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Khamees A, Awadi S, Al-Shami K, Alkhoun HA, Al-Eitan SF, Alsheikh AM, Saeed A, Al-Zoubi RM, Zoubi MSA. Human monkeypox virus in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic. J Infect Public Health 2023; 16:1149-1157. [PMID: 37269693 DOI: 10.1016/j.jiph.2023.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Revised: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 05/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The end of smallpox in 1980 and the subsequent stopping of vaccination against smallpox was followed by the emergence of monkeypox (mpox), a viral disease of animal origin, meaning that it is transmitted from animal to human. The symptoms of mpox are similar to smallpox, except that they are less severe in terms of clinical features. In the case of public health, the mpox virus is one of the most important orthopoxviruses (such as variola, cowpox, and vaccinia) that come from the family Poxviridae. Mpox occurs mostly in central Africa and sometimes in tropical rainforests or some urban areas. Also, there are threats other than COVID-19, that must be addressed and prevented from spreading, as there has been an outbreak of mpox cases since May 7, 2022, throughout the USA, Europe, Australia, and part of Africa. OBJECTIVES In this review, we will discuss mpox between the past, the present and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, it offers an updated summary of the taxonomy, etiology, transmission, and epidemiology of mpox illness. In addition, the current review aims to highlight the importance of emerging pandemics in the same era such as mpox and COVID-19. METHODS A literature search was done for the study using online sources like PubMed and Google Scholar. Publications in English were included. Data for study variables were extracted. After the duplicate articles were eliminated, full-text screening was performed on the papers' titles and abstracts. RESULTS The evaluation included a series documenting mpox virus outbreaks, and both prospective and retrospectiveinvestigations. CONCLUSIONS monkeypox is a viral disease caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV), which is primarily found in central and western Africa. The disease is transmitted from animals to humans and presents symptoms similar to those of smallpox, including fever, headache, muscle aches, and a rash. Monkeypox can lead to complications such as secondary integument infection, bronchopneumonia, sepsis, and encephalitis, as well as corneal infection that can result in blindness. There is no specific clinically proven treatment for monkeypox, and treatment is primarily supportive. However, antiviral drugs and vaccines are available for cross-protection against the virus, and strict infection control measures and vaccination of close contacts of affected individuals can help prevent and control outbreaks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Almu'atasim Khamees
- Faculty of Medicine, Yarmouk University, P.O Box 566, 21163 Irbid, Jordan; Department of General Surgery, King Hussein Cancer Center, Amman, 11941, Jordan.
| | - Sajeda Awadi
- Faculty of Medicine, Yarmouk University, P.O Box 566, 21163 Irbid, Jordan.
| | - Khayry Al-Shami
- Faculty of Medicine, Yarmouk University, P.O Box 566, 21163 Irbid, Jordan.
| | - Hayat Abu Alkhoun
- Faculty of Medicine, Yarmouk University, P.O Box 566, 21163 Irbid, Jordan.
| | - Sharaf F Al-Eitan
- Faculty of Medicine, Yarmouk University, P.O Box 566, 21163 Irbid, Jordan.
| | | | - Ahmad Saeed
- Faculty of Medicine, Yarmouk University, P.O Box 566, 21163 Irbid, Jordan.
| | - Raed M Al-Zoubi
- Surgical Research Section, Department of Surgery, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar; Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, QU-Health, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar; Department of Chemistry, Jordan University of Science and Technology, P.O.Box 3030, Irbid 22110, Jordan.
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Shchelkunova GA, Shchelkunov SN. Smallpox, Monkeypox and Other Human Orthopoxvirus Infections. Viruses 2022; 15:103. [PMID: 36680142 PMCID: PMC9865299 DOI: 10.3390/v15010103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Revised: 12/18/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Considering that vaccination against smallpox with live vaccinia virus led to serious adverse effects in some cases, the WHO, after declaration of the global eradication of smallpox in 1980, strongly recommended to discontinue the vaccination in all countries. This led to the loss of immunity against not only smallpox but also other zoonotic orthopoxvirus infections in humans over the past years. An increasing number of human infections with zoonotic orthopoxviruses and, first of all, monkeypox, force us to reconsider a possible re-emergence of smallpox or a similar disease as a result of natural evolution of these viruses. The review contains a brief analysis of the results of studies on genomic organization and evolution of human pathogenic orthopoxviruses, development of modern methods for diagnosis, vaccination, and chemotherapy of smallpox, monkeypox, and other zoonotic human orthopoxvirus infections.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sergei N. Shchelkunov
- State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology “Vector”, Rospotrebnadzor, Koltsovo, 630559 Novosibirsk, Russia
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Abstract
Smallpox is an ancient scourge known since the Antiquity. It is caused by a highly contagious airborne poxvirus. This strictly human disease exists in two forms: variola major (Asian smallpox) with mortality of 20-45%, and an attenuated form called variola minor or alatrim with mortality of 1-2%, which only recently appeared in Europe and America towards the end of the 19th century. The first smallpox pandemic was the "Antonine plague", which swept through the Roman Empire in the 2nd century AD, after which smallpox became endemic in the Old World, causing seasonal and regional epidemics in Europe, affecting mostly young children until the 19th century. The discovery of the New World in 1492 and the opening of the African slave trade favored in 1518 the contamination by smallpox of the native Amerindian populations, who were massively decimated during the following centuries. In the absence of any effective treatment, preventive methods were developed from the 18th century. First, variolation was used, a dangerous procedure that consists in inoculating intradermally a small quantity of virus from convalescent patients. In the early 19th century, Edward Jenner popularized the practice of inoculating cowpox, a mild cow disease. This procedure proved to be very effective and relatively safe, leading to the decline of smallpox during the 19th century. In the 20th century, a ten-year WHO vaccination campaign led to the total eradication of smallpox in 1977. During that century, smallpox caused an estimated 300-500 million deaths worldwide. Using molecular approach, it has been discovered that the smallpox virus emerged 3000-4000 years ago in East Africa and is closely related to the taterapox virus from African gerbils and to the camelpox virus, which causes variola in camelids. Today, smallpox virus strains are stored in freezers at the CDC in Atlanta and at the Vector Center in Koltsovo, Siberia. That is why smallpox remains a potential threat to the highly susceptible human species, as a result of an accident or malicious use of the virus as a biological weapon.
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Monkeypox in pregnancy: virology, clinical presentation, and obstetric management. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2022; 227:849-861.e7. [PMID: 35985514 PMCID: PMC9534101 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2022.08.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Revised: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
The 2022 monkeypox outbreak, caused by the zoonotic monkeypox virus, has spread across 6 World Health Organization regions (the Americas, Africa, Europe, Eastern Mediterranean, Western Pacific, and South-East Asia) and was declared a public health emergency of international concern on July 23, 2022. The global situation is especially concerning given the atypically high rate of person-to-person transmission, which suggests viral evolution to an established human pathogen. Pregnant women are at heightened risk of vertical transmission of the monkeypox virus because of immune vulnerability and natural depletion of population immunity to smallpox among reproductive-age women, and because orthopoxviral cell entry mechanisms can overcome the typically viral-resistant syncytiotrophoblast barrier within the placenta. Data on pregnancy outcomes following monkeypox infection are scarce but include reports of miscarriage, intrauterine demise, preterm birth, and congenital infection. This article forecasts the issues that maternity units might face and proposes guidelines to protect the health of pregnant women and fetuses exposed to the monkeypox virus. We review the pathophysiology and clinical features of monkeypox infection and discuss the obstetrical implications of the unusually high prevalence of anogenital lesions. We describe the use of real-time polymerase chain reaction tests from mucocutaneous and oropharyngeal sites to confirm infection, and share an algorithm for the antenatal management of pregnant women with monkeypox virus exposure. On the basis of the best available knowledge from prenatal orthopoxvirus infections, we discuss the sonographic features of congenital monkeypox and the role of invasive testing in establishing fetal infection. We suggest a protocol for cesarean delivery to avoid the horizontal transmission of the monkeypox virus at birth and address the controversy of mother-infant separation in the postpartum period. Obstetrical concerns related to antiviral therapy with tecovirimat and vaccinia immune globulin are highlighted, including the risks of heart rate-corrected QT-interval prolongation, inaccuracies in blood glucose monitoring, and the predisposition to iatrogenic venous thromboembolism. The possibility of monkeypox vaccine hesitancy during pregnancy is discussed, and strategies are offered to mitigate these risks. Finally, we conclude with a research proposal to address knowledge gaps related to the impact of monkeypox infection on maternal, fetal, and neonatal health.
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Malyarchuk AB, Andreeva TV, Kuznetsova IL, Kunizheva SS, Protasova MS, Uralsky LI, Tyazhelova TV, Gusev FE, Manakhov AD, Rogaev EI. Genomics of Ancient Pathogens: First Advances and Prospects. BIOCHEMISTRY (MOSCOW) 2022; 87:242-258. [PMID: 35526849 PMCID: PMC8916790 DOI: 10.1134/s0006297922030051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Paleogenomics is one of the urgent and promising areas of interdisciplinary research in the today’s world science. New genomic methods of ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis, such as next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies, make it possible not only to obtain detailed genetic information about historical and prehistoric human populations, but also to study individual microbial and viral pathogens and microbiomes from different ancient and historical objects. Studies of aDNA of pathogens by reconstructing their genomes have so far yielded complete sequences of the ancient pathogens that played significant role in the history of the world: Yersiniapestis (plague), Variola virus (smallpox), Vibriocholerae (cholera), HBV (hepatitis B virus), as well as the equally important endemic human infectious agents: Mycobacteriumtuberculosis (tuberculosis), Mycobacteriumleprae (leprosy), and Treponemapallidum (syphilis). Genomic data from these pathogens complemented the information previously obtained by paleopathologists and allowed not only to identify pathogens from the past pandemics, but also to recognize the pathogen lineages that are now extinct, to refine chronology of the pathogen appearance in human populations, and to reconstruct evolutionary history of the pathogens that are still relevant to public health today. In this review, we describe state-of-the-art genomic research of the origins and evolution of many ancient pathogens and viruses and examine mechanisms of the emergence and spread of the ancient infections in the mankind history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra B Malyarchuk
- Center for Genetics and Genetic Technologies, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119234, Russia.
| | - Tatiana V Andreeva
- Center for Genetics and Genetic Technologies, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119234, Russia
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119333, Russia
| | - Irina L Kuznetsova
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119333, Russia
- Center for Genetics and Life Science, Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, 354340, Russia
| | - Svetlana S Kunizheva
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119333, Russia
- Center for Genetics and Life Science, Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, 354340, Russia
| | - Maria S Protasova
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119333, Russia
| | - Lev I Uralsky
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119333, Russia
- Center for Genetics and Life Science, Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, 354340, Russia
| | - Tatiana V Tyazhelova
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119333, Russia
| | - Fedor E Gusev
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119333, Russia
| | - Andrey D Manakhov
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119333, Russia
- Center for Genetics and Life Science, Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, 354340, Russia
| | - Evgeny I Rogaev
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119333, Russia.
- Center for Genetics and Life Science, Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, 354340, Russia
- Department of Psychiatry, UMass Chan Medical School, Shrewsbury, MA 01545, USA
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Shchelkunov SN, Shchelkunova GA. [We should be prepared to smallpox re-emergence.]. Vopr Virusol 2021; 64:206-214. [PMID: 32167685 DOI: 10.36233/0507-4088-2019-64-5-206-214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2019] [Accepted: 07/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The review contains a brief analysis of the results of investigations conducted during 40 years after smallpox eradication and directed to study genomic organization and evolution of variola virus (VARV) and development of modern diagnostics, vaccines and chemotherapies of smallpox and other zoonotic orthopoxviral infections of humans. Taking into account that smallpox vaccination in several cases had adverse side effects, WHO recommended ceasing this vaccination after 1980 in all countries of the world. The result of this decision is that the mankind lost the collective immunity not only to smallpox, but also to other zoonotic orthopoxvirus infections. The ever more frequently recorded human cases of zoonotic orthopoxvirus infections force to renew consideration of the problem of possible smallpox reemergence resulting from natural evolution of these viruses. Analysis of the available archive data on smallpox epidemics, the history of ancient civilizations, and the newest data on the evolutionary relationship of orthopoxviruses has allowed us to hypothesize that VARV could have repeatedly reemerged via evolutionary changes in a zoonotic ancestor virus and then disappeared because of insufficient population size of isolated ancient civilizations. Only the historically last smallpox pandemic continued for a long time and was contained and stopped in the 20th century thanks to the joint efforts of medics and scientists from many countries under the aegis of WHO. Thus, there is no fundamental prohibition on potential reemergence of smallpox or a similar human disease in future in the course of natural evolution of the currently existing zoonotic orthopoxviruses. Correspondingly, it is of the utmost importance to develop and widely adopt state-of-the-art methods for efficient and rapid species-specific diagnosis of all orthopoxvirus species pathogenic for humans, VARV included. It is also most important to develop new safe methods for prevention and therapy of human orthopoxvirus infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- S N Shchelkunov
- State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR, Koltsovo, Novosibirsk region, 630559, Russia
| | - G A Shchelkunova
- State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR, Koltsovo, Novosibirsk region, 630559, Russia
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McEntire CRS, Song KW, McInnis RP, Rhee JY, Young M, Williams E, Wibecan LL, Nolan N, Nagy AM, Gluckstein J, Mukerji SS, Mateen FJ. Neurologic Manifestations of the World Health Organization's List of Pandemic and Epidemic Diseases. Front Neurol 2021; 12:634827. [PMID: 33692745 PMCID: PMC7937722 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2021.634827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2020] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The World Health Organization (WHO) monitors the spread of diseases globally and maintains a list of diseases with epidemic or pandemic potential. Currently listed diseases include Chikungunya, cholera, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Ebola virus disease, Hendra virus infection, influenza, Lassa fever, Marburg virus disease, Neisseria meningitis, MERS-CoV, monkeypox, Nipah virus infection, novel coronavirus (COVID-19), plague, Rift Valley fever, SARS, smallpox, tularemia, yellow fever, and Zika virus disease. The associated pathogens are increasingly important on the global stage. The majority of these diseases have neurological manifestations. Those with less frequent neurological manifestations may also have important consequences. This is highlighted now in particular through the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and reinforces that pathogens with the potential to spread rapidly and widely, in spite of concerted global efforts, may affect the nervous system. We searched the scientific literature, dating from 1934 to August 2020, to compile data on the cause, epidemiology, clinical presentation, neuroimaging features, and treatment of each of the diseases of epidemic or pandemic potential as viewed through a neurologist's lens. We included articles with an abstract or full text in English in this topical and scoping review. Diseases with epidemic and pandemic potential can be spread directly from human to human, animal to human, via mosquitoes or other insects, or via environmental contamination. Manifestations include central neurologic conditions (meningitis, encephalitis, intraparenchymal hemorrhage, seizures), peripheral and cranial nerve syndromes (sensory neuropathy, sensorineural hearing loss, ophthalmoplegia), post-infectious syndromes (acute inflammatory polyneuropathy), and congenital syndromes (fetal microcephaly), among others. Some diseases have not been well-characterized from a neurological standpoint, but all have at least scattered case reports of neurological features. Some of the diseases have curative treatments available while in other cases, supportive care remains the only management option. Regardless of the pathogen, prompt, and aggressive measures to control the spread of these agents are the most important factors in lowering the overall morbidity and mortality they can cause.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caleb R. S. McEntire
- Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-Brigham Neurology Residency Program, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Kun-Wei Song
- Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-Brigham Neurology Residency Program, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Robert P. McInnis
- Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-Brigham Neurology Residency Program, Boston, MA, United States
| | - John Y. Rhee
- Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-Brigham Neurology Residency Program, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Michael Young
- Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-Brigham Neurology Residency Program, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Erika Williams
- Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-Brigham Neurology Residency Program, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Leah L. Wibecan
- Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-Brigham Pediatric Neurology Residency Program, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Neal Nolan
- Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-Brigham Neurology Residency Program, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Amanda M. Nagy
- Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-Brigham Pediatric Neurology Residency Program, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Jeffrey Gluckstein
- Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-Brigham Neurology Residency Program, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Shibani S. Mukerji
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Farrah J. Mateen
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
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Ferrari G, Neukamm J, Baalsrud HT, Breidenstein AM, Ravinet M, Phillips C, Rühli F, Bouwman A, Schuenemann VJ. Variola virus genome sequenced from an eighteenth-century museum specimen supports the recent origin of smallpox. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190572. [PMID: 33012235 PMCID: PMC7702794 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Smallpox, caused by the variola virus (VARV), was a highly virulent disease with high mortality rates causing a major threat for global human health until its successful eradication in 1980. Despite previously published historic and modern VARV genomes, its past dissemination and diversity remain debated. To understand the evolutionary history of VARV with respect to historic and modern VARV genetic variation in Europe, we sequenced a VARV genome from a well-described eighteenth-century case from England (specimen P328). In our phylogenetic analysis, the new genome falls between the modern strains and another historic strain from Lithuania, supporting previous claims of larger diversity in early modern Europe compared to the twentieth century. Our analyses also resolve a previous controversy regarding the common ancestor between modern and historic strains by confirming a later date around the seventeenth century. Overall, our results point to the benefit of historic genomes for better resolution of past VARV diversity and highlight the value of such historic genomes from around the world to further understand the evolutionary history of smallpox as well as related diseases. This article is part of the theme issue 'Insights into health and disease from ancient biomolecules'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giada Ferrari
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, PO Box 1066 Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Judith Neukamm
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute for Bioinformatics and Medical Informatics, University of Tübingen, Sand 14, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Helle T. Baalsrud
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, PO Box 1066 Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway
| | - Abagail M. Breidenstein
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Mark Ravinet
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, PO Box 1066 Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Carina Phillips
- The Royal College of Surgeons of England, 35-43 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PE, UK
| | - Frank Rühli
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Abigail Bouwman
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Verena J. Schuenemann
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
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Simpson K, Heymann D, Brown CS, Edmunds WJ, Elsgaard J, Fine P, Hochrein H, Hoff NA, Green A, Ihekweazu C, Jones TC, Lule S, Maclennan J, McCollum A, Mühlemann B, Nightingale E, Ogoina D, Ogunleye A, Petersen B, Powell J, Quantick O, Rimoin AW, Ulaeato D, Wapling A. Human monkeypox - After 40 years, an unintended consequence of smallpox eradication. Vaccine 2020; 38:5077-5081. [PMID: 32417140 PMCID: PMC9533855 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.04.062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 171] [Impact Index Per Article: 42.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2020] [Accepted: 04/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Smallpox eradication, coordinated by the WHO and certified 40 years ago, led to the cessation of routine smallpox vaccination in most countries. It is estimated that over 70% of the world's population is no longer protected against smallpox, and through cross-immunity, to closely related orthopox viruses such as monkeypox. Monkeypox is now a re-emerging disease. Monkeypox is endemic in as yet unconfirmed animal reservoirs in sub-Saharan Africa, while its human epidemiology appears to be changing. Monkeypox in small animals imported from Ghana as exotic pets was at the origin of an outbreak of human monkeypox in the USA in 2003. Travellers infected in Nigeria were at the origin of monkeypox cases in the UK in 2018 and 2019, Israel in 2018 and Singapore in2019. Together with sporadic reports of human infections with other orthopox viruses, these facts invite speculation that emergent or re-emergent human monkeypox might fill the epidemiological niche vacated by smallpox. An ad-hoc and unofficial group of interested experts met to consider these issues at Chatham House, London in June 2019, in order to review available data and identify monkeypox-related research gaps. Gaps identified by the experts included:The experts further agreed on the need for a better understanding of the genomic evolution and changing epidemiology of orthopox viruses, the usefulness of in-field genomic diagnostics, and the best disease control strategies, including the possibility of vaccination with new generation non-replicating smallpox vaccines and treatment with recently developed antivirals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karl Simpson
- JKS Bioscience Limited, 2 Midanbury Court, 44 Midanbury Lane, Southampton SO18 4HF, UK.
