Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein-Independent Rubella Infection of Keratinocytes and Resistance of First-Trimester Trophoblast Cells to Rubella Virus In Vitro.

Quang Trinh,Ngan Pham,Kazuhide Takada,Shihoko Komine-Aizawa,Satoshi Hayakawa

doi:10.3390/v10010023

Abstract

Rubella virus (RuV), which belongs to the family Togaviridae and genus Rubivirus, causes systemic infection in children and young adults and congenital rubella syndrome in developing fetuses if the infection occurs during pregnancy. The mechanisms of fetal infection by RuV are not completely understood. Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) is reported to be a cellular receptor for RuV; however, it is mainly expressed in the central nervous system. Therefore, it is thought that other receptors are also responsible for virus entry into susceptible cells. In this study, we found that first-trimester trophoblast cells were resistant to RuV. In addition, we showed that HaCaT cells (an immortalized keratinocyte cell line) that did not express MOG on their surface were infected with RuV. This finding is one of the first demonstrations of MOG-independent RuV infection of susceptible host cells and suggests that it is important to continue searching for alternative RuV receptors. In addition, this study reports the resistance of first-trimester trophoblast cells to RuV and suggests that utilizing an epithelial–mesenchymal transition approach to study the mechanisms of transplacental vertical RuV infection.

Highlights

Rubella virus (RuV) is an enveloped positive-strand RNA virus in the family Togaviridae and genusRubivirus that causes mild symptoms such as rash and fever in children and young adults
Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) is reported to be a cellular receptor for RuV [1]; it is mainly expressed in the central nervous system and is barely detectable in other organs and tissues
Blotting, not detected in any of the studied cells by indirect immunofluorescence assays and Western blotting, including human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), which were previously reported to be including human vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), which were previously reported to be permissive to RuV umbilical

Summary

Introduction

Rubella virus (RuV) is an enveloped positive-strand RNA virus in the family Togaviridae and genusRubivirus that causes mild symptoms such as rash and fever in children and young adults. Rubella virus (RuV) is an enveloped positive-strand RNA virus in the family Togaviridae and genus. Infections in pregnant women, especially during the first trimester, can lead to dire consequences for the developing fetus, known as congenital rubella syndrome. The mechanisms by which RuV infects the fetus are not completely understood. Many questions related to mechanisms of virus entry into susceptible host cells remain unanswered. Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) is reported to be a cellular receptor for RuV [1]; it is mainly expressed in the central nervous system and is barely detectable in other organs and tissues. It is thought that other receptors are responsible for virus entry into susceptible host cells [1,2]

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