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Ander SE, Parks MG, Davenport BJ, Li FS, Bosco-Lauth A, Carpentier KS, Sun C, Lucas CJ, Klimstra WB, Ebel GD, Morrison TE. Phagocyte-expressed glycosaminoglycans promote capture of alphaviruses from the blood circulation in a host species-specific manner. PNAS Nexus 2024; 3:pgae119. [PMID: 38560529 PMCID: PMC10978064 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2024] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
The magnitude and duration of vertebrate viremia are critical determinants of arbovirus transmission, geographic spread, and disease severity-yet, mechanisms determining arbovirus viremia levels are poorly defined. Previous studies have drawn associations between in vitro virion-glycosaminoglycan (GAG) interactions and in vivo clearance kinetics of virions from blood circulation. From these observations, it is commonly hypothesized that GAG-binding virions are rapidly removed from circulation due to ubiquitous expression of GAGs by vascular endothelial cells, thereby limiting viremia. Using an in vivo model for viremia, we compared the vascular clearance of low and enhanced GAG-binding viral variants of chikungunya, eastern- (EEEV), and Venezuelan- (VEEV) equine encephalitis viruses. We find GAG-binding virions are more quickly removed from circulation than their non-GAG-binding variant; however individual clearance kinetics vary between GAG-binding viruses, from swift (VEEV) to slow removal from circulation (EEEV). Remarkably, we find phagocytes are required for efficient vascular clearance of some enhanced GAG-binding virions. Moreover, transient depletion of vascular heparan sulfate impedes vascular clearance of only some GAG-binding viral variants and in a phagocyte-dependent manner, implying phagocytes can mediate vascular GAG-virion interactions. Finally, in direct contrast to mice, we find enhanced GAG-binding EEEV is resistant to vascular clearance in avian hosts, suggesting the existence of species-specificity in virion-GAG interactions. In summary, these data support a role for GAG-mediated clearance of some viral particles from the blood circulation, illuminate the potential of blood-contacting phagocytes as a site for GAG-virion binding, and suggest a role for species-specific GAG structures in arbovirus ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie E Ander
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - M Guston Parks
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Bennett J Davenport
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Frances S Li
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Angela Bosco-Lauth
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Kathryn S Carpentier
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Chengqun Sun
- Center for Vaccine Research, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Cormac J Lucas
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - William B Klimstra
- Center for Vaccine Research, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Thomas E Morrison
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
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2
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Lewis J, Gallichotte EN, Randall J, Glass A, Foy BD, Ebel GD, Kading RC. Corrigendum: Intrinsic factors driving mosquito vector competence and viral evolution: a review. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2024; 14:1375638. [PMID: 38384300 PMCID: PMC10880728 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1375638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [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: 01/24/2024] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024] Open
Abstract
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1330600.].
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliette Lewis
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States
| | - Emily N. Gallichotte
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States
| | - Jenna Randall
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States
| | - Arielle Glass
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States
| | - Brian D. Foy
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States
| | - Gregory D. Ebel
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States
| | - Rebekah C. Kading
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States
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3
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Hodoameda P, Ebel GD, Mukhopadhyay S, Clem RJ. Extreme infectious titer variability in individual Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with Sindbis virus is associated with both differences in virus population structure and dramatic disparities in specific infectivity. PLoS Pathog 2024; 20:e1012047. [PMID: 38412195 PMCID: PMC10923411 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2023] [Revised: 03/08/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Variability in how individuals respond to pathogens is a hallmark of infectious disease, yet the basis for individual variation in host response is often poorly understood. The titer of infectious virus among individual mosquitoes infected with arboviruses is frequently observed to vary by several orders of magnitude in a single experiment, even when the mosquitoes are highly inbred. To better understand the basis for this titer variation, we sequenced populations of Sindbis virus (SINV) obtained from individual infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that, despite being from a highly inbred laboratory colony, differed in their titers of infectious virus by approximately 10,000-fold. We observed genetic differences between these virus populations that indicated the virus present in the midguts of low titer mosquitoes was less fit than that of high titer mosquitoes, possibly due to founder effects that occurred during midgut infection. Furthermore, we found dramatic differences in the specific infectivity or SI (the ratio of infectious units/viral genome equivalents) between these virus populations, with the SI of low titer mosquitoes being up to 10,000-fold lower than that of high titer mosquitoes. Despite having similar amounts of viral genomes, low titer mosquitoes appeared to contain less viral particles, suggesting that viral genomes were packaged into virions less efficiently than in high titer mosquitoes. Finally, antibiotic treatment, which has been shown to suppress mosquito antiviral immunity, caused an increase in SI. Our results indicate that the extreme variation that is observed in SINV infectious titer between individual Ae. aegypti mosquitoes is due to both genetic differences between virus populations and to differences in the proportion of genomes that are packaged into infectious particles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Hodoameda
- Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas United States of America
| | - Gregory D. Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado United States of America
| | - Suchetana Mukhopadhyay
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana United States of America
| | - Rollie J. Clem
- Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas United States of America
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4
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Biedler JK, Aryan A, Qi Y, Wang A, Martinson EO, Hartman DA, Yang F, Sharma A, Morton KS, Potters M, Chen C, Dobson SL, Ebel GD, Kading RC, Paulson S, Xue RD, Strand MR, Tu Z. On the Origin and Evolution of the Mosquito Male-determining Factor Nix. Mol Biol Evol 2024; 41:msad276. [PMID: 38128148 PMCID: PMC10798136 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msad276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 12/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The mosquito family Culicidae is divided into 2 subfamilies named the Culicinae and Anophelinae. Nix, the dominant male-determining factor, has only been found in the culicines Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, 2 important arboviral vectors that belong to the subgenus Stegomyia. Here we performed sex-specific whole-genome sequencing and RNAseq of divergent mosquito species and explored additional male-inclusive datasets to investigate the distribution of Nix. Except for the Culex genus, Nix homologs were found in all species surveyed from the Culicinae subfamily, including 12 additional species from 3 highly divergent tribes comprising 4 genera, suggesting Nix originated at least 133 to 165 million years ago (MYA). Heterologous expression of 1 of 3 divergent Nix open reading frames (ORFs) in Ae. aegypti resulted in partial masculinization of genetic females as evidenced by morphology and doublesex splicing. Phylogenetic analysis suggests Nix is related to femaleless (fle), a recently described intermediate sex-determining factor found exclusively in anopheline mosquitoes. Nix from all species has a conserved structure, including 3 RNA-recognition motifs (RRMs), as does fle. However, Nix has evolved at a much faster rate than fle. The RRM3 of both Nix and fle are distantly related to the single RRM of a widely distributed and conserved splicing factor transformer-2 (tra2). The RRM3-based phylogenetic analysis suggests this domain in Nix and fle may have evolved from tra2 or a tra2-related gene in a common ancestor of mosquitoes. Our results provide insights into the evolution of sex determination in mosquitoes and will inform broad applications of mosquito-control strategies based on manipulating sex ratios toward nonbiting males.
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Affiliation(s)
- James K Biedler
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Azadeh Aryan
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Yumin Qi
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Aihua Wang
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Ellen O Martinson
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Daniel A Hartman
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Fan Yang
- Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Atashi Sharma
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Katherine S Morton
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Mark Potters
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Chujia Chen
- Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Genetics Bioinformatics and Computational Biology PhD program, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Stephen L Dobson
- Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40503, USA
- MosquitoMate, Inc., Lexington, KY 40502, USA
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Rebekah C Kading
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Sally Paulson
- Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Rui-De Xue
- Anastasia Mosquito Control District, St. Augustine, FL 32092, USA
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Zhijian Tu
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Genetics Bioinformatics and Computational Biology PhD program, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
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5
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Lewis J, Gallichotte EN, Randall J, Glass A, Foy BD, Ebel GD, Kading RC. Intrinsic factors driving mosquito vector competence and viral evolution: a review. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023; 13:1330600. [PMID: 38188633 PMCID: PMC10771300 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1330600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Mosquitoes are responsible for the transmission of numerous viruses of global health significance. The term "vector competence" describes the intrinsic ability of an arthropod vector to transmit an infectious agent. Prior to transmission, the mosquito itself presents a complex and hostile environment through which a virus must transit to ensure propagation and transmission to the next host. Viruses imbibed in an infectious blood meal must pass in and out of the mosquito midgut, traffic through the body cavity or hemocoel, invade the salivary glands, and be expelled with the saliva when the vector takes a subsequent blood meal. Viruses encounter physical, cellular, microbial, and immunological barriers, which are influenced by the genetic background of the mosquito vector as well as environmental conditions. Collectively, these factors place significant selective pressure on the virus that impact its evolution and transmission. Here, we provide an overview of the current state of the field in understanding the mosquito-specific factors that underpin vector competence and how each of these mechanisms may influence virus evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliette Lewis
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States
| | - Emily N. Gallichotte
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States
| | - Jenna Randall
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States
| | - Arielle Glass
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States
| | - Brian D. Foy
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States
| | - Gregory D. Ebel
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States
| | - Rebekah C. Kading
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States
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6
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McMinn RJ, Chacon A, Rückert C, Scorza V, Young MC, Worthington D, Lamb MM, Medrano RE, Harris EK, Arias K, Lopez MR, Asturias EJ, Foy BD, Stenglein MD, Olson D, Ebel GD. Evaluation of Vector-Enabled Xenosurveillance in Rural Guatemala. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2023; 109:1303-1310. [PMID: 37972312 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.22-0774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Surveillance methods that permit rapid detection of circulating pathogens in low-resource settings are desperately needed. In this study, we evaluated a mosquito bloodmeal-based surveillance method ("xenosurveillance") in rural Guatemala. Twenty households from two villages (Los Encuentros and Chiquirines) in rural southwest Guatemala were enrolled and underwent weekly prospective surveillance from August 2019 to December 2019 (16 weeks). When febrile illness was reported in a household, recently blood-fed mosquitoes were collected from within dwellings and blood samples taken from each member of the household. Mosquitoes were identified to species and blood sources identified by sequencing. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing was used to identify circulating viruses. Culex pipiens (60.9%) and Aedes aegypti (18.6%) were the most abundant mosquitoes collected. Bloodmeal sources were most commonly human (32.6%) and chicken (31.6%), with various other mammal and avian hosts detected. Several mosquito-specific viruses were detected, including Culex orthophasma virus. Human pathogens were not detected. Therefore, xenosurveillance may require more intensive sampling to detect human pathogens in Guatemala and ecologically similar localities in Central America.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebekah J McMinn
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Andrea Chacon
- Fundacion para la Salud Integral de los Guatemaltecos, Retalhuleu, Guatemala
| | - Claudia Rückert
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada
| | - Valeria Scorza
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Michael C Young
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Delaney Worthington
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Molly M Lamb
- Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Ramon E Medrano
- Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala
| | - Emma K Harris
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Kareen Arias
- Center for Human Development, Retalhuleu, Guatemala
| | - Maria Renee Lopez
- Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala
| | - Edwin J Asturias
- Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, Colorado
- Center for Human Development, Retalhuleu, Guatemala
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Infectious Diseases, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Brian D Foy
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Mark D Stenglein
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Daniel Olson
- Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, Colorado
- Center for Human Development, Retalhuleu, Guatemala
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Infectious Diseases, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
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7
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Harris EK, Foy BD, Ebel GD. Colorado tick fever virus: a review of historical literature and research emphasis for a modern era. J Med Entomol 2023; 60:1214-1220. [PMID: 37862094 DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjad094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Revised: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
Colorado tick fever virus is an understudied tick-borne virus of medical importance that is primarily transmitted in the western United States and southwestern Canada. The virus is the type species of the genus Coltivirus (Spinareoviridae) and consists of 12 segments that remain largely uncharacterized. Patterns of viral distribution are driven by the presence of the primary vector, the Rocky Mountain wood tick, Dermacentor andersoni. Infection prevalence in D. andersoni can range from 3% to 58% across the geographic distribution of the tick. Infection in humans can be severe and often presents with fever relapses but is rarely fatal. Here, we review the literature from primary characterizations in the early 20th century to current virus/vector research being conducted and identify vacancies in current research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma K Harris
- Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Brian D Foy
- Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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8
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Zimmerman O, Zimmerman MI, Raju S, Nelson CA, Errico JM, Madden EA, Holmes AC, Hassan AO, VanBlargan LA, Kim AS, Adams LJ, Basore K, Whitener BM, Palakurty S, Davis-Adams HG, Sun C, Gilliland T, Earnest JT, Ma H, Ebel GD, Zmasek C, Scheuermann RH, Klimstra WB, Fremont DH, Diamond MS. Vertebrate-class-specific binding modes of the alphavirus receptor MXRA8. Cell 2023; 186:4818-4833.e25. [PMID: 37804831 PMCID: PMC10615782 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2022] [Revised: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/09/2023]
Abstract
MXRA8 is a receptor for chikungunya (CHIKV) and other arthritogenic alphaviruses with mammalian hosts. However, mammalian MXRA8 does not bind to alphaviruses that infect humans and have avian reservoirs. Here, we show that avian, but not mammalian, MXRA8 can act as a receptor for Sindbis, western equine encephalitis (WEEV), and related alphaviruses with avian reservoirs. Structural analysis of duck MXRA8 complexed with WEEV reveals an inverted binding mode compared with mammalian MXRA8 bound to CHIKV. Whereas both domains of mammalian MXRA8 bind CHIKV E1 and E2, only domain 1 of avian MXRA8 engages WEEV E1, and no appreciable contacts are made with WEEV E2. Using these results, we generated a chimeric avian-mammalian MXRA8 decoy-receptor that neutralizes infection of multiple alphaviruses from distinct antigenic groups in vitro and in vivo. Thus, different alphaviruses can bind MXRA8 encoded by different vertebrate classes with distinct engagement modes, which enables development of broad-spectrum inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ofer Zimmerman
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Maxwell I Zimmerman
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Saravanan Raju
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Christopher A Nelson
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - John M Errico
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Emily A Madden
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Autumn C Holmes
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Ahmed O Hassan
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Laura A VanBlargan
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Arthur S Kim
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Pathology & Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Lucas J Adams
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Katherine Basore
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Bradley M Whitener
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Sathvik Palakurty
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Hannah G Davis-Adams
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Chengqun Sun
- Center for Vaccine Research, Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Theron Gilliland
- Center for Vaccine Research, Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - James T Earnest
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Hongming Ma
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | | | - Richard H Scheuermann
- J. Craig Venter Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA 92161, USA; Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA; Global Virus Network, Baltimore, MD 92037, USA
| | - William B Klimstra
- Center for Vaccine Research, Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Daved H Fremont
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA.
| | - Michael S Diamond
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Pathology & Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA; Andrew M. and Jane M. Bursky Center for Human Immunology and Immunotherapy Programs, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA.
