Dataset Information

Host restrictions of avian influenza viruses: in silico analysis of H13 and H16 specific signatures in the internal proteins.

ABSTRACT: Gulls are the primary hosts of H13 and H16 avian influenza viruses (AIVs). The molecular basis for this host restriction is only partially understood. In this study, amino acid sequences from Eurasian gull H13 and H16 AIVs and Eurasian AIVs (non H13 and H16) were compared to determine if specific signatures are present only in the internal proteins of H13 and H16 AIVs, using a bioinformatics approach. Amino acids identified in an initial analysis performed on 15 selected sequences were checked against a comprehensive set of AIV sequences retrieved from Genbank to verify them as H13 and H16 specific signatures. Analysis of protein similarities and prediction of subcellular localization signals were performed to search for possible functions associated with the confirmed signatures. H13 and H16 AIV specific signatures were found in all the internal proteins examined, but most were found in the non-structural protein 1 (NS1) and in the nucleoprotein. A putative functional signature was predicted to be present in the nuclear export protein. Moreover, it was predicted that the NS1 of H13 and H16 AIVs lack one of the nuclear localization signals present in NS1 of other AIV subtypes. These findings suggest that the signatures found in the internal proteins of H13 and H16 viruses are possibly related to host restriction.

SUBMITTER: Tonnessen R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3639990 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Host restrictions of avian influenza viruses: in silico analysis of H13 and H16 specific signatures in the internal proteins.

Tønnessen Ragnhild R Hauge Anna G AG Hansen Elisabeth F EF Rimstad Espen E Jonassen Christine M CM

PloS one 20130430 4

Gulls are the primary hosts of H13 and H16 avian influenza viruses (AIVs). The molecular basis for this host restriction is only partially understood. In this study, amino acid sequences from Eurasian gull H13 and H16 AIVs and Eurasian AIVs (non H13 and H16) were compared to determine if specific signatures are present only in the internal proteins of H13 and H16 AIVs, using a bioinformatics approach. Amino acids identified in an initial analysis performed on 15 selected sequences were checked a ...[more]

PMID: 23646204

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Project description:Low-pathogenic avian influenza viruses (LPAIVs) are genetically highly variable and have diversified into multiple evolutionary lineages that are primarily associated with wild-bird reservoirs. Antigenic variation has been described for mammalian influenza viruses and for highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses that circulate in poultry, but much less is known about antigenic variation of LPAIVs. In this study, we focused on H13 and H16 LPAIVs that circulate globally in gulls. We investigated the evolutionary history and intercontinental gene flow based on the hemagglutinin (HA) gene and used representative viruses from genetically distinct lineages to determine their antigenic properties by hemagglutination inhibition assays. For H13, at least three distinct genetic clades were evident, while for H16, at least two distinct genetic clades were evident. Twenty and ten events of intercontinental gene flow were identified for H13 and H16 viruses, respectively. At least two antigenic variants of H13 and at least one antigenic variant of H16 were identified. Amino acid positions in the HA protein that may be involved in the antigenic variation were inferred, and some of the positions were located near the receptor binding site of the HA protein, as they are in the HA protein of mammalian influenza A viruses. These findings suggest independent circulation of H13 and H16 subtypes in gull populations, as antigenic patterns do not overlap, and they contribute to the understanding of the genetic and antigenic variation of LPAIVs naturally circulating in wild birds.IMPORTANCE Wild birds play a major role in the epidemiology of low-pathogenic avian influenza viruses (LPAIVs), which are occasionally transmitted-directly or indirectly-from them to other species, including domestic animals, wild mammals, and humans, where they can cause subclinical to fatal disease. Despite a multitude of genetic studies, the antigenic variation of LPAIVs in wild birds is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the evolutionary history, intercontinental gene flow, and antigenic variation among H13 and H16 LPAIVs. The circulation of subtypes H13 and H16 seems to be maintained by a narrower host range, in particular gulls, than the majority of LPAIV subtypes and may therefore serve as a model for evolution and epidemiology of H1 to H12 LPAIVs in wild birds. The findings suggest that H13 and H16 LPAIVs circulate independently of each other and emphasize the need to investigate within-clade antigenic variation of LPAIVs in wild birds.

Project description:Infections of domestic and wild birds with low-pathogenic avian influenza viruses (LPAIVs) have been associated with protective immunity to subsequent infection. However, the degree and duration of immunity in wild birds from previous LPAIV infection, by the same or a different subtype, are poorly understood. Therefore, we inoculated H13N2 (A/black-headed gull/Netherlands/7/2009) and H16N3 (A/black-headed gull/Netherlands/26/2009) LPAIVs into black-headed gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), their natural host species, and measured the long-term immune response and protection against one or two reinfections over a period of >1 year. This is the typical interval between LPAIV epizootics in wild birds. Reinfection with the same virus resulted in progressively less virus excretion, with complete abrogation of virus excretion after two infections for H13 but not H16. However, reinfection with the other virus affected neither the level nor duration of virus excretion. Virus excretion by immunologically naive birds did not differ in total levels of excreted H13 or H16 virus between first- and second-year birds, but the duration of H13 excretion was shorter for second-year birds. Furthermore, serum antibody levels did not correlate with protection against LPAIV infection. LPAIV-infected gulls showed no clinical signs of disease. These results imply that the epidemiological cycles of H13 and H16 in black-headed gulls are relatively independent from each other and depend mainly on infection of first-year birds.Low-pathogenic avian influenza viruses (LPAIVs) circulate mainly in wild water birds but are occasionally transmitted to other species, including humans, where they cause subclinical to fatal disease. To date, the effect of LPAIV-specific immunity on the epidemiology of LPAIV in wild birds is poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the effect of H13 and H16 LPAIV infection in black-headed gulls on susceptibility and virus excretion of subsequent infection with the same or the other virus within the same breeding season and between breeding seasons. These are the only two LPAIV hemagglutinin subtypes predominating in this species. The findings suggest that H13 and H16 LPAIV cycles in black-headed gull populations are independent of each other, indicate the importance of first-year birds in LPAIV epidemiology, and emphasize the need for alternatives to avian influenza virus (AIV)-specific serum antibodies as evidence of past LPAIV infection and correlates of protection against LPAIV infection in wild birds.

Dataset Information

Host restrictions of avian influenza viruses: in silico analysis of H13 and H16 specific signatures in the internal proteins.

Publications

Host restrictions of avian influenza viruses: in silico analysis of H13 and H16 specific signatures in the internal proteins.

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