Early Times Of Infection Research Articles

Equine Herpesvirus Type 1 Enhances Viral Replication in CD172a+ Monocytic Cells upon Adhesion to Endothelial Cells.

Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) is a main cause of respiratory disease, abortion, and encephalomyelopathy in horses. Monocytic cells (CD172a(+)) are the main carrier cells of EHV-1 during primary infection and are proposed to serve as a "Trojan horse" to facilitate the dissemination of EHV-1 to target organs. However, the mechanism by which EHV-1 is transferred from CD172a(+) cells to endothelial cells (EC) remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate EHV-1 transmission between these two cell types. We hypothesized that EHV-1 employs specific strategies to promote the adhesion of infected CD172a(+) cells to EC to facilitate EHV-1 spread. Here, we demonstrated that EHV-1 infection of CD172a(+) cells resulted in a 3- to 5-fold increase in adhesion to EC. Antibody blocking experiments indicated that α4β1, αLβ2, and αVβ3 integrins mediated adhesion of infected CD172a(+) cells to EC. We showed that integrin-mediated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and ERK/MAPK signaling pathways were involved in EHV-1-induced CD172a(+) cell adhesion at early times of infection. EHV-1 replication was enhanced in adherent CD172a(+) cells, which correlates with the production of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). In the presence of neutralizing antibodies, approximately 20% of infected CD172a(+) cells transferred cytoplasmic material to uninfected EC and 0.01% of infected CD172a(+) cells transmitted infectious virus to neighboring cells. Our results demonstrated that EHV-1 infection induces adhesion of CD172a(+) cells to EC, which enhances viral replication, but that transfer of viral material from CD172a(+) cells to EC is a very specific and rare event. These findings give new insights into the complex pathogenesis of EHV-1. Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) is a highly prevalent pathogen worldwide, causing frequent outbreaks of abortion and myeloencephalopathy, even in vaccinated horses. After primary replication in the respiratory tract, EHV-1 disseminates via cell-associated viremia in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and subsequently infects the endothelial cells (EC) of the pregnant uterus or central nervous system, leading in some cases to abortion and/or neurological disorders. Recently, we demonstrated that CD172a(+) monocytic carrier cells serve as a "Trojan horse" to facilitate EHV-1 spread from blood to target organs. Here, we investigated the mechanism underlying the transmission of EHV-1 from CD172a(+) cells to EC. We demonstrated that EHV-1 infection induces cellular changes in CD172a(+) cells, promoting their adhesion to EC. We found that both cell-to-cell contacts and the secretion of soluble factors by EC activate EHV-1 replication in CD172a(+) cells. This facilitates transfer of cytoplasmic viral material to EC, resulting mainly in a nonproductive infection. Our findings give new insights into how EHV-1 may spread to EC of target organs in vaccinated horses.

Chemical Attenuation of Plasmodium in the Liver Modulates Severe Malaria Disease Progression

Cerebral malaria is one of the most severe complications of malaria disease, attributed to a complicated series of immune reactions in the host. The syndrome is marked by inflammatory immune responses, margination of leukocytes, and parasitized erythrocytes in cerebral vessels leading to breakdown of the blood-brain barrier. We show that chemical attenuation of the parasite at the very early, clinically silent liver stage suppresses parasite development, delays the time until parasites establish blood-stage infection, and provokes an altered host immune response, modifying immunopathogenesis and protecting from cerebral disease. The early response is proinflammatory and cell mediated, with increased T cell activation in the liver and spleen, and greater numbers of effector T cells, cytokine-secreting T cells, and proliferating, proinflammatory cytokine-producing T cells. Dendritic cell numbers, T cell activation, and infiltration of CD8(+) T cells to the brain are decreased later in infection, possibly mediated by the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. Strikingly, protection can be transferred to naive animals by adoptive transfer of lymphocytes from the spleen at very early times of infection. Our data suggest that a subpopulation belonging to CD8(+) T cells as early as day 2 postinfection is responsible for protection. These data indicate that liver stage-directed early immune responses can moderate the overall downstream host immune response and modulate severe malaria outcome.

