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A system for production of defective interfering particles in the absence of infectious influenza A virus.

ABSTRACT: Influenza A virus (IAV) infection poses a serious health threat and novel antiviral strategies are needed. Defective interfering particles (DIPs) can be generated in IAV infected cells due to errors of the viral polymerase and may suppress spread of wild type (wt) virus. The antiviral activity of DIPs is exerted by a DI genomic RNA segment that usually contains a large deletion and suppresses amplification of wt segments, potentially by competing for cellular and viral resources. DI-244 is a naturally occurring prototypic segment 1-derived DI RNA in which most of the PB2 open reading frame has been deleted and which is currently developed for antiviral therapy. At present, coinfection with wt virus is required for production of DI-244 particles which raises concerns regarding biosafety and may complicate interpretation of research results. Here, we show that cocultures of 293T and MDCK cell lines stably expressing codon optimized PB2 allow production of DI-244 particles solely from plasmids and in the absence of helper virus. Moreover, we demonstrate that infectivity of these particles can be quantified using MDCK-PB2 cells. Finally, we report that the DI-244 particles produced in this novel system exert potent antiviral activity against H1N1 and H3N2 IAV but not against the unrelated vesicular stomatitis virus. This is the first report of DIP production in the absence of infectious IAV and may spur efforts to develop DIPs for antiviral therapy.

SUBMITTER: Bdeir N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6396908 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A system for production of defective interfering particles in the absence of infectious influenza A virus.

Bdeir Najat N Arora Prerna P Gärtner Sabine S Hoffmann Markus M Reichl Udo U Pöhlmann Stefan S Winkler Michael M

PloS one 20190301 3

Influenza A virus (IAV) infection poses a serious health threat and novel antiviral strategies are needed. Defective interfering particles (DIPs) can be generated in IAV infected cells due to errors of the viral polymerase and may suppress spread of wild type (wt) virus. The antiviral activity of DIPs is exerted by a DI genomic RNA segment that usually contains a large deletion and suppresses amplification of wt segments, potentially by competing for cellular and viral resources. DI-244 is a nat ...[more]

PMID: 30822349

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Project description:Defective interfering particles (DIPs) of influenza A virus (IAV) are suggested for use as broad-spectrum antivirals. We discovered a new type of IAV DIP named "OP7" that carries point mutations in its genome segment (Seg) 7 instead of a deletion as in conventional DIPs (cDIPs). Recently, using genetic engineering tools, we generated "OP7 chimera DIPs" that carry point mutations in Seg 7 plus a deletion in Seg 1. Together with cDIPs, OP7 chimera DIPs were produced in shake flasks in the absence of infectious standard virus (STV), rendering UV inactivation unnecessary. However, only part of the virions harvested were OP7 chimera DIPs (78.7%) and total virus titers were relatively low. Here, we describe the establishment of an OP7 chimera DIP production process applicable for large-scale production. To increase total virus titers, we reduced temperature from 37 to 32 °C during virus replication. Production of almost pure OP7 chimera DIP preparations (99.7%) was achieved with a high titer of 3.24 log10(HAU/100 µL). This corresponded to an 11-fold increase relative to the initial process. Next, this process was transferred to a stirred tank bioreactor resulting in comparable yields. Moreover, DIP harvests purified and concentrated by steric exclusion chromatography displayed an increased interfering efficacy in vitro. Finally, a perfusion process with perfusion rate control was established, resulting in a 79-fold increase in total virus yields compared to the original batch process in shake flasks. Again, a very high purity of OP7 chimera DIPs was obtained. This process could thus be an excellent starting point for good manufacturing practice production of DIPs for use as antivirals. KEY POINTS: • Scalable cell culture-based process for highly effective antiviral OP7 chimera DIPs • Production of almost pure OP7 chimera DIPs in the absence of infectious virus • Perfusion mode production and purification train results in very high titers.

Project description:A high particle to infectivity ratio is a feature common to many RNA viruses, with ~90-99% of particles unable to initiate a productive infection under low multiplicity conditions. A recent publication by Brooke et al. revealed that, for influenza A virus (IAV), a proportion of these seemingly non-infectious particles are in fact semi-infectious. Semi-infectious (SI) particles deliver an incomplete set of viral genes to the cell, and therefore cannot support a full cycle of replication unless complemented through co-infection. In addition to SI particