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Saito K, Shimasaki K, Fukasawa M, Suzuki R, Okemoto-Nakamura Y, Katoh K, Takasaki T, Hanada K. Establishment of Vero cell lines persistently harboring a yellow fever virus 17D subgenomic replicon. Virus Res 2022; 322:198935. [PMID: 36152929 DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2022.198935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2022] [Revised: 09/18/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Yellow fever virus (YFV), a member of the genus Flavivirus, family Flaviviridae, is the etiological agent for an acute viral hemorrhagic disease, yellow fever. Although effective live attenuated vaccines based on the strain YFV 17D are currently available, no specific antiviral drug is available, and the disease remains a major public health concern. Hence, the discovery and development of antiviral drugs should lead to great benefits in controlling the disease. To provide a screening platform for antiviral agents targeting YFV RNA translation/replication, we have established and characterized two Vero cell lines that persistently harbor a subgenomic replicon derived from YFV 17D-204 (referred to as replicon cells). The replicon carries YFV nucleotides (1 - 176 and 2382-10,862) and a green fluorescent protein (GFP)-Zeocin resistance fusion gene as a selection marker and indicator of persistent replication. Immunofluorescence analysis revealed that both replicon cells and YFV 17D-infected cells showed similar distribution patterns of viral NS4B protein and replication intermediate, double-stranded RNA. Sequencing analysis of persistent replicons from the two replicon cell lines suggested that their nucleotide sequences did not vary greatly following multiple passages. We examined the effect of five agents, the antiviral cytokines interferon-β and -γ, the nucleoside analog ribavirin, the squalene synthase inhibitor zaragozic acid A, and the antibiotic rifapentine, a recently reported entry and replication inhibitor against YFV, on the persistent replication in the two replicon cell lines. These agents were selected because they inhibited both production of YFV 17D and transient replication of a luciferase-expressing replicon in Vero cells, without greatly affecting cell viability. We found that each of the agents decreased GFP fluorescence in the replicon cells, albeit to varying degrees. The agents other than rifapentine also showed a decrease in viral RNA levels in the replicon cells comparable to that seen for GFP fluorescence. These results indicate that persistent replication is susceptible to each of these five agents, although their mechanisms of action may differ. Taken together, these results provide evidence that translation/replication of the replicon in the replicon cells mimics that of the viral genome upon YFV 17D infection, indicating that the replicon cell lines can serve as a useful tool for high-throughput antiviral drug screening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyoko Saito
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
| | - Kentaro Shimasaki
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masayoshi Fukasawa
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Ryosuke Suzuki
- Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Musashimurayama-shi, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuko Okemoto-Nakamura
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kaoru Katoh
- Biomedical Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba-shi, Ibaragi, Japan; AIRC, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Tomohiko Takasaki
- Kanagawa Prefectural Institute of Public Health, Chigasaki-shi, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Kentaro Hanada
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Quality Assurance, Radiation Safety, and Information System, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
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