to 18 days post-inoculation. Taken together our research provides an important tool to study the epidemic strains of EV71 in the Asia–Pacific region and promote the development of vaccines.     

Expression of viral envelope glycoprotein and transformation genes in cells transformed by a defective Kirsten murine sarcoma virus.

Concurrent expression of transformation properties and virion envelope glycoproteins has been observed as a property of several clones of normal rat kidney cells transformed by, but not producing, Kirsten murine sarcoma virus. The present studies were carried out to determine whether a genetic linkage exists between the viral sarcoma and envelope genes in these cells. Several alternative models for the possible structure and origin of the sarcoma and envelope genes were considered. One possibility, that the viral envelope gene was derived from an endogenous rat virus, was studied by characterization of the interference properties of the transformed cells. The sarcoma virus genome of envelope-positive clones was efficiently rescued by woolly monkey and murine xenotropic but not by murine ecotropic viruses. Thus, the interference properties of cells producing the envelope glycoprotein are analogous to those of a cell producing murine ecotropic virus, indicating that the envelope was of murine viral origin. In these experiments it was also found that sarcoma viruses rescued from envelope-positive cells upon superinfection with primate and xenotropic murine viruses could transform host cells for both xenotropic and ecotropic viruses, indicating that these superinfecting viruses became phenotypically mixed with the ecotropic envelope expressed in transformed, envelope-positive cells. Possible linkage between the envelope and transformation genes was analyzed by the frequency of concurrent rescue of sarcoma and envelope genes. Transfer of the Kirsten sarcoma viral genome to uninfected cells upon rescue by superinfection with woolly monkey virus showed a high frequency of apparent segregation of the transformation and envelope genes [from 29 to 57% for (KSV env⁺)NRK-6]. The model supported by the present data is that the transformed, envelope-positive cells were infected with a virus which contained both the envelope and the sarcoma genes.     

Importance of the extracellular and cytoplasmic/transmembrane domains of the haemagglutinin protein of rinderpest virus for recovery of viable virus from cDNA copies

A specific interaction between the F and H proteins is required to enable fusion of the virus and host cell membranes and in some cases these proteins are not interchangeable between related viruses of the family Paramyxoviridae. For example, the F and H proteins of two ruminant morbilliviruses, rinderpest virus (RPV) and Peste-des-petits-ruminants virus (PPRV), are not interchangeable since viable virus could not be rescued from cDNA constructs where an individual glycoprotein gene of RPV was replaced with that from PPRV. To investigate which domain of the H protein, extracellular or cytoplasmic/transmembrane, was most important for preventing this interaction, two chimeric H gene constructs were made where the normal H gene of RPV was substituted with variant H genes where the transmembrane/cytoplasmic tail region (pRPV2C-PPRTm) or the whole ectodomain (pRPV2C-PPRExt) were derived from PPRV. Chimeric viruses were rescued from both the constructs and, while RPV2C-PPRTm virus grew to as high titres as the parent virus, RPV2C-PPRExt virus was extremely debilitated with respect to growth in tissue culture. Thus the ectodomain of H is the most important region required for effective interactions of the two glycoproteins for the recovery of viable virus. Nevertheless, the transmembrane/cytoplasmic domain of RPV alone can allow a chimeric virus to be rescued, which was not possible when the complete H gene was derived from PPRV. Both versions of the H protein and also the F protein were found to be incorporated into the envelope of the budded virions.     

Rescue of infectious virus from nonproducer Rous cells by chick cellular DNA

The rescue of infectious virus from nonproducer BH RSV(-) cells by chick cellular DNA was attempted in order to investigate the functional state of endogenous and exogenous retroviral genes integrated within the cellular DNA. No infectious virus was rescued by transfection with DNAs of chick helper factor (chf)-negative chick embryo cells (CEC), chf-positive CEC or uninfected CEC producing endogenous Rous associated virus (RAV-0). On the other hand, infectious Rous viruses with the phenotype of RAV-0 and RAV-1 were rescued by transfection with DNAs of CEC which had been infected with RAV-0 and RAV-1. From these results, it seems that exogenous retroviral genes integrated in the cellular DNA are expressed rather easily by transfection while those present endogenously are not.     