Spatiotemporal analysis of hepatitis C virus infection.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) entry, translation, replication, and assembly occur with defined kinetics in distinct subcellular compartments. It is unclear how HCV spatially and temporally regulates these events within the host cell to coordinate its infection. We have developed a single molecule RNA detection assay that facilitates the simultaneous visualization of HCV (+) and (−) RNA strands at the single cell level using high-resolution confocal microscopy. We detect (+) strand RNAs as early as 2 hours post-infection and (−) strand RNAs as early as 4 hours post-infection. Single cell levels of (+) and (−) RNA vary considerably with an average (+):(−) RNA ratio of 10 and a range from 1–35. We next developed microscopic assays to identify HCV (+) and (−) RNAs associated with actively translating ribosomes, replication, virion assembly and intracellular virions. (+) RNAs display a defined temporal kinetics, with the majority of (+) RNAs associated with actively translating ribosomes at early times of infection, followed by a shift to replication and then virion assembly. (−) RNAs have a strong colocalization with NS5A, but not NS3, at early time points that correlate with replication compartment formation. At later times, only ~30% of the replication complexes appear to be active at a given time, as defined by (−) strand colocalization with either (+) RNA, NS3, or NS5A. While both (+) and (−) RNAs colocalize with the viral proteins NS3 and NS5A, only the plus strand preferentially colocalizes with the viral envelope E2 protein. These results suggest a defined spatiotemporal regulation of HCV infection with highly varied replication efficiencies at the single cell level. This approach can be applicable to all plus strand RNA viruses and enables unprecedented sensitivity for studying early events in the viral life cycle.

Epigenetics and animal virus infections.

Epigenetics, modifications of the genome, heritable during celldivision, that do not involve changes in DNA sequences includeseveral mechanisms mainly: histone modifications, DNA methy-lation and related modifications, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs)and others that regulate gene expression.The past two decades has seen an explosion of interestfor revealing mechanisms that control epigenetic modifications,mainly based on the influence they have on chromatin struc-tureandtheirimpactinbiologicalprocessessuchasprogrammedDNA rearrangements, imprinting, germ line silencing, devel-opmentally cued stem cell division, and overall chromosomalstability and identity. It has also become obvious that epigenet-ics changes are fundamental in the interplay between viruses andtheir host cells. Generally speaking, when retroviruses and DNAviruses integrate their genomes into the host genome, they canstay latent by silencing their genes or can be productive by acti-vatingthem,andviralgeneexpressioncanberegulatedjustlikeasthe host. In fact, viral DNA uses host transcription factors as wellas epigenetic regulators, in such a way that the effect of viral epi-geneticcontrolofitsowngeneexpressionalsoextendstoregulatehost gene expression. At the same time cells use similar mech-anisms, transcription factors and epigenetic modifications, inorder to try to eliminate viral infections. In summary, epigeneticmechanisms are involved in most of the virus-cell interactions.The goal of this special issue is to bring together key exper-imental and theoretical research linking state-of-the-art knowl-edge of epigenetic mechanisms involved in regulating virus-cellinteractions.This e-book is a compilation of 12 articles. Two of them aremethodological, one on the use of new technologies devoted toidentify methylated CpG sites on virus genomes and the other ongenome-wide mapping of DNase I hypersenitive sites associatedwith gene expression. Three articles describe original researchinvolvingSV40minichromosomes,DNAmethylationfluctuationand the Toll-like receptor pathways. Seven are review articles,including two mini-reviews on Epigenetic Mechanisms associ-ated to Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and fundamental topics as DNAmethylation,histonemodificationsandviralstrategiesagainstthehost immune system in Epstein B Virus; cell differentiation ofthe immune system as a tool for epigenetic studies; epigeneticmechanisms associated to virotherapy, and finally on the recog-nition of DNA viruses and cell damage by histones.ThearticlefromSunetal.(2014),isamethodologyarticledes-ignatingtherelativeadvantagesoftheNGStechnologycomparedto pyrosequencing for studying viral DNA methylation. The ana-lytical procedure they used provided further information relatedto HPV methylation on a single cell basis, showing that there areHPV 16 genomic sequences in cells which are mostly methylatedwhile in others they are unmethylated (methylation mosaic).Replication of SV40minichromosomes can serve as an epige-netic switch in which newly replicated chromatin can be epige-neticallymodifiedinresponsetospecificsignalssuchasT-antigenbindingtositeI.Thisepigeneticswitchseemstoensurethatnewlyreplicated minichromosomes do not activate early transcriptionat late times in infection. In addition, this epigenetic switch maycontrol the relative pool sizes of transcribing, replicating, andencapsidating SV40minichromosomes. In an original researcharticle, Kallestad et al. (2013), shows that in cells containingSV40minichromosomes, histone modifications associated withchromatin repression can differ significantly depending uponwhether the chromatin is being repressed, undergoes transcrip-tion or replication.The review from Russ et al. (2013), describes advantages ofstudying the immune system for epigenetic regulation of celldifferentiation, in particular how T cell identity or plasticity iscontrolled. The authors focus some of the key findings and gen-eral themes emerging from the studies of T cell differentiation,as well as the utility of the immune system as a tool for studyingdifferentiation and development.Histonesareessentialcomponentsofchromatinstructure,andhistone modification plays an important role in various cellularfunctions including transcription, gene silencing, and immunity.Inaddition,histonesalsoplaydistinctrolesinextrachromosomalsettings. Kobiyama et al. (2013), in their review describe the roleof histone H2B as a sensor for dsDNA aberrantly present withinthe cells. According to the results included, extracellular andextrachromosomal histones alert cells to dangerous situations,such as infection, apoptosis, DNA breaks, and cell injury.Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a global health problemcausing a wide spectrum of liver diseases, including acute andchronicinfection.AcuteHBVinfectionseitherresolveorprogressto chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma.Because for most patients, available therapies do not lead tothe termination of HBV infection, improving our understanding