| | - David Heymann
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel St, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7HT, UK.
| | - Colin S Brown
- Public Health England, Colindale, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, UK.
| | - W John Edmunds
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel St, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7HT, UK.
| | - Jesper Elsgaard
- Bavarian Nordic A/S, Hejreskovvej 10A, DK-3490 Kvistgård, Denmark.
| | - Paul Fine
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel St, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7HT, UK.
| | | | - Nicole A Hoff
- Fielding School of Public Health, UCLA, 50 Charles E Young Dr S, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States.
| | - Andrew Green
- Royal Centre of Defence Medicine, Level 2 QEHB, Mindelsohn Way, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2WB,UK.
| | - Chikwe Ihekweazu
- Nigeria CDC, Plot 801, Ebitu Ukiwe Street, Jabi, Abuja, Nigeria.
| | - Terry C Jones
- Centre for Pathogen Evolution, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing St., Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK; Institute of Virology, Charité, Universitätsmedizin Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
| | - Swaib Lule
- University College London, Faculty of Population Health Sciences, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK.
| | - Jane Maclennan
- Bavarian Nordic GmbH, Fraunhoferstraße 13, 82152 Planegg, Germany.
| | - Andrea McCollum
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd. NE, CDC, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
| | - Barbara Mühlemann
- Centre for Pathogen Evolution, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing St., Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK; Institute of Virology, Charité, Universitätsmedizin Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
| | - Emily Nightingale
- The Forge Veterinary Centre, 93b Head Street, Halstead, Essex CO9 2AZ, UK.
| | - Dimie Ogoina
- Niger Delta University/Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Bayelsa, Nigeria
| | - Adesola Ogunleye
- Nigeria CDC, Plot 801, Ebitu Ukiwe Street, Jabi, Abuja, Nigeria.
| | - Brett Petersen
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd. NE, CDC, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
| | - Jacqueline Powell
- Bavarian Nordic Inc, 3025 Carrington Mill Blvd, Morrisville, NC 27560, USA.
| | - Ollie Quantick
- SO1 Public Health and Health Protection, Army Headquarters, Ground Floor, Zone1, Blenheim Bd, Marlborough Lines, Monxton Road, Andover, Hampshire SP11 8HJ, UK.
| | - Anne W Rimoin
- Fielding School of Public Health, UCLA, 50 Charles E Young Dr S, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States.
| | - David Ulaeato
- CBR Division, Defence Science & Technology Laboratory, Porton Down, Salisbury SP4 0JQ, UK.
| | - Andy Wapling
- Regional Head of Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response, NHS England (South West & South East), UK.
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Shchelkunov SN, Shchelkunova GA. Genes that Control Vaccinia Virus Immunogenicity. Acta Naturae 2020; 12:33-41. [PMID: 32477596 PMCID: PMC7245956 DOI: 10.32607/actanaturae.10935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2019] [Accepted: 01/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The live smallpox vaccine was a historical first and highly effective vaccine. However, along with high immunogenicity, the vaccinia virus (VACV) caused serious side effects in vaccinees, sometimes with lethal outcomes. Therefore, after global eradication of smallpox, VACV vaccination was stopped. For this reason, most of the human population worldwide lacks specific immunity against not only smallpox, but also other zoonotic orthopoxviruses. Outbreaks of diseases caused by these viruses have increasingly occurred in humans on different continents. However, use of the classical live VACV vaccine for prevention against these diseases is unacceptable because of potential serious side effects, especially in individuals with suppressed immunity or immunodeficiency (e.g., HIV-infected patients). Therefore, highly attenuated VACV variants that preserve their immunogenicity are needed. This review discusses current ideas about the development of a humoral and cellular immune response to orthopoxvirus infection/vaccination and describes genetic engineering approaches that could be utilized to generate safe and highly immunogenic live VACV vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- S. N. Shchelkunov
- State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology “Vector”, Rospotrebnadzor, Novosibirsk region, Koltsovo, 630559 Russia
- The Federal Research Center Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, 630090 Russia
- Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, 630090 Russia
| | - G. A. Shchelkunova
- State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology “Vector”, Rospotrebnadzor, Novosibirsk region, Koltsovo, 630559 Russia
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11
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Olson VA, Shchelkunov SN. Are We Prepared in Case of a Possible Smallpox-Like Disease Emergence? Viruses 2017; 9:E242. [PMID: 32962316 PMCID: PMC5618008 DOI: 10.3390/v9090242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2017] [Revised: 08/22/2017] [Accepted: 08/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Smallpox was the first human disease to be eradicated, through a concerted vaccination campaign led by the World Health Organization. Since its eradication, routine vaccination against smallpox has ceased, leaving the world population susceptible to disease caused by orthopoxviruses. In recent decades, reports of human disease from zoonotic orthopoxviruses have increased. Furthermore, multiple reports of newly identified poxviruses capable of causing human disease have occurred. These facts raise concerns regarding both the opportunity for these zoonotic orthopoxviruses to evolve and become a more severe public health issue, as well as the risk of Variola virus (the causative agent of smallpox) to be utilized as a bioterrorist weapon. The eradication of smallpox occurred prior to the development of the majority of modern virological and molecular biological techniques. Therefore, there is a considerable amount that is not understood regarding how this solely human pathogen interacts with its host. This paper briefly recounts the history and current status of diagnostic tools, vaccines, and anti-viral therapeutics for treatment of smallpox disease. The authors discuss the importance of further research to prepare the global community should a smallpox-like virus emerge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria A. Olson
- Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA
| | - Sergei N. Shchelkunov
- Department of Genomic Research and Development of DNA Diagnostics of Poxviruses, State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR, Koltsovo, 630559 Novosibirsk Region, Russia
- Department of Molecular Biology, Novosibirsk State University, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia
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12
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Mauldin MR, Antwerpen M, Emerson GL, Li Y, Zoeller G, Carroll DS, Meyer H. Cowpox virus: What's in a Name? Viruses 2017; 9:E101. [PMID: 28486428 PMCID: PMC5454414 DOI: 10.3390/v9050101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2017] [Revised: 05/03/2017] [Accepted: 05/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Traditionally, virus taxonomy relied on phenotypic properties; however, a sequence-based virus taxonomy has become essential since the recent requirement of a species to exhibit monophyly. The species Cowpox virus has failed to meet this requirement, necessitating a reexamination of this species. Here, we report the genomic sequences of nine Cowpox viruses and, by combining them with the available data of 37 additional genomes, confirm polyphyly of Cowpox viruses and find statistical support based on genetic data for more than a dozen species. These results are discussed in light of the current International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses species definition, as well as immediate and future implications for poxvirus taxonomic classification schemes. Data support the recognition of five monophyletic clades of Cowpox viruses as valid species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew R Mauldin
- Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, P.O. Box 117, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.
| | - Markus Antwerpen
- Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology, Neuherbergstr 11, 80937 Munich, Germany.
| | - Ginny L Emerson
- Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
| | - Yu Li
- Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
| | - Gudrun Zoeller
- Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology, Neuherbergstr 11, 80937 Munich, Germany.
| | - Darin S Carroll
- Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
| | - Hermann Meyer
- Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology, Neuherbergstr 11, 80937 Munich, Germany.
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13
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Dahiya SS, Kumar S, Mehta SC, Narnaware SD, Singh R, Tuteja FC. Camelpox: A brief review on its epidemiology, current status and challenges. Acta Trop 2016; 158:32-38. [PMID: 26902797 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2016.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2015] [Revised: 02/12/2016] [Accepted: 02/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Camelpox caused by a Camelpox virus (CMLV) is a very important host specific viral disease of camel. It is highly contagious in nature and causes serious impact on health even mortality of camels and economic losses to the camel owners. It manifests itself either in the local/mild or generalized/severe form. Various outbreaks of different pathogenicity have been reported from camel dwelling areas of the world. CMLV has been characterized in embryonated chicken eggs with the production of characteristic pock lesions and in various cell lines with the capacity to induce giant cells. Being of Poxviridae family, CMLV employs various strategies to impede host immune system and facilitates its own pathogenesis. Both live and attenuated vaccine has been found effective against CMLV infection. The present review gives a comprehensive overview of camelpox disease with respect to its transmission, epidemiology, virion characteristics, viral life cycle, host interaction and its immune modulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shyam Singh Dahiya
- National Research Center on Camel, Jorbeer, Bikaner, Rajasthan 334001, India.
| | - Sachin Kumar
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Assam 781039, India
| | | | - Shirish D Narnaware
- National Research Center on Camel, Jorbeer, Bikaner, Rajasthan 334001, India
| | - Raghvendar Singh
- National Research Center on Camel, Jorbeer, Bikaner, Rajasthan 334001, India
| | - Fateh Chand Tuteja
- National Research Center on Camel, Jorbeer, Bikaner, Rajasthan 334001, India
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14
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Stellberger T, Stockmar I, Haase M, Meyer H, Zoeller G, Pavlovic M, Büttner M, Konrad R, Lang H, Tischer K, Kaufer BB, Busch U, Baiker A. Multiplex Real-Time PCR Assay for the Detection and Differentiation of Poxviruses and Poxvirus Vectors. APPLIED BIOSAFETY 2015. [DOI: 10.1177/153567601502000405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Iris Stockmar
- Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Oberschleissheim, Bavaria, Germany
| | - Maren Haase
- Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Oberschleissheim, Bavaria, Germany
| | - Hermann Meyer
- Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology, Munich, Germany
| | | | - Melanie Pavlovic
- Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Oberschleissheim, Bavaria, Germany
| | - Mathias Büttner
- Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Oberschleissheim, Bavaria, Germany
| | - Regina Konrad
- Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Oberschleissheim, Bavaria, Germany
| | - Heike Lang
- Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Oberschleissheim, Bavaria, Germany
| | | | | | - Ulrich Busch
- Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Oberschleissheim, Bavaria, Germany
| | - Armin Baiker
- Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Oberschleissheim, Bavaria, Germany
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Genetic characterization and phylogenetic analysis of host-range genes of Camelpox virus isolates from India. Virusdisease 2015; 26:151-62. [PMID: 26396982 DOI: 10.1007/s13337-015-0266-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2015] [Accepted: 07/07/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Camelpox virus (CMLV), a close variant of variola virus (VARV) infects camels worldwide. The zoonotic infections reported from India signify the need to study the host-range genes-responsible for host tropism. We report sequence and phylogenetic analysis of five host-range genes: cytokine response modifier B (crmB), chemokine binding protein (ckbp), viral schlafen-like (v-slfn), myxomavirus T4-like (M-T4-like) and b5r of CMLVs isolated from outbreaks in India. Comparative analysis revealed that these genes are conserved among CMLVs and shared 94.5-100 % identity at both nucleotide (nt) and amino acid (aa) levels. All genes showed identity (59.3-98.4 %) with cowpox virus (CPXV) while three genes-crmB, ckbp and b5r showed similarity (92-96.5 %) with VARVs at both nt and aa levels. Interestingly, three consecutive serine residue insertions were observed in CKBP protein of CMLV-Delhi09 isolate which was similar to CPXV-BR and VACVs, besides five point mutations (K53Q, N67I, F84S, A127T and E182G) were also similar to zoonotic OPXVs. Further, few inconsistent point mutation(s) were also observed in other gene(s) among Indian CMLVs. These indicate that different strains of CMLVs are circulating in India and these mutations could play an important role in adaptation of CMLVs in humans. The phylogeny revealed clustering of all CMLVs together except CMLV-Delhi09 which grouped separately due to the presence of specific point mutations. However, the topology of the concatenated phylogeny showed close evolutionary relationship of CMLV with VARV and TATV followed by CPXV-RatGer09/1 from Germany. The availability of this genetic information will be useful in unveiling new strategies to control emerging zoonotic poxvirus infections.
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Nelson M, Roffey P, McNevin D, Lennard C, Gahan ME. An overview of biosecurity in Australia. AUST J FORENSIC SCI 2014. [DOI: 10.1080/00450618.2014.882986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
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Abstract
On May 8, 1980, the World Health Assembly at its 33rd session solemnly declared that the world and all its peoples had won freedom from smallpox and recommended ceasing the vaccination of the population against smallpox. Currently, a larger part of the world population has no immunity not only against smallpox but also against other zoonotic orthopoxvirus infections. Recently, recorded outbreaks of orthopoxvirus diseases not only of domestic animals but also of humans have become more frequent. All this indicates a new situation in the ecology and evolution of zoonotic orthopoxviruses. Analysis of state-of-the-art data on the phylogenetic relationships, ecology, and host range of orthopoxviruses—etiological agents of smallpox (variola virus, VARV), monkeypox (MPXV), cowpox (CPXV), vaccinia (VACV), and camelpox (CMLV)—as well as the patterns of their evolution suggests that a VARV-like virus could emerge in the course of natural evolution of modern zoonotic orthopoxviruses. Thus, there is an insistent need for organization of the international control over the outbreaks of zoonotic orthopoxvirus infections in various countries to provide a rapid response and prevent them from developing into epidemics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergei N. Shchelkunov
- State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR, Koltsovo, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia
- Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, Russia
- * E-mail: ,
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18
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Identification of SNPs associated with variola virus virulence. BioData Min 2013; 6:3. [PMID: 23410064 PMCID: PMC3599518 DOI: 10.1186/1756-0381-6-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2012] [Accepted: 02/11/2013] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Decades after the eradication of smallpox, its etiological agent, variola virus (VARV), remains a threat as a potential bioweapon. Outbreaks of smallpox around the time of the global eradication effort exhibited variable case fatality rates (CFRs), likely attributable in part to complex viral genetic determinants of smallpox virulence. We aimed to identify genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with CFR. We evaluated unadjusted and outbreak geographic location-adjusted models of single SNPs and two- and three-way interactions between SNPs. Findings Using the data mining approach multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR), we identified five VARV SNPs in models significantly associated with CFR. The top performing unadjusted model and adjusted models both revealed the same two-way gene-gene interaction. We discuss the biological plausibility of the influence of the SNPs identified these and other significant models on the strain-specific virulence of VARV. Conclusions We have identified genetic loci in the VARV genome that are statistically associated with VARV virulence as measured by CFR. While our ability to infer a causal relationship between the specific SNPs identified in our analysis and VARV virulence is limited, our results suggest that smallpox severity is in part associated with VARV strain variation and that VARV virulence may be determined by multiple genetic loci. This study represents the first application of MDR to the identification of pathogen gene-gene interactions for predicting infectious disease outbreak severity.
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19
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Orthopoxvirus genes that mediate disease virulence and host tropism. Adv Virol 2012; 2012:524743. [PMID: 22899927 PMCID: PMC3413996 DOI: 10.1155/2012/524743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2012] [Accepted: 05/31/2012] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In the course of evolution, viruses have developed various molecular mechanisms to evade the defense reactions of the host organism. When understanding the mechanisms used by viruses to overcome manifold defense systems of the animal organism, represented by molecular factors and cells of the immune system, we would not only comprehend better but also discover new patterns of organization and function of these most important reactions directed against infectious agents. Here, study of the orthopoxviruses pathogenic for humans, such as variola (smallpox), monkeypox, cowpox, and vaccinia viruses, may be most important. Analysis of the experimental data, presented in this paper, allows to infer that variola virus and other orthopoxviruses possess an unexampled set of genes whose protein products efficiently modulate the manifold defense mechanisms of the host organisms compared with the viruses from other families.
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20
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Biological characterization and next-generation genome sequencing of the unclassified Cotia virus SPAn232 (Poxviridae). J Virol 2012; 86:5039-54. [PMID: 22345477 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.07162-11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Cotia virus (COTV) SPAn232 was isolated in 1961 from sentinel mice at Cotia field station, São Paulo, Brazil. Attempts to classify COTV within a recognized genus of the Poxviridae have generated contradictory findings. Studies by different researchers suggested some similarity to myxoma virus and swinepox virus, whereas another investigation characterized COTV SPAn232 as a vaccinia virus strain. Because of the lack of consensus, we have conducted an independent biological and molecular characterization of COTV. Virus growth curves reached maximum yields at approximately 24 to 48 h and were accompanied by virus DNA replication and a characteristic early/late pattern of viral protein synthesis. Interestingly, COTV did not induce detectable cytopathic effects in BSC-40 cells until 4 days postinfection and generated viral plaques only after 8 days. We determined the complete genomic sequence of COTV by using a combination of the next-generation DNA sequencing technologies 454 and Illumina. A unique contiguous sequence of 185,139 bp containing 185 genes, including the 90 genes conserved in all chordopoxviruses, was obtained. COTV has an interesting panel of open reading frames (ORFs) related to the evasion of host defense, including two novel genes encoding C-C chemokine-like proteins, each present in duplicate copies. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the highest amino acid identity scores with Cervidpoxvirus, Capripoxvirus, Suipoxvirus, Leporipoxvirus, and Yatapoxvirus. However, COTV grouped as an independent branch within this clade, which clearly excluded its classification as an Orthopoxvirus. Therefore, our data suggest that COTV could represent a new poxvirus genus.
