Detection of influenza C virus but not influenza D virus in Scottish respiratory samples

BackgroundA newly proposed genus of influenza virus (influenza D) is associated with respiratory disease in pigs and cattle. The novel virus is most closely related to human influenza C virus and can infect ferrets but infection has not been reported in humans.ObjectivesTo ascertain if influenza D virus can be detected retrospectively in patient respiratory samples.Study design3300 human respiratory samples from Edinburgh, Scotland, covering the period 2006–2008, were screened in pools of 10 by RT-PCR using primers capable of detecting both influenza C and D viruses.ResultsInfluenza D was not detected in any sample. Influenza C was present in 6 samples (0.2%), compared with frequencies of 3.3% and 0.9% for influenza A and B viruses from RT-PCR testing of respiratory samples over the same period. Influenza C virus was detected in samples from individuals <2 years or >45 years old, with cases occurring throughout the year. Phylogenetic analysis of nearly complete sequences of all seven segments revealed the presence of multiple, reassortant lineages.ConclusionWe were unable to detect viruses related to influenza D virus in human respiratory samples. Influenza C virus was less prevalent than influenza A and B viruses, was associated with mild disease in the young (<2 years) and old (>45 years) and comprised multiple, reassortant lineages. Inclusion of influenza C virus as part of a diagnostic testing panel for respiratory infections would be of limited additional value.     

Mouse Mx2 protein inhibits vesicular stomatitis virus but not influenza virus.

Some but not all known Mx proteins possess intrinsic antiviral activity. The mouse genome contains two related interferon-regulated genes, designated Mx1 and Mx2. Mx1 codes for a nuclear 72-kDa protein which selectively interferes with the multiplication of influenza viruses. The Mx2 gene is crippled by a mutation in commonly used laboratory mouse strains and, hence, the antiviral potential of the Mx2 protein was unknown. We have corrected the frameshift mutation in a cloned Mx2 cDNA by site-directed mutagenesis. Expression of the repaired Mx2 cDNA in Swiss mouse 3T3 cells gave rise to an 80-kDa cytoplasmic protein that cross-reacted with antibodies to other Mx proteins. In contrast to the cases of mouse Mx1 and human Mx proteins, permanent cell lines were extremely unstable with respect to Mx2 expression. Analysis at the single-cell level revealed that mouse Mx2 conferred to the transfected cells a high degree of resistance to vesicular stomatitis virus, but had no inhibitory effect on influenza virus. The antiviral potential of mouse Mx2 is thus similar to that of rat Mx2 protein.     

Effects of sialylation of influenza virions on their interactions with host cells and erythrocytes

Influenza virions can be sialylated by incubating purified virus with sialyltransferase and CMP-sialic acid. Sialic acid residues are added only to the virion hemagglutinin. Both portions of the hemagglutinin subunit have terminal galactose residues which accept sialic acid, with the HA₁ region being preferentially sialylated early in the reaction. The rate of sialylation depends on the source of the virus; virions derived from chick embryo fibroblasts are sialylated at approximately 20 times the rate of virus from an established line of bovine kidney cells. Sialylation destroys the hemagglutinating activity of the particles but leaves the neuraminidase activity unchanged. The ability of these preparations to form plaques on MDBK cells is either enhanced or unchanged depending on the amount of sialic acid added to the virions. Maximum enhancement is observed when approximately 1250 sialic acid residues are added per virion. Addition of more residues decreased the amount of enhancement. Heavily sialylated virus shows the same infectivity as unsialylated virus although it has an isoelectric point below pH 4.0; that of unsialylated virus is 6.0 to 6.5. In an attempt to determine the basis for the loss of hemagglutinating activity and the enhancement of infectivity, we have measured the ability of sialylated and control virions to bind to erythrocytes and to host cells under conditions of either virus or cell excess. Identical results are obtained with sialylated and control virus at all virus to cell ratios tested, indicating that the changes induced by sialylation do not reflect changes in the ability of virus to bind to cellular receptors. The results suggest that the formation of infectious units by aggregation of randomly defective particles along with changes in step(s) following binding are responsible for the observed alterations in biological activities.     

CXCR2 is required for neutrophil recruitment to the lung during influenza virus infection, but is not essential for viral clearance

Neutrophils traffic to the lungs in large numbers during influenza virus infection. Although the ability of these cells to respond to numerous chemotactic stimuli has been described in other systems, the chemokine receptors mediating recruitment of neutrophils to the lungs during influenza virus infection and the role of this cell type in viral clearance are currently undefined. In the present study, we used CXCR2(/) mice to investigate the role of the chemokine receptor CXCR2 in neutrophil recruitment to the lungs during influenza virus infection and to determine the role of neutrophils in viral clearance. We infected CXCR2(/) or wild-type mice with influenza and assessed the level of inflammation, the cellular composition of the inflammatory infiltrate, and viral titers in the lungs. Absence of CXCR2 ablated neutrophil recruitment to the lungs, but had no effect on peak viral titers or on the kinetics of viral clearance. Thus, it appears that CXCR2 is the major receptor mediating neutrophil trafficking to the lung during influenza virus infection, but that neutrophils do not play an essential role in viral clearance.     