Interaction between Campylobacter and intestinal epithelial cells leads to a different proinflammatory response in human and porcine host

Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli are recognized as the leading causes of human diarrheal disease throughout the development world. Unlike human beings, gastrointestinal tract of pigs are frequently colonized by Campylobacter to a high level in a commensal manner. The aim of this study was to identify the differences underlying the divergent outcome following Campylobacter challenge in porcine versus human host. In order to address this, a comparative in vitro infection model was combined with microscopy, gentamicin protection assay, ELISA and quantitative PCR techniques. Invasion assays revealed that Campylobacter invaded human cells up to 10-fold more than porcine cells (p<0.05). In addition, gene expression of proinflammatory genes encoding for IL1α, IL6, IL8, CXCL2 and CCL20 were strongly up-regulated by Campylobacter in human epithelial cell at early times of infection, whereas a very reduced cytokine gene expression was detected in porcine epithelial cells. These data indicate that Campylobacter fails to invade porcine cells compared to human cells, and this leads to a lack of proinflammatory response induction, probably due to its pathogenic or commensal behavior in human and porcine host, respectively.

Equine herpesvirus type 1 replication is delayed in CD172a+ monocytic cells and controlled by histone deacetylases.

Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) replicates in the epithelial cells of the upper respiratory tract and disseminates through the body via a cell-associated viraemia in monocytic cells, despite the presence of neutralizing antibodies. However, the mechanism by which EHV-1 hijacks immune cells and uses them as 'Trojan horses' in order to disseminate inside its host is still unclear. Here, we hypothesize that EHV-1 delays its replication in monocytic cells in order to avoid recognition by the immune system. We compared replication kinetics in vitro of EHV-1 in RK-13, a cell line fully susceptible to EHV-1 infection, and primary horse cells from the myeloid lineage (CD172a(+)). We found that EHV-1 replication was restricted to 4 % of CD172a(+) cells compared with 100 % in RK-13 cells. In susceptible CD172a(+) cells, the expression of immediate-early (IEP) and early (EICP22) proteins was delayed in the cell nuclei by 2-3 h post-infection (p.i.) compared with RK-13, and the formation of replicative compartments by 15 h p.i. Virus production in CD172a(+) cells was significantly lower (from 10(1.7) to 10(3.1) TCID50 per 10(5) inoculated cells) than in RK-13 (from 10(5) to 10(5.7) TCID50 per 10(5) inoculated cells). Less than 0.02 % of inoculated CD172a(+) cells produced and transmitted infectious virus to neighbouring cells. Pre-treatment of CD172a(+) cells with inhibitors of histone deacetylase activity increased and accelerated viral protein expression at very early times of infection and induced productive infection in CD172a(+) cells. Our results demonstrated that the restriction and delay of EHV-1 replication in CD172a(+) cells are part of an immune evasive strategy and involve silencing of EHV-1 gene expression associated with histone deacetylases.

Dynamic and nucleolin-dependent localization of human cytomegalovirus UL84 to the periphery of viral replication compartments and nucleoli.

Protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid interactions within subcellular compartments are required for viral genome replication. To understand the localization of the human cytomegalovirus viral replication factor UL84 relative to other proteins involved in viral DNA synthesis and to replicating viral DNA in infected cells, we created a recombinant virus expressing a FLAG-tagged version of UL84 (UL84FLAG) and used this virus in immunofluorescence assays. UL84FLAG localization differed at early and late times of infection, transitioning from diffuse distribution throughout the nucleus to exclusion from the interior of replication compartments, with some concentration at the periphery of replication compartments with newly labeled DNA and the viral DNA polymerase subunit UL44. Early in infection, UL84FLAG colocalized with the viral single-stranded DNA binding protein UL57, but colocalization became less prominent as infection progressed. A portion of UL84FLAG also colocalized with the host nucleolar protein nucleolin at the peripheries of both replication compartments and nucleoli. Small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated knockdown of nucleolin resulted in a dramatic elimination of UL84FLAG from replication compartments and other parts of the nucleus and its accumulation in the cytoplasm. Reciprocal coimmunoprecipitation of viral proteins from infected cell lysates revealed association of UL84, UL44, and nucleolin. These results indicate that UL84 localization during infection is dynamic, which is likely relevant to its functions, and suggest that its nuclear and subnuclear localization is highly dependent on direct or indirect interactions with nucleolin. Importance: The protein-protein interactions among viral and cellular proteins required for replication of the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) DNA genome are poorly understood. We sought to understand how an enigmatic HCMV protein critical for virus replication, UL84, localizes relative to other viral and cellular proteins required for HCMV genome replication and replicating viral DNA. We found that UL84 localizes with viral proteins, viral DNA, and the cellular nucleolar protein nucleolin in the subnuclear replication compartments in which viral DNA replication occurs. Unexpectedly, we also found localization of UL84 with nucleolin in nucleoli and showed that the presence of nucleolin is involved in localization of UL84 to the nucleus. These results add to previous work showing the importance of nucleolin in replication compartment architecture and viral DNA synthesis and are relevant to understanding UL84 function.

Cellular DDX21 RNA Helicase Inhibits Influenza A Virus Replication but Is Counteracted by the Viral NS1 Protein

Influenza A virus RNA synthesis is catalyzed by the viral polymerase comprised of the PA, PB1, and PB2 proteins. We show that the host DDX21 RNA helicase restricts influenza A virus by binding PB1 and inhibiting polymerase assembly, resulting in reduced viral RNA and protein synthesis. Later during infection, the viral NS1 protein overcomes this restriction by binding to DDX21 and displacing PB1. DDX21 binds to a region of the NS1 N-terminal domain that also participates in other critical functions. A virus mutant whose NS1 protein is unable to bind DDX21 exhibits reduced viral protein synthesis at both late and early times of infection, a phenotype converted to wild-type upon DDX21 knockdown. As sequential interaction of PB1 and NS1 with DDX21 leads to temporal regulation of viral gene expression, influenza A virus likely uses the DDX21-NS1 interaction not only to overcome restriction, but also to regulate the viral life cycle.

