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Ghosh A, Delgado-Cunningham K, López T, Green K, Arias CF, DuBois RM. Structure and antigenicity of the divergent human astrovirus VA1 capsid spike. PLoS Pathog 2024; 20:e1012028. [PMID: 38416796 PMCID: PMC10950212 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012028] [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: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 03/19/2024] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Human astrovirus (HAstV) is a known cause of viral gastroenteritis in children worldwide, but HAstV can cause also severe and systemic infections in immunocompromised patients. There are three clades of HAstV: classical, MLB, and VA/HMO. While all three clades are found in gastrointestinal samples, HAstV-VA/HMO is the main clade associated with meningitis and encephalitis in immunocompromised patients. To understand how the HAstV-VA/HMO can infect the central nervous system, we investigated its sequence-divergent capsid spike, which functions in cell attachment and may influence viral tropism. Here we report the high-resolution crystal structures of the HAstV-VA1 capsid spike from strains isolated from patients with gastrointestinal and neuronal disease. The HAstV-VA1 spike forms a dimer and shares a core beta-barrel structure with other astrovirus capsid spikes but is otherwise strikingly different, suggesting that HAstV-VA1 may utilize a different cell receptor, and an infection competition assay supports this hypothesis. Furthermore, by mapping the capsid protease cleavage site onto the structure, the maturation and assembly of the HAstV-VA1 capsid is revealed. Finally, comparison of gastrointestinal and neuronal HAstV-VA1 sequences, structures, and antigenicity suggests that neuronal HAstV-VA1 strains may have acquired immune escape mutations. Overall, our studies on the HAstV-VA1 capsid spike lay a foundation to further investigate the biology of HAstV-VA/HMO and to develop vaccines and therapeutics targeting it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anisa Ghosh
- Department of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, United States of America
| | - Kevin Delgado-Cunningham
- Department of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, United States of America
| | - Tomás López
- Departamento de Genética del Desarrollo y Fisiología Molecular, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Kassidy Green
- Department of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, United States of America
| | - Carlos F. Arias
- Departamento de Genética del Desarrollo y Fisiología Molecular, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Rebecca M. DuBois
- Department of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, United States of America
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2
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Maximova OA, Weller ML, Krogmann T, Sturdevant DE, Ricklefs S, Virtaneva K, Martens C, Wollenberg K, Minai M, Moore IN, Sauter CS, Barker JN, Lipkin WI, Seilhean D, Nath A, Cohen JI. Pathogenesis and outcome of VA1 astrovirus infection in the human brain are defined by disruption of neural functions and imbalanced host immune responses. PLoS Pathog 2023; 19:e1011544. [PMID: 37595007 PMCID: PMC10438012 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Astroviruses (AstVs) can cause of severe infection of the central nervous system (CNS) in immunocompromised individuals. Here, we identified a human AstV of the VA1 genotype, HAstV-NIH, as the cause of fatal encephalitis in an immunocompromised adult. We investigated the cells targeted by AstV, neurophysiological changes, and host responses by analyzing gene expression, protein expression, and cellular morphology in brain tissue from three cases of AstV neurologic disease (AstV-ND). We demonstrate that neurons are the principal cells targeted by AstV in the brain and that the cerebellum and brainstem have the highest burden of infection. Detection of VA1 AstV in interconnected brain structures such as thalamus, deep cerebellar nuclei, Purkinje cells, and pontine nuclei indicates that AstV may spread between connected neurons transsynaptically. We found transcriptional dysregulation of neural functions and disruption of both excitatory and inhibitory synaptic innervation of infected neurons. Importantly, transcriptional dysregulation of neural functions occurred in fatal cases, but not in a patient that survived AstV-ND. We show that the innate, but not adaptive immune response was transcriptionally driving host defense in the brain of immunocompromised patients with AstV-ND. Both transcriptome and molecular pathology studies showed that most of the cellular changes were associated with CNS-intrinsic cells involved in phagocytosis and injury repair (microglia, perivascular/parenchymal border macrophages, and astrocytes), but not CNS-extrinsic cells (T and B cells), suggesting an imbalance of innate and adaptive immune responses to AstV infection in the brain as a result of the underlying immunodeficiencies. These results show that VA1 AstV infection of the brain in immunocompromised humans is associated with imbalanced host defense responses, disruption of neuronal somatodendritic compartments and synapses and increased phagocytic cellular activity. Improved understanding of the response to viral infections of the human CNS may provide clues for how to manipulate these processes to improve outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga A. Maximova
- Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Melodie L. Weller
- Secretory Physiology Section, Molecular Physiology and Therapeutics Branch, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Tammy Krogmann
- Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Daniel E. Sturdevant
- Research Technologies Branch, Genomics Unit, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
| | - Stacy Ricklefs
- Research Technologies Branch, Genomics Unit, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
| | - Kimmo Virtaneva
- Research Technologies Branch, Genomics Unit, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
| | - Craig Martens
- Research Technologies Branch, Genomics Unit, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