Capture of cell culture-derived influenza virus by lectins: strain independent, but host cell dependent

Strategies to control influenza outbreaks are focused mainly on prophylactic vaccination. Human influenza vaccines are trivalent blends of different virus subtypes. Therefore and due to frequent antigenic drifts, strain independent manufacturing processes are required for vaccine production. This study verifies the strain independency of a capture method based on Euonymus europaeus lectin-affinity chromatography (EEL-AC) for downstream processing of influenza viruses under various culture conditions propagated in MDCK cells. A comprehensive lectin binding screening was conducted for two influenza virus types from the season 2007/2008 (A/Wisconsin/67/2005, B/Malaysia/2506/2004) including a comparison of virus-lectin interaction by surface plasmon resonance technology. EEL-AC resulted in a reproducible high product recovery rate and a high degree of contaminant removal in the case of both MDCK cell-derived influenza virus types demonstrating clearly the general applicability of EEL-AC. In addition, host cell dependency of EEL-AC was studied with two industrial relevant cell lines: Vero and MDCK cells. However, the choice of the host cell lines is known to lead to different product glycosylation profiles. Hence, altered lectin specificities have been observed between the two cell lines, requiring process adaptations between different influenza vaccine production systems.     

Biological properties of a hemagglutinin mutant of influenza virus selected by host cells

Chick embryo fibroblast (CEF)-grown stocks of the WSN strain of influenza A(HINI) contain two variants which were designated F and C for fuzzy and clear plaque morphology on Madin-Darby bovine kidney (MDBK) cells. During growth in MDBK cells plaque-isolated F virus was completely replaced by C virus (L. Noronha-Blob and I. T. Schulze (1976), Virology69, 314–322). The parental (F) and the mutant (C) viruses contain hemagglutinins which differ in their ability to bind to host cells. In addition, the host cells from which the purified viruses are obtained affect their binding properties. Thus, as compared to MDBK-grown F virus (F_BK), MDBK-grown C virus (C_BK) produced high amounts of mRNA and high virus yields in MDBK cells. C_BK had greater affinity for SAα2,3Gα1 and SAα2,6Ga1 linkages on derivatized human erythrocytes than did F_BK, independent of whether neuraminidase was present on the virions. C_BK was also resistant to components of calf serum which inhibited F_BK hemagglutination at 37°. As compared to F_BK, C_BK had increased ability to bind to both MDBK cells and CEF at 37° in the presence or absence of an inhibitor of neuraminidase. In addition, when cells with virus bound at 0° were transferred to 37°, C_BK remained cell associated whereas about 80% of FBK dissociated from both cells. Thus, mutation from F to C increased the ability of the virus to associate with MDBK cell receptors. Studies carried out with F and C viruses from both cells indicated that the expression of the mutation depended in part on the host cells in which the virus was grown and in part on the cells used to measure the binding properties. A model relating these observations to selection of HA variants in nature is presented.     

The multiplication of influenza virus in enucleated BHK cells fused with chicken erythrocytes.

Chicken erythrocyte nuclei that were introduced by cell fusion into enucleated BHK cells supported the production of influenza virus nucleoprotein but not haemagglutinin or neuraminidase antigens.     

Toll-like receptor 4 contributes to colitis development but not to host defense during Citrobacter rodentium infection in mice

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) are noninvasive bacterial pathogens that infect their hosts' intestinal epithelium, causing severe diarrheal disease. These infections also cause intestinal inflammation, although the mechanisms underlying the inflammatory response, as well as its potential role in host defense, are unclear. Since these bacteria are gram-negative, Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), the innate receptor for bacterial lipopolysaccharide may contribute to the host response; however, the role of TLR4 in the gastrointestinal tract is poorly understood, and its impact has yet to be tested against this family of enteric bacterial pathogens. Since EPEC and EHEC are human specific, we infected mice with Citrobacter rodentium, a mouse-adapted attaching and effacing (A/E) bacterium that infects colonic epithelial cells, causing colitis and epithelial hyperplasia, using a similar array of virulence proteins as EPEC and EHEC. We demonstrated that C. rodentium activates TLR4 and rapidly induced NF-kappaB nuclear translocation in host cells in a partially TLR4-dependent manner. Infection of TLR4-deficient mice revealed that TLR4-dependent responses mediate much of the inflammation and tissue pathology seen during infection, including the induction of the chemokines MIP-2 and MCP-1, as well as the recruitment of macrophages and neutrophils into the infected intestine. Surprisingly, spread of C. rodentium through the colon was delayed in TLR4-deficient mice, whereas the duration of the infection was unaffected, indicating that TLR4-mediated responses against this A/E pathogen are not host protective and are ultimately maladaptive to the host, contributing to both the morbidity and the pathology seen during infection.     