Quantitative Proteomics Analysis of Macrophage-Derived Lipid Rafts Reveals Induction of Autophagy Pathway at the Early Time of Francisella tularensis LVS Infection

Francisella tularensis is a highly infectious intracellular pathogen that has evolved an efficient strategy to subvert host defense response to survive inside the host. The molecular mechanisms regulating these host-pathogen interactions and especially those that are initiated at the time of the bacterial entry via its attachment to the host plasma membrane likely predetermine the intracellular fate of pathogen. Here, we provide the evidence that infection of macrophages with F. tularensis leads to changes in protein composition of macrophage-derived lipid rafts, isolated as detergent-resistant membranes (DRMs). Using SILAC-based quantitative proteomic approach, we observed the accumulation of autophagic adaptor protein p62 at the early stages of microbe-host cell interaction. We confirmed the colocalization of the p62 with ubiquitinated and LC3-decorated intracellular F. tularensis microbes with its maximum at 1 h postinfection. Furthermore, the infection of p62-knockdown host cells led to the transient increase in the intracellular number of microbes up to 4 h after in vitro infection. Together, these data suggest that the activation of the autophagy pathway in F. tularensis infected macrophages, which impacts the early phase of microbial proliferation, is subsequently circumvented by ongoing infection.

The Viral Ubiquitin Ligase ICP0 Is neither Sufficient nor Necessary for Degradation of the Cellular DNA Sensor IFI16 during Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Infection

The cellular protein IFI16 colocalizes with the herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) ubiquitin ligase ICP0 at early times of infection and is degraded as infection progresses. Here, we report that the factors governing the degradation of IFI16 and its colocalization with ICP0 are distinct from those of promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML), a well-characterized ICP0 substrate. Unlike PML, IFI16 colocalization with ICP0 was dependent on the ICP0 RING finger and did not occur when proteasome activity was inhibited. Expression of ICP0 in the absence of infection did not destabilize IFI16, the degradation occurred efficiently in the absence of ICP0 if infection was progressing efficiently, and IFI16 was relatively stable in wild-type (wt) HSV-1-infected U2OS cells. Therefore, IFI16 stability appears to be regulated by cellular factors in response to active HSV-1 infection rather than directly by ICP0. Because IFI16 is a DNA sensor that becomes associated with viral genomes during the early stages of infection, we investigated its role in the recruitment of PML nuclear body (PML NB) components to viral genomes. Recruitment of PML and hDaxx was less efficient in a proportion of IFI16-depleted cells, and this correlated with improved replication efficiency of ICP0-null mutant HSV-1. Because the absence of interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) does not increase the plaque formation efficiency of ICP0-null mutant HSV-1, we speculate that IFI16 contributes to cell-mediated restriction of HSV-1 in a manner that is separable from its roles in IRF3-mediated interferon induction, but that may be linked to the PML NB response to viral infection.

Nucleosome maps of the human cytomegalovirus genome reveal a temporal switch in chromatin organization linked to a major IE protein

Human CMV (hCMV) establishes lifelong infections in most of us, causing developmental defects in human embryos and life-threatening disease in immunocompromised individuals. During productive infection, the viral >230,000-bp dsDNA genome is expressed widely and in a temporal cascade. The hCMV genome does not carry histones when encapsidated but has been proposed to form nucleosomes after release into the host cell nucleus. Here, we present hCMV genome-wide nucleosome occupancy and nascent transcript maps during infection of permissive human primary cells. We show that nucleosomes occupy nuclear viral DNA in a nonrandom and highly predictable fashion. At early times of infection, nucleosomes associate with the hCMV genome largely according to their intrinsic DNA sequence preferences, indicating that initial nucleosome formation is genetically encoded in the virus. However, as infection proceeds to the late phase, nucleosomes redistribute extensively to establish patterns mostly determined by nongenetic factors. We propose that these factors include key regulators of viral gene expression encoded at the hCMV major immediate-early (IE) locus. Indeed, mutant virus genomes deficient for IE1 expression exhibit globally increased nucleosome loads and reduced nucleosome dynamics compared with WT genomes. The temporal nucleosome occupancy differences between IE1-deficient and WT viruses correlate inversely with changes in the pattern of viral nascent and total transcript accumulation. These results provide a framework of spatial and temporal nucleosome organization across the genome of a major human pathogen and suggest that an hCMV major IE protein governs overall viral chromatin structure and function.

