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Blanco-Melo D, Campbell MA, Zhu H, Dennis TPW, Modha S, Lytras S, Hughes J, Gatseva A, Gifford RJ. A novel approach to exploring the dark genome and its application to mapping of the vertebrate virus fossil record. Genome Biol 2024; 25:120. [PMID: 38741126 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-024-03258-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Genomic regions that remain poorly understood, often referred to as the dark genome, contain a variety of functionally relevant and biologically informative features. These include endogenous viral elements (EVEs)-virus-derived sequences that can dramatically impact host biology and serve as a virus fossil record. In this study, we introduce a database-integrated genome screening (DIGS) approach to investigate the dark genome in silico, focusing on EVEs found within vertebrate genomes. RESULTS Using DIGS on 874 vertebrate genomes, we uncover approximately 1.1 million EVE sequences, with over 99% originating from endogenous retroviruses or transposable elements that contain EVE DNA. We show that the remaining 6038 sequences represent over a thousand distinct horizontal gene transfer events across 10 virus families, including some that have not previously been reported as EVEs. We explore the genomic and phylogenetic characteristics of non-retroviral EVEs and determine their rates of acquisition during vertebrate evolution. Our study uncovers novel virus diversity, broadens knowledge of virus distribution among vertebrate hosts, and provides new insights into the ecology and evolution of vertebrate viruses. CONCLUSIONS We comprehensively catalog and analyze EVEs within 874 vertebrate genomes, shedding light on the distribution, diversity, and long-term evolution of viruses and reveal their extensive impact on vertebrate genome evolution. Our results demonstrate the power of linking a relational database management system to a similarity search-based screening pipeline for in silico exploration of the dark genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Blanco-Melo
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, 1100 Fairview Ave N, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
- Herbold Computational Biology Program, Public Health Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, 1100 Fairview Ave N, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | | | - Henan Zhu
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, 464 Bearsden Rd, Bearsden, Glasgow, G61 1QH, UK
| | - Tristan P W Dennis
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, 464 Bearsden Rd, Bearsden, Glasgow, G61 1QH, UK
| | - Sejal Modha
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, 464 Bearsden Rd, Bearsden, Glasgow, G61 1QH, UK
| | - Spyros Lytras
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, 464 Bearsden Rd, Bearsden, Glasgow, G61 1QH, UK
| | - Joseph Hughes
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, 464 Bearsden Rd, Bearsden, Glasgow, G61 1QH, UK
| | - Anna Gatseva
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, 464 Bearsden Rd, Bearsden, Glasgow, G61 1QH, UK
| | - Robert J Gifford
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, 464 Bearsden Rd, Bearsden, Glasgow, G61 1QH, UK.
- Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI), School of Data Science and Computational Thinking, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
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López-Astacio RA, Adu OF, Lee H, Hafenstein SL, Parrish CR. The Structures and Functions of Parvovirus Capsids and Missing Pieces: the Viral DNA and Its Packaging, Asymmetrical Features, Nonprotein Components, and Receptor or Antibody Binding and Interactions. J Virol 2023; 97:e0016123. [PMID: 37367301 PMCID: PMC10373561 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00161-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Parvoviruses are among the smallest and superficially simplest animal viruses, infecting a broad range of hosts, including humans, and causing some deadly infections. In 1990, the first atomic structure of the canine parvovirus (CPV) capsid revealed a 26-nm-diameter T=1 particle made up of two or three versions of a single protein, and packaging about 5,100 nucleotides of single-stranded DNA. Our structural and functional understanding of parvovirus capsids and their ligands has increased as imaging and molecular techniques have advanced, and capsid structures for most groups within the Parvoviridae family have now been determined. Despite those advances, significant questions remain unanswered about the functioning of those viral capsids and their roles in release, transmission, or cellular infection. In addition, the interactions of capsids with host receptors, antibodies, or other biological components are also still incompletely understood. The parvovirus capsid's apparent simplicity likely conceals important functions carried out by small, transient, or asymmetric structures. Here, we highlight some remaining open questions that may need to be answered to provide a more thorough understanding of how these viruses carry out their various functions. The many different members of the family Parvoviridae share a capsid architecture, and while many functions are likely similar, others may differ in detail. Many of those parvoviruses have not been experimentally examined in detail (or at all in some cases), so we, therefore, focus this minireview on the widely studied protoparvoviruses, as well as the most thoroughly investigated examples of adeno-associated viruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert A. López-Astacio