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Shchelkunov SN. Emergence and reemergence of smallpox: the need for development of a new generation smallpox vaccine. Vaccine 2011; 29 Suppl 4:D49-53. [PMID: 22185833 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2011.05.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2010] [Revised: 04/13/2011] [Accepted: 05/13/2011] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The review summarizes the archive data on smallpox, history of ancient civilizations, and the most recent data on the genome organization of orthopoxviruses, their evolutionary relationships, and the time points of smallpox emergence. The performed analysis provides the grounds for the hypothesis that smallpox could have emerged several times as a result of evolutionary changes in the zoonotic ancestor virus and disappeared due to insufficient population size of ancient civilizations. Smallpox reemerged in the Indian subcontinent approximately 2500-3000 years before present, which resulted in endemization of this anthroponotic infection, which had been preserved until the smallpox eradication in the 20th century AD. The conclusion suggests a potential possibility of future variola virus reemergence, presenting a great menace for mankind, as well as the need for development of new safe smallpox vaccines, design of anti-smallpox drugs, and activation of the control of zoonotic human orthopoxvirus infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergei N Shchelkunov
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia.
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22
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Sonnberg S, Fleming SB, Mercer AA. Phylogenetic analysis of the large family of poxvirus ankyrin-repeat proteins reveals orthologue groups within and across chordopoxvirus genera. J Gen Virol 2011; 92:2596-2607. [PMID: 21752962 DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.033654-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Ankyrin-repeat (ANK) protein-interaction domains are common in cellular proteins but are relatively rare in viruses. Chordopoxviruses, however, encode a large number of ANK domain-containing ORFs of largely unknown function. Recently, a second protein-interaction domain, an F-box-like motif, was identified in several poxvirus ANK proteins. Cellular F-box proteins recruit substrates to the ubiquitination machinery of the cell, a putative function for ANK/poxviral F-box proteins. Using publicly available genome sequence data we examined all 328 predicted ANK proteins encoded by 27 chordopoxviruses that represented the eight vertebrate poxvirus genera whose members encode ANK proteins. Within these we identified 15 putative ANK protein orthologue groups within orthopoxviruses, five within parapoxviruses, 23 within avipoxviruses and seven across members of the genera Leporipoxvirus, Capripoxvirus, Yatapoxvirus, Suipoxvirus and Cervidpoxvirus. Sequence comparisons showed that members of each of these four clusters of orthologues were not closely related to members of any of the other clusters. Of these ORFs, 67% encoded a C-terminal poxviral F-box-like motif, whose absence could largely be attributed to fragmentation of ORFs. Our findings suggest that the large family of poxvirus ANK proteins arose by extensive gene duplication and divergence that occurred independently in four major genus-based groups after the groups diverged from each other. It seems likely that the ancestor ANK proteins of poxviruses contained both the N-terminal ANK repeats and a C-terminal F-box-like domain, with the latter domain subsequently being lost in a small subset of these proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Sonnberg
- Virus Research Unit, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
| | - Stephen B Fleming
- Virus Research Unit, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
| | - Andrew A Mercer
- Virus Research Unit, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
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Abstract
Unlike vertebrates, for which paleontological data are available, and RNA viruses, which display a high rate of genetic variation, an objective estimate of time parameters for the molecular evolution of DNA viruses, which display a low rate of accumulation of mutations, is a complex problem. Genomic studies of a set of smallpox (variola) virus (VARV) isolates demonstrated the patterns of phylogenetic relationships between geographic variants of this virus. Using archival data on smallpox outbreaks and the results of phylogenetic analyses of poxvirus genomes, different research teams have obtained contradictory data on the possible time point of VARV origin. I discuss the approaches used for dating of VARV evolution and adduce the arguments favoring its historically recent origin.
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Borovkov A, Magee DM, Loskutov A, Cano JA, Selinsky C, Zsemlye J, Lyons CR, Sykes K. New classes of orthopoxvirus vaccine candidates by functionally screening a synthetic library for protective antigens. Virology 2009; 395:97-113. [PMID: 19800089 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2009.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2009] [Revised: 07/22/2009] [Accepted: 09/05/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The licensed smallpox vaccine, comprised of infectious vaccinia, is no longer popular as it is associated with a variety of adverse events. Safer vaccines have been explored such as further attenuated viruses and component designs. However, these alternatives typically provide compromised breadth and strength of protection. We conducted a genome-level screening of cowpox, the ancestral poxvirus, in the broadly immune-presenting C57BL/6 mouse as an approach to discovering novel components with protective capacities. Cowpox coding sequences were synthetically built and directly assayed by genetic immunization for open-reading frames that protect against lethal pulmonary infection. Membrane and non-membrane antigens were identified that partially protect C57BL/6 mice against cowpox and vaccinia challenges without adjuvant or regimen optimization, whereas the 4-pox vaccine did not. New vaccines might be developed from productive combinations of these new and existing antigens to confer potent, broadly efficacious protection and be contraindicated for none.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre Borovkov
- Center for Innovations in Medicine at The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
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25
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Hansen H, Okeke MI, Nilssen Ø, Traavik T. Comparison and phylogenetic analysis of cowpox viruses isolated from cats and humans in Fennoscandia. Arch Virol 2009; 154:1293-302. [DOI: 10.1007/s00705-009-0442-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2009] [Accepted: 06/23/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Loveless BM, Mucker EM, Hartmann C, Craw PD, Huggins J, Kulesh DA. Differentiation of Variola major and Variola minor variants by MGB-Eclipse probe melt curves and genotyping analysis. Mol Cell Probes 2009; 23:166-70. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mcp.2009.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2009] [Revised: 03/06/2009] [Accepted: 03/13/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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27
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28
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Babkin IV, Nepomnyashchikh TS, Maksyutov RA, Gutorov VV, Babkina IN, Shchelkunov SN. Comparative analysis of variable regions in the variola virus genome. Mol Biol 2008. [DOI: 10.1134/s0026893308040092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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29
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Garcel A, Crance JM, Drillien R, Garin D, Favier AL. Genomic sequence of a clonal isolate of the vaccinia virus Lister strain employed for smallpox vaccination in France and its comparison to other orthopoxviruses. J Gen Virol 2007; 88:1906-1916. [PMID: 17554021 DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.82708-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Since 1980 there has been global eradication of smallpox due to the success of the vaccination programme using vaccinia virus (VACV). During the eradication period, distinct VACV strains circulated, the Lister strain being the most commonly employed in Europe. Analysis of the safety of smallpox vaccines has suggested that they display significant heterogeneity. To gain a more detailed understanding of the diversity of VACV strains it is important to determine their genomic sequences. Although the sequences of three isolates of the Japanese Lister original strain (VACV-LO) are available, no analysis of the relationship of any Lister sequence compared to other VACV genomes has been reported. Here, we describe the sequence of a representative clonal isolate of the Lister vaccine (VACV-List) used to inoculate the French population. The coding capacity of VACV-List was compared to other VACV strains. The 201 open reading frames (ORFs) were annotated in the VACV-List genome based on protein size, genomic localization and prior characterization of many ORFs. Eleven ORFs were recognized as pseudogenes as they were truncated or fragmented counterparts of larger ORFs in other orthopoxviruses (OPVs). The VACV-List genome also contains several ORFs that have not been annotated in other VACVs but were found in other OPVs. VACV-List and VACV-LO displayed a high level of nucleotide sequence similarity. Compared to the Copenhagen strain of VACV, the VACV-List sequence diverged in three main regions, one of them corresponding to a substitution in VACV-List with coxpox virus GRI-90 strain ORFs, suggestive of prior genetic exchanges. These studies highlight the heterogeneity between VACV strains and provide a basis to better understand differences in safety and efficacy of smallpox vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aude Garcel
- Laboratoire de Virologie, CRSSA Emile Pardé, La Tronche, France
| | | | - Robert Drillien
- Université Louis Pasteur, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
- IGBMC, CNRS, UMR 7104, Inserm U 596, F-67400 Illkirch, France
| | - Daniel Garin
- Laboratoire de Virologie, CRSSA Emile Pardé, La Tronche, France
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Abstract
The vaccinia virus A35R gene is highly conserved among poxviruses and encodes a previously uncharacterized hydrophobic acidic protein. Western blotting with anti-A35R peptide antibodies indicated that the protein is expressed early in infection and resolved as a single sharp band of approximately 23 kDa, slightly higher than the 20 kDa predicted from its sequence. The protein band appeared to be the same molecular weight on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, whether expressed in an in vitro transcription/translation system without microsomes or expressed in infected cells, suggesting that it was not glycosylated. A mutant virus with the A35R gene deleted (vA35Delta) formed wild-type-sized plaques on all cell lines tested (human, monkey, mouse, and rabbit); thus, A35R is not required for replication and does not appear to be a host range gene. Although the A35R protein is hydrophobic, it is unlikely to be an integral membrane protein, as it partitioned to the aqueous phase during TX-114 partitioning. The protein could not be detected in virus-infected cell supernatants. A35R localized intracellularly to the virus factories, where the first stages of morphogenesis occur. The vA35Delta mutant formed near-normal levels of the various morphogenic stages of infectious virus particles and supported normal acid-induced fusion of virus-infected cells. Despite normal growth and morphogenesis in vitro, the vA35Delta mutant virus was attenuated in intranasal challenge of mice compared to wild-type and A35R rescue virus. Thus, the intracellular A35R protein plays a role in virulence. The A35R has little homology to any protein outside of poxviruses, suggesting a novel virulence mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel L Roper
- East Carolina University, Brody School of Medicine, 600 Moye Blvd., 5E106A, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Greenville, NC 27834, USA.