Efficient rescue of infectious bursal disease virus from cloned cDNA: evidence for involvement of the 3'-terminal sequence in genome replication

To study the mechanism of replication of infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), and to determine factors on the IBDV RNA which are involved in viral replication, we used cloned full-length cDNA of both the A- and B-segments to generate infectious IBDV. Infectious IBDV was rescued from plasmids that contained full-length IBDV cDNA behind a T7 promoter, by transfecting these plasmids into cells which were infected with a recombinant Fowlpox virus that expressed T7 RNA polymerase. By using the cDNA transfection system we evaluated the effect of the length of the 3' terminus of the A-segment plus strand of IBDV. Although wild-type IBDV predominantly contains four cytosines at the 3' terminus, no difference in virus yield was found when virus was rescued from cDNAs containing three to six adjacent cytosines. When the 3' terminus was shorter than three cytosines the efficiency to generate infectious IBDV from cDNA was reduced, but IBDV could still be recovered reproducibly. The rescued viruses from cDNAs containing 3'-terminal deletions appeared to have a restored 3'-terminal sequence. The missing nucleotides are probably restored by using complementary bases of a stem-loop structure as template.     

In vitro characterization of naturally occurring influenza H3NA− viruses lacking the NA gene segment: Toward a new mechanism of viral resistance?

Among a panel of 788 clinical influenza H3N2 isolates, two isolates were characterized by an oseltamivir-resistant phenotype linked to the absence of any detectable NA activity. Here, we established that the two H3NA− isolates lack any detectable full-length NA segment, and one of these could be rescued by reverse genetics in the absence of any NA segment sequence. We found that the absence of NA segment induced a moderate growth defect of the H3NA− viruses as on cultured cells. The glycoproteins density at the surface of H3NA− virions was unchanged as compared to H3N2 virions. The HA protein as well as residues 188 and 617 of the PB1 protein were shown to be strong determinants of the ability of H3NA− viruses to grow in the absence of the NA segment. The significance of these findings about naturally occurring seven-segment influenza A viruses is discussed.     

狂犬/丙型肝炎嵌合病毒的构建和拯救

目的 以狂犬病病毒为载体,构建表达丙型肝炎病毒包膜糖蛋白E1E2的狂犬/丙型肝炎嵌合病毒,为发展新型丙肝载体疫苗奠定基础.方法 在狂犬病病毒反向遗传系统CTN-GFP的基础上,通过传统分子克隆方法,将HCV E1E2基因分别克隆人复制型和复制缺陷型狂犬病病毒载体,构建狂犬/丙肝嵌合病毒CTN-HCV E1E2和CTNΔG-HCV E1E2.结果 免疫荧光（DFA）和反转录聚合酶链式反应（RT-PCR）结果 显示嵌合病毒拯救成功,嵌合病毒能够再次感染正常细胞并且能够在mRNA水平检测到HCV E1E2基因的表达.结论 本研究成功构建了表达丙型肝炎病毒包膜糖蛋白E1E2的狂犬/丙肝嵌合病毒,提示以狂犬病病毒为载体发展新型丙肝载体疫苗在理论和技术上都是可行的.     

狂犬/丙型肝炎嵌合病毒的构建和拯救

目的 以狂犬病病毒为载体,构建表达丙型肝炎病毒包膜糖蛋白E1E2的狂犬/丙型肝炎嵌合病毒,为发展新型丙肝载体疫苗奠定基础.方法 在狂犬病病毒反向遗传系统CTN-GFP的基础上,通过传统分子克隆方法,将HCV E1E2基因分别克隆人复制型和复制缺陷型狂犬病病毒载体,构建狂犬/丙肝嵌合病毒CTN-HCV E1E2和CTNΔG-HCV E1E2.结果 免疫荧光(DFA)和反转录聚合酶链式反应(RT-PCR)结果 显示嵌合病毒拯救成功,嵌合病毒能够再次感染正常细胞并且能够在mRNA水平检测到HCV E1E2基因的表达.结论 本研究成功构建了表达丙型肝炎病毒包膜糖蛋白E1E2的狂犬/丙肝嵌合病毒,提示以狂犬病病毒为载体发展新型丙肝载体疫苗在理论和技术上都是可行的.

Abstract：

Objective Construction and recovery of chimeric rabies virus expressing HCV envelop proteins E1E2. Methods On the basis of the previously established reverse genetic system CTN-CFP, HCV E1 E2 genes were cloned to both replication competent and replication constrained viral vectors based on CTN181 strain and the chimeric viruses CTN-HCV E1E2 and CTNAG-HCV E1E2 were recovered. Results The result demonstrated that both the chimeric viruses were rescued successfully, had the ability to reinfect normal sensitive cell lines and express HCV E1E2 genes detected in the level of mRNA. Conclusion The establishment of chimeric RVs expressing HCV E1E2 genes provides the evidence that it is feasible to develop novel HCV vaccines based on viral vectors in theory and in practice.     