Neuraminic acid is involved in the binding of influenza C virus to erythrocytes

Neuraminidases of both viral and bacterial origin have been reported to be unable to destroy the cellular receptor for influenza C virus on chicken erythrocytes, in contrast to the receptors for influenza A and B virus. However, under appropriate conditions neuraminidases from both Vibrio cholerae and Clostridium perfringens were able (i) to make chicken red blood cells resistant against agglutination by influenza C virus and (ii) to reduce the hemagglutination-inhibiting activity of rat serum. Both effects were abolished in the presence of the neuraminidase inhibitor 2,3-dehydro-2-deoxyneuraminic acid (DDN). These results indicate that contrary to previous assumptions sialic acid may very well be an essential component of the receptor for influenza C virus.     

A novel synthetic reversible inhibitor of sialidase efficiently blocks secondary but not primary influenza virus infection of MDCK cells in culture

Summary.  The sodium salts of 2-difluoromethyl-phenyl-α-ketoside of N-acetyl-neuraminic acid (compound 1) and of 4-difluoromethyl-2-methoxy-phenyl-α-ketoside of N-acetylneuraminic acid (compound 2) were designed as potential mechanism-based inhibitors of sialidase. In vitro both of these compounds competitively inhibited the sialidases of Clostridium perfringens and of influenza virus A/HK/1/68. Inhibition was irreversible with the sialidase of Clostridium perfringens whereas it was reversible with that of A/HK/1/68. Compound 2 did not inhibit the hemagglutinin of the virus but exhibited significant anti-influenza activity when added to the medium of Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells infected by influenza virus. In non-infected MDCK cells no inhibition of cellular sialidase was observed. Compound 2 did not block primary infection, but inhibited the release of progeny virus from infected cells. Even after 8 passages in its presence, no resistant strains were detected. Because of its high Ki (M) compared to the low Ki (M) of 4 guanidino-Neu 5 Ac 2en and its reversible inhibition of viral sialidase, its development as an anti-influenza agent is no longer envisaged. Nevertheless, as a mechanism-based irreversible inhibitor of the bacterial enzyme, it could at least be useful for investigating the intrinsic role of sialidase in infections caused by this strain. Accepted February 3, 1997; Received November 12, 1996     

Increased influenza pneumonia mortality of mice adoptively immunized with node and spleen cells sensitized by inactivated but not live virus.

Syngeneic mice adoptively immunized intravenously with 25 million washed node and spleen cells from donors vaccinated subcutaneously with formolized influenza A PR8 had a higher mortality with influenza pneumonia after challenge with homologous virus than occurred in recipients of similar cells from unsensitized donors, and this increased mortality was prevented by treatment of the sensitized cells with antithymocyte serum. Mice adoptively immunized with cells from donors vaccinated with formolized influenza A PR8 also had a higher mortality than recipients of unsensitized cells after challenge with heterologous influenza B Lee. Mice who received PR8-sensitized cells and survived challenge with influenza B Lee developed antibody only to the challenge virus, and serum antibody titers to the challenge virus in surviving recipients of sensitized cells were similar to those of recipients of unsensitized cells in all studies. Influenza mortality of recipients of antibody-containing mouse serum after homologous virus challenge was similar to that of recipients of antibody-free mouse serum in this model. Washed node and spleen cells from donor mice who had survived respiratory infection or received subcutaneous vaccination with live influenza A PR8 and those from donor mice given typhoid vaccine subcutaneously all failed to alter mortality from that observed in recipients of unsensitized cells after challenge with influenza A PR8. These results suggest that subcutaneous vaccination with inactivated influenza establishes a reactivity of the cell-mediated immunologic system which can increase the severity of influenza infection of the respiratory tract under certain conditions, and that sensitization by live influenza fails to produce this effect.     

Immunosuppression during influenza virus infection

The effects of a live attenuated influenza vaccine and subsequent challenge with virulent influenza virus on the delayed hypersensitivity skin test, and the in vitro response of lymphocytes were evaluated. Volunteers were skin tested before and after administration of vaccine or placebo and challenge with PPD (a purified protein derivative of Mycobacterium tuberculosis), candida, mumps, and trichophytin, and their lymphocytes were tested for [³H]thymidine uptake in response to phytohemagglutin. Of eight volunteers who showed evidence of viral replication after administration of the attenuated vaccine, four had a significant diminution in their skin test response, whereas 8 of 13 volunteers infected with virulent influenza virus showed a diminution. Of the 21 volunteers who were infected with either attenuated or virulent influenza virus, 12 showed suppression of their phytohemagglutin response. None of the volunteers who were given placebo vaccine, or who showed no evidence for viral replication after immunization or challenge, had a suppression of their skin test or phytohemagglutin responses. Although most of the infected volunteers demonstrated suppression of their T-cell function, there was no evidence of a similar suppression of B-cell function.