| | - Kurt Wollenberg
- Bioinformatics and Computational Biosciences Branch, Office of Cyber Infrastructure and Computational Biology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Mahnaz Minai
- Infectious Disease Pathogenesis Section, Comparative Medicine Branch, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Ian N. Moore
- Infectious Disease Pathogenesis Section, Comparative Medicine Branch, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Craig S. Sauter
- Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Juliet N. Barker
- Adult Bone Marrow Transplant Service, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - W. Ian Lipkin
- Center for Infection and Immunity, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | | | - Avindra Nath
- Infections of the Nervous System Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Jeffrey I. Cohen
- Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
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Wildi N, Seuberlich T. The Roles of the 5' and 3' Untranslated Regions in Human Astrovirus Replication. Viruses 2023; 15:1402. [PMID: 37376701 DOI: 10.3390/v15061402] [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: 05/02/2023] [Revised: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Astroviruses are small nonenveloped single-stranded RNA viruses with a positive sense genome. They are known to cause gastrointestinal disease in a broad spectrum of species. Although astroviruses are distributed worldwide, a gap in knowledge of their biology and disease pathogenesis persists. Many positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses show conserved and functionally important structures in their 5' and 3' untranslated regions (UTRs). However, not much is known about the role of the 5' and 3' UTRs in the viral replication of HAstV-1. We analyzed the UTRs of HAstV-1 for secondary RNA structures and mutated them, resulting in partial or total UTR deletion. We used a reverse genetic system to study the production of infectious viral particles and to quantify protein expression in the 5' and 3' UTR mutants, and we established an HAstV-1 replicon system containing two reporter cassettes in open reading frames 1a and 2, respectively. Our data show that 3' UTR deletions almost completely abolished viral protein expression and that 5' UTR deletions led to a reduction in infectious virus particles in infection experiments. This indicates that the presence of the UTRs is essential for the life cycle of HAstV-1 and opens avenues for further research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Wildi
- Division of Neurological Sciences, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
- Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Torsten Seuberlich
- Division of Neurological Sciences, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
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Lu RG, Li SS, Hu B, Li HY, Tian H, Liu WQ, Yan XJ, Liu H, Bai X. The first evidence of shaking mink syndrome-astrovirus associated encephalitis in farmed minks, China. Transbound Emerg Dis 2022; 69:3979-3984. [PMID: 36057957 DOI: 10.1111/tbed.14693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2022] [Revised: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
A novel neurological disorder, shaking mink syndrome (SMS), emerged in Denmark and Sweden in 2000. SMS has seldom been reported in China, but the causative agent has not been detected in the country. SMS outbreaks occurred in multiple provinces in 2020. A total of 44 brain samples from minks associated with SMS were collected from Heilongjiang, Liaoning and Shandong provinces of which 28 samples (63.3%) were SMS-astrovirus (SMS-AstV)-positive by reverse transcription PCR. Histopathological examination revealed non-suppurative encephalitis in three minks. Moreover, the complete coding region sequences (CDSs, 6559 bp) of a sample collected from a 2-month-old mink (termed SMS-AstV-H1, GSA accession No. SAMC816786) were amplified by PCR and Sanger sequencing. The complete CDS and open reading frame 2 sequences of SMS-AstV-H1 were 94.3% and 96.4% identical to an SMS-AstV strain (GenBank accession number: GU985458). Phylogenetically, SMS-AstV-H1 was closely related to an SMS-AstV strain (GU985458). Based on the above results, we describe SMS-AstV-associated encephalitis in farmed minks in China. Future studies need to focus on epidemiology, virus isolation and potential interspecies transmission of SMS-AstV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rong-Guang Lu
- Key Laboratory of Special Animal Epidemic Disease of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Special Animals and Plants, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, China
| | - Shuang-Shuang Li
- Key Laboratory of Special Animal Epidemic Disease of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Special Animals and Plants, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, China
| | - Bo Hu
- Key Laboratory of Special Animal Epidemic Disease of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Special Animals and Plants, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, China
| | - Hong-Ye Li
- Key Laboratory of Special Animal Epidemic Disease of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Special Animals and Plants, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, China
| | - Hong Tian
- The State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, China
| | - Wei-Quan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Xi-Jun Yan
- Key Laboratory of Special Animal Epidemic Disease of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Special Animals and Plants, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, China
| | - Hao Liu
- School of Life Sciences and Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, China
| | - Xue Bai
- Key Laboratory of Special Animal Epidemic Disease of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Special Animals and Plants, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, China
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5