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9
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Fitzmeyer EA, Gallichotte EN, Weger-Lucarelli J, Kapuscinski ML, Abdo Z, Pyron K, Young MC, Ebel GD. Loss of West Nile virus genetic diversity during mosquito infection due to species-dependent population bottlenecks. iScience 2023; 26:107711. [PMID: 37701570 PMCID: PMC10494182 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [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: 06/12/2023] [Revised: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Vector competence (VC) refers to the efficiency of pathogen transmission by vectors. Each step in the infection of a mosquito vector constitutes a barrier to transmission that may impose bottlenecks on virus populations. West Nile virus (WNV) is maintained by multiple mosquito species with varying VC. However, the extent to which bottlenecks and VC are linked is poorly understood. Similarly, quantitative analyses of mosquito-imposed bottlenecks on virus populations are limited. We used molecularly barcoded WNV to quantify tissue-associated population bottlenecks in three variably competent WNV vectors. Our results confirm strong population bottlenecks during mosquito infection that are capable of dramatically reshaping virus population structure in a non-selective manner. In addition, we found that mosquitoes with differing VC uniquely shape WNV population structure: highly competent vectors are more likely to contribute to the maintenance of rare viral genotypes. These findings have important implications for arbovirus emergence and evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily A. Fitzmeyer
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Emily N. Gallichotte
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - James Weger-Lucarelli
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Marylee L. Kapuscinski
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Zaid Abdo
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Kyra Pyron
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Michael C. Young
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Gregory D. Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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10
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Boehm EC, Jaeger AS, Ries HJ, Castañeda D, Weiler AM, Valencia CC, Weger-Lucarelli J, Ebel GD, O’Connor SL, Friedrich TC, Zamanian M, Aliota MT. Wolbachia-mediated resistance to Zika virus infection in Aedes aegypti is dominated by diverse transcriptional regulation and weak evolutionary pressures. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2023; 17:e0011674. [PMID: 37782672 PMCID: PMC10569609 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2023] [Revised: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023] Open
Abstract
A promising candidate for arbovirus control and prevention relies on replacing arbovirus-susceptible Aedes aegypti populations with mosquitoes that have been colonized by the intracellular bacterium Wolbachia and thus have a reduced capacity to transmit arboviruses. This reduced capacity to transmit arboviruses is mediated through a phenomenon referred to as pathogen blocking. Pathogen blocking has primarily been proposed as a tool to control dengue virus (DENV) transmission, however it works against a range of viruses, including Zika virus (ZIKV). Despite years of research, the molecular mechanisms underlying pathogen blocking still need to be better understood. Here, we used RNA-seq to characterize mosquito gene transcription dynamics in Ae. aegypti infected with the wMel strain of Wolbachia that are being released by the World Mosquito Program in Medellín, Colombia. Comparative analyses using ZIKV-infected, uninfected tissues, and mosquitoes without Wolbachia revealed that the influence of wMel on mosquito gene transcription is multifactorial. Importantly, because Wolbachia limits, but does not completely prevent, replication of ZIKV and other viruses in coinfected mosquitoes, there is a possibility that these viruses could evolve resistance to pathogen blocking. Therefore, to understand the influence of Wolbachia on within-host ZIKV evolution, we characterized the genetic diversity of molecularly barcoded ZIKV virus populations replicating in Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes and found that within-host ZIKV evolution was subject to weak purifying selection and, unexpectedly, loose anatomical bottlenecks in the presence and absence of Wolbachia. Together, these findings suggest that there is no clear transcriptional profile associated with Wolbachia-mediated ZIKV restriction, and that there is no evidence for ZIKV escape from this restriction in our system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma C. Boehm
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Anna S. Jaeger
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Hunter J. Ries
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - David Castañeda
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Andrea M. Weiler
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Corina C. Valencia
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - James Weger-Lucarelli
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Gregory D. Ebel
- Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Shelby L. O’Connor
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Thomas C. Friedrich
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Mostafa Zamanian
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Matthew T. Aliota
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Minnesota, United States of America
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11
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Ander SE, Parks MG, Davenport BJ, Li FS, Bosco-Lauth A, Carpentier KS, Sun C, Lucas CJ, Klimstra WB, Ebel GD, Morrison TE. Phagocyte-expressed glycosaminoglycans promote capture of alphaviruses from the blood circulation in a host species-specific manner. bioRxiv 2023:2023.08.09.552690. [PMID: 37609165 PMCID: PMC10441409 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.09.552690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/24/2023]
Abstract
The magnitude and duration of vertebrate viremia are critical determinants of arbovirus transmission, geographic spread, and disease severity-yet, mechanisms determining arbovirus viremia levels are poorly defined. Previous studies have drawn associations between in vitro virion-glycosaminoglycan (GAG) interactions and in vivo clearance kinetics of virions from blood circulation. From these observations, it is commonly hypothesized that GAG-binding virions are rapidly removed from circulation due to ubiquitous expression of GAGs by vascular endothelial cells, thereby limiting viremia. Using an in vivo model for viremia, we compared the vascular clearance of low and enhanced GAG-binding viral variants of chikungunya (CHIKV), eastern-(EEEV), and Venezuelan-(VEEV) equine encephalitis viruses. We find GAG-binding virions are more quickly removed from circulation than their non-GAG-binding variant; however individual clearance kinetics vary between GAG-binding viruses, from swift (VEEV) to slow removal from circulation (EEEV). Remarkably, we find phagocytes are required for efficient vascular clearance of some enhanced GAG-binding virions. Moreover, transient depletion of vascular heparan sulfate (HS) impedes vascular clearance of only some GAG-binding viral variants and in a phagocyte-dependent manner, implying phagocytes can mediate vascular GAG-virion interactions. Finally, in direct contrast to mice, we find enhanced GAG-binding EEEV is resistant to vascular clearance in avian hosts, suggesting the existence of species-specificity in virion-GAG interactions. In summary, these data support a role for GAG-mediated clearance of some viral particles from the blood circulation, illuminate the potential of blood-contacting phagocytes as a site for GAG-virion binding, and suggest a role for species-specific GAG structures in arbovirus ecology. Significance Statement Previously, evidence of arbovirus-GAG interactions in vivo has been limited to associations between viral residues shown to promote enhanced GAG-binding phenotypes in vitro and in vivo phenotypes of viral dissemination and pathogenesis. By directly manipulating host GAG expression, we identified virion-GAG interactions in vivo and discovered a role for phagocyte-expressed GAGs in viral vascular clearance. Moreover, we observe species-specific differences in viral vascular clearance of enhanced GAG-binding virions between murine and avian hosts. These data suggest species-specific variation in GAG structure is a mechanism to distinguish amplifying from dead-end hosts for arbovirus transmission.
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12
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Sexton NR, Cline PJ, Gallichotte EN, Fitzmeyer E, Young MC, Janich AJ, Pabilonia KL, Ehrhart N, Ebel GD. SARS-CoV-2 entry into and evolution within a skilled nursing facility. Sci Rep 2023; 13:11657. [PMID: 37468595 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-38544-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/21/2023] Open
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 belongs to the family Coronaviridae which includes multiple human pathogens that have an outsized impact on aging populations. As a novel human pathogen, SARS-CoV-2 is undergoing continuous adaptation to this new host species and there is evidence of this throughout the scientific and public literature. However, most investigations of SARS-CoV-2 evolution have focused on large-scale collections of data across diverse populations and/or living environments. Here we investigate SARS-CoV-2 evolution in epidemiologically linked individuals within a single outbreak at a skilled nursing facility beginning with initial introduction of the pathogen. The data demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 was introduced to the facility multiple times without establishing an interfacility transmission chain, followed by a single introduction that infected many individuals within a week. This large-scale introduction by a single genotype then persisted in the facility. SARS-CoV-2 sequences were investigated at both the consensus and intra-host variation levels. Understanding the variability in SARS-CoV-2 during transmission chains will assist in understanding the spread of this disease and can ultimately inform best practices for mitigation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole R Sexton
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
- Nebraska Center for Virology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 68504, USA
| | - Parker J Cline
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - Emily N Gallichotte
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - Emily Fitzmeyer
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - Michael C Young
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - Ashley J Janich
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - Kristy L Pabilonia
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - Nicole Ehrhart
- Columbine Health Systems Center for Healthy Aging and Department of Clinical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA.
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13
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Boehm EC, Jaeger AS, Ries HJ, Castañeda D, Weiler AM, Valencia CC, Weger-Lucarelli J, Ebel GD, O’Connor SL, Friedrich TC, Zamanian M, Aliota MT. Wolbachia -mediated resistance to Zika virus infection in Aedes aegypti is dominated by diverse transcriptional regulation and weak evolutionary pressures. bioRxiv 2023:2023.06.26.546271. [PMID: 37425681 PMCID: PMC10327090 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.26.546271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
A promising candidate for arbovirus control and prevention relies on replacing arbovirus-susceptible Aedes aegypti populations with mosquitoes that have been colonized by the intracellular bacterium Wolbachia and thus have a reduced capacity to transmit arboviruses. This reduced capacity to transmit arboviruses is mediated through a phenomenon referred to as pathogen blocking. Pathogen blocking has primarily been proposed as a tool to control dengue virus (DENV) transmission, however it works against a range of viruses, including Zika virus (ZIKV). Despite years of research, the molecular mechanisms underlying pathogen blocking still need to be better understood. Here, we used RNA-seq to characterize mosquito gene transcription dynamics in Ae. aegypti infected with the w Mel strain of Wolbachia that are being released by the World Mosquito Program in Medellín, Colombia. Comparative analyses using ZIKV-infected, uninfected tissues, and mosquitoes without Wolbachia revealed that the influence of w Mel on mosquito gene transcription is multifactorial. Importantly, because Wolbachia limits, but does not completely prevent, replication of ZIKV and other viruses in coinfected mosquitoes, there is a possibility that these viruses could evolve resistance to pathogen blocking. Therefore, to understand the influence of Wolbachia on within-host ZIKV evolution, we characterized the genetic diversity of molecularly barcoded ZIKV virus populations replicating in Wolbachia -infected mosquitoes and found that within-host ZIKV evolution was subject to weak purifying selection and, unexpectedly, loose anatomical bottlenecks in the presence and absence of Wolbachia . Together, these findings suggest that there is no clear transcriptional profile associated with Wolbachia -mediated ZIKV restriction, and that there is no evidence for ZIKV escape from this restriction in our system. Author Summary When Wolbachia bacteria infect Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, they dramatically reduce the mosquitoes' susceptibility to infection with a range of arthropod-borne viruses, including Zika virus (ZIKV). Although this pathogen-blocking effect has been widely recognized, its mechanisms remain unclear. Furthermore, because Wolbachia limits, but does not completely prevent, replication of ZIKV and other viruses in coinfected mosquitoes, there is a possibility that these viruses could evolve resistance to Wolbachia -mediated blocking. Here, we use host transcriptomics and viral genome sequencing to examine the mechanisms of ZIKV pathogen blocking by Wolbachia and viral evolutionary dynamics in Ae. aegypti mosquitoes. We find complex transcriptome patterns that do not suggest a single clear mechanism for pathogen blocking. We also find no evidence that Wolbachia exerts detectable selective pressures on ZIKV in coinfected mosquitoes. Together our data suggest that it may be difficult for ZIKV to evolve Wolbachia resistance, perhaps due to the complexity of the pathogen blockade mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma C. Boehm
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
| | - Anna S. Jaeger
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
| | - Hunter J. Ries
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - David Castañeda
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
| | - Andrea M. Weiler
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Corina C. Valencia
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | | | | | - Shelby L. O’Connor
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, United States
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Thomas C. Friedrich
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, United States
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Mostafa Zamanian
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Matthew T. Aliota
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
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14
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Talmi-Frank D, Byas AD, Murrieta R, Weger-Lucarelli J, Rückert C, Gallichotte EN, Yoshimoto JA, Allen C, Bosco-Lauth AM, Graham B, Felix TA, Brault AC, Ebel GD. Intracellular Diversity of WNV within Circulating Avian Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Reveals Host-Dependent Patterns of Polyinfection. Pathogens 2023; 12:767. [PMID: 37375457 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens12060767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Revised: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) populations exist as mutant swarms that are maintained between arthropods and vertebrates. West Nile virus (WNV) population dynamics are host-dependent. In American crows, purifying selection is weak and population diversity is high compared to American robins, which have 100- to 1000-fold lower viremia. WNV passed in robins leads to fitness gains, whereas that passed in crows does not. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that high crow viremia allows for higher genetic diversity within individual avian peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), reasoning that this could have produced the previously observed host-specific differences in genetic diversity and fitness. Specifically, we infected cells and birds with a molecularly barcoded WNV and sequenced viral RNA from single cells to quantify the number of WNV barcodes in each. Our results demonstrate that the richness of WNV populations within crows far exceeds that in robins. Similarly, rare WNV variants were maintained by crows more frequently than by robins. Our results suggest that increased viremia in crows relative to robins leads to the maintenance of defective genomes and less prevalent variants, presumably through complementation. Our findings further suggest that weaker purifying selection in highly susceptible crows is attributable to this higher viremia, polyinfections and complementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dalit Talmi-Frank
- Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Alex D Byas
- Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Reyes Murrieta
- Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - James Weger-Lucarelli
- Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Claudia Rückert
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557, USA
| | - Emily N Gallichotte
- Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Janna A Yoshimoto
- Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Chris Allen
- Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Angela M Bosco-Lauth
- Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Barbara Graham
- Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Todd A Felix