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Stanford MM, McFadden G, Karupiah G, Chaudhri G. Immunopathogenesis of poxvirus infections: forecasting the impending storm. Immunol Cell Biol 2007; 85:93-102. [PMID: 17228320 DOI: 10.1038/sj.icb.7100033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Variola virus, the causative agent of smallpox, is a member of the poxvirus family and one of the most virulent human pathogens known. Although smallpox was eradicated almost 30 years ago, it is not understood why the mortality rates associated with the disease were high, why some patients recovered, and what constitutes an effective host response against infection. As variola virus infects only humans, our current understanding of poxvirus infections comes largely from historical clinical data from smallpox patients and from animal studies using closely related viruses such as ectromelia, myxoma and monkeypox. The outcome of an infection is determined by a complex interaction between the type of immune response mounted by the host and by evasion mechanisms that the virus has evolved to subvert it. Disease pathogenesis is also a function of both host and viral factors. Poxviruses are not only cytopathic, causing host tissue damage, but also encode an array of immunomodulatory molecules that affect the severity of disease. The ability of the host to control virus replication is therefore critical in limiting tissue damage. However, in addition to targeting virus, the immune response can inadvertently damage the host to such a degree that it causes illness and even death. There is growing evidence that many of the symptoms associated with serious poxvirus infections are a result of a 'cytokine storm' or sepsis and that this may be the underlying cause of pathology.
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32
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Tulman ER, Delhon G, Afonso CL, Lu Z, Zsak L, Sandybaev NT, Kerembekova UZ, Zaitsev VL, Kutish GF, Rock DL. Genome of horsepox virus. J Virol 2006; 80:9244-58. [PMID: 16940536 PMCID: PMC1563943 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00945-06] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Here we present the genomic sequence of horsepox virus (HSPV) isolate MNR-76, an orthopoxvirus (OPV) isolated in 1976 from diseased Mongolian horses. The 212-kbp genome contained 7.5-kbp inverted terminal repeats and lacked extensive terminal tandem repetition. HSPV contained 236 open reading frames (ORFs) with similarity to those in other OPVs, with those in the central 100-kbp region most conserved relative to other OPVs. Phylogenetic analysis of the conserved region indicated that HSPV is closely related to sequenced isolates of vaccinia virus (VACV) and rabbitpox virus, clearly grouping together these VACV-like viruses. Fifty-four HSPV ORFs likely represented fragments of 25 orthologous OPV genes, including in the central region the only known fragmented form of an OPV ribonucleotide reductase large subunit gene. In terminal genomic regions, HSPV lacked full-length homologues of genes variably fragmented in other VACV-like viruses but was unique in fragmentation of the homologue of VACV strain Copenhagen B6R, a gene intact in other known VACV-like viruses. Notably, HSPV contained in terminal genomic regions 17 kbp of OPV-like sequence absent in known VACV-like viruses, including fragments of genes intact in other OPVs and approximately 1.4 kb of sequence present only in cowpox virus (CPXV). HSPV also contained seven full-length genes fragmented or missing in other VACV-like viruses, including intact homologues of the CPXV strain GRI-90 D2L/I4R CrmB and D13L CD30-like tumor necrosis factor receptors, D3L/I3R and C1L ankyrin repeat proteins, B19R kelch-like protein, D7L BTB/POZ domain protein, and B22R variola virus B22R-like protein. These results indicated that HSPV contains unique genomic features likely contributing to a unique virulence/host range phenotype. They also indicated that while closely related to known VACV-like viruses, HSPV contains additional, potentially ancestral sequences absent in other VACV-like viruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- E R Tulman
- Plum Island Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Greenport, NY 11944, USA
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Sedger LM, Osvath SR, Xu XM, Li G, Chan FKM, Barrett JW, McFadden G. Poxvirus tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR)-like T2 proteins contain a conserved preligand assembly domain that inhibits cellular TNFR1-induced cell death. J Virol 2006; 80:9300-9. [PMID: 16940541 PMCID: PMC1563942 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.02449-05] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The poxvirus tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) homologue T2 has immunomodulatory properties; secreted myxoma virus T2 (M-T2) protein binds and inhibits rabbit TNF-alpha, while intracellular M-T2 blocks virus-induced lymphocyte apoptosis. Here, we define the antiapoptotic function as inhibition of TNFR-mediated death via a highly conserved viral preligand assembly domain (vPLAD). Jurkat cell lines constitutively expressing M-T2 were generated and shown to be resistant to UV irradiation-, etoposide-, and cycloheximide-induced death. These cells were also resistant to human TNF-alpha, but M-T2 expression did not alter surface expression levels of TNFRs. Previous studies indicated that T2's antiapoptotic function was conferred by the N-terminal region of the protein, and further examination of this region revealed a highly conserved N-terminal vPLAD, which is present in all poxvirus T2-like molecules. In cellular TNFRs and TNF-alpha-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) receptors (TRAILRs), PLAD controls receptor signaling competency prior to ligand binding. Here, we show that M-T2 potently inhibits TNFR1-induced death in a manner requiring the M-T2 vPLAD. Furthermore, we demonstrate that M-T2 physically associates with and colocalizes with human TNFRs but does not prevent human TNF-alpha binding to cellular receptors. Thus, M-T2 vPLAD is a species-nonspecific dominant-negative inhibitor of cellular TNFR1 function. Given that the PLAD is conserved in all known poxvirus T2-like molecules, we predict that it plays an important function in each of these proteins. Moreover, that the vPLAD confers an important antiapoptotic function confirms this domain as a potential target in the development of the next generation of TNF-alpha/TNFR therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa M Sedger
- Westmead Millennium Institute, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia.
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34
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Esposito JJ, Sammons SA, Frace AM, Osborne JD, Olsen-Rasmussen M, Zhang M, Govil D, Damon IK, Kline R, Laker M, Li Y, Smith GL, Meyer H, Leduc JW, Wohlhueter RM. Genome sequence diversity and clues to the evolution of variola (smallpox) virus. Science 2006; 313:807-12. [PMID: 16873609 DOI: 10.1126/science.1125134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 137] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Comparative genomics of 45 epidemiologically varied variola virus isolates from the past 30 years of the smallpox era indicate low sequence diversity, suggesting that there is probably little difference in the isolates' functional gene content. Phylogenetic clustering inferred three clades coincident with their geographical origin and case-fatality rate; the latter implicated putative proteins that mediate viral virulence differences. Analysis of the viral linear DNA genome suggests that its evolution involved direct descent and DNA end-region recombination events. Knowing the sequences will help understand the viral proteome and improve diagnostic test precision, therapeutics, and systems for their assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph J Esposito
- Biotechnology Core Facility Branch, Division of Scientific Resources, National Center for Preparedness, Detection, and Control of Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
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35
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Afonso CL, Tulman ER, Delhon G, Lu Z, Viljoen GJ, Wallace DB, Kutish GF, Rock DL. Genome of crocodilepox virus. J Virol 2006; 80:4978-91. [PMID: 16641289 PMCID: PMC1472061 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.80.10.4978-4991.2006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Here, we present the genome sequence, with analysis, of a poxvirus infecting Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) (crocodilepox virus; CRV). The genome is 190,054 bp (62% G+C) and predicted to contain 173 genes encoding proteins of 53 to 1,941 amino acids. The central genomic region contains genes conserved and generally colinear with those of other chordopoxviruses (ChPVs). CRV is distinct, as the terminal 33-kbp (left) and 13-kbp (right) genomic regions are largely CRV specific, containing 48 unique genes which lack similarity to other poxvirus genes. Notably, CRV also contains 14 unique genes which disrupt ChPV gene colinearity within the central genomic region, including 7 genes encoding GyrB-like ATPase domains similar to those in cellular type IIA DNA topoisomerases, suggestive of novel ATP-dependent functions. The presence of 10 CRV proteins with similarity to components of cellular multisubunit E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase complexes, including 9 proteins containing F-box motifs and F-box-associated regions and a homologue of cellular anaphase-promoting complex subunit 11 (Apc11), suggests that modification of host ubiquitination pathways may be significant for CRV-host cell interaction. CRV encodes a novel complement of proteins potentially involved in DNA replication, including a NAD(+)-dependent DNA ligase and a protein with similarity to both vaccinia virus F16L and prokaryotic serine site-specific resolvase-invertases. CRV lacks genes encoding proteins for nucleotide metabolism. CRV shares notable genomic similarities with molluscum contagiosum virus, including genes found only in these two viruses. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that CRV is quite distinct from other ChPVs, representing a new genus within the subfamily Chordopoxvirinae, and it lacks recognizable homologues of most ChPV genes involved in virulence and host range, including those involving interferon response, intracellular signaling, and host immune response modulation. These data reveal the unique nature of CRV and suggest mechanisms of virus-reptile host interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- C L Afonso
- Plum Island Animal Disease Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Greenport, New York, NY 11944, USA.