Construction, characterization and immunogenicity of recombinant yellow fever 17D-dengue type 2 viruses

Chimeric yellow fever (YF)-dengue type 2 (Den 2) viruses were constructed by replacing the premembrane (prM) and envelope (E) genes of YF 17D virus with those from Den 2 virus strains of south-east Asian genotype. Whereas viable chimeric viruses were successfully recovered when the YF 17D C gene and the Den 2 prM gene were fused at the signalase cleavage site, no virus could be rescued from the constructions fused at the viral protease cleavage site. Unlike YF virus that replicated in all the cell lines tested and similar to the Den 2 virus, the recombinant viruses did not replicate in vaccine-production certified CEF and MRC5 cells. Besides, chimeric 17D/Den 2 viruses and their parental viruses reached similar growth titers in Vero and C6/36 cell cultures. Analysis of mouse neurovirulence, performed by intracerebral inoculation, demonstrated that the 17D/Den 2 chimera is more attenuated in this system than the YF 17DD virus. Immunization of mice with this chimera induced a neutralizing antibody response associated with a partial protection against an otherwise lethal dose of mouse neurovirulent Den 2 NGC virus. Overall, these results provide further support for the use of chimeric viruses as an attractive methodology for the development of new live flavivirus vaccines.     

An improved method for infectious bursal disease virus rescue using RNA polymerase II system

Reverse genetics system is an excellent platform to research the construction and function of viruses. Genome modification, such as gene recombination, mosaicism, and mutation may interfere with replication, assembly and release of viruses. An efficient, convenient and economical method of virus rescue is undoubtedly required for elevating the efficiency of rescuing crippled virus. In this study, we developed a method to rescue infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) using RNA polymerase II. The genome of IBDV Gt strain, flanked by hammerhead ribozyme and hepatitis delta ribozyme sequences, were cloned downstream of the cytomegalovirus enhancer and the beta chicken actin promoter of the vector pCAGGS. Through direct transfection in various cell lines, IBDV could be rescued efficiently. The RNA polymerase II-based reverse genetics system is efficient, stable, convenient, and fit to various cells. The system not only provides the basis of the gene function research of IBDV, but is also useful for reverse genetics research of other birnaviridae viruses.     

Significance of the YLDL motif in the M protein and Alix/AIP1 for Sendai virus budding in the context of virus infection

Sendai virus (SeV) M protein has a YLDL motif, which is essential for budding of virus-like particles (VLPs) by expression of the M protein. We investigated the importance of the YLDL motif for SeV budding. Virus budding of an M-deficient SeV was not rescued by transient expression of motif mutants, M-A2 (ALDA) and M-A4 (AAAA), and viruses possessing those mutations hardly propagated in cultured cells. However, a budding-competent revertant virus, SeV M-A2R, was obtained from SeV M-A2, and nucleotide sequencing showed an ALDV sequence at the motif instead of the ALDA sequence derived from M-A2. The M-A2R protein rescued budding of an M-deficient SeV, formed VLPs when expressed with viral C protein, and restored the capacity to bind with Alix/AIP1. The results indicate that the YLDL motif is essential for efficient budding in the context of virus infection and suggest involvement of Alix/AIP1 in SeV budding.     

Novel localization of pp60src in Rous sarcoma virus-transformed rat and goat cells and in chicken cells transformed by viruses rescued from these mammalian cells

We have investigated by indirect immunofluorescence and subcellular fractionation the intracellular location of pp60^src in RSV-transformed mammalian cells and in CEF cells transformed by virus rescued from these cells. Two independently derived cell lines were examined: RR1022 cells isolated from an in vivo sarcoma induced in an Amsterdam rat by infection with SR-RSV-D; and Pcl, cells isolated from a soft agar colony of normal goat skin fibroblasts transformed in vitro by SR-RSV-D. Transforming viruses (RSV-RR and RSV-Pcl) were rescued from RR1022 and Pcl cells by fusion with CEF cells. Immunofluorescence microscopy showed association of pp60^src with the nuclear envelope and the juxtanuclear reticular membranes in the transformed mammalian cells and in CEF cells transformed by the rescued viruses, in contrast to the plasma membrane localization of pp60^src seen in SR-RSV-transformed CEF cells. Results of subcellular fractionation by differential centrifugation and fractionation of particulate fractions by equilibrium centrifugation in discontinuous sucrose gradients were in agreement with the differences in pp60^src distribution observed by immunofluorescence microscopy. Although the mammalian cell lines were independently derived, pp60^srcs isolated from RR1022 and Pcl cells both lacked amino-terminal 21- and 18-kilodalton [³⁵S]methionine S. aureus V8 protease peptides found in SR-RSV-D pp60^src. Proteolytic peptides identical to those of pp60^src from the mammalian cells were obtained from pp60^src proteins isolated from rescued virus-transformed CEF cells, suggesting that the alteration in the amino-terminal half of the src protein represents a stable change, and that an alteration in the primary structure of pp60^src is responsible for the altered intracellular membrane localization of pp60^src in these cells.