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, Lakewood, CO 80228, USA
| | - Aaron C Brault
- Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
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15
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Gallichotte EN, Samaras D, Murrieta RA, Sexton NR, Robison A, Young MC, Byas AD, Ebel GD, Rückert C. The Incompetence of Mosquitoes-Can Zika Virus Be Adapted To Infect Culex tarsalis Cells? mSphere 2023; 8:e0001523. [PMID: 36794947 PMCID: PMC10117059 DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00015-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/21/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The molecular evolutionary mechanisms underpinning virus-host interactions are increasingly recognized as key drivers of virus emergence, host specificity, and the likelihood that viruses can undergo a host shift that alters epidemiology and transmission biology. Zika virus (ZIKV) is mainly transmitted between humans by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. However, the 2015 to 2017 outbreak stimulated discussion regarding the role of Culex spp. mosquitoes in transmission. Reports of ZIKV-infected Culex mosquitoes, in nature and under laboratory conditions, resulted in public and scientific confusion. We previously found that Puerto Rican ZIKV does not infect colonized Culex quinquefasciatus, Culex pipiens, or Culex tarsalis, but some studies suggest they may be competent ZIKV vectors. Therefore, we attempted to adapt ZIKV to Cx. tarsalis by serially passaging virus on cocultured Ae. aegypti (Aag2) and Cx. tarsalis (CT) cells to identify viral determinants of species specificity. Increasing fractions of CT cells resulted in decreased overall virus titer and no enhancement of Culex cell or mosquito infection. Next-generation sequencing of cocultured virus passages revealed synonymous and nonsynonymous variants throughout the genome that arose as CT cell fractions increased. We generated nine recombinant ZIKVs containing combinations of the variants of interest. None of these viruses showed increased infection of Culex cells or mosquitoes, demonstrating that variants associated with passaging were not specific to increased Culex infection. These results reveal the challenge of a virus adapting to a new host, even when pushed to adapt artificially. Importantly, they also demonstrate that while ZIKV may occasionally infect Culex mosquitoes, Aedes mosquitoes likely drive transmission and human risk. IMPORTANCE ZIKV is mainly transmitted between humans by Aedes mosquitoes. In nature, ZIKV-infected Culex mosquitoes have been found, and ZIKV infrequently infects Culex mosquitoes under laboratory conditions. Yet, most studies show that Culex mosquitoes are not competent vectors for ZIKV. We attempted to adapt ZIKV to Culex cells to identify viral determinants of species specificity. We sequenced ZIKV after it was passaged on a mixture of Aedes and Culex cells and found that it acquired many variants. We generated recombinant viruses containing combinations of the variants of interest to determine if any of these changes enhance infection in Culex cells or mosquitoes. Recombinant viruses did not show increased infection in Culex cells or mosquitoes, but some variants increased infection in Aedes cells, suggesting adaptation to those cells instead. These results reveal that arbovirus species specificity is complex, and that virus adaptation to a new genus of mosquito vectors likely requires multiple genetic changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily N. Gallichotte
- Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Demetrios Samaras
- Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Reyes A. Murrieta
- Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Nicole R. Sexton
- Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Alexis Robison
- Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, USA
| | - Michael C. Young
- Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Alex D. Byas
- Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Gregory D. Ebel
- Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Claudia Rückert
- Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, USA
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16
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Chotiwan N, Rosendal E, Willekens SMA, Schexnaydre E, Nilsson E, Lindqvist R, Hahn M, Mihai IS, Morini F, Zhang J, Ebel GD, Carlson LA, Henriksson J, Ahlgren U, Marcellino D, Överby AK. Type I interferon shapes brain distribution and tropism of tick-borne flavivirus. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2007. [PMID: 37037810 PMCID: PMC10086010 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37698-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 04/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Viral tropism within the brain and the role(s) of vertebrate immune response to neurotropic flaviviruses infection is largely understudied. We combine multimodal imaging (cm-nm scale) with single nuclei RNA-sequencing to study Langat virus in wildtype and interferon alpha/beta receptor knockout (Ifnar-/-) mice to visualize viral pathogenesis and define molecular mechanisms. Whole brain viral infection is imaged by Optical Projection Tomography coregistered to ex vivo MRI. Infection is limited to grey matter of sensory systems in wildtype mice, but extends into white matter, meninges and choroid plexus in Ifnar-/- mice. Cells in wildtype display strong type I and II IFN responses, likely due to Ifnb expressing astrocytes, infiltration of macrophages and Ifng-expressing CD8+ NK cells, whereas in Ifnar-/-, the absence of this response contributes to a shift in cellular tropism towards non-activated resident microglia. Multimodal imaging-transcriptomics exemplifies a powerful way to characterize mechanisms of viral pathogenesis and tropism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nunya Chotiwan
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå University, 90185, Umeå, Sweden.
- The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden.
- Chakri Naruebodindra Medical Institute, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Samut Prakan, 10540, Thailand.
| | - Ebba Rosendal
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå University, 90185, Umeå, Sweden
- The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Stefanie M A Willekens
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå University, 90185, Umeå, Sweden
- The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
- Umeå Centre for Molecular Medicine (UCMM), Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Erin Schexnaydre
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå University, 90185, Umeå, Sweden
- The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
- Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine, Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
- Umeå Centre for Microbial Research, Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Emma Nilsson
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå University, 90185, Umeå, Sweden
- The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Richard Lindqvist
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå University, 90185, Umeå, Sweden
- The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Max Hahn
- Umeå Centre for Molecular Medicine (UCMM), Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Ionut Sebastian Mihai
- The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
- Department of Department of Molecular biology, Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
- Företagsforskarskolan, Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Federico Morini
- Umeå Centre for Molecular Medicine (UCMM), Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Jianguo Zhang
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå University, 90185, Umeå, Sweden
- The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
- Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine, Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
- Umeå Centre for Microbial Research, Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Lars-Anders Carlson
- The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
- Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine, Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
- Umeå Centre for Microbial Research, Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Johan Henriksson
- The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
- Umeå Centre for Microbial Research, Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
- Department of Department of Molecular biology, Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Ulf Ahlgren
- Umeå Centre for Molecular Medicine (UCMM), Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Daniel Marcellino
- Department of Integrative Medical Biology, Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Anna K Överby
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå University, 90185, Umeå, Sweden.
- The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden.
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17
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Fitzmeyer EA, Gallichotte EN, Ebel GD. Scanning barcodes: A way to explore viral populations. PLoS Pathog 2023; 19:e1011291. [PMID: 37079527 PMCID: PMC10118115 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/21/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Emily A. Fitzmeyer
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Emily N. Gallichotte
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Gregory D. Ebel
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
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18
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Asad S, Mehdi AM, Pujhari S, Rückert C, Ebel GD, Rasgon JL. Identification of MicroRNAs in the West Nile Virus Vector Culex tarsalis (Diptera: Culicidae). J Med Entomol 2023; 60:182-293. [PMID: 36477983 DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjac182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression during important biological processes including development and pathogen defense in most living organisms. Presently, no miRNAs have been identified in the mosquito Culex tarsalis (Diptera: Culicidae), one of the most important vectors of West Nile virus (WNV) in North America. We used small RNA sequencing data and in vitro and in vivo experiments to identify and validate a repertoire of miRNAs in Cx. tarsalis mosquitoes. Using bioinformatic approaches we analyzed small RNA sequences from the Cx. tarsalis CT embryonic cell line to discover orthologs for 86 miRNAs. Consistent with other mosquitoes such as Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus, miR-184 was found to be the most abundant miRNA in Cx. tarsalis. We also identified 20 novel miRNAs from the recently sequenced Cx. tarsalis genome, for a total of 106 miRNAs identified in this study. The presence of selected miRNAs was biologically validated in both the CT cell line and in adult Cx. tarsalis mosquitoes using RT-qPCR and sequencing. These results will open new avenues of research into the role of miRNAs in Cx. tarsalis biology, including development, metabolism, immunity, and pathogen infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sultan Asad
- Department of Entomology, The Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, and the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Ahmed M Mehdi
- The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia Diamantina Institute, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Translational Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Sujit Pujhari
- Department of Entomology, The Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, and the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
- Department of Pharmacology Physiology and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, USA
| | - Claudia Rückert
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV, 89557, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USAand
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USAand
| | - Jason L Rasgon
- Department of Entomology, The Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, and the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
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19
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Cable J, Denison MR, Kielian M, Jackson WT, Bartenschlager R, Ahola T, Mukhopadhyay S, Fremont DH, Kuhn RJ, Shannon A, Frazier MN, Yuen KY, Coyne CB, Wolthers KC, Ming GL, Guenther CS, Moshiri J, Best SM, Schoggins JW, Jurado KA, Ebel GD, Schäfer A, Ng LFP, Kikkert M, Sette A, Harris E, Wing PAC, Eggenberger J, Krishnamurthy SR, Mah MG, Meganck RM, Chung D, Maurer-Stroh S, Andino R, Korber B, Perlman S, Shi PY, Bárcena M, Aicher SM, Vu MN, Kenney DJ, Lindenbach BD, Nishida Y, Rénia L, Williams EP. Positive-strand RNA viruses-a Keystone Symposia report. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2023; 1521:46-66. [PMID: 36697369 PMCID: PMC10347887 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Positive-strand RNA viruses have been the cause of several recent outbreaks and epidemics, including the Zika virus epidemic in 2015, the SARS outbreak in 2003, and the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. On June 18-22, 2022, researchers focusing on positive-strand RNA viruses met for the Keystone Symposium "Positive-Strand RNA Viruses" to share the latest research in molecular and cell biology, virology, immunology, vaccinology, and antiviral drug development. This report presents concise summaries of the scientific discussions at the symposium.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mark R Denison
- Department of Pediatrics and Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center; and Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology, and Inflammation, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Margaret Kielian
- Department of Cell Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
| | - William T Jackson
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Center for Pathogen Research, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Ralf Bartenschlager
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Molecular Virology, Heidelberg University and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Research Division Virus-associated Carcinogenesis, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Tero Ahola
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | | | - Daved H Fremont
- Department of Pathology & Immunology; Department of Molecular Microbiology; and Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Richard J Kuhn
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
| | - Ashleigh Shannon
- Architecture et Fonction des Macromolécules Biologiques, CNRS and Aix Marseille Université, Marseille, France
| | - Meredith N Frazier
- Signal Transduction Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
| | - Kwok-Yung Yuen
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine and State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
- Centre for Virology, Vaccinology and Therapeutics, Hong Kong Science and Technology Park, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
| | - Carolyn B Coyne
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Katja C Wolthers
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam and Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, OrganoVIR Labs, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Guo-Li Ming
- Department of Neuroscience and Mahoney Institute for Neurosciences, Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | | | - Jasmine Moshiri
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Sonja M Best
- Laboratory of Virology, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, USA
| | - John W Schoggins
- Department of Microbiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Kellie Ann Jurado
- Department of Microbiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Alexandra Schäfer
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Lisa F P Ng
- ASTAR Infectious Diseases Labs (A*STAR ID Labs), Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore City, Singapore
- National Institute of Health Research, Health Protection Research Unit in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections; Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Marjolein Kikkert
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Alessandro Sette
- Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, California, USA
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Eva Harris
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - Peter A C Wing
- Nuffield Department of Medicine and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Oxford Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Julie Eggenberger
- Department of Immunology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Siddharth R Krishnamurthy
- Metaorganism Immunity Section, Laboratory of Immune System Biology and NIAID Microbiome Program, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Marcus G Mah
- Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore City, Singapore
| | - Rita M Meganck
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Donghoon Chung
- Department of Experimental Therapeutics, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Sebastian Maurer-Stroh
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore City, Singapore
- Bioinformatics Institute, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore City, Singapore
| | - Raul Andino
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Bette Korber
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA
| | - Stanley Perlman
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
| | - Pei-Yong Shi
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA
| | - Montserrat Bárcena
- Section Electron Microscopy, Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Sophie-Marie Aicher
- Institut Pasteurgrid, Université de Paris Cité, Virus Sensing and Signaling Unit, Paris, France
| | - Michelle N Vu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA
| | - Devin J Kenney
- Department of Microbiology and National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Brett D Lindenbach
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Yukiko Nishida
- Chugai Pharmaceutical, Co., Tokyo, Japan
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine and School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore City, Singapore