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36
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Alejo A, Ruiz-Argüello MB, Ho Y, Smith VP, Saraiva M, Alcami A. A chemokine-binding domain in the tumor necrosis factor receptor from variola (smallpox) virus. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2006; 103:5995-6000. [PMID: 16581912 PMCID: PMC1458686 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0510462103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Variola virus (VaV) is the causative agent of smallpox, one of the most devastating diseases encountered by man, that was eradicated in 1980. The deliberate release of VaV would have catastrophic consequences on global public health. However, the mechanisms that contribute to smallpox pathogenesis are poorly understood at the molecular level. The ability of viruses to evade the host defense mechanisms is an important determinant of viral pathogenesis. Here we show that the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) homologue CrmB encoded by VaV functions not only as a soluble decoy TNFR but also as a highly specific binding protein for several chemokines that mediate recruitment of immune cells to mucosal surfaces and the skin, sites of virus entry and viral replication at late stages of smallpox. CrmB binds chemokines through its C-terminal domain, which is unrelated to TNFRs, was named smallpox virus-encoded chemokine receptor (SECRET) domain and uncovers a family of poxvirus chemokine inhibitors. An active SECRET domain was found in another viral TNFR (CrmD) and three secreted proteins encoded by orthopoxviruses. These findings identify a previously undescribed chemokine-binding and inhibitory domain unrelated to host chemokine receptors and a mechanism of immune modulation in VaV that may influence smallpox pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alí Alejo
- *Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge CB2 2QQ, United Kingdom
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain; and
| | - M. Begoña Ruiz-Argüello
- *Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge CB2 2QQ, United Kingdom
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agrarias, Valdeolmos, 28130 Madrid, Spain
| | - Yin Ho
- *Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge CB2 2QQ, United Kingdom
| | - Vincent P. Smith
- *Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge CB2 2QQ, United Kingdom
| | - Margarida Saraiva
- *Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge CB2 2QQ, United Kingdom
| | - Antonio Alcami
- *Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge CB2 2QQ, United Kingdom
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain; and
- **To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
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37
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Lefkowitz EJ, Wang C, Upton C. Poxviruses: past, present and future. Virus Res 2006; 117:105-18. [PMID: 16503070 DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2006.01.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 130] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2005] [Revised: 01/11/2006] [Accepted: 01/18/2006] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
The analysis of poxvirus genomes is complex, in part, because of their size (130-360 kb) and the fact that gene content is variable; a common set of 49 genes has been found in all sequenced poxviruses and an additional 41 genes are also present in all sequenced orthopoxviruses. As a group, poxviruses have a very broad range of eukaryotic hosts (including mammals, birds, reptiles and insects) and many poxvirus genes are associated with blocking host anti-viral responses. One consequence of this is that many poxvirus genes are not essential for growth in tissue culture and that extensive passaging in vitro results in the accumulation of mutations, including deletions that result in loss of gene function. Here, we review various comparative analyses of the poxviruses including gene prediction, gene conservation and function, genome organization, and poxvirus taxonomy and evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- E J Lefkowitz
- Department of Microbiology, University of Alabama (Birmingham), AL 35294-2170, USA
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38
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Abstract
The WHO declared smallpox eradicated in 1980. However, concern over its potential use by terrorists or in biowarfare has led to striking growth in research related to this much-feared disease. Modern molecular techniques and new animal models are advancing our understanding of smallpox and its interaction with the host immune system. Rapid progress is likewise being made in smallpox laboratory diagnostics, smallpox vaccines, and antiviral medications. WHO and several nations are developing stockpiles of smallpox vaccine for use in the event the disease is reintroduced. National and international public-health agencies have also drawn up plans to help with early detection of and response to a smallpox outbreak. These plans hinge on physicians' ability to recognise the clinical features of smallpox and to distinguish it from other illnesses characterised by rashes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zack S Moore
- Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine, 2015 Uppergate Drive NE, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
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39
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Bracht AJ, Brudek RL, Ewing RY, Manire CA, Burek KA, Rosa C, Beckmen KB, Maruniak JE, Romero CH. Genetic identification of novel poxviruses of cetaceans and pinnipeds. Arch Virol 2005; 151:423-38. [PMID: 16328132 DOI: 10.1007/s00705-005-0679-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2005] [Accepted: 10/15/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Novel poxviruses were identified in skin lesions of several species of cetaceans and pinnipeds using polymerase chain reaction targeting DNA polymerase and DNA topoisomerase I genes of members of the subfamily Chordopoxvirinae. With the exception of parapoxviruses, no molecular data of marine mammal poxviruses were available to infer genetic and evolutionary relatedness to terrestrial vertebrate poxviruses. Viruses were assigned to a cetacean poxvirus 1 (CPV-1) group based on nucleotide and amino acid identities of gene fragments amplified from skin lesions of Asian bottlenose (Tursiops aduncus), Atlantic bottlenose (Tursiops truncatus), rough-toothed (Steno bredanensis), and striped (Stenella coeruleoalba) dolphins. A different poxvirus was detected in skin lesions of a bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) and provisionally assigned to a CPV-2 group. These viruses showed highest identity to terrestrial poxviruses of the genera Orthopoxvirus and Suipoxvirus. A novel species-specific poxvirus was also identified in skin lesions of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus). None of these poxviruses were found to have amplifiable hemagglutinin gene sequences. Novel parapoxviruses were also identified in skin lesions of Steller sea lions and spotted seals (Phoca largha). A significant degree of divergence was observed in sequences of Steller sea lion parapoxviruses, while those of spotted seals and harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) were highly conserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- A J Bracht
- Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32610, USA
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40
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Nepomnyashchikh TS, Lebedev LR, Ryazankin IA, Pozdnyakov SG, Gileva IP, Shchelkunov SN. Comparison of the Interferon γ-Binding Proteins of the Variola and Monkeypox Viruses. Mol Biol 2005. [DOI: 10.1007/s11008-005-0114-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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41
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Meyer H, Totmenin A, Gavrilova E, Shchelkunov S. Variola and camelpox virus-specific sequences are part of a single large open reading frame identified in two German cowpox virus strains. Virus Res 2005; 108:39-43. [PMID: 15681053 DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2004.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2004] [Revised: 07/23/2004] [Accepted: 07/24/2004] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
A large open reading frame (ORF) has been identified in two German cowpox virus strains. The ORFs (5676 and 5679 nt, respectively) differ in 10 nucleotides, resulting in an amino acid homology of 99.8%. In searching GenBank nucleotide sequences (>90% identity) were present in several small ORFs in variola major, variola minor and camelpox virus genomes. Alignments revealed that these small ORFs are fragments of a large ORF. However, sequences of the ORF described here are entirely absent in the two cowpox virus reference strains. Databank analysis revealed amino acid identities (ranging from 25 to 39%) with so-called B22R-like poxviral proteins with unknown function encoded by several chordopoxviruses. Further sequencing of one cowpox virus strain under study identified an ORF (5790 nt) which displays high levels of nucleotide identity to ORFs present in several orthopoxvirus species. Taken together, the two cowpox viruses analyzed here contain one large ORF which is conserved within the genus Orthopoxvirus and a unique, more distantly related ORF of similar size, which is conserved in the subfamily Chordopoxvirinae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hermann Meyer
- Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology, Neuherbergstr. 11, D-80937 Muenchen, Germany.
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42
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Shchelkunov SN, Gavrilova EV, Babkin IV. Multiplex PCR detection and species differentiation of orthopoxviruses pathogenic to humans. Mol Cell Probes 2005; 19:1-8. [PMID: 15652214 PMCID: PMC9533918 DOI: 10.1016/j.mcp.2004.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2004] [Accepted: 07/22/2004] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
A method for one-stage rapid identification of four orthopoxvirus species pathogenic to humans based on multiplex polymerase chain reaction (MPCR) was developed. Five pairs of oligonucleotide primers—one, genus-specific; and the rest, species-specific for variola, monkeypox, cowpox, and vaccinia viruses, respectively—were used concurrently for MPCR assay of orthopoxvirus DNAs. Specificity and sensitivity of the method developed were evaluated using DNAs of 57 orthopoxvirus strains, including the DNAs isolated from human case clinical materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- S N Shchelkunov
- State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology Vector, Koltsovo Novosibirsk Oblast, Koltsovo 630559, Russia.