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Wang J, Xu C, Zeng M, Tang C. Diversity of Astrovirus in Goats in Southwest China and Identification of Two Novel Caprine Astroviruses. Microbiol Spectr 2022; 10:e0121822. [PMID: 35862967 PMCID: PMC9430535 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.01218-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2022] [Accepted: 06/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
A total of 232 goat fecal samples (124 diarrheic and 108 nondiarrheic) collected from 12 farms in Southwest China were tested for astrovirus using RT-PCR. A total of 16.9% (21/124) of diarrheic and 20.4% (22/108) of nondiarrheic samples were astrovirus-positive, and no statistical difference was found in the detection rate between healthy and sick goats. Furthermore, 28 obtained complete ORF2 sequences could be classified into six genotypes according to the species classification criteria of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). It is worth noting that, in addition to four known caprine astrovirus genotypes (MAstV-33, MAstV-34, Caprine Astrovirus G5.1, and Caprine Astrovirus G3.1), MAstV-13 and MAstV-24 genotypes were identified in goats. Interestingly, five of 19 ORF2 sequences in the Caprine Astrovirus G3.1 genotype showed possible intragenotypic recombination events. Furthermore, nearly complete caprine astrovirus genomes of MAstV-13 and MAstV-24 genotypes were obtained. The genome of the SWUN/ECJK3/2021 strain shared the highest similarity (62.0% to 73.9%) with astrovirus in MAstV-13, and clustered in the so-called human-mink-ovine (HMO) clade, which contained the majority of the neurotropic astrovirus strains. Moreover, the SWUN/LJK2-2/2020 strain showed the highest similarity (69.7% to 78.6%) and the closest genetic relationship to the known porcine and bovine astroviruses in MAstV-24. In conclusion, this study confirmed six genotypes of astrovirus circulating among goats in Southwest China, including MAstV-13 and MAstV-24 genotypes. These findings enhance our knowledge of the prevalence and diversity of astroviruses. IMPORTANCE Caprine astrovirus is a newly emerging virus, and information regarding its prevalence and molecular characteristics remains limited. In this study, six genotypes of astrovirus, including MAstV-13 and MAstV-24, were identified in goats, adding two novel caprine astrovirus genotypes to the four previously known genotypes, thereby enriching the diversity of the caprine astrovirus. Moreover, genomes of MAstV-13 SWUN/ECJK3/2021 and MAstV-24 SWUN/LJK2-2/2020 strains were obtained from goats, which aids in the understanding of the infection spectrum and host range of the two genotypes. This study is the first to demonstrate the presence of neurotropic-like astrovirus (MAstV-13) in goats, which has significant implications for the diagnosis of neurological diseases in goats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiayi Wang
- College of Animal & Veterinary Sciences, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, China
| | - Chenxia Xu
- College of Animal & Veterinary Sciences, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, China
| | - Mengting Zeng
- College of Animal & Veterinary Sciences, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, China
| | - Cheng Tang
- College of Animal & Veterinary Sciences, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Animal Genetic Resource Reservation and Utilization Chengdu, China
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6
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Zhang W, Wang W, Liu X, Chen Y, Ouyang K, Wei Z, Liu H, Huang W. Identification of novel B-cell epitopes on the capsid protein of type 1 porcine astrovirus, using monoclonal antibodies. Int J Biol Macromol 2021; 189:939-947. [PMID: 34464644 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2021.08.129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Revised: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Porcine astrovirus (PAstV) is prevalent in pigs worldwide and could cause clinical symptoms such as diarrhea and encephalitis. The capsid protein (Cap) of PAstV plays a determinant role for virus immunological characteristics. In this study, the major antigenic regions of PAstV1 Cap were expressed through prokaryotic expression systems and immunized to BALB/c mice. Finally, two anti-Cap monoclonal antibodies (named mAb F4-4 and D3F10) were screened by indirect immune-fluorescence assay (IFA). A series of truncated GST-fused or artificially synthesized peptides were used to detect their reactivity with the mAbs and PAstV positive serum. Two novel B cell epitopes (120-GNNTFG-125, 485-RISDPTWFSA-494) were identified by using these two mAbs. Moreover, sequence alignment result showed that epitope 120-GNNTFG-125 was highly conserved in type 1 PAstV capsid protein. Cross-reactivity analysis further confirmed the genotype-specificity of mAb F4-4. The results of this study demonstrated to be the first description of monoclonal antibody preparation and B-cell epitope mapping on PAstV capsid protein, which may provide new information on the biological significance of PAstV capsid protein and lay a foundation for the development of PAstV immunological tests and genotype diagnostic methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenchao Zhang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Guangxi University, No. 100 Daxue Road, Nanning 530005, China
| | - Weiyi Wang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Guangxi University, No. 100 Daxue Road, Nanning 530005, China
| | - Xin Liu
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Guangxi University, No. 100 Daxue Road, Nanning 530005, China
| | - Ying Chen
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Guangxi University, No. 100 Daxue Road, Nanning 530005, China
| | - Kang Ouyang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Guangxi University, No. 100 Daxue Road, Nanning 530005, China
| | - Zuzhang Wei
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Guangxi University, No. 100 Daxue Road, Nanning 530005, China
| | - Huan Liu
- Department of Scientific Research, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, No. 89-9 Dongge Road, Nanning 530024, China.
| | - Weijian Huang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Guangxi University, No. 100 Daxue Road, Nanning 530005, China.