Group B Streptococcus Hijacks the Host Plasminogen System to Promote Brain Endothelial Cell Invasion

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is the leading cause of meningitis in neonates. We have previously shown that plasminogen, once recruited to the GBS cell surface and converted into plasmin by host-derived activators, leads to an enhancement of bacterial virulence. Here, we investigated whether plasmin(ogen) bound at the GBS surface contributes to blood-brain barrier penetration and invasion of the central nervous system. For that purpose, GBS strain NEM316 preincubated with or without plasminogen plus tissue type plasminogen activator was analyzed for the capacity to adhere to, invade and transmigrate the human brain microvascular endothelial cell (hBMEC) monolayer, and to penetrate the central nervous system using a neonatal mouse model. At earlier times of infection, plasmin(ogen)-treated GBS exhibited a significant increase in adherence to and invasion of hBMECs. Later, injury of hBMECs were observed with plasmin(ogen)-treated GBS that displayed a plasmin-like activity. The same results were obtained when hBMECs were incubated with whole human plasma and infected with untreated GBS. To confirm that the observed effects were due to the recruitment and activation of plasminogen on GBS surface, the bacteria were first incubated with epsilon-aminocaproic acid (εACA), an inhibitor of plasminogen binding, and thereafter with plasmin(ogen). A significant decrease in the hBMECs injury that was correlated with a decrease of the GBS surface proteolytic activity was observed. Furthermore, plasmin(ogen)-treated GBS infected more efficiently the brain of neonatal mice than the untreated bacteria, indicating that plasmin(ogen) bound to GBS surface may facilitate the traversal of the blood-brain barrier. A higher survival rate was observed in offspring born from εACA-treated mothers, compared to untreated mice, and no brain infection was detected in these neonates. Our findings suggest that capture of the host plasmin(ogen) by the GBS surface promotes the crossing of the blood-brain barrier and contributes to the establishment of meningitis.

Toxoplasma gondii invasion and replication within neonate mouse astrocytes and changes in apoptosis related molecules

Toxoplasma gondii invades any nucleated cell, but different replication speed and effects on survival/apoptosis processes have been found depending on cell type. There are scarce and controversial results regarding the effect of this parasite on host cell apoptosis within the brain. The invasion and replication of T. gondii RH strain within newborn mouse astrocytes were evaluated in the present work. At 4 hpi>90% cells were infected and harbored one to three parasitophorous vacuoles with one tazchyzoite/vacuole. Cell culture massive destruction started after 24 h of exposure, when the parasite already replicated, with a duplication time of around 5 h. The effect of T. gondii infection on apoptosis was also evaluated by changes in some anti- and pro-apoptotic markers. At early infection times decreased Bcl-2, Survivin and PUMA and increased Noxa expression was found, although Survivin and Noxa mRNA levels reverted towards an anti-apoptotic phenotype after 6 h. Caspases 3/7 activity decreased three hours after infection, although it returned to normal levels thereafter. This enzymatic activity was strongly stimulated by Cisplatin (anti-neoplasic drug) but it was inhibited by previous T. gondii infection. Likewise, parasite invasion prevented PARP-1 fragmentation and cell apoptosis induced by the same drug. In conclusion, astrocytes seem to activate some apoptosis signals shortly after infection, but the parasite takes control of the cell and inhibits programmed death for up to 24 h, until it replicates, egresses and generates cellular destruction.

Human Cytomegalovirus pp71 Stimulates Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I Presentation of IE1-Derived Peptides at Immediate Early Times of Infection

Suppression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I-mediated presentation of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) peptides is an important mechanism to avoid CD8 T lymphocyte recognition and killing of infected cells. Of particular interest is how MHC class I presentation of essential regulatory immediate early (IE) proteins of HCMV can be effectively compromised at times when known viral immunoevasins are not abundantly expressed. The tegument protein pp71 had been suggested to be involved in MHC class I downregulation. Intriguingly, this polypeptide is also critically engaged in the initial derepression of the major IE gene locus, leading to enhanced expression of IE proteins IE1-pp72 and IE2-pp86. Using a set of viral mutants, we addressed the role of pp71 in MHC class I presentation of IE1-pp72-derived peptides. We show that the amount of "incoming" pp71 positively correlates with IE1-pp72 protein levels and with the presentation of IE1-derived peptides. This indicates that the amount of the IE1 protein, induced by pp71, rather than a putative immunoevasive function of the tegument protein, determines MHC class I antigen presentation of IE1-derived peptides. This process proved to be independent of the presence of pp65, which had been reported to interfere with IE1 presentation. It may thus be beneficial for the success of HCMV replication to limit the level of pp71 delivered from infecting particles in order to avoid critical levels of MHC class I presentation of IE protein-derived peptides.

Vitamin C Is an Essential Factor on the Anti-viral Immune Responses through the Production of Interferon-α/β at the Initial Stage of Influenza A Virus (H3N2) Infection

L-ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is one of the well-known anti-viral agents, especially to influenza virus. Since the in vivo anti-viral effect is still controversial, we investigated whether vitamin C could regulate influenza virus infection in vivo by using Gulo (-/-) mice, which cannot synthesize vitamin C like humans. First, we found that vitamin C-insufficient Gulo (-/-) mice expired within 1 week after intranasal inoculation of influenza virus (H3N2/Hongkong). Viral titers in the lung of vitamin C-insufficient Gulo (-/-) mice were definitely increased but production of anti-viral cytokine, interferon (IFN)-α/β, was decreased. On the contrary, the infiltration of inflammatory cells into the lung and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-α/β, were increased in the lung. Taken together, vitamin C shows in vivo anti-viral immune responses at the early time of infection, especially against influenza virus, through increased production of IFN-α/β.

Protective efficacy of a recombinant BCG secreting antigen 85B/Rv3425 fusion protein against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in mice

In this study, the protective efficacy of a novel recombinant BCG strain co-expressing Ag85B and Rv3425 against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv was evaluated in mice. This rBCG::Ag85B-Rv3425 strain could provide similar or even better protective efficacy against M. tuberculosis challenge compared with BCG, as shown by no weight loss, significantly reduced lung:body weight ratios and lung bacteria load only at early time of infection. The results suggest that rBCG::Ag85B-Rv3425 could be a potential tuberculosis vaccine candidate for further study.

Prevention of Schistosoma japonicum infection in mice with long-acting praziquantel implants

This work reports the prevention outcomes of a praziquantel (PZQ) implant against the infection of Schistosoma japonicum in mice. The PZQ implant produced stable plasma PZQ concentrations in a range of 100–1300ng/mL for a period of 70days, by releasing PZQ in subcutaneous tissues in a sustained manner. To assess the prevention effects, the mice were infected at varying times after implantation. All the mice were sacrificed at 6weeks after infection for worm and egg recovery and counting, worm morphological examination, determination of egg-hatching rates, and analysis of hepatic histology. The infection was successfully prevented for mice with early infection times (within 2–3weeks), as nearly no worms, paired worms, eggs, or miracidia were recovered. However, in mice with late infection times (after 3weeks), the prevention effects were diminished due to the decreased plasma PZQ concentrations at late times. Interestingly, the implants showed robust prevention effects on repeated infection at 1 and 3weeks. In the infection-prevented mouse livers, no granuloma formation or granulomatous inflammation was observed. The results demonstrated that by blocking the development of infecting miracidia and by deactivating the eggs, the PZQ implants encouragingly prevented the S. japonicum infection and avoided liver damage.

