PB1-F2 is a multifunctional protein and contributes to the pathogenicity of influenza A viruses. PB1-F2 is known to have strain and cell specific functions. In this study we have investigated the apoptotic and inflammatory responses of PB1-F2 protein from influenza viruses of diverse pathogenicities in A549 lung epithelial cells. Overexpression of PB1-F2 resulted in apoptosis and heightened inflammatory response in A549 cells. Comparison revealed that the response varied with each subtype. PB1-F2 protein from highly pathogenic H5N1 virus induced least apoptosis but maximum inflammatory response. Results indicated that apoptosis was mediated through death receptor ligands TNF<i>&#x3b1;</i> and TRAIL via Caspase 8 activation. Significant induction of cytokines/chemokines CXCL10, CCL5, CCL2, IFN<i>&#x3b1;</i>, and IL-6 was noted in A549 cells transfected with PB1-F2 gene construct of 2008 West Bengal H5N1 virus (H5N1-WB). On the contrary, PB1-F2 construct from 2007 highly pathogenic H5N1 isolate (H5N1-M) with truncated N-terminal region did not evoke as exuberant inflammatory response as the other H5N1-WB with full length PB1-F2, signifying the importance of N-terminal region of PB1-F2. Sequence analysis revealed that PB1-F2 proteins derived from different influenza viruses varied at multiple amino acid positions. The secondary structure prediction showed each of the PB1-F2 proteins had distinct helix-loop-helix structure. Thus, our data substantiate the notion that the contribution of PB1-F2 to influenza pathogenicity is greatly strain specific and involves multiple host factors. This data demonstrates that PB1-F2 protein of influenza A virus, when expressed independently is minimally apoptotic and strongly influences the early host response in A549 cells.

Gunisha Pasricha

Sanjay Mukherjee

Alok K. Chakrabarti

Apoptotic and Early Innate Immune Responses to PB1-F2 Protein of Influenza A Viruses Belonging to Different Subtypes in Human Lung Epithelial A549 Cells

Newcastle disease (ND) is one of the most important avian diseases with considerable threat to the productivity of poultry all over the world. The disease is associated with severe respiratory, gastrointestinal, and neurological lesions in chicken leading to high mortality and several other production related losses. The aetiology of the disease is an avian paramyxovirus type-1 or Newcastle disease virus (NDV), whose isolates are serologically grouped into a single serotype but genetically classified into a total of 19 genotypes, owing to the continuous emergence and evolution of the virus. In Nigeria, molecular characterization of NDV is generally very scanty and majorly focuses on the amplification of the partial F gene for genotype assignment. However, with the introduction of the most objective NDV genotyping criteria which utilize complete fusion protein coding sequences in phylogenetic taxonomy, the enormous genetic diversity of the virus in Nigeria became very conspicuous. In this review, we examine the current ecological distribution of various NDV genotypes in Nigeria based on the available complete fusion protein nucleotide sequences (1662&#x2009;bp) in the NCBI database. We then discuss the challenges of ND control as a result of the wide genetic distance between the currently circulating NDV isolates and the commonest vaccines used to combat the disease in the country. Finally, we suggest future directions in the war against the economically devastating ND in Nigeria.

Muhammad Bashir Bello

Khatijah Mohd Yusoff

Aini Ideris

Mohd Hair-Bejo

Ben P. H. Peeters

Abdurrahman Hassan Jibril

Farouk Muhammad Tambuwal

Abdul Rahman Omar

Genotype Diversity of Newcastle Disease Virus in Nigeria: Disease Control Challenges and Future Outlook

The 5&#x2019; untranslated region (UTR) of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) genome contains the internal ribosome entry site (IRES), a highly conserved RNA structure essential for cap-independent translation of the viral polyprotein. HCV, apart from the liver, is thought to be associated with lymphocyte subpopulations of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), in lymph nodes and brain tissue. In this study, RT-PCR, cloning, and sequence analysis were employed to investigate the quasispecies nature of the 5&#x2019;UTR following extraction of viral RNA from PBMCs and plasma of HCV infected individuals. The nucleotide variation between IRES-derived sequences from PBMCs and plasma indicated the existence of polymorphic sites within the IRES. HCV isolates had divergent variants with unique mutations particularly at positions 107, 204, and 243 of the IRES. Most of the PBMC-derived sequences contained an A-A-A variant at these positions. The mutations associated with the IRESes suggested the presence of unique quasispecies populations in PBMCs compared with plasma.