- Baker Institute for Animal Health, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Oluwafemi F. Adu
- Baker Institute for Animal Health, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Hyunwook Lee
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Susan L. Hafenstein
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Colin R. Parrish
- Baker Institute for Animal Health, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
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3
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Kalafati E, Drakopoulou E, Anagnou NP, Pappa KI. Developing Oncolytic Viruses for the Treatment of Cervical Cancer. Cells 2023; 12:1838. [PMID: 37508503 PMCID: PMC10377776 DOI: 10.3390/cells12141838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Revised: 07/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Cervical cancer represents one of the most important malignancies among women worldwide. Current therapeutic approaches for cervical cancer are reported not only to be inadequate for metastatic cervical cancer, but are also considered as cytotoxic for several patients leading to serious side effects, which can have negative implications on the quality of life of women. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the development of innovative and effective treatment options. Oncolytic viruses can eventually become effective biological agents, since they preferentially infect and kill cancer cells, while leaving the normal tissue unaffected. Moreover, they are also able to leverage the host immune system response to limit tumor growth. This review aims to systematically describe and discuss the different types of oncolytic viruses generated for targeting cervical cancer cells, as well as the outcome of the combination of virotherapy with conventional therapies. Although many preclinical studies have evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of oncolytic viruses in cervical cancer, the number of clinical trials so far is limited, while their oncolytic properties are currently being tested in clinical trials for the treatment of other malignancies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleni Kalafati
- Laboratory of Cell and Gene Therapy, Centre of Basic Research, Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens (BRFAA), 11527 Athens, Greece
| | - Ekati Drakopoulou
- Laboratory of Cell and Gene Therapy, Centre of Basic Research, Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens (BRFAA), 11527 Athens, Greece
| | - Nicholas P Anagnou
- Laboratory of Cell and Gene Therapy, Centre of Basic Research, Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens (BRFAA), 11527 Athens, Greece
| | - Kalliopi I Pappa
- Laboratory of Cell and Gene Therapy, Centre of Basic Research, Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens (BRFAA), 11527 Athens, Greece
- First Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Athens School of Medicine, 11528 Athens, Greece
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Bertolazzi S, Paz FR, da Silveira VP, Prusch F, Agnes I, Santana WDO, Ikuta N, Streck AF, Lunge VR. Canine Parvovirus 2 in Free-Living Wild Mammals from Southern Brazil. J Wildl Dis 2023; 59:500-503. [PMID: 37270203 DOI: 10.7589/jwd-d-22-00125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Pathogens from domestic canines represent a significant and constant threat to wildlife. This study looked for four common canine pathogens, Babesia vogeli, Ehrlichia canis, Leishmania infantum, and canine parvovirus 2 (CPV-2) in mammals from the Pampa Biome, southern Brazil. Animals killed by vehicular trauma on a road traversing this biome were evaluated over a 1-yr period. Tissues collected from 31 wild mammals and six dogs were further analyzed by specific real-time PCR assays for each pathogen. Babesia vogeli and L. infantum were not detected in any investigated animal. Ehrlichia canis was detected in one dog and CPV-2 in nine animals: four dogs, three white-eared opossums (Didelphis albiventris), one pampas fox (Lycalopex gymnocercus), and one brown rat (Rattus norvegicus). These results demonstrate the occurrence of important carnivore pathogens (E. canis and CPV-2) in domestic dogs and wild mammals from the Pampa Biome in southern Brazil.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Bertolazzi
- Instituto de Biotecnologia, Universidade de Caxias do Sul (UCS), Rua Francisco Getúlio Vargas 1130, 95070-560, Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Francini Rosa Paz
- Laboratório de Diagnóstico Molecular, Universidade Luterana do Brasil (ULBRA), Av. Farroupilha 8001, 92425-900, Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Vinícius Proença da Silveira