| | - Laurent Rénia
- ASTAR Infectious Diseases Labs (A*STAR ID Labs), Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore City, Singapore
| | - Evan P Williams
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Biochemistry, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
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20
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Oliveira G, Vogels CBF, Zolfaghari A, Saraf S, Klitting R, Weger-Lucarelli J, P. Leon K, Ontiveros CO, Agarwal R, Tsetsarkin KA, Harris E, Ebel GD, Wohl S, Grubaugh ND, Andersen KG. Genomic and phenotypic analyses suggest moderate fitness differences among Zika virus lineages. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2023; 17:e0011055. [PMID: 36753510 PMCID: PMC9907835 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
RNA viruses have short generation times and high mutation rates, allowing them to undergo rapid molecular evolution during epidemics. However, the extent of RNA virus phenotypic evolution within epidemics and the resulting effects on fitness and virulence remain mostly unknown. Here, we screened the 2015-2016 Zika epidemic in the Americas for lineage-specific fitness differences. We engineered a library of recombinant viruses representing twelve major Zika virus lineages and used them to measure replicative fitness within disease-relevant human primary cells and live mosquitoes. We found that two of these lineages conferred significant in vitro replicative fitness changes among human primary cells, but we did not find fitness changes in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Additionally, we found evidence for elevated levels of positive selection among five amino acid sites that define major Zika virus lineages. While our work suggests that Zika virus may have acquired several phenotypic changes during a short time scale, these changes were relatively moderate and do not appear to have enhanced transmission during the epidemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Glenn Oliveira
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Chantal B. F. Vogels
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Ashley Zolfaghari
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Sharada Saraf
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Raphaelle Klitting
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - James Weger-Lucarelli
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Karla P. Leon
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Carlos O. Ontiveros
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Rimjhim Agarwal
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Konstantin A. Tsetsarkin
- Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Eva Harris
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America
| | - Gregory D. Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Shirlee Wohl
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Nathan D. Grubaugh
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- * E-mail: (NDG); (KGA)
| | - Kristian G. Andersen
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, United States of America
- * E-mail: (NDG); (KGA)
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21
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Frank DT, Byas AD, Murrieta R, Weger-Lucarelli J, Rückert C, Gallichotte E, Yoshimoto JA, Allen C, Bosco-Lauth AM, Graham B, Felix TA, Brault A, Ebel GD. Intracellular diversity of WNV within circulating avian peripheral blood mononuclear cells reveals host-dependent patterns of polyinfection. bioRxiv 2023:2023.01.27.525959. [PMID: 36747638 PMCID: PMC9900929 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.27.525959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Error-prone replication of RNA viruses generates the genetic diversity required for adaptation within rapidly changing environments. Thus, arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) populations exist in nature as mutant swarms that are maintained between arthropods and vertebrates. Previous studies have demonstrated that West Nile virus (WNV) population dynamics are host dependent: In American crows, which experience extremely high viremia, purifying selection is weak and population diversity is high compared to American robins, which have 100 to 1000-fold lower viremia. WNV passed in robins experiences fitness gains, whereas that passed in crows does not. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that high crow viremia allows higher genetic diversity within individual avian peripheral-blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), reasoning that this could have produced the previously observed host-specific differences in genetic diversity and fitness. Specifically, we infected cells and birds with a novel, barcoded version of WNV and sequenced viral RNA from single cells to quantify the number of WNV barcodes that each contained. Our results demonstrate that the richness of WNV populations within crows far exceeds that in robins. Similarly, rare WNV variants were maintained by crows more frequently than by robins. Our results suggest that increased viremia in crows relative to robins leads to maintenance of defective genomes and less prevalent variants, presumably through complementation. Our findings further suggest that weaker purifying selection in highly susceptible crows is attributable to this higher viremia, polyinfections and complementation. These studies further document the role of particular, ecologically relevant hosts in shaping virus population structure. Author Summary WNV mutational diversity in vertebrates is species-dependent. In crows, low frequency variants are common, and viral populations are more diverse. In robins, fewer mutations become permanent fixtures of the overall viral population. We infected crows, robins and a chicken cell line with a genetically marked (barcoded) WNV. Higher levels of virus led to multiple unique WNV genomes infecting individual cells, even when a genotype was present at low levels in the input viral stock. Our findings suggest that higher levels of circulating virus in natural hosts allow less fit viruses to survive in RNA virus populations through complementation by more fit viruses. This is significant as it allows less represented and less fit viruses to be maintained at low levels until they potentially emerge when virus environments change. Overall our data reveal new insights on the relationships between host susceptibility to high viremia and virus evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dalit Talmi Frank
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Alex D. Byas
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Reyes Murrieta
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - James Weger-Lucarelli
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Claudia Rückert
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, USA
| | - Emily Gallichotte
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Janna A. Yoshimoto
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Chris Allen
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Angela M. Bosco-Lauth
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Barbara Graham
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Todd A. Felix
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, Golden, CO, USA
| | - Aaron Brault
- Division of Vector-borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Gregory D. Ebel
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
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22
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McMinn RJ, Langsjoen RM, Bombin A, Robich RM, Ojeda E, Normandin E, Goethert HK, Lubelczyk CB, Schneider E, Cosenza D, Meagher M, Prusinski MA, Sabeti PC, Smith RP, Telford SR, Piantadosi A, Ebel GD. Phylodynamics of deer tick virus in North America. Virus Evol 2023; 9:vead008. [PMID: 36846826 PMCID: PMC9943884 DOI: 10.1093/ve/vead008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Revised: 12/26/2022] [Accepted: 01/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
The burden of ticks and the pathogens they carry is increasing worldwide. Powassan virus (POWV; Flaviviridae: Flavivirus), the only known North American tick-borne flavivirus, is of particular concern due to rising cases and the severe morbidity of POWV encephalitis. Here, we use a multifaceted approach to evaluate the emergence of the II POWV lineage, known as deer tick virus (DTV), in parts of North America where human cases occur. We detected DTV-positive ticks from eight of twenty locations in the Northeast USA with an average infection rate of 1.4 per cent. High-depth, whole-genome sequencing of eighty-four POWV and DTV samples allowed us to assess geographic and temporal phylodynamics. We observed both stable infection in the Northeast USA and patterns of geographic dispersal within and between regions. A Bayesian skyline analysis demonstrated DTV population expansion over the last 50 years. This is concordant with the documented expansion of Ixodes scapularis tick populations and suggests an increasing risk of human exposure as the vector spreads. Finally, we isolated sixteen novel viruses in cell culture and demonstrated limited genetic change after passage, a valuable resource for future studies investigating this emerging virus.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Rose M Langsjoen
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30307, USA
| | - Andrei Bombin
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30307, USA
| | | | - Erick Ojeda
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30307, USA
| | - Erica Normandin
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA,Center for Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Heidi K Goethert
- Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health, Tufts University, North Grafton, MA 01536, USA
| | | | | | | | - Molly Meagher
- Maine Health Institute for Research, Scarborough, ME 04074, USA
| | - Melissa A Prusinski
- Bureau of Communicable Disease Control, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY 12237, USA
| | - Pardis C Sabeti
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA,Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA,Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA
| | - Robert P Smith
- Maine Health Institute for Research, Scarborough, ME 04074, USA
| | - Sam R Telford
- Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health, Tufts University, North Grafton, MA 01536, USA
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23
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Poterek ML, Vogels CBF, Grubaugh ND, Ebel GD, Alex Perkins T, Cavany SM. Interactions between seasonal temperature variation and temporal synchrony drive increased arbovirus co-infection incidence. R Soc Open Sci 2022; 9:220829. [PMID: 36277835 PMCID: PMC9579765 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.220829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Though instances of arthropod-borne (arbo)virus co-infection have been documented clinically, the overall incidence of arbovirus co-infection and its drivers are not well understood. Now that dengue, Zika and chikungunya viruses are all in circulation across tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, it is important to understand the environmental and biological conditions that make co-infections more likely to occur. To understand this, we developed a mathematical model of co-circulation of two arboviruses, with transmission parameters approximating dengue, Zika and/or chikungunya viruses, and co-infection possible in both humans and mosquitoes. We examined the influence of seasonal timing of arbovirus co-circulation on the extent of co-infection. By undertaking a sensitivity analysis of this model, we examined how biological factors interact with seasonality to determine arbovirus co-infection transmission and prevalence. We found that temporal synchrony of the co-infecting viruses and average temperature were the most influential drivers of co-infection incidence. Our model highlights the synergistic effect of co-transmission from mosquitoes, which leads to more than double the number of co-infections than would be expected in a scenario without co-transmission. Our results suggest that appreciable numbers of co-infections are unlikely to occur except in tropical climates when the viruses co-occur in time and space.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marya L. Poterek
- Eck Department of Biological Sciences and Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
| | - Chantal B. F. Vogels
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Nathan D. Grubaugh
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Gregory D. Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - T. Alex Perkins
- Eck Department of Biological Sciences and Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
| | - Sean M. Cavany
- Eck Department of Biological Sciences and Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
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24
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Fosdick BK, Bayham J, Dilliott J, Ebel GD, Ehrhart N. Model-based evaluation of policy impacts and the continued COVID-19 risk at long term care facilities. Infect Dis Model 2022; 7:463-472. [PMID: 35854786 PMCID: PMC9283126 DOI: 10.1016/j.idm.2022.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2022] [Revised: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/01/2022] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted long-term care facilities resulting in the death of approximately 8% of residents nationwide as of March 2021. As COVID-19 case rates declined and state and county restrictions were lifted in spring 2021, facility managers, local and state health agencies were challenged with defining their own policies moving forward to appropriately mitigate disease transmission. The continued emergence of variants of concern and variable vaccine uptake across facilities highlighted the need for a readily available tool that can be employed at the facility-level to determine best practices for mitigation and ensure resident and staff safety. To assist leadership in determining the impact of various infection surveillance and response strategies, we developed an agent-based model and an online dashboard interface that simulates COVID-19 infection within congregate care settings under various mitigation measures. This dashboard quantifies the continued risk for COVID-19 infections within a facility given a designated testing schedule and vaccine requirements. Key findings were that choice of COVID-19 diagnostic (ex. nasal swab qRT-PCR vs rapid antigen) and testing cadence has less impact on attack rate and staff workdays missed than does vaccination rates among staff and residents. Specifically, low vaccine uptake among staff at long-term care facilities puts staff and residents at risk of ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks. Here we present our model and dashboard as an exemplar of a tool for state public health officials and facility directors to gain insights from an infectious disease model that can directly inform policy decisions in the midst of a pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bailey K Fosdick
- Department of Statistics, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - Jude Bayham
- Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - Jake Dilliott
- Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Arthropod-Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO, 80526, USA
| | - Nicole Ehrhart
- Columbine Health Systems Center for Healthy Aging and Department of Clinical Sciences, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO, 80523, USA
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Gallichotte EN, Windsor W, Watts S, Sexton N, Henry C, Jaenisch T, Lamb MM, Winstanley G, Adams B, Chu M, Ebel GD. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in exhaled air using non-invasive embedded strips in masks. Am J Infect Control 2022; 50:890-897. [PMID: 35908828 PMCID: PMC9329094 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2022.01.010] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Revised: 01/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Background SARS-CoV-2 emerged in 2019 and resulted in a pandemic causing millions of infections worldwide. Gold-standard for SARS-CoV-2 detection uses quantitative RT-qPCR on respiratory secretions to detect viral RNA (vRNA). Acquiring these samples is invasive, can be painful for those with xerostomia and other health conditions, and sample quality can vary greatly. Frequently only symptomatic individuals are tested even though asymptomatic individuals can have comparable viral loads and efficiently transmit virus. Methods We utilized a non-invasive approach to detect SARS-CoV-2 in individuals, using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) strips embedded in KN95 masks. PVA strips were tested for SARS-CoV-2 vRNA via qRT-PCR and infectious virus. Results We show efficient recovery of vRNA and infectious virus from virus-spiked PVA with detection limits comparable to nasal swab samples. In infected individuals, we detect both human and SARS-CoV-2 RNA on PVA strips, however, these levels are not correlated with length of time mask was worn, number of times coughed or sneezed, or level of virus in nasal swab samples. We successfully cultured and deep-sequenced PVA-associated virus. Conclusions These results demonstrate the feasibility of using PVA-embedded masks as a non-invasive platform for detecting SARS-CoV-2 in exhaled air in COVID-positive individuals regardless of symptom status.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily N Gallichotte
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
| | - William Windsor
- Center for Global Health, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO
| | - Stuart Watts
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
| | - Nicole Sexton
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
| | - Chuck Henry
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
| | - Thomas Jaenisch
- Center for Global Health, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO
| | - Molly M Lamb
- Center for Global Health, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO
| | | | - Brian Adams
- Center for Global Health, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO
| | - May Chu
- Center for Global Health, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO.