Opposing Effects of Bacitracin on Human Papillomavirus Type 16 Infection: Enhancement of Binding and Entry and Inhibition of Endosomal Penetration

Cell invasion by human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) is a complex process relying on multiple host cell factors. Here we describe an investigation into the role of cellular protein disulfide isomerases (PDIs) by studying the effects of the commonly used PDI inhibitor bacitracin on HPV16 infection. Bacitracin caused an unusual time-dependent opposing effect on viral infection. Enhanced cellular binding and entry were observed at early times of infection, while inhibition was observed at later times postentry. Bacitracin was rapidly taken up by host cells and colocalized with HPV16 at late times of infection. Bacitracin had no deleterious effect on HPV16 entry, capsid disassembly, exposure of L1/L2 epitopes, or lysosomal trafficking but caused a stark inhibition of L2/viral DNA (vDNA) endosomal penetration and accumulation at nuclear PML bodies. γ-Secretase has recently been implicated in the endosomal penetration of L2/vDNA, but bacitracin had no effect on γ-secretase activity, indicating that blockage of this step occurs through a γ-secretase-independent mechanism. Transient treatment with the reductant β-mercaptoethanol (β-ME) was able to partially rescue the virus from bacitracin, suggesting the involvement of a cellular reductase activity in HPV16 infection. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) knockdown of cellular PDI and the related PDI family members ERp57 and ERp72 reveals a potential role for PDI and ERp72 in HPV infection.

West Nile Virus Infections Suppress Early Viral RNA Synthesis and Avoid Inducing the Cell Stress Granule Response

West Nile virus (WNV) recently became endemic in the United States and is a significant cause of human morbidity and mortality. Natural WNV strain infections do not induce stress granules (SGs), while W956IC (a lineage 2/1 chimeric WNV infectious clone) virus infections produce high levels of early viral RNA and efficiently induce SGs through protein kinase R (PKR) activation. Additional WNV chimeric viruses made by replacing one or more W956IC genes with the lineage 1 Eg101 equivalent in the W956IC backbone were analyzed. The Eg-NS4b+5, Eg-NS1+3+4a, and Eg-NS1+4b+5 chimeras produced low levels of viral RNA at early times of infection and inefficiently induced SGs, suggesting the possibility that interactions between viral nonstructural proteins and/or between viral nonstructural proteins and cell proteins are involved in suppressing early viral RNA synthesis and membrane remodeling during natural WNV strain infections. Detection of exposed viral double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) in W956IC-infected cells suggested that the enhanced early viral RNA synthesis surpassed the available virus-induced membrane protection and allowed viral dsRNA to activate PKR.

Factors affecting recombinant Western equine encephalitis virus glycoprotein production in the baculovirus system

In an effort to produce processed, soluble Western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV) glycoproteins for subunit therapeutic vaccine studies, we isolated twelve recombinant baculoviruses designed to express four different WEEV glycoprotein constructs under the transcriptional control of three temporally distinct baculovirus promoters. The WEEV glycoprotein constructs encoded full-length E1, the E1 ectodomain, an E26KE1 polyprotein precursor, and an artificial, secretable E2E1 chimera. The three different promoters induced gene expression during the immediate early (ie1), late (p6.9), and very late (polh) phases of baculovirus infection. Protein expression studies showed that the nature of the WEEV construct and the timing of expression both influenced the quantity and quality of recombinant glycoprotein produced. The full-length E1 product was insoluble, irrespective of the timing of expression. Each of the other three constructs yielded soluble products and, in these cases, the timing of expression was important, as higher protein processing efficiencies were generally obtained at earlier times of infection. However, immediate early expression did not yield detectable levels of every WEEV product, and expression during the late (p6.9) or very late (polh) phases of infection provided equal or higher amounts of processed, soluble product. Thus, while earlier foreign gene expression can provide higher recombinant glycoprotein processing efficiencies in the baculovirus system, in the case of the WEEV glycoproteins, earlier expression did not provide larger amounts of high quality, soluble recombinant glycoprotein product.