- Laboratório de Diagnóstico Molecular, Universidade Luterana do Brasil (ULBRA), Av. Farroupilha 8001, 92425-900, Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Fabiane Prusch
- Instituto de Biotecnologia, Universidade de Caxias do Sul (UCS), Rua Francisco Getúlio Vargas 1130, 95070-560, Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Isadora Agnes
- Laboratório de Diagnóstico Molecular, Universidade Luterana do Brasil (ULBRA), Av. Farroupilha 8001, 92425-900, Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Weslei de Oliveira Santana
- Instituto de Biotecnologia, Universidade de Caxias do Sul (UCS), Rua Francisco Getúlio Vargas 1130, 95070-560, Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Nilo Ikuta
- Simbios Biotecnologia, Rua Caí 541, 94940-030, Cachoeirinha, RS, Brazil
| | - André Felipe Streck
- Instituto de Biotecnologia, Universidade de Caxias do Sul (UCS), Rua Francisco Getúlio Vargas 1130, 95070-560, Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Vagner Ricardo Lunge
- Instituto de Biotecnologia, Universidade de Caxias do Sul (UCS), Rua Francisco Getúlio Vargas 1130, 95070-560, Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Laboratório de Diagnóstico Molecular, Universidade Luterana do Brasil (ULBRA), Av. Farroupilha 8001, 92425-900, Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Simbios Biotecnologia, Rua Caí 541, 94940-030, Cachoeirinha, RS, Brazil
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Campbell MA, Loncar S, Kotin RM, Gifford RJ. Comparative analysis reveals the long-term coevolutionary history of parvoviruses and vertebrates. PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001867. [PMID: 36445931 PMCID: PMC9707805 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Parvoviruses (family Parvoviridae) are small DNA viruses that cause numerous diseases of medical, veterinary, and agricultural significance and have important applications in gene and anticancer therapy. DNA sequences derived from ancient parvoviruses are common in animal genomes and analysis of these endogenous parvoviral elements (EPVs) has demonstrated that the family, which includes twelve vertebrate-specific genera, arose in the distant evolutionary past. So far, however, such "paleovirological" analysis has only provided glimpses into the biology of ancient parvoviruses and their long-term evolutionary interactions with hosts. Here, we comprehensively map EPV diversity in 752 published vertebrate genomes, revealing defining aspects of ecology and evolution within individual parvovirus genera. We identify 364 distinct EPV sequences and show these represent approximately 200 unique germline incorporation events, involving at least five distinct parvovirus genera, which took place at points throughout the Cenozoic Era. We use the spatiotemporal and host range calibrations provided by these sequences to infer defining aspects of long-term evolution within individual parvovirus genera, including mammalian vicariance for genus Protoparvovirus, and interclass transmission for genus Dependoparvovirus. Moreover, our findings support a model of virus evolution in which the long-term cocirculation of multiple parvovirus genera in vertebrates reflects the adaptation of each viral genus to fill a distinct ecological niche. Our findings show that efforts to develop parvoviruses as therapeutic tools can be approached from a rational foundation based on comparative evolutionary analysis. To support this, we published our data in the form of an open, extensible, and cross-platform database designed to facilitate the wider utilisation of evolution-related domain knowledge in parvovirus research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew A. Campbell
- University of Alaska Museum of the North, Fishes and Marine Invertebrates, Fairbanks, Alaska, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Shannon Loncar
- University of Massachusetts Medical School, Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, Gene Therapy Center, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Robert M. Kotin
- University of Massachusetts Medical School, Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, Gene Therapy Center, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Carbon Biosciences, Lexington, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Robert J. Gifford
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Bearsden, Glasgow, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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Abstract
We introduce Viral Phrenology, a new scheme for understanding the genomic composition of spherical viruses based on the locations of their structural protrusions. We used icosahedral point arrays to classify 135 distinct viral capsids collected from over 600 capsids available in the VIPERdb. Using gauge points of point arrays, we found 149 unique structural protrusions. We then show how to use the locations of these protrusions to determine the genetic composition of the virus. We then show that ssDNA, dsDNA, dsRNA and ssRNA viruses use different arrangements for distributing their protrusions. We also found that Triangulation number is also partially dependent on the structural protrusions. This analysis begins to tie together Baltimore Classification and Triangulation number using point arrays.