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26
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Samper IC, McMahon CJ, Schenkel MS, Clark KM, Khamcharoen W, Anderson LBR, Terry JS, Gallichotte EN, Ebel GD, Geiss BJ, Dandy DS, Henry CS. Electrochemical Immunoassay for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid Protein in Nasopharyngeal Samples. Anal Chem 2022; 94:4712-4719. [PMID: 35263100 PMCID: PMC8982495 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c04966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Point-of-care (POC) methods currently available for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infections still lack accuracy. Here, we report the development of a highly sensitive electrochemical immunoassay capable of quantitatively detecting the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in patient nasopharyngeal samples using stencil-printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs) functionalized with capture antibodies targeting the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (N protein). Samples are added to the electrode surface, followed by horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-conjugated detection antibodies also targeting the SARS-CoV-2 N protein. The concentration of the virus in samples is quantified using chronoamperometry in the presence of 3,3'5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine. Limits of detection equivalent to less than 50 plaque forming units/mL (PFU/mL) were determined with virus sample volumes of 20 μL. No cross-reactivity was detected with the influenza virus and other coronavirus N proteins. Patient nasopharyngeal samples were tested as part of a proof-of-concept clinical study where samples were also tested using the gold-standard real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) method. Preliminary results from a data set of 22 samples demonstrated a clinical specificity of 100% (n = 9 negative samples according to RT-qPCR) and a clinical sensitivity of 70% for samples with RT-PCR cycle threshold (Ct) values under 30 (n = 10) and 100% for samples with Ct values under 25 (n = 5), which complies with the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria for POC COVID-19 diagnostic tests. Our functionalized SPCEs were also validated against standard plaque assays, and very good agreement was found between both methods (R2 = 0.9993, n = 6), suggesting that our assay could be used to assess patient infectivity. The assay currently takes 70 min from sampling to results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle C. Samper
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | | | - Melissa S. Schenkel
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Kaylee M. Clark
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Wisarut Khamcharoen
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
| | - Loran BR Anderson
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - James S Terry
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Emily N. Gallichotte
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Gregory D. Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Brian J. Geiss
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523 USA
| | - David S. Dandy
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523 USA
| | - Charles S. Henry
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523 USA
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27
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Byas AD, Gallichotte EN, Hartwig AE, Porter SM, Gordy PW, Felix TA, Bowen RA, Ebel GD, Bosco-Lauth AM. American alligators are capable of West Nile virus amplification, mosquito infection and transmission. Virology 2022; 568:49-55. [PMID: 35114499 PMCID: PMC8866202 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2022.01.009] [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: 11/10/2021] [Revised: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
West Nile virus (WNV) overwintering is poorly understood and likely multifactorial. Interest in alligators as a potential amplifying host arose when it was shown that they develop viremias theoretically sufficient to infect mosquitoes. We examined potential ways in which alligators may contribute to the natural ecology of WNV. We experimentally demonstrated that alligators are capable of WNV amplification with subsequent mosquito infection and transmission capability, that WNV-infected mosquitoes readily infect alligators and that water can serve as a source of infection for alligators but does not easily serve as in intermediate means for transmission between birds and alligators. These findings indicate potential mechanisms for maintenance of WNV outside of the primary bird-mosquito transmission cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex D. Byas
- Colorado State University, Microbiology, Immunology & Pathology Department, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Emily N. Gallichotte
- Colorado State University, Microbiology, Immunology & Pathology Department, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Airn E. Hartwig
- Colorado State University, Biomedical Sciences Department, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Stephanie M. Porter
- Colorado State University, Microbiology, Immunology & Pathology Department, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Paul W. Gordy
- Colorado State University, Biomedical Sciences Department, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Todd A. Felix
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, Lakewood, CO, USA
| | - Richard A. Bowen
- Colorado State University, Biomedical Sciences Department, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Gregory D. Ebel
- Colorado State University, Microbiology, Immunology & Pathology Department, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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28
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Stone ET, Hassert M, Geerling E, Wagner C, Brien JD, Ebel GD, Hirsch AJ, German C, Smith JL, Pinto AK. Balanced T and B cell responses are required for immune protection against Powassan virus in virus-like particle vaccination. Cell Rep 2022; 38:110388. [PMID: 35172138 PMCID: PMC8919300 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Revised: 11/07/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Powassan virus (POWV) is a tick-borne pathogen for which humans are an incidental host. POWV infection can be fatal or result in long-term neurological sequelae; however, there are no approved vaccinations for POWV. Integral to efficacious vaccine development is the identification of correlates of protection, which we accomplished in this study by utilizing a murine model of POWV infection. Using POWV lethal and sub-lethal challenge models, we show that (1) robust B and T cell responses are necessary for immune protection, (2) POWV lethality can be attributed to both viral- and host-mediated drivers of disease, and (3) knowledge of the immune correlates of protection against POWV can be applied in a virus-like particle (VLP)-based vaccination approach that provides protection from lethal POWV challenge. Identification of these immune protection factors is significant as it will aid in the rational design of POWV vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Taylor Stone
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO 63104, USA
| | - Mariah Hassert
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO 63104, USA
| | - Elizabeth Geerling
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO 63104, USA
| | - Colleen Wagner
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO 63104, USA
| | - James D Brien
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO 63104, USA
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Alec J Hirsch
- The Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR 97006, USA; Division of Pathobiology & Immunology, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR 97006, USA
| | - Cody German
- The Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR 97006, USA; Division of Pathobiology & Immunology, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR 97006, USA
| | - Jessica L Smith
- The Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR 97006, USA; Division of Pathobiology & Immunology, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR 97006, USA
| | - Amelia K Pinto
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO 63104, USA.
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29
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Murrieta RA, Garcia-Luna SM, Murrieta DJ, Halladay G, Young MC, Fauver JR, Gendernalik A, Weger-Lucarelli J, Rückert C, Ebel GD. Impact of extrinsic incubation temperature on natural selection during Zika virus infection of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009433. [PMID: 34752502 PMCID: PMC8629396 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Revised: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) require replication across a wide range of temperatures to perpetuate. While vertebrate hosts tend to maintain temperatures of approximately 37°C—40°C, arthropods are subject to ambient temperatures which can have a daily fluctuation of > 10°C. Temperatures impact vector competence, extrinsic incubation period, and mosquito survival unimodally, with optimal conditions occurring at some intermediate temperature. In addition, the mean and range of daily temperature fluctuations influence arbovirus perpetuation and vector competence. The impact of temperature on arbovirus genetic diversity during systemic mosquito infection, however, is poorly understood. Therefore, we determined how constant extrinsic incubation temperatures of 25°C, 28°C, 32°C, and 35°C control Zika virus (ZIKV) vector competence and population dynamics within Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. We also examined fluctuating temperatures which better mimic field conditions in the tropics. We found that vector competence varied in a unimodal manner for constant temperatures peaking between 28°C and 32°C for both Aedes species. Transmission peaked at 10 days post-infection for Aedes aegypti and 14 days for Aedes albopictus. Conversely, fluctuating temperature decreased vector competence. Using RNA-seq to characterize ZIKV population structure, we identified that temperature alters the selective environment in unexpected ways. During mosquito infection, constant temperatures more often elicited positive selection whereas fluctuating temperatures led to strong purifying selection in both Aedes species. These findings demonstrate that temperature has multiple impacts on ZIKV biology, including major effects on the selective environment within mosquitoes. Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) have emerged in recent decades due to complex factors that include increases in international travel and trade, the breakdown of public health infrastructure, land use changes, and many others. Climate change also has the potential to shift the geographical ranges of arthropod vectors, consequently increasing the global risk of arbovirus infection. Changing temperatures may alter the virus-host interaction, ultimately resulting in the emergence of new viruses and virus genotypes in new areas. Therefore, we sought to characterize how temperature (both constant and fluctuating) alters the ability of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus to transmit Zika virus, and how it influences virus populations within mosquitoes. We found that intermediate temperatures maximize virus transmission compared to more extreme and fluctuating temperatures. Constant temperatures increased positive selection on virus genomes, while fluctuating temperatures strengthened purifying selection. Our studies provide evidence that in addition to altering vector competence, temperature significantly influences natural selection within mosquitoes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reyes A. Murrieta
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Selene M. Garcia-Luna
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
- Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America
| | - Deedra J. Murrieta
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Gareth Halladay
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Michael C. Young
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Joseph R. Fauver
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
- Yale School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Laboratory of Epidemiology of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Alex Gendernalik
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - James Weger-Lucarelli
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
- Department of Biomedical Sciences & Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Claudia Rückert
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, United States of America
| | - Gregory D. Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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30
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Gallichotte EN, Nehring M, Young MC, Pugh S, Sexton NR, Fitzmeyer E, Quicke KM, Richardson M, Pabilonia KL, Ehrhart N, Fosdick BK, VandeWoude S, Ebel GD. Durable Antibody Responses in Staff at Two Long-Term Care Facilities, during and Post SARS-CoV-2 Outbreaks. Microbiol Spectr 2021; 9:e0022421. [PMID: 34287058 PMCID: PMC8552744 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.00224-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/25/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 has had a disproportionate impact on nonhospital health care settings, such as long-term-care facilities (LTCFs). The communal nature of these facilities, paired with the high-risk profile of residents, has resulted in thousands of infections and deaths and a high case fatality rate. To detect presymptomatic infections and identify infected workers, we performed weekly surveillance testing of staff at two LTCFs, which revealed a large outbreak at one of the sites. We collected serum from staff members throughout the study and evaluated it for binding and neutralization to measure seroprevalence, seroconversion, and type and functionality of antibodies. At the site with very few incident infections, we detected that over 40% of the staff had preexisting SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies, suggesting prior exposure. At the outbreak site, we saw rapid seroconversion following infection. Neutralizing antibody levels were stable for many weeks following infection, suggesting a durable, long-lived response. Receptor-binding domain antibodies and neutralizing antibodies were strongly correlated. The site with high seroprevalence among staff had two unique introductions of SARS-CoV-2 into the facility through seronegative infected staff during the period of study, but these did not result in workplace spread or outbreaks. Together, our results suggest that a high seroprevalence rate among staff can contribute to immunity within a workplace and protect against subsequent infection and spread within a facility. IMPORTANCE Long-term care facilities (LTCFs) have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 due to their communal nature and high-risk profile of residents. LTCF staff have the ability to introduce SARS-CoV-2 into the facility, where it can spread, causing outbreaks. We tested staff weekly at two LTCFs and collected blood throughout the study to measure SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. One site had a large outbreak and infected individuals rapidly generated antibodies after infection. At the other site, almost half the staff already had antibodies, suggesting prior infection. The majority of these antibodies bind to the receptor-binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and are potently neutralizing and stable for many months. The non-outbreak site had two unique introductions of SARS-CoV-2 into the facility, but these did not result in workplace spread or outbreaks. Our results reveal that high seroprevalence among staff can contribute to immunity and protect against subsequent infection and spread within a facility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily N. Gallichotte
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Mary Nehring
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Michael C. Young
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Sierra Pugh
- Department of Statistics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Nicole R. Sexton
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Emily Fitzmeyer
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Kendra M. Quicke
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Megan Richardson
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Kristy L. Pabilonia
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Nicole Ehrhart
- Columbine Health Systems Center for Healthy Aging and Department of Clinical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Bailey K. Fosdick
- Department of Statistics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Sue VandeWoude
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Gregory D. Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
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31
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LaVergne SM, Stromberg S, Baxter BA, Webb TL, Dutt TS, Berry K, Tipton M, Haberman J, Massey BR, McFann K, Alnachoukati O, Zier L, Heacock T, Ebel GD, Henao-Tamayo M, Dunn J, Ryan EP. A longitudinal SARS-CoV-2 biorepository for COVID-19 survivors with and without post-acute sequelae. BMC Infect Dis 2021; 21:677. [PMID: 34256735 PMCID: PMC8276222 DOI: 10.1186/s12879-021-06359-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND SARS-CoV-2 has swept across the globe, causing millions of deaths worldwide. Though most survive, many experience symptoms of COVID-19 for months after acute infection. Successful prevention and treatment of acute COVID-19 infection and its associated sequelae is dependent on in-depth knowledge of viral pathology across the spectrum of patient phenotypes and physiologic responses. Longitudinal biobanking provides a valuable resource of clinically integrated, easily accessed, and quality-controlled samples for researchers to study differential multi-organ system responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection, post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), and vaccination. METHODS Adults with a history of a positive SARS-CoV-2 nasopharyngeal PCR are actively recruited from the community or hospital settings to enroll in the Northern Colorado SARS-CoV-2 Biorepository (NoCo-COBIO). Blood, saliva, stool, nasopharyngeal specimens, and extensive clinical and demographic data are collected at 4 time points over 6 months. Patients are assessed for PASC during longitudinal follow-up by physician led symptom questionnaires and physical exams. This clinical trial registration is NCT04603677 . RESULTS We have enrolled and collected samples from 119 adults since July 2020, with 66% follow-up rate. Forty-nine percent of participants assessed with a symptom surveillance questionnaire (N = 37 of 75) had PASC at any time during follow-up (up to 8 months post infection). Ninety-three percent of hospitalized participants developed PASC, while 23% of those not requiring hospitalization developed PASC. At 90-174 days post SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis, 67% of all participants had persistent symptoms (N = 37 of 55), and 85% percent of participants who required hospitalization during initial infection (N = 20) still had symptoms. The most common symptoms reported after 15 days of infection were fatigue, loss of smell, loss of taste, exercise intolerance, and cognitive dysfunction. CONCLUSIONS Patients who were hospitalized for COVID-19 were significantly more likely to have PASC than those not requiring hospitalization, however 23% of patients who were not hospitalized also developed PASC. This patient-matched, multi-matrix, longitudinal biorepository from COVID-19 survivors with and without PASC will allow for current and future research to better understand the pathophysiology of disease and to identify targeted interventions to reduce risk for PASC. Registered 27 October 2020 - Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04603677 .
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie M LaVergne
- Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, 1601 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - Sophia Stromberg
- Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Bridget A Baxter
- Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, 1601 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - Tracy L Webb
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Taru S Dutt
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Kailey Berry
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Madison Tipton
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Jared Haberman
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | | | - Kim McFann
- University of Colorado Health, Medical Center of the Rockies, Loveland, CO, USA
| | - Omar Alnachoukati
- University of Colorado Health, Medical Center of the Rockies, Loveland, CO, USA
| | - Linda Zier
- University of Colorado Health, Medical Center of the Rockies, Loveland, CO, USA
| | - Thomas Heacock
- University of Colorado Health, Medical Center of the Rockies, Loveland, CO, USA
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Marcela Henao-Tamayo
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Julie Dunn
- University of Colorado Health, Medical Center of the Rockies, Loveland, CO, USA
| | - Elizabeth P Ryan
- Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, 1601 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA.