Luca Mercuri

Emma C. Thomson

Joseph Hughes

Peter Karayiannis

Quasispecies Changes with Distinctive Point Mutations in the Hepatitis C Virus Internal Ribosome Entry Site (IRES) Derived from PBMCs and Plasma

<i>Background</i>. Sapovirus (SV) infection is a public health concern which plays an important role in the burden of diarrhoeal diseases, causing acute gastroenteritis in people of all ages in both outbreaks and sporadic cases worldwide.<i> Objective/Study Design</i>. The purpose of this report is to summarise the available data on the detection of human SV in low and middle income countries. A systematic search on PubMed and ScienceDirect database for SV studies published between 2004 and 2017 in low and middle income countries was done. Studies of SV in stool and water samples were part of the inclusion criteria.<i> Results</i>. From 19 low and middle income countries, 45 published studies were identified. The prevalence rate for SV was 6.5&#x25;. A significant difference (<i>P=0</i>) in SV prevalent rate was observed between low income and middle income countries. Thirty-three (78.6&#x25;) of the studies reported on children and 8 (19&#x25;) studies reported on all age groups with diarrhoea. The majority (66.7&#x25;) of studies reported on hospitalised patients with acute gastroenteritis. Sapovirus GI was shown as the dominant genogroup, followed by SV-GII.<i> Conclusion</i>. The detection of human SV in low and middle income countries is evident; however the reports on its prevalence are limited. There is therefore a need for systematic surveillance of the circulation of SV, and their role in diarrhoeal disease and outbreaks, especially in low and middle income countries.

Mpho Magwalivha

Jean-Pierre Kabue

Afsatou Ndama Traore

Natasha Potgieter

Prevalence of Human Sapovirus in Low and Middle Income Countries

Advances in the next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have significantly increased our ability to detect new viral pathogens and systematically determine the spectrum of viruses prevalent in various biological samples. In addition, this approach has also helped in establishing the associations of viromes with many diseases. However, unlike the metagenomic studies using<i> 16S</i> rRNA for the detection of bacteria, it is impossible to create universal oligonucleotides to target all known and novel viruses, owing to their genomic diversity and variability. On the other hand, sequencing the entire genome is still expensive and has relatively low sensitivity for such applications. The existing approaches for the design of oligonucleotides for targeted enrichment are usually involved in the development of primers for the PCR-based detection of particular viral species or genera, but not for families or higher taxonomic orders. In this study, we have developed a computational pipeline for designing the oligonucleotides capable of covering a significant number of known viruses within various taxonomic orders, as well as their novel variants. We have subsequently designed a genus-specific oligonucleotide panel for targeted enrichment of viral nucleic acids in biological material and demonstrated the possibility of its application for virus detection in bird samples. We have tested our panel using a number of collected samples and have observed superior efficiency in the detection and identification of viral pathogens. Since a reliable, bioinformatics-based analytical method for the rapid identification of the sequences was crucial, an NGS-based data analysis module was developed in this study, and its functionality in the detection of novel viruses and analysis of virome diversity was demonstrated.

Andrey A. Ayginin

Ekaterina V. Pimkina

Alina D. Matsvay

Anna S. Speranskaya

Marina V. Safonova

Ekaterina A. Blinova

Ilya V. Artyushin

Vladimir G. Dedkov

German A. Shipulin

Kamil Khafizov

The Study of Viral RNA Diversity in Bird Samples Using De Novo Designed Multiplex Genus-Specific Primer Panels

<i>Alternanthera mosaic virus</i> (AltMV) is a typical member of the<i> Potexvirus</i> genus in its morphology and genome structure; still it exhibits a number of unique features. They allow this virus to be considered a promising object for biotechnology. Virions and virus-like particles (VLPs) of AltMV are stable in a wide range of conditions, including sera of laboratory animals. AltMV VLPs can assemble at various pH and ionic strengths. Furthermore, AltMV virions and VLPs demonstrate high immunogenicity, enhancing the immune response to the target antigen thus offering the possibility of being used as potential adjuvants. Recently, for the first time for plant viruses, we showed the structural difference between morphologically similar viral and virus-like particles on AltMV virions and VLPs. In this review, we discuss the features of AltMV virions, AltMV VLP assembly, and their structure and properties, as well as the characteristics of AltMV isolates, host plants, infection symptoms, AltMV isolation and purification, genome structure, viral proteins, and AltMV-based vectors.