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8
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Hildebrandt E, Penzes JJ, Gifford RJ, Agbandje-Mckenna M, Kotin RM. Evolution of dependoparvoviruses across geological timescales-implications for design of AAV-based gene therapy vectors. Virus Evol 2020; 6:veaa043. [PMID: 32913662 PMCID: PMC7474932 DOI: 10.1093/ve/veaa043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Endogenous viral elements (EVEs) are genetic remnants of viruses that have integrated into host genomes millions of years ago and retained as heritable elements passed on to offspring until present-day. As a result, EVEs provide an opportunity to analyse the genomes of extinct viruses utilizing these genomic viral fossils to study evolution of viruses over large timescales. Analysis of sequences from near full-length EVEs of dependoparvoviral origin identified within three mammalian taxa, Whippomorpha (whales and hippos), Vespertilionidae (smooth-nosed bats), and Lagomorpha (rabbits, hares, and pikas), indicates that distinct ancestral dependoparvovirus species integrated into these host genomes approximately 77 to 23 million years ago. These ancestral viruses are unique relative to modern adeno-associated viruses (AAVs), and distinct from extant species of genus Dependoparvovirus. These EVE sequences show characteristics previously unseen in modern, mammalian AAVs, but instead appear more similar to the more primitive, autonomously replicating and pathogenic waterfowl dependoparvoviruses. Phylogeny reconstruction suggests that the whippomorph EVE orthologue derives from exogenous ancestors of autonomous and highly pathogenic dependoparvovirus lineages, believed to have uniquely co-evolved with waterfowl birds to present date. In contrast, ancestors of the two other mammalian orthologues (Lagomorpha and Vespertilionidae) likely shared the same lineage as all other known mammalian exogenous AAVs. Comparative in silico analysis of the EVE genomes revealed remarkable overall conservation of AAV rep and cap genes, despite millions of years of integration within the host germline. Modelling these proteins identified unexpected variety, even between orthologues, in previously defined capsid viral protein (VP) variable regions, especially in those related to the three- and fivefold symmetry axes of the capsid. Moreover, the normally well-conserved phospholipase A2 domain of the predicted minor VP1 also exhibited a high degree of sequence variance. These findings may indicate unique biological properties for these virus ‘fossils’ relative to extant dependoparvoviruses and suggest key regions to explore within capsid sequences that may confer novel properties for engineered gene therapy vectors based on paleovirology data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evin Hildebrandt
- University of Massachusetts Medical School, Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, Gene Therapy Center, 55 Lake Ave. North, Worcester, MA 01655, USA
| | - Judit J Penzes
- University of Florida, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center for Structural Biology, The McKnight Brain Institute, 1200 Newell Drive, Gainesville, Florida, 32610, USA
| | - Robert J Gifford
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Genomics & Bioinformatics, Sir Michael Stoker Building Garscube Campus, 464 Bearsden Road, Glasgow G61 1QH, Scotland, UK
| | - Mavis Agbandje-Mckenna
- University of Florida, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center for Structural Biology, The McKnight Brain Institute, 1200 Newell Drive, Gainesville, Florida, 32610, USA
| | - Robert M Kotin
- University of Massachusetts Medical School, Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, Gene Therapy Center, 55 Lake Ave. North, Worcester, MA 01655, USA
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Mietzsch M, Pénzes JJ, Agbandje-McKenna M. Twenty-Five Years of Structural Parvovirology. Viruses 2019; 11:E362. [PMID: 31010002 PMCID: PMC6521121 DOI: 10.3390/v11040362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2019] [Revised: 04/10/2019] [Accepted: 04/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Parvoviruses, infecting vertebrates and invertebrates, are a family of single-stranded DNA viruses with small, non-enveloped capsids with T = 1 icosahedral symmetry. A quarter of a century after the first parvovirus capsid structure was published, approximately 100 additional structures have been analyzed. This first structure was that of Canine Parvovirus, and it initiated the practice of structure-to-function correlation for the family. Despite high diversity in the capsid viral protein (VP) sequence, the structural topologies of all parvoviral capsids are conserved. However, surface loops inserted between the core secondary structure elements vary in conformation that enables the assembly of unique capsid surface morphologies within individual genera. These variations enable each virus to establish host niches by allowing host receptor attachment, specific tissue tropism, and antigenic diversity. This review focuses on the diversity among the parvoviruses with respect to the transcriptional strategy of the encoded VPs, the advances in capsid structure-function annotation, and therapeutic developments facilitated by the available structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Mietzsch
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center for Structural Biology, The McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
| | - Judit J Pénzes
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center for Structural Biology, The McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
| | - Mavis Agbandje-McKenna
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center for Structural Biology, The McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
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