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Talavera-Aguilar LG, Murrieta RA, Kiem S, Cetina-Trejo RC, Baak-Baak CM, Ebel GD, Blitvich BJ, Machain-Williams C. Infection, dissemination, and transmission efficiencies of Zika virus in Aedes aegypti after serial passage in mosquito or mammalian cell lines or alternating passage in both cell types. Parasit Vectors 2021; 14:261. [PMID: 34006306 PMCID: PMC8130322 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-021-04726-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2021] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) with an urban transmission cycle that primarily involves humans and Aedes aegypti. Evidence suggests that the evolution of some arboviruses is constrained by their dependency on alternating between disparate (vertebrate and invertebrate) hosts. The goals of this study are to compare the genetic changes that occur in ZIKV after serial passaging in mosquito or vertebrate cell lines or alternate passaging in both cell types and to compare the replication, dissemination, and transmission efficiencies of the cell culture-derived viruses in Ae. aegypti. Methods An isolate of ZIKV originally acquired from a febrile patient in Yucatan, Mexico, was serially passaged six times in African green monkey kidney (Vero) cells or Aedes albopictus (C6/36) cells or both cell types by alternating passage. A colony of Ae. aegypti from Yucatan was established, and mosquitoes were challenged with the cell-adapted viruses. Midguts, Malpighian tubules, ovaries, salivary glands, wings/legs and saliva were collected at various times after challenge and tested for evidence of virus infection. Results Genome sequencing revealed the presence of two non-synonymous substitutions in the premembrane and NS1 regions of the mosquito cell-adapted virus and two non-synonymous substitutions in the capsid and NS2A regions of both the vertebrate cell-adapted and alternate-passaged viruses. Additional genetic changes were identified by intrahost variant frequency analysis. Virus maintained by continuous C6/36 cell passage was significantly more infectious in Ae. aegypti than viruses maintained by alternating passage and consecutive Vero cell passage. Conclusions Mosquito cell-adapted ZIKV displayed greater in vivo fitness in Ae. aegypti compared to the other viruses, indicating that obligate cycling between disparate hosts carries a fitness cost. These data increase our understanding of the factors that drive ZIKV adaptation and evolution and underscore the important need to consider the in vivo passage histories of flaviviruses to be evaluated in vector competence studies. Graphical abstract ![]()
Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13071-021-04726-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lourdes G Talavera-Aguilar
- Laboratorio de Arbovirología, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales "Dr. Hideyo Noguchi", Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, México
| | - Reyes A Murrieta
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Sungmin Kiem
- Department of Infectious Diseases in Internal Medicine, Sejong Chungnam National University Hospital, School of Medicine, Chungnam National University, Sejong, Korea
| | - Rosa C Cetina-Trejo
- Laboratorio de Arbovirología, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales "Dr. Hideyo Noguchi", Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, México
| | - Carlos M Baak-Baak
- Laboratorio de Arbovirología, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales "Dr. Hideyo Noguchi", Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, México
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Bradley J Blitvich
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
| | - Carlos Machain-Williams
- Laboratorio de Arbovirología, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales "Dr. Hideyo Noguchi", Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, México.
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Fagre A, Lewis J, Eckley M, Zhan S, Rocha SM, Sexton NR, Burke B, Geiss B, Peersen O, Bass T, Kading R, Rovnak J, Ebel GD, Tjalkens RB, Aboellail T, Schountz T. SARS-CoV-2 infection, neuropathogenesis and transmission among deer mice: Implications for spillback to New World rodents. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009585. [PMID: 34010360 PMCID: PMC8168874 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2020] [Revised: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 04/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) emerged in late 2019 in China and rapidly became pandemic. As with other coronaviruses, a preponderance of evidence suggests the virus originated in horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus spp.) and may have infected an intermediate host prior to spillover into humans. A significant concern is that SARS-CoV-2 could become established in secondary reservoir hosts outside of Asia. To assess this potential, we challenged deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) with SARS-CoV-2 and found robust virus replication in the upper respiratory tract, lungs and intestines, with detectable viral RNA for up to 21 days in oral swabs and 6 days in lungs. Virus entry into the brain also occurred, likely via gustatory-olfactory-trigeminal pathway with eventual compromise to the blood-brain barrier. Despite this, no conspicuous signs of disease were observed, and no deer mice succumbed to infection. Expression of several innate immune response genes were elevated in the lungs, including IFNα, IFNβ, Cxcl10, Oas2, Tbk1 and Pycard. Elevated CD4 and CD8β expression in the lungs was concomitant with Tbx21, IFNγ and IL-21 expression, suggesting a type I inflammatory immune response. Contact transmission occurred from infected to naive deer mice through two passages, showing sustained natural transmission and localization into the olfactory bulb, recapitulating human neuropathology. In the second deer mouse passage, an insertion of 4 amino acids occurred to fixation in the N-terminal domain of the spike protein that is predicted to form a solvent-accessible loop. Subsequent examination of the source virus from BEI Resources determined the mutation was present at very low levels, demonstrating potent purifying selection for the insert during in vivo passage. Collectively, this work has determined that deer mice are a suitable animal model for the study of SARS-CoV-2 respiratory disease and neuropathogenesis, and that they have the potential to serve as secondary reservoir hosts in North America.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Fagre
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Juliette Lewis
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Miles Eckley
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Shijun Zhan
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Savannah M. Rocha
- Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Nicole R. Sexton
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Bradly Burke
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Brian Geiss
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Olve Peersen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Natural Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Todd Bass
- Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Rebekah Kading
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Joel Rovnak
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Gregory D. Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Ronald B. Tjalkens
- Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Tawfik Aboellail
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Tony Schountz
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
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Gallichotte EN, Dobos KM, Ebel GD, Hagedorn M, Rasgon JL, Richardson JH, Stedman TT, Barfield JP. Towards a method for cryopreservation of mosquito vectors of human pathogens. Cryobiology 2021; 99:1-10. [PMID: 33556359 DOI: 10.1016/j.cryobiol.2021.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2020] [Revised: 01/23/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Mosquito-borne diseases are responsible for millions of human deaths every year, posing a massive burden on global public health. Mosquitoes transmit a variety of bacteria, parasites and viruses. Mosquito control efforts such as insecticide spraying can reduce mosquito populations, but they must be sustained in order to have long term impacts, can result in the evolution of insecticide resistance, are costly, and can have adverse human and environmental effects. Technological advances have allowed genetic manipulation of mosquitoes, including generation of those that are still susceptible to insecticides, which has greatly increased the number of mosquito strains and lines available to the scientific research community. This generates an associated challenge, because rearing and maintaining unique mosquito lines requires time, money and facilities, and long-term maintenance can lead to adaptation to specific laboratory conditions, resulting in mosquito lines that are distinct from their wild-type counterparts. Additionally, continuous rearing of transgenic lines can lead to loss of genetic markers, genes and/or phenotypes. Cryopreservation of valuable mosquito lines could help circumvent these limitations and allow researchers to reduce the cost of rearing multiple lines simultaneously, maintain low passage number transgenic mosquitoes, and bank lines not currently being used. Additionally, mosquito cryopreservation could allow researchers to access the same mosquito lines, limiting the impact of unique laboratory or field conditions. Successful cryopreservation of mosquitoes would expand the field of mosquito research and could ultimately lead to advances that would reduce the burden of mosquito-borne diseases, possibly through rear-and-release strategies to overcome mosquito insecticide resistance. Cryopreservation techniques have been developed for some insect groups, including but not limited to fruit flies, silkworms and other moth species, and honeybees. Recent advances within the cryopreservation field, along with success with other insects suggest that cryopreservation of mosquitoes may be a feasible method for preserving valuable scientific and public health resources. In this review, we will provide an overview of basic mosquito biology, the current state of and advances within insect cryopreservation, and a proposed approach toward cryopreservation of Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily N Gallichotte
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Karen M Dobos
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Mary Hagedorn
- Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Smithsonian Institution, Front Royal, VA, USA; Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii, Kaneohe, HI, USA
| | - Jason L Rasgon
- Department of Entomology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA; Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA; Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | | | | | - Jennifer P Barfield
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
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Gallichotte EN, Quicke KM, Sexton NR, Fitzmeyer E, Young MC, Janich AJ, Dobos K, Pabilonia KL, Gahm G, Carlton EJ, Ebel GD, Ehrhart N. Longitudinal Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 Among Staff in Six Colorado Long-Term Care Facilities: Epidemiologic, Virologic and Sequence Analysis. medRxiv 2020. [PMID: 32577700 PMCID: PMC7302309 DOI: 10.1101/2020.06.08.20125989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Background: SARS-CoV-2 emerged in 2019 and has become a major global pathogen. Its emergence is notable due to its impacts on individuals residing within long term care facilities (LTCFs) such as rehabilitation centers and nursing homes. LTCF residents tend to possess several risk factors for more severe SARS-CoV-2 outcomes, including advanced age and multiple comorbidities. Indeed, residents of LTCFs represent approximately 40% of SARS-CoV-2 deaths in the United States. Methods: To assess the prevalence and incidence of SARS-CoV-2 among LTCF workers, determine the extent of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, and provide information on the genomic epidemiology of the virus within these unique care settings, we collected nasopharyngeal swabs from workers for 8–11 weeks at six Colorado LTCFs, determined the presence and level of viral RNA and infectious virus within these samples, and sequenced 54 nearly complete genomes. Findings: Our data reveal a strikingly high degree of asymptomatic/mildly symptomatic infection, a strong correlation between viral RNA and infectious virus, prolonged infections and persistent RNA in a subset of individuals, and declining incidence over time. Interpretation: Our data suggest that asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals contribute to virus persistence and transmission within the workplace, due to high levels of virus. Genetic epidemiology revealed that SARS-CoV-2 likely spreads between staff within an LTCF. Funding: Colorado State University Colleges of Health and Human Sciences, Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering, the Columbine Health Systems Center for Healthy Aging, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily N Gallichotte
- Arthropod-Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO 80526
| | - Kendra M Quicke
- Arthropod-Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO 80526
| | - Nicole R Sexton
- Arthropod-Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO 80526
| | - Emily Fitzmeyer
- Arthropod-Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO 80526
| | - Michael C Young
- Arthropod-Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO 80526
| | - Ashley J Janich
- Arthropod-Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO 80526
| | - Karen Dobos
- Arthropod-Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO 80526
| | - Kristy L Pabilonia
- Arthropod-Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO 80526
| | - Gregory Gahm
- Department of Geriatric Medicine, University of Colorado Medical Center.,Vivage Senior Living, Denver, CO 80228
| | - Elizabeth J Carlton
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado, Anschutz, Aurora, CO 80045
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Arthropod-Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO 80526
| | - Nicole Ehrhart
- Columbine Health Systems Center for Healthy Aging and Department of Clinical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
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36
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Fagre A, Lewis J, Eckley M, Zhan S, Rocha SM, Sexton NR, Burke B, Geiss B, Peersen O, Kading R, Rovnak J, Ebel GD, Tjalkens RB, Aboellail T, Schountz T. SARS-CoV-2 infection, neuropathogenesis and transmission among deer mice: Implications for reverse zoonosis to New World rodents. bioRxiv 2020:2020.08.07.241810. [PMID: 32793912 PMCID: PMC7418741 DOI: 10.1101/2020.08.07.241810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) emerged in November, 2019 in China and rapidly became pandemic. As with other coronaviruses, a preponderance of evidence suggests the virus originated in horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus spp.) and likely underwent a recombination event in an intermediate host prior to entry into human populations. A significant concern is that SARS-CoV-2 could become established in secondary reservoir hosts outside of Asia. To assess this potential, we challenged deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) with SARS-CoV-2 and found robust virus replication in the upper respiratory tract, lungs and intestines, with detectable viral RNA for up to 21 days in oral swabs and 14 days in lungs. Virus entry into the brain also occurred, likely via gustatory-olfactory-trigeminal pathway with eventual compromise to the blood brain barrier. Despite this, no conspicuous signs of disease were observed and no deer mice succumbed to infection. Expression of several innate immune response genes were elevated in the lungs, notably IFNα, Cxcl10, Oas2, Tbk1 and Pycard. Elevated CD4 and CD8β expression in the lungs was concomitant with Tbx21, IFNγ and IL-21 expression, suggesting a type I inflammatory immune response. Contact transmission occurred from infected to naive deer mice through two passages, showing sustained natural transmission. In the second deer mouse passage, an insertion of 4 amino acids occurred to fixation in the N-terminal domain of the spike protein that is predicted to form a solvent-accessible loop. Subsequent examination of the source virus from BEI Resources indicated the mutation was present at very low levels, demonstrating potent purifying selection for the insert during in vivo passage. Collectively, this work has determined that deer mice are a suitable animal model for the study of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis, and that they have the potential to serve as secondary reservoir hosts that could lead to periodic outbreaks of COVID-19 in North America.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Fagre
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
| | - Juliette Lewis
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
| | - Miles Eckley
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
| | - Shijun Zhan
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
| | - Savannah M Rocha
- Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
| | - Nicole R Sexton
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
| | - Bradly Burke
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
| | - Brian Geiss
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
| | - Olve Peersen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Natural Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
| | - Rebekah Kading
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
| | - Joel Rovnak
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
| | - Ronald B Tjalkens
- Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
| | - Tawfik Aboellail
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
| | - Tony Schountz
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
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37
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Robison A, Young MC, Byas AD, Rückert C, Ebel GD. Comparison of Chikungunya Virus and Zika Virus Replication and Transmission Dynamics in Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2020; 103:869-875. [PMID: 32431284 PMCID: PMC7410437 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.20-0143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) and Zika virus (ZIKV) are arthropod-borne viruses transmitted mainly by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. These viruses have become endemic in large parts of North, Central, and South America. Arboviruses persistently infect mosquitoes throughout their life span and become infectious (i.e., expectorate infectious virus in saliva) after a period of time called the extrinsic incubation period (EIP). The duration of this infectiousness, however, is not well characterized. This is an important shortcoming because many epidemiological models assume that mosquitoes continue to be infectious for the duration of their life span. To define the duration of infectiousness for CHIKV and ZIKV, mosquitoes were infected orally with these viruses. Every 2 days, legs/wings, midguts, salivary glands, and saliva were collected from 30 to 60 mosquitoes and viral load measured. In CHIKV-infected mosquitoes, infectious virus in saliva peaked early (2–4 dpi), and then decreased rapidly and was rarely observed after 10 dpi. Viral RNA in infected tissues also decreased after the initial peak (4–8 dpi) but did so much less drastically. In ZIKV-infected mosquitoes, the infectious virus in saliva peaked at 12–14 dpi and dropped off only slightly after 14 dpi. In infected tissues, viral RNA increased early during infection, and then plateaued after 6–10 days. Our findings suggest that significant variation exists in the duration of the infectious period for arboviruses that is in part influenced by virus clearance from expectorated saliva.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexis Robison
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada.,Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Michael C Young
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Alex D Byas
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Claudia Rückert
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
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Smith RP, Elias SP, Cavanaugh CE, Lubelczyk CB, Lacombe EH, Brancato J, Doyle H, Rand PW, Ebel GD, Krause PJ. Seroprevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi, B. miyamotoi, and Powassan Virus in Residents Bitten by Ixodes Ticks, Maine, USA. Emerg Infect Dis 2019; 25:804-807. [PMID: 30882312 PMCID: PMC6433028 DOI: 10.3201/eid2504.180202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
We conducted a serosurvey of 230 persons in Maine, USA, who had been bitten by Ixodes scapularis or I. cookei ticks. We documented seropositivity for Borrelia burgdorferi (13.9%) and B. miyamotoi (2.6%), as well as a single equivocal result (0.4%) for Powassan encephalitis virus.