Ekaterina Donchenko

Ekaterina Trifonova

Nikolai Nikitin

Joseph Atabekov

Olga Karpova

<i>Alternanthera mosaic potexvirus</i>: Several Features, Properties, and Application

<i>Background</i>. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane bound, secreted by cells, and detected in bodily fluids, including urine, and contain proteins, RNA, and DNA. Our goal was to identify HIV and human proteins (HPs) in urinary EVs from HIV+ patients and compare them to HIV− samples.<i> Methods</i>. Urine samples were collected from HIV+ (<span class="inline_break"><svg xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="17.789pt" style="vertical-align:-0.2063904pt" id="M1" height="8.55521pt" version="1.1" viewBox="-0.0498162 -8.34882 17.789 8.55521"><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,0,0)"><path id="g113-111" d="M495 86L479 114C446 82 419 66 409 66C401 66 401 72 406 97C420 166 436 231 453 297C489 435 454 448 428 448C406 448 384 439 354 422C305 394 222 327 161 247H159L183 345C200 415 194 448 173 448C143 448 82 410 23 351L38 325C64 349 95 371 105 371C111 371 116 365 109 336L25 -4L31 -12C50 -4 77 3 107 9C119 69 132 122 145 168C197 254 321 381 370 381C387 381 393 374 378 305L329 95C309 17 320 -12 345 -12C372 -12 430 19 495 86Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,10.158,0)"><path id="g117-34" d="M535 323V373H52V323H535ZM535 138V188H52V138H535Z"/></g></svg><span class="irelop"/><svg xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="12.679pt" style="vertical-align:-0.2063904pt" height="8.55521pt" version="1.1" viewBox="21.3711838 -8.34882 12.679 8.55521"><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,21.421,0)"><path id="g113-52" d="M285 378C315 398 338 416 353 432C373 451 384 474 384 503C384 579 325 635 236 635H235C182 635 136 610 108 579L65 516L85 496C110 533 150 575 205 575C258 575 300 543 300 481C300 407 232 369 141 339L147 310C163 315 188 321 211 321C268 321 338 284 338 192C338 94 288 40 217 40C160 40 119 68 93 91C85 98 77 97 69 91C60 84 47 71 46 58C44 46 48 35 62 22C75 10 116 -12 162 -12C234 -12 424 62 424 224C424 297 373 359 285 376V378Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,27.661,0)"><path id="g113-54" d="M153 550H386L412 615L406 623H120L82 318C104 327 142 338 184 338C294 338 347 275 347 187C347 112 305 39 221 39C160 39 119 71 97 89C88 97 80 96 71 90C59 80 50 67 49 57C48 45 52 36 66 23C80 9 123 -12 169 -12C221 -11 288 15 342 59C403 109 431 165 431 225C431 308 366 395 238 395C212 395 165 379 127 364L153 550Z"/></g></svg></span>) and HIV− (<span class="inline_break"><svg xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="17.789pt" style="vertical-align:-0.2063904pt" id="M2" height="8.55521pt" version="1.1" viewBox="-0.0498162 -8.34882 17.789 8.55521"><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,0,0)"><use xlink:href="#g113-111"/></g><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,10.158,0)"><use xlink:href="#g117-34"/></g></svg><span class="irelop"/><svg xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="12.679pt" style="vertical-align:-0.2063904pt" height="8.55521pt" version="1.1" viewBox="21.3711838 -8.34882 12.679 8.55521"><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,21.421,0)"><path id="g113-50" d="M384 0V27C293 34 287 42 287 114V635C232 613 172 594 109 583V559L157 557C201 555 205 550 205 499V114C205 42 199 34 109 27V0H384Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,27.661,0)"><path id="g113-51" d="M412 140C382 77 369 73 315 73H129L270 222C362 320 402 379 402 466C402 571 322 635 234 635C177 635 130 609 99 576L42 495L64 475C90 514 133 568 201 568C274 568 318 519 318 435C318 349 255 267 193 193C144 135 87 78 32 23V0H405C417 45 427 89 440 131L412 140Z"/></g></svg></span>) individuals. EVs were isolated by ultrafiltration and characterized using transmission electron microscopy, tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS), and nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA). Western blots confirmed the presence of HIV proteins. Gene ontology (GO) analysis was performed using FunRich and HIV Human Interaction database (HHID).<i> Results</i>. EVs from urine were 30–400 nm in size. More EVs were in HIV+ patients, <span class="inline_break"><svg xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="19.289pt" style="vertical-align:-0.6370001pt" id="M3" height="9.2729pt" version="1.1" viewBox="-0.0498162 -8.6359 19.289 9.2729"><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,0,0)"><path id="g113-81" d="M600 480C600 590 528 650 384 650H143L137 622C222 614 225 607 210 531L130 127C113 41 106 36 23 28L17 0H294L300 28C204 36 195 42 212 127L243 284L314 263C327 263 339 263 352 264C465 271 600 337 600 480ZM508 481C508 351 402 304 329 304C289 304 265 311 250 317L295 559C302 594 310 606 323 611C335 616 350 619 367 619C455 619 508 573 508 481Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,11.658,0)"><path id="g117-91" d="M512 -3V55L134 254V256L512 456V514L75 281V230L512 -3Z"/></g></svg><span class="irelop"/><svg xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="21.918pt" style="vertical-align:-0.6370001pt" height="9.2729pt" version="1.1" viewBox="22.8711838 -8.6359 21.918 9.2729"><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,22.921,0)"><path id="g113-49" d="M241 635C89 635 35 457 35 312C35 153 89 -12 240 -12C390 -12 443 166 443 312C443 466 390 635 241 635ZM238 602C329 602 354 454 354 312C354 172 330 22 240 22C152 22 124 173 124 313S148 602 238 602Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,29.161,0)"><path id="g113-47" d="M113 -12C146 -12 170 11 170 46C170 78 146 103 114 103S58 78 58 46C58 11 82 -12 113 -12Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,32.125,0)"><use xlink:href="#g113-49"/></g><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,38.365,0)"><use xlink:href="#g113-54"/></g></svg></span>, by NTA. HIV+ samples had 14,475 HPs using LC/MS/MS, while only 111 were in HIV−. HPs in the EVs were of exosomal origin. LC/MS/MS showed all HIV+ samples contained at least one HIV protein. GO analysis showed differences in proteins between HIV+ and HIV− samples and more than 50% of the published HPs in the HHID interacted with EV HIV proteins.<i> Conclusion</i>. Differences in the proteomic profile of EVs from HIV+ versus HIV− samples were found. HIV and HPs in EVs could be used to detect infection and/or diagnose HIV disease syndromes. 