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43
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Kochneva G, Kolosova I, Maksyutova T, Ryabchikova E, Shchelkunov S. Effects of deletions of kelch-like genes on cowpox virus biological properties. Arch Virol 2005; 150:1857-70. [PMID: 15824883 DOI: 10.1007/s00705-005-0530-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2004] [Accepted: 02/17/2005] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Cowpox virus (CPXV) strain GRI-90 contains six genes encoding kelch-like proteins. All six proteins contain both, the N-terminal BTB domain and the C-terminal kelch domain. We constructed mutant variants of a CPXV strain with targeted deletions of one to four genes of the kelch family, namely D11L, C18L, G3L, and A57R. As kelch genes are located in terminal variable regions of the CPXV genome, we studied the relationship of these genes with integral biological characteristics such as virulence, host range, reproduction in vitro and in ovo (in chicken embryos). It was demonstrated that the following effects occurred in a gene dose dependent manner with an increase of the number of genes deleted: (1) range of sensitive cells altered--deletion mutants lacking three genes displayed a considerably decreased ability to reproduce in MDCK cells; mutants lacking four genes lost this ability completely; (2) analysis of pocks formed by mutants with deletion of three and four kelch-like genes on chorioallantoic membranes of chicken embryos demonstrated that pock size and virus yield were significantly decreased; (3) light microscopic analysis of the pocks revealed impaired proliferation and reduced vascularisation in the pock region. More alterations were detected by electron microscopic analysis: the reproduction of mutants results in a reduction of the number of mature virions formed, and in many cells this process was arrested at the stage of assembly of immature virions; and (4) the evaluation of LD(50) and body weight loss in BALB/c mice infected intranasally with CPXVs revealed a reduction of the virulence of the deletion mutants, which became statistically significant when four kelch-like genes were excised.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Kochneva
- State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology Vector, Koltsovo, Novosibirsk, Russia
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44
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Babkina IN, Babkin IV, Le U, Ropp S, Kline R, Damon I, Esposito J, Sandakhchiev LS, Shchelkunov SN. Phylogenetic comparison of the genomes of different strains of variola virus. DOKL BIOCHEM BIOPHYS 2005; 398:316-9. [PMID: 15584518 DOI: 10.1023/b:dobi.0000046648.51758.9f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- I N Babkina
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Vector State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology, pos. Kol'tsovo, Novosibirsk oblast, 633159, Russia
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45
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Olson VA, Laue T, Laker MT, Babkin IV, Drosten C, Shchelkunov SN, Niedrig M, Damon IK, Meyer H. Real-time PCR system for detection of orthopoxviruses and simultaneous identification of smallpox virus. J Clin Microbiol 2004; 42:1940-6. [PMID: 15131152 PMCID: PMC404623 DOI: 10.1128/jcm.42.5.1940-1946.2004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
A screening assay for real-time LightCycler (Roche Applied Science, Mannheim, Germany) PCR identification of smallpox virus DNA was developed and compiled in a kit system under good manufacturing practice conditions with standardized reagents. In search of a sequence region unique to smallpox virus, the nucleotide sequence of the 14-kDa fusion protein gene of each of 14 variola virus isolates of the Russian World Health Organization smallpox virus repository was determined and compared to published sequences. PCR primers were designed to detect all Eurasian-African species of the genus ORTHOPOXVIRUS: A single nucleotide mismatch resulting in a unique amino acid substitution in smallpox virus was used to design a hybridization probe pair with a specific sensor probe that allows reliable differentiation of smallpox virus from other orthopoxviruses by melting-curve analysis. The applicability was demonstrated by successful amplification of 120 strains belonging to the orthopoxvirus species variola, vaccinia, camelpox, mousepox, cowpox, and monkeypox virus. The melting temperatures (T(m)s) determined for 46 strains of variola virus (T(m)s, 55.9 to 57.8 degrees C) differed significantly (P = 0.005) from those obtained for 11 strains of vaccinia virus (T(m)s, 61.7 to 62.7 degrees C), 15 strains of monkeypox virus (T(m)s, 61.9 to 62.2 degrees C), 40 strains of cowpox virus (T(m)s, 61.3 to 63.7 degrees C), 8 strains of mousepox virus (T(m), 61.9 degrees C), and 8 strains of camelpox virus (T(m)s, 64.0 to 65.0 degrees C). As most of the smallpox virus samples were derived from infected cell cultures and tissues, smallpox virus DNA could be detected in a background of human DNA. By applying probit regression analysis, the analytical sensitivity was determined to be 4 copies of smallpox virus target DNA per sample. The DNAs of several human herpesviruses as well as poxviruses other than orthopoxviruses were not detected by this method. The assay proved to be a reliable technique for the detection of orthopoxviruses, with the advantage that it can simultaneously identify variola virus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria A Olson
- Poxvirus Section, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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46
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Abstract
Variola major is the causative agent of smallpox, a severe disease that was arguably one of the most serious human pathogens in recorded history. Humans are the only known reservoir of variola major; no known animal or insect reservoirs have been identified. Thus, after eradication of smallpox through a global immunization effort, this incredibly lethal scourge was eliminated from all corners of the globe. Despite the total eradication of naturally occurring smallpox, there are still stockpiles of smallpox virus maintained in the United States and the former Soviet Union. Unfortunately, it is impossible to know if all smallpox stocks have been accounted for or whether unknown or unreported stocks of smallpox may still exist. In the age of genetic engineering, these viruses could theoretically be modified to increase their virulence to the levels associated with smallpox itself.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark K Slifka
- Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, 505 NW 185(th) Avenue, Beaverton, OR 97006-3448, USA
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47
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Abstract
Despite the eradication of naturally occurring smallpox in 1977, stores of the virus have been maintained in laboratories in the United States and Russia. It is feared that certain rogue states and terrorist organizations may have illicitly acquired the virus with the intent of unleashing it as an agent of bioterrorism. The United States and other nations have begun vaccinating individuals in the military and health care workers who might become exposed. Primary care providers and dermatologists will be called upon to evaluate potential index cases and vaccination reactions. In this report, the authors review the essential clinical aspects of smallpox and potential reactions to smallpox vaccination. Special attention is given to eczema vaccinatum, which can occur in vaccinees and their family contacts with active or quiescent atopic dermatitis or a personal history of eczema.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phyllis I Spuls
- Department of Dermatology, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY 10029, USA
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48
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Pulford D, Meyer H, Brightwell G, Damon I, Kline R, Ulaeto D. Amplification refractory mutation system PCR assays for the detection of variola and Orthopoxvirus. J Virol Methods 2004; 117:81-90. [PMID: 15019263 PMCID: PMC7119807 DOI: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2004.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2003] [Revised: 12/24/2003] [Accepted: 01/12/2004] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
PCR assays that can identify the presence of variola virus (VARV) sequences in an unknown DNA sample were developed using principles established for the amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS). The assay’s specificity utilised unique single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) identified among Orthopoxvirus (OPV) orthologs of the vaccinia virus Copenhagen strain A13L and A36R genes. When a variola virus specific primer was used with a consensus primer in an ARMS assay with different Orthopoxvirus genomes, a PCR product was only amplified from variola virus DNA. Incorporating a second consensus primer into the assay produced a multiplex PCR that provided Orthopoxvirus generic and variola-specific products with variola virus DNA. We tested two single nucleotide polymorphisms with a panel of 43 variola virus strains, collected over 40 years from countries across the world, and have shown that they provide reliable markers for variola virus identification. The variola virus specific primers did not produce amplicons with either assay format when tested with 50 other Orthopoxvirus DNA samples. Our analysis shows that these two polymorphisms were conserved in variola virus genomes and provide a reliable signature of Orthopoxvirus species identification.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Pulford
- Biomedical Sciences, DSTL Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP4 0JQ, UK.
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49
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Ferrier A, Garin D, Crance JM. Rapid inactivation of vaccinia virus in suspension and dried on surfaces. J Hosp Infect 2004; 57:73-9. [PMID: 15142719 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhin.2004.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2003] [Accepted: 01/12/2004] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
A bioterrorist attack with smallpox virus would be disastrous with a 30% disease fatality rate. Such an outbreak would require biomedical laboratories for diagnosis and analyses and extensive use of clinical care facilities for patient quarantine. Safe decontamination procedures will have to be in place in order to limit the spread of the disease. In order to fulfil this need, Sanytex, a new non-corrosive commercial solution containing quaternary ammonium, aldehydes, alcohol and detergent, was tested with a view to using it in decontamination procedures. Vaccinia virus was used in this investigation as a model for smallpox virus. We determined exposure time and the concentration of Sanytex required to inactivate the virus in suspension and dried on surfaces in the presence of protein (up to 70 mg/mL). After 3 min incubation, Sanytex at a concentration of 3% led to a complete inactivation (virus titre reduction >10(4)-fold of vaccinia virus in suspension containing protein up to 30 mg/mL. A virus suspension containing 70 mg protein/mL, simulating biological fluids, was decontaminated with 10% Sanytex after 3 min. After 10 min, Sanytex at a concentration of 30%, applied on to a dried vaccinia virus contaminated surface in the presence of protein (10 mg/mL before desiccation), led to complete decontamination of the surface. Thirty minutes exposure with 30% Sanytex was necessary for a virus titre reduction of >10(4)-fold on a surface contaminated with a dried suspension of vaccinia virus in the presence of protein at 70 mg/mL. Sanytex is not corrosive, not toxic to environment and stable for up to three months even diluted. Its virucidal effect was preserved when used under pressure in a fire-hose nozzle. These results support the use of Sanytex for decontamination of biological fluids and surfaces contaminated by the smallpox virus.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Ferrier
- Unité de Virologie, Centre de Recherches du Service de Santé des Armées (CRSSA) Emile Pardé, Grenoble, France
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50
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Kim M, Yang H, Kim SK, Reche PA, Tirabassi RS, Hussey RE, Chishti Y, Rheinwald JG, Morehead TJ, Zech T, Damon IK, Welsh RM, Reinherz EL. Biochemical and functional analysis of smallpox growth factor (SPGF) and anti-SPGF monoclonal antibodies. J Biol Chem 2004; 279:25838-48. [PMID: 15070899 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m400343200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Variola, the causative agent of smallpox, is a highly infectious double-stranded DNA virus of the orthopox genus that replicates within the cytoplasm of infected cells. For unknown reasons prominent skin manifestations, including "pox," mark the course of this systemic human disease. Here we characterized smallpox growth factor (SPGF), a protein containing an epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like domain that is conserved among orthopox viral genomes, and investigated its possible mechanistic link. We show that after recombinant expression, refolding, and purification, the EGF domain of SPGF binds exclusively to the broadly expressed cellular receptor, erb-B1 (EGF receptor), with subnanomolar affinity, stimulating the growth of primary human keratinocytes and fibroblasts. High affinity monoclonal antibodies specific for SPGF reveal in vivo immunoprotection in a murine vaccinia pneumonia model by a mechanism distinct from viral neutralization. These findings suggest that blockade of pathogenic factor actions, in general, may be advantageous to the infected host.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mikyung Kim
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
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