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39
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VanBlargan LA, Himansu S, Foreman BM, Ebel GD, Pierson TC, Diamond MS. An mRNA Vaccine Protects Mice against Multiple Tick-Transmitted Flavivirus Infections. Cell Rep 2019; 25:3382-3392.e3. [PMID: 30566864 PMCID: PMC6353567 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.11.082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2018] [Revised: 11/15/2018] [Accepted: 11/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Powassan virus (POWV) is an emerging tick-transmitted flavivirus that circulates in North America and Russia. Up to 5% of deer ticks now test positive for POWV in certain regions of the northern United States. Although POWV infections cause life-threatening encephalitis, there is no vaccine or countermeasure available for prevention or treatment. Here, we developed a lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-encapsulated modified mRNA vaccine encoding the POWV prM and E genes and demonstrated its immunogenicity and efficacy in mice following immunization with one or two doses. The POWV mRNA vaccine induced high titers of neutralizing antibody and sterilizing immunity against lethal challenge with different POWV strains. The mRNA vaccine also induced cross-neutralizing antibodies against multiple other tick-borne flaviviruses and protected mice against the distantly related Langat virus. These data demonstrate the utility of the LNP-mRNA vaccine platform for the development of vaccines with protective activity against multiple flaviviruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura A VanBlargan
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Sunny Himansu
- Moderna, Inc., 500 Technology Square, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Bryant M Foreman
- Laboratory of Viral Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Arthropod-Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Theodore C Pierson
- Laboratory of Viral Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Michael S Diamond
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Pathology & Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; The Andrew M. and Jane M. Bursky Center for Human Immunology and Immunotherapy Programs, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
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40
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Duggal NK, Langwig KE, Ebel GD, Brault AC. On the Fly: Interactions Between Birds, Mosquitoes, and Environment That Have Molded West Nile Virus Genomic Structure Over Two Decades. J Med Entomol 2019; 56:1467-1474. [PMID: 31549720 PMCID: PMC7182917 DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjz112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2019] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
West Nile virus (WNV) was first identified in North America almost 20 yr ago. In that time, WNV has crossed the continent and established enzootic transmission cycles, resulting in intermittent outbreaks of human disease that have largely been linked with climatic variables and waning avian seroprevalence. During the transcontinental dissemination of WNV, the original genotype has been displaced by two principal extant genotypes which contain an envelope mutation that has been associated with enhanced vector competence by Culex pipiens L. (Diptera: Culicidae) and Culex tarsalis Coquillett vectors. Analyses of retrospective avian host competence data generated using the founding NY99 genotype strain have demonstrated a steady reduction in viremias of house sparrows over time. Reciprocally, the current genotype strains WN02 and SW03 have demonstrated an inverse correlation between house sparrow viremia magnitude and the time since isolation. These data collectively indicate that WNV has evolved for increased avian viremia while house sparrows have evolved resistance to the virus such that the relative host competence has remained constant. Intrahost analyses of WNV evolution demonstrate that selection pressures are avian species-specific and purifying selection is greater in individual birds compared with individual mosquitoes, suggesting that the avian adaptive and/or innate immune response may impose a selection pressure on WNV. Phylogenomic, experimental evolutionary systems, and models that link viral evolution with climate, host, and vector competence studies will be needed to identify the relative effect of different selective and stochastic mechanisms on viral phenotypes and the capacity of newly evolved WNV genotypes for transmission in continuously changing landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nisha K Duggal
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA
| | - Kate E Langwig
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
| | - Aaron C Brault
- Division of Vector-borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO
- Corresponding author, e-mail:
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Carpentier KS, Davenport BJ, Haist KC, McCarthy MK, May NA, Robison A, Ruckert C, Ebel GD, Morrison TE. Discrete viral E2 lysine residues and scavenger receptor MARCO are required for clearance of circulating alphaviruses. eLife 2019; 8:e49163. [PMID: 31596239 PMCID: PMC6839921 DOI: 10.7554/elife.49163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2019] [Accepted: 10/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The magnitude and duration of vertebrate viremia is a critical determinant of arbovirus transmission, geographic spread, and disease severity. We find that multiple alphaviruses, including chikungunya (CHIKV), Ross River (RRV), and o'nyong 'nyong (ONNV) viruses, are cleared from the circulation of mice by liver Kupffer cells, impeding viral dissemination. Clearance from the circulation was independent of natural antibodies or complement factor C3, and instead relied on scavenger receptor SR-A6 (MARCO). Remarkably, lysine to arginine substitutions at distinct residues within the E2 glycoproteins of CHIKV and ONNV (E2 K200R) as well as RRV (E2 K251R) allowed for escape from clearance and enhanced viremia and dissemination. Mutational analysis revealed that viral clearance from the circulation is strictly dependent on the presence of lysine at these positions. These findings reveal a previously unrecognized innate immune pathway that controls alphavirus viremia and dissemination in vertebrate hosts, ultimately influencing disease severity and likely transmission efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn S Carpentier
- Department of Immunology and MicrobiologyUniversity of Colorado School of MedicineAuroraUnited States
| | - Bennett J Davenport
- Department of Immunology and MicrobiologyUniversity of Colorado School of MedicineAuroraUnited States
| | - Kelsey C Haist
- Department of Immunology and MicrobiologyUniversity of Colorado School of MedicineAuroraUnited States
| | - Mary K McCarthy
- Department of Immunology and MicrobiologyUniversity of Colorado School of MedicineAuroraUnited States
| | - Nicholas A May
- Department of Immunology and MicrobiologyUniversity of Colorado School of MedicineAuroraUnited States
| | - Alexis Robison
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and PathologyColorado State UniversityFort CollinsUnited States
| | - Claudia Ruckert
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and PathologyColorado State UniversityFort CollinsUnited States
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and PathologyColorado State UniversityFort CollinsUnited States
| | - Thomas E Morrison
- Department of Immunology and MicrobiologyUniversity of Colorado School of MedicineAuroraUnited States
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42
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Ciminski K, Ran W, Gorka M, Lee J, Malmlov A, Schinköthe J, Eckley M, Murrieta RA, Aboellail TA, Campbell CL, Ebel GD, Ma J, Pohlmann A, Franzke K, Ulrich R, Hoffmann D, García-Sastre A, Ma W, Schountz T, Beer M, Schwemmle M. Bat influenza viruses transmit among bats but are poorly adapted to non-bat species. Nat Microbiol 2019; 4:2298-2309. [PMID: 31527796 DOI: 10.1038/s41564-019-0556-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2019] [Accepted: 08/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC-II) molecules of multiple species function as cell-entry receptors for the haemagglutinin-like H18 protein of the bat H18N11 influenza A virus, enabling tropism of the viruses in a potentially broad range of vertebrates. However, the function of the neuraminidase-like N11 protein is unknown because it is dispensable for viral infection or the release of H18-pseudotyped viruses. Here, we show that infection of mammalian cells with wild-type H18N11 leads to the emergence of mutant viruses that lack the N11 ectodomain and acquired mutations in H18. An infectious clone of one such mutant virus, designated rP11, appeared to be genetically stable in mice and replicated to higher titres in mice and cell culture compared with wild-type H18N11. In ferrets, rP11 antigen and RNA were detected at low levels in various tissues, including the tonsils, whereas the wild-type virus was not. In Neotropical Jamaican fruit bats, wild-type H18N11 was found in intestinal Peyer's patches and was shed to high concentrations in rectal samples, resulting in viral transmission to naive contact bats. Notably, rP11 also replicated efficiently in bats; however, only restored full-length N11 viruses were transmissible. Our findings suggest that wild-type H18N11 replicates poorly in mice and ferrets and that N11 is a determinant for viral transmission in bats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Ciminski
- Institute of Virology, Medical Center University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Wei Ran
- Institute of Virology, Medical Center University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Marco Gorka
- Institute of Diagnostic Virology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Jinhwa Lee
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
| | - Ashley Malmlov
- Arthropod Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Jan Schinköthe
- Department of Experimental Animal Facilities and Biorisk Management, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Miles Eckley
- Arthropod Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Reyes A Murrieta
- Arthropod Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Tawfik A Aboellail
- Arthropod Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Corey L Campbell
- Arthropod Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Arthropod Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Jingjiao Ma
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
| | - Anne Pohlmann
- Institute of Diagnostic Virology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Kati Franzke
- Institute of Infectology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Reiner Ulrich
- Department of Experimental Animal Facilities and Biorisk Management, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Donata Hoffmann
- Institute of Diagnostic Virology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Adolfo García-Sastre
- Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Wenjun Ma
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA.
| | - Tony Schountz
- Arthropod Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
| | - Martin Beer
- Institute of Diagnostic Virology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald, Germany.
| | - Martin Schwemmle
- Institute of Virology, Medical Center University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany. .,Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
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Sexton NR, Ebel GD. Effects of Arbovirus Multi-Host Life Cycles on Dinucleotide and Codon Usage Patterns. Viruses 2019; 11:v11070643. [PMID: 31336898 PMCID: PMC6669465 DOI: 10.3390/v11070643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2019] [Revised: 07/09/2019] [Accepted: 07/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) of vertebrates including dengue, zika, chikungunya, Rift Valley fever, and blue tongue viruses cause extensive morbidity and mortality in humans, agricultural animals, and wildlife across the globe. As obligate intercellular pathogens, arboviruses must be well adapted to the cellular and molecular environment of both their arthropod (invertebrate) and vertebrate hosts, which are vastly different due to hundreds of millions of years of separate evolution. Here we discuss the comparative pressures on arbovirus RNA genomes as a result of a dual host life cycle, focusing on pressures that do not alter amino acids. We summarize what is currently known about arboviral genetic composition, such as dinucleotide and codon usage, and how cyclical infection of vertebrate and invertebrate hosts results in different genetic profiles compared with single-host viruses. To serve as a comparison, we compile what is known about arthropod tRNA, dinucleotide, and codon usages and compare this with vertebrates. Additionally, we discuss the potential roles of genetic robustness in arboviral evolution and how it may vary from other viruses. Overall, both arthropod and vertebrate hosts influence the resulting genetic composition of arboviruses, but a great deal remains to be investigated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole R Sexton
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
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Rückert C, Prasad AN, Garcia-Luna SM, Robison A, Grubaugh ND, Weger-Lucarelli J, Ebel GD. Small RNA responses of Culex mosquitoes and cell lines during acute and persistent virus infection. Insect Biochem Mol Biol 2019; 109:13-23. [PMID: 30959110 PMCID: PMC6516063 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2019.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2018] [Revised: 04/01/2019] [Accepted: 04/02/2019] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
RNA interference is a crucial antiviral mechanism in arthropods, including in mosquito vectors of arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses). Although the exogenous small interfering RNA (siRNA) pathway constitutes an efficient antiviral response in mosquitoes, virus-derived P-element induced wimpy testis (PIWI)-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) have been implicated in the response to alpha-, bunya- and flaviviruses in Aedes spp. mosquitoes. Culex mosquitoes transmit several medically important viruses including West Nile virus (WNV), but are considerably less well studied than Aedes mosquitoes and little is known about antiviral RNA interference in Culex mosquitoes. Therefore, we sequenced small RNA (sRNA) libraries from different Culex cell lines and tissues infected with WNV. The clear majority of virus-derived sRNA reads were 21 nt siRNAs in all cell lines and tissues tested, with no evidence for a role of WNV-derived piRNAs. Additionally, we aligned sRNA reads from Culex quinquefasciatus Hsu cells to the insect-specific rhabdovirus, Merida virus, which persistently replicates in these cells. We found that a significant proportion of the sRNA response to Merida virus consisted of piRNAs. Since viral DNA forms have been implicated in siRNA and piRNA responses of Aedes spp. mosquitoes, we also tested for viral DNA forms in WNV infected Culex cells. We detected viral DNA in Culex tarsalis cells infected with WNV and, to a lesser amount, WNV and Merida virus-derived DNA in Culex quinquefasciatus Hsu cells. In conclusion, Hsu cells generated Merida virus-derived piRNAs, but our data suggests that the major sRNA response of Culex cells and mosquitoes to WNV infection is the exogenous siRNA response. It is also evident that sRNA responses differ significantly between specific virus-mosquito combinations. Future work using additional Culex-borne viruses may further elucidate how virus-derived piRNAs are generated in Culex cells and what role they may play in controlling replication of different viruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Rückert
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA.
| | - Abhishek N Prasad
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA; Department of Pathology, Galveston National Laboratory, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA
| | - Selene M Garcia-Luna
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA; Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Alexis Robison
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - Nathan D Grubaugh
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA; Yale School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Laboratory of Epidemiology of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - James Weger-Lucarelli
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA; Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA.
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45
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Jaeger AS, Murrieta RA, Goren LR, Crooks CM, Moriarty RV, Weiler AM, Rybarczyk S, Semler MR, Huffman C, Mejia A, Simmons HA, Fritsch M, Osorio JE, Eickhoff JC, O’Connor SL, Ebel GD, Friedrich TC, Aliota MT. Zika viruses of African and Asian lineages cause fetal harm in a mouse model of vertical transmission. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2019; 13:e0007343. [PMID: 30995223 PMCID: PMC6488094 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2018] [Revised: 04/29/2019] [Accepted: 03/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Congenital Zika virus (ZIKV) infection was first linked to birth defects during the American outbreak in 2015/2016. It has been proposed that mutations unique to the Asian/American-genotype explain, at least in part, the ability of Asian/American ZIKV to cause congenital Zika syndrome (CZS). Recent studies identified mutations in ZIKV infecting humans that arose coincident with the outbreak in French Polynesia and were stably maintained during subsequent spread to the Americas. Here we show that African ZIKV can infect and harm fetuses and that the S139N substitution that has been associated with the American outbreak is not essential for fetal harm. Our findings, in a vertical transmission mouse model, suggest that ZIKV will remain a threat to pregnant women for the foreseeable future, including in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Americas. Additional research is needed to better understand the risks associated with ZIKV infection during pregnancy, both in areas where the virus is newly endemic and where it has been circulating for decades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna S. Jaeger
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; St. Paul, MN, United States of America
| | - Reyes A. Murrieta
- Arthropod-Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University; Ft. Collins, CO, United States of America
| | - Lea R. Goren
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; St. Paul, MN, United States of America
| | - Chelsea M. Crooks
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Madison, WI, United States of America
| | - Ryan V. Moriarty
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Madison, WI, United States of America
| | - Andrea M. Weiler
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Madison, WI, United States of America
| | - Sierra Rybarczyk
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Madison, WI, United States of America
| | - Matthew R. Semler
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Madison, WI, United States of America
| | - Christopher Huffman
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Madison, WI, United States of America
| | - Andres Mejia
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Madison, WI, United States of America
| | - Heather A. Simmons
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Madison, WI, United States of America
| | - Michael Fritsch
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Madison, WI, United States of America
| | - Jorge E. Osorio
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Madison, WI, United States of America
| | - Jens C. Eickhoff
- Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Madison, WI, United States of America
| | - Shelby L. O’Connor
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Madison, WI, United States of America
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Madison, WI, United States of America
| | - Gregory D. Ebel
- Arthropod-Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University; Ft. Collins, CO, United States of America
| | - Thomas C. Friedrich
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Madison, WI, United States of America
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Madison, WI, United States of America
| | - Matthew T. Aliota
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; St. Paul, MN, United States of America
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46
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Nguyen C, Gray M, Burton TA, Foy SL, Foster JR, Gendernalik AL, Rückert C, Alout H, Young MC, Boze B, Ebel GD, Clapsaddle B, Foy BD. Evaluation of a novel West Nile virus transmission control strategy that targets Culex tarsalis with endectocide-containing blood meals. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2019; 13:e0007210. [PMID: 30845250 PMCID: PMC6424467 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2018] [Revised: 03/19/2019] [Accepted: 02/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Control of arbovirus transmission remains focused on vector control through application of insecticides directly to the environment. However, these insecticide applications are often reactive interventions that can be poorly-targeted, inadequate for localized control during outbreaks, and opposed due to environmental and toxicity concerns. In this study, we developed endectocide-treated feed as a systemic endectocide for birds to target blood feeding Culex tarsalis, the primary West Nile virus (WNV) bridge vector in the western United States, and conducted preliminary tests on the effects of deploying this feed in the field. In lab tests, ivermectin (IVM) was the most effective endectocide tested against Cx. tarsalis and WNV-infection did not influence mosquito mortality from IVM. Chickens and wild Eurasian collared doves exhibited no signs of toxicity when fed solely on bird feed treated with concentrations up to 200 mg IVM/kg of diet, and significantly more Cx. tarsalis that blood fed on these birds died (greater than 80% mortality) compared to controls (less than 25% mortality). Mosquito mortality following blood feeding correlated with IVM serum concentrations at the time of blood feeding, which dropped rapidly after the withdrawal of treated feed. Preliminary field testing over one WNV season in Fort Collins, Colorado demonstrated that nearly all birds captured around treated bird feeders had detectable levels of IVM in their blood. However, entomological data showed that WNV transmission was non-significantly reduced around treated bird feeders. With further development, deployment of ivermectin-treated bird feed might be an effective, localized WNV transmission control tool. West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne virus that causes significant disease and death every year in humans, domesticated animals, and wildlife. Control of WNV transmission is focused on controlling the mosquito vector through applications of insecticides directly to the environment. In this study, we evaluate a novel control strategy for WNV transmission by targeting the main mosquito bridge vector in the Great Plains region, Culex tarsalis, through its blood feeding behavior. Because Culex tarsalis favor taking blood meals from particular bird species, our strategy aims to target these bird species with endectocide-treated bird feed that will result in lethal blood meals for Cx. tarsalis. In this study, we developed a safe and effective formulation of ivermectin-treated diet that resulted in increased mortality for Cx. tarsalis blood fed on birds consuming this treated diet as compared to mosquitoes feeding on control birds. We also conducted a pilot field trial in Fort Collins, Colorado to test this strategy in a natural transmission cycle, which demonstrated promising results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chilinh Nguyen
- Arthropod-borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Meg Gray
- Arthropod-borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States of America
| | - Timothy A. Burton
- Arthropod-borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States of America
| | - Soleil L. Foy
- Arthropod-borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States of America
| | - John R. Foster
- Arthropod-borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States of America
| | - Alex Lazr Gendernalik
- Arthropod-borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States of America
| | - Claudia Rückert
- Arthropod-borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States of America
| | | | - Michael C. Young
- Arthropod-borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States of America
| | - Broox Boze
- Vector Disease Control International, Little Rock, AR, United States of America
| | - Gregory D. Ebel
- Arthropod-borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States of America
| | | | - Brian D. Foy
- Arthropod-borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States of America
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47
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Duggal NK, McDonald EM, Weger-Lucarelli J, Hawks SA, Ritter JM, Romo H, Ebel GD, Brault AC. Mutations present in a low-passage Zika virus isolate result in attenuated pathogenesis in mice. Virology 2019; 530:19-26. [PMID: 30763872 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2019.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [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: 12/07/2018] [Revised: 02/05/2019] [Accepted: 02/06/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Zika virus (ZIKV) infection can result in neurological disorders including Congenital Zika Syndrome in infants exposed to the virus in utero. Pregnant women can be infected by mosquito bite as well as by sexual transmission from infected men. Herein, the variants of ZIKV within the male reproductive tract and ejaculates were assessed in inoculated mice. We identified two non-synonymous variants at positions E-V330L and NS1-W98G. These variants were also present in the passage three PRVABC59 isolate and infectious clone relative to the patient serum PRVABC59 sequence. In subsequent studies, ZIKV E-330L was less pathogenic in mice than ZIKV E-330V as evident by increased average survival times. In Vero cells, ZIKV E-330L/NS1-98G outcompeted ZIKV E-330V/NS1-98W within 3 passages. These results suggest that the E-330L/NS1-98G variants are attenuating in mice and were enriched during cell culture passaging. Cell culture propagation of ZIKV could significantly affect animal model development and vaccine efficacy studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nisha K Duggal
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, United States; Division of Vector-borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, United States.
| | - Erin M McDonald
- Division of Vector-borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, United States
| | - James Weger-Lucarelli
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, United States; Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States
| | - Seth A Hawks
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, United States
| | - Jana M Ritter
- Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Hannah Romo
- Division of Vector-borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, United States
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States
| | - Aaron C Brault
- Division of Vector-borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, United States.
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Vogels CBF, Rückert C, Cavany SM, Perkins TA, Ebel GD, Grubaugh ND. Arbovirus coinfection and co-transmission: A neglected public health concern? PLoS Biol 2019; 17:e3000130. [PMID: 30668574 PMCID: PMC6358106 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Revised: 02/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Epidemiological synergy between outbreaks of viruses transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, such as chikungunya, dengue, and Zika viruses, has resulted in coinfection of humans with multiple viruses. Despite the potential impact on public health, we know only little about the occurrence and consequences of such coinfections. Here, we review the impact of coinfection on clinical disease in humans, discuss the possibility for co-transmission from mosquito to human, and describe a role for modeling transmission dynamics at various levels of co-transmission. Solving the mystery of virus coinfections will reveal whether they should be viewed as a serious concern for public health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chantal B. F. Vogels
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Claudia Rückert
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Sean M. Cavany
- Department of Biological Sciences and Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, United States of America
| | - T. Alex Perkins
- Department of Biological Sciences and Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, United States of America
| | - Gregory D. Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Nathan D. Grubaugh
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Fauver JR, Akter S, Morales AIO, Black WC, Rodriguez AD, Stenglein MD, Ebel GD, Weger-Lucarelli J. A reverse-transcription/RNase H based protocol for depletion of mosquito ribosomal RNA facilitates viral intrahost evolution analysis, transcriptomics and pathogen discovery. Virology 2018; 528:181-197. [PMID: 30616207 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2018.12.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2018] [Revised: 12/28/2018] [Accepted: 12/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Identifying novel viruses or assessing viral variation by NGS requires high sequencing coverage. More than 90% of total RNA is ribosomal (rRNA), making variant calling, virus discovery or transcriptomic profiling difficult. Current methods to increase informative reads suffer from drawbacks, either they cannot be used for some viruses, are optimized for a single species, or introduce bias. We describe a two-part approach combining reverse-transcription to create RNA/DNA hybrids which are then degraded with RNaseH/DNase sequentially that works for three medically relevant mosquito genera; Aedes, Anopheles, and Culex. We demonstrate depletion of rRNA from different samples, including whole mosquitoes and midgut contents from FTA cards. We describe novel insect-specific virus genomes from field collected mosquitoes. The protocol requires only common laboratory reagents and small oligonucleotides specific to rRNA. This approach can be adapted for other organisms, aiding virus diversity analyses, virus discovery and transcriptomics in both laboratory and field samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph R Fauver
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Shamima Akter
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 360 W Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Aldo Ivan Ortega Morales
- Departamento de Parasitología, Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro, Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico
| | - William C Black
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Americo D Rodriguez
- Centro Regional de Investigación en Salud Publica, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico
| | - Mark D Stenglein
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
| | - James Weger-Lucarelli
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
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Cross ST, Kapuscinski ML, Perino J, Maertens BL, Weger-Lucarelli J, Ebel GD, Stenglein MD. Co-Infection Patterns in Individual Ixodes scapularis Ticks Reveal Associations between Viral, Eukaryotic and Bacterial Microorganisms. Viruses 2018; 10:E388. [PMID: 30037148 PMCID: PMC6071216 DOI: 10.3390/v10070388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2018] [Revised: 07/20/2018] [Accepted: 07/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Ixodes scapularis ticks harbor a variety of microorganisms, including eukaryotes, bacteria and viruses. Some of these can be transmitted to and cause disease in humans and other vertebrates. Others are not pathogenic, but may impact the ability of the tick to harbor and transmit pathogens. A growing number of studies have examined the influence of bacteria on tick vector competence but the influence of the tick virome remains less clear, despite a surge in the discovery of tick-associated viruses. In this study, we performed shotgun RNA sequencing on 112 individual adult I. scapularis collected in Wisconsin, USA. We characterized the abundance, prevalence and co-infection rates of viruses, bacteria and eukaryotic microorganisms. We identified pairs of tick-infecting microorganisms whose observed co-infection rates were higher or lower than would be expected, or whose RNA levels were positively correlated in co-infected ticks. Many of these co-occurrence and correlation relationships involved two bunyaviruses, South Bay virus and blacklegged tick phlebovirus-1. These viruses were also the most prevalent microorganisms in the ticks we sampled, and had the highest average RNA levels. Evidence of associations between microbes included a positive correlation between RNA levels of South Bay virus and Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease agent. These findings contribute to the rationale for experimental studies on the impact of viruses on tick biology and vector competence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaun T Cross
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
| | - Marylee L Kapuscinski
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
| | - Jacquelyn Perino
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
| | - Bernadette L Maertens
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
| | - James Weger-Lucarelli
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
| | - Mark D Stenglein
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
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