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Matias Ferreyra F, Harmon K, Bradner L, Burrough E, Derscheid R, Magstadt DR, Michael A, de Almeida MN, Schumacher L, Siepker C, Sitthicharoenchai P, Stevenson G, Arruda B. Comparative Analysis of Novel Strains of Porcine Astrovirus Type 3 in the USA. Viruses 2021; 13:1859. [PMID: 34578440 PMCID: PMC8472076 DOI: 10.3390/v13091859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Revised: 09/12/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Porcine astrovirus type 3 (PoAstV3) has been previously identified as a cause of polioencephalomyelitis in swine and continues to cause disease in the US swine industry. Herein, we describe the characterization of both untranslated regions, frameshifting signal, putative genome-linked virus protein (VPg) and conserved antigenic epitopes of several novel PoAstV3 genomes. Twenty complete coding sequences (CDS) were obtained from 32 diagnostic cases originating from 11 individual farms/systems sharing a nucleotide (amino acid) percent identity of 89.74-100% (94.79-100%), 91.9-100% (96.3-100%) and 90.71-100% (93.51-100%) for ORF1a, ORF1ab and ORF2, respectively. Our results indicate that the 5'UTR of PoAstV3 is highly conserved highlighting the importance of this region in translation initiation while their 3'UTR is moderately conserved among strains, presenting alternative configurations including multiple putative protein binding sites and pseudoknots. Moreover, two predicted conserved antigenic epitopes were identified matching the 3' termini of VP27 of PoAstV3 USA strains. These epitopes may aid in the design and development of vaccine components and diagnostic assays useful to control outbreaks of PoAstV3-associated CNS disease. In conclusion, this is the first analysis predicting the structure of important regulatory motifs of neurotropic mamastroviruses, which differ from those previously described in human astroviruses.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Bailey Arruda
- Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Department of Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine, Iowa State University, 1850 Christensen Drive, Ames, IA 50011-1134, USA; (F.M.F.); (K.H.); (L.B.); (E.B.); (R.D.); (D.R.M.); (A.M.); (M.N.d.A.); (L.S.); (C.S.); (P.S.); (G.S.)
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Wildi N, Seuberlich T. Neurotropic Astroviruses in Animals. Viruses 2021; 13:1201. [PMID: 34201545 PMCID: PMC8310007 DOI: 10.3390/v13071201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Revised: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 06/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Astrovirus infections are among the main causes of diarrhea in children, but their significance for animal health has remained underestimated and largely unknown. This is changing due to the increasing amount of newly identified neurotropic astroviruses in cases of nonsuppurative encephalitis and neurological disease in humans, pigs, ruminant species and minks. Neurological cases in ruminants and humans usually occur sporadically and as isolated cases. This contrasts with the situation in pigs and minks, in which diseases associated with neurotropic astroviruses are endemic and occur on the herd level. Affected animals show neurological signs such as mild ataxia to tetraplegia, loss of orientation or trembling, and the outcome is often fatal. Non-suppurative inflammation with perivascular cuffing, gliosis and neuronal necrosis are typical histological lesions of astrovirus encephalitis. Since astroviruses primarily target the gastrointestinal tract, it is assumed that they infect the brain through the circulatory system or retrograde following the nerves. The phylogenetic analysis of neurotropic astroviruses has revealed that they are genetically closely related, suggesting the presence of viral determinants for tissue tropism and neuroinvasion. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on neurotropic astrovirus infections in animals and propose future research activities.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Torsten Seuberlich
- Division of Neurological Sciences, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland;
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Beyond the Gastrointestinal Tract: The Emerging and Diverse Tissue Tropisms of Astroviruses. Viruses 2021; 13:v13050732. [PMID: 33922259 PMCID: PMC8145421 DOI: 10.3390/v13050732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 04/16/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Astroviruses are single stranded, positive-sense RNA viruses that have been historically associated with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract of vertebrates, including humans. However, there is now a multitude of evidence demonstrating the capacity of these viruses to cause extraintestinal diseases. The most striking causal relationship is neurological diseases in humans, cattle, pigs, and other mammals, caused by astrovirus infection. Astroviruses have also been associated with disseminated infections, localized disease of the liver or kidneys, and there is increasing evidence suggesting a potential tropism to the respiratory tract. This review will discuss the current understanding of the tissue tropisms for astroviruses and their emerging capacity to cause disease in multiple organ systems.
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