Samuel I. Anyanwu

Akins Doherty

Michael D. Powell

Chamberlain Obialo

Ming B. Huang

Alexander Quarshie

Claudette Mitchell

Khalid Bashir

Gale W. Newman

Detection of HIV-1 and Human Proteins in Urinary Extracellular Vesicles from HIV+ Patients

Monkey B virus (<i>Macacine alphaherpesvirus</i> 1; BV) occurs naturally in macaques of the genus<i> Macaca, </i>which includes rhesus and long-tailed (cynomolgus) monkeys that are widely used in biomedical research. BV is closely related to the human herpes simplex viruses (HSV), and BV infections in its natural macaque host are quite similar to HSV infections in humans. Zoonotic BV is extremely rare, having been diagnosed in only a handful of North American facilities with the last documented case occurring in 1998. However, BV is notorious for its neurovirulence since zoonotic infections are serious, usually involving the central nervous system, and are frequently fatal. Little is known about factors underlying the extreme neurovirulence of BV in humans. Here we review what is actually known about the molecular biology of BV and viral factors affecting its neurovirulence. Based on what is known about related herpesviruses, areas for future research that may elucidate mechanisms underlying the neurovirulence of this intriguing virus are also reviewed.

R. Eberle

L. Jones-Engel

Questioning the Extreme Neurovirulence of Monkey B Virus<i> (Macacine alphaherpesvirus 1)</i>

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<p><em>Advances in Virology</em> publishes articles in all aspect of viruses and viral diseases. Topics covered include viral structure, function, and genetics, as well as virus-host interactions, viral disease outbreaks, and antiviral therapeutics.</p>


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Advances in Virology - Table of contents 2018

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Advances in Virology publishes articles in all aspect of viruses and viral diseases. Topics covered include viral structure, function, and genetics, as well as virus-host interactions, viral disease outbreaks, and antiviral therapeutics.

Advances in Virology