Cell culture assay for human noroviruses

Failure of propagation of human norovirus in intestinal epithelial cells with microvilli grown in three-dimensional cultures

Human noroviruses (HuNoVs) are a leading cause of acute gastroenteritis. Establishment of a cell culture system for in vitro HuNoV growth remains challenging. Replication of HuNoVs in human intestinal cell lines (INT-407 and Caco-2) that differentiate to produce microvilli in rotation wall vessel (RWV) three-dimensional cultures has been reported (Straub et al. in Emerg Infect Dis 13:396-403, 2007; J Water Health 9:225-240, 2011, and Water Sci Technol 67:863-868, 2013). We used a similar RWV system, intestinal cell lines, and the same (Genogroup [G] I.1) plus additional (GII.4 and GII.12) HuNoV strains to test the system's reproducibility and to expand the earlier findings. Apical microvilli were observed on the surface of both cell lines by light and electron microscopy. However, none of the cell types tested resulted in productive viral replication of any of the HuNoV strains, as confirmed by plateau or declining viral RNA titers in the supernatants and cell lysates of HuNoV-infected cells, determined by real-time reverse transcription PCR. These trends were the same when culture supplements were added that have been reported to be effective for replication of other fastidious enteric viruses in vitro. Additionally, by confocal microscopy and orthoslice analysis, viral capsid proteins were mainly observed above the actin filament signals, which suggested that the majority of viral antigens were on the cell surface. We conclude that even intestinal cells displaying microvilli were not sufficient to support HuNoV replication under the conditions tested.

QCM-D studies of human norovirus VLPs binding to glycosphingolipids in supported lipid bilayers reveal strain-specific characteristics

Susceptibility to norovirus infection has been linked to secretor status. Norovirus virus-like particles (VLPs; 0- 20 microg/mL) from the Norwalk (GI.1) and Dijon (GII.4) strains were assayed for binding to H type 1 and Lewis a pentaglycosylceramides, incorporated in laterally fluid supported lipid bilayers. Binding kinetics was monitored in real time in 40 microL stationary reaction chambers, using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) monitoring. Both strains displayed binding only to H type 1 and not to Lewis a glycosphingolipids, typical for epithelial cells of susceptible and resistant individuals, respectively. This binding specificity was confirmed by VLPs binding to the two glycosphingolipids chromatographed on TLC-plates. Experiments using bilayers with mixtures of H type 1 and Lewis a, with the total glycosphingolipid concentration constant at 10 wt%, showed that binding was only dependent on H type 1 concentrations and identical to experiments without additional Lewis a. Both strains showed a threshold concentration of H type 1 below which no binding was observable. The threshold was one order of magnitude higher for the Dijon strain (2 wt% versus 0.25 wt%) demonstrating that the interaction with a significantly larger number of glycosphingolipids was needed for the binding of the Dijon strain. The difference in threshold glycosphingolipid concentrations for the two strains suggests a lower affinity for the glycosphingolipid for the Dijon compared to the Norwalk strain. We propose that VLPs initially bind only a few glycosphingolipids but the binding is subsequently strengthened by lateral diffusion of additional glycosphingolipids moving into the interaction area.

Immunology of Norovirus Infection

Noroviruses are the leading cause of epidemic non-bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide. Despite their discovery over three decades ago, little is known about the host immune response to norovirus infection. The purpose of this chapter is to review the field of norovirus immunology and discuss the contributions of outbreak investigations, human and animal challenge studies and population-based studies. This chapter will survey both humoral and cellular immunity as well as recent advances in norovirus vaccine development.