Dataset Information

PB1-F2 attenuates virulence of highly pathogenic avian H5N1 influenza virus in chickens.

ABSTRACT: Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) is a permanent threat due to its capacity to cross species barriers and generate severe infections and high mortality in humans. Recent findings have highlighted the potential role of PB1-F2, a small accessory influenza protein, in the pathogenesis process mediated by HPAIV in mammals. In this study, using a recombinant H5N1 HPAIV (wt) and its PB1-F2-deleted mutant (?F2), we studied the effects of PB1-F2 in a chicken model. Unexpectedly, when using low inoculation dose we observed that the wt-infected chickens had a higher survival rate than the ?F2-infected chickens, a feature that contrasts with what is usually observed in mammals. High inoculation dose had similar mortality rate for both viruses, and comparison of the bio-distribution of the two viruses indicated that the expression of PB1-F2 allows a better spreading of the virus within chicken embryos. Transcriptomic profiles of lungs and blood cells were characterized at two days post-infection in chickens inoculated with the wild type (wt) or the ?F2 mutant viruses. In lungs, the expression of PB1-F2 during the infection induced pathways related to calcium signaling and repressed a large panel of immunological functions. In blood cells, PB1-F2 was associated with a gene signature specific for mitochondrial dysfunction and down-modulated leucocytes activation. Finally we compared the effect of PB1-F2 in lungs of chickens and mice. We identified that gene signature associated to tissue damages is a PB1-F2 feature shared by the two species; by contrast, the early inhibition of immune response mediated by PB1-F2 observed in chickens is not seen in mice. In summary, our data suggest that PB1-F2 expression deeply affect the immune response in chickens in a way that may attenuate pathogenicity at low infection dose, a feature differing from what was previously observed in mammal species.

SUBMITTER: Leymarie O

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4069075 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

PB1-F2 attenuates virulence of highly pathogenic avian H5N1 influenza virus in chickens.

Leymarie Olivier O Embury-Hyatt Carissa C Chevalier Christophe C Jouneau Luc L Moroldo Marco M Da Costa Bruno B Berhane Yohannes Y Delmas Bernard B Weingartl Hana M HM Le Goffic Ronan R

PloS one 20140624 6

Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) is a permanent threat due to its capacity to cross species barriers and generate severe infections and high mortality in humans. Recent findings have highlighted the potential role of PB1-F2, a small accessory influenza protein, in the pathogenesis process mediated by HPAIV in mammals. In this study, using a recombinant H5N1 HPAIV (wt) and its PB1-F2-deleted mutant (ΔF2), we studied the effects of PB1-F2 in a chicken model. Unexpectedly, when using ...[more]

PMID: 24959667

Similar Datasets

Project description:UnlabelledInfluenza A viruses (IAVs) express the PB1-F2 protein from an alternate reading frame within the PB1 gene segment. The roles of PB1-F2 are not well understood but appear to involve modulation of host cell responses. As shown in previous studies, we find that PB1-F2 proteins of mammalian IAVs frequently have premature stop codons that are expected to cause truncations of the protein, whereas avian IAVs usually express a full-length 90-amino-acid PB1-F2. However, in contrast to other avian IAVs, recent isolates of highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza viruses had a high proportion of PB1-F2 truncations (15% since 2010; 61% of isolates in 2013) due to several independent mutations that have persisted and expanded in circulating viruses. One natural H5N1 IAV containing a mutated PB1-F2 start codon (i.e., lacking ATG) was 1,000-fold more virulent for BALB/c mice than a closely related H5N1 containing intact PB1-F2. In vitro, we detected expression of an in-frame protein (C-terminal PB1-F2) from downstream ATGs in PB1-F2 plasmids lacking the well-conserved ATG start codon. Transient expression of full-length PB1-F2, truncated (24-amino-acid) PB1-F2, and PB1-F2 lacking the initiating ATG in mammalian and avian cells had no effect on cell apoptosis or interferon expression in human lung epithelial cells. Full-length and C-terminal PB1-F2 mutants colocalized with mitochondria in A549 cells. Close monitoring of alterations of PB1-F2 and their frequency in contemporary avian H5N1 viruses should continue, as such changes may be markers for mammalian virulence.ImportanceAlthough most avian influenza viruses are harmless for humans, some (such as highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza viruses) are capable of infecting humans and causing severe disease with a high mortality rate. A number of risk factors potentially associated with adaptation to mammalian infection have been noted. Here we demonstrate that the protein PB1-F2 is frequently truncated in recent isolates of highly pathogenic H5N1 viruses. Truncation of PB1-F2 has been proposed to act as an adaptation to mammalian infection. We show that some forms of truncation of PB1-F2 may be associated with increased virulence in mammals. Our data support the assessment of PB1-F2 truncations for genomic surveillance of influenza viruses.

Project description:The PB1-F2 protein encoded by influenza A viruses can contribute to virulence, a feature that is dependent of its sequence polymorphism. Whereas PB1-F2 from some H1N1 viruses were shown to exacerbate the inflammatory response within the airways, the contribution of PB1-F2 to highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) virulence in mammals remains poorly described. Using a H5N1 HPAIV strain isolated from duck and its PB1-F2 knocked-out mutant, we characterized the dynamics of PB1-F2-associated host response in a murine model of lethal pneumonia. The mean time of death was 10 days for the two viruses, allowing us to perform global transcriptomic analyses and detailed histological investigations of the infected lungs at multiple time points. At day 2 post-infection (pi), while no histopathological lesion was observed, PB1-F2 expression resulted in a significant inhibition of cellular pathways involved in macrophage activation and in a transcriptomic signature suggesting that it promotes damage to the epithelial barrier. At day 4 pi, the gene profile associated with PB1-F2 expression revealed dysfunctions in NK cells activity. At day 8 pi, PB1-F2 expression was strongly associated with increased transcription of genes encoding chemokines and cytokines implicated in the recruitment of granulocytes, as well as expression of a number of genes encoding enzymes expressed by neutrophils. These transcriptomic data were fully supported by the histopathological analysis of the mice lungs which evidenced more severe inflammatory lesions and enhanced recruitment of neutrophils in the context of PB1-F2 expression, and thus provided a functional corroboration to the insight obtained in this work. In summary, our study shows that PB1-F2 of H5N1 HPAIV markedly influences the expression of the host transcriptome in a different way than its H1N1 counterparts: H5N1 PB1-F2 first delays the initial immune response but increases the pulmonary inflammatory response during the late stages of infection.

Dataset Information

PB1-F2 attenuates virulence of highly pathogenic avian H5N1 influenza virus in chickens.

Publications

PB1-F2 attenuates virulence of highly pathogenic avian H5N1 influenza virus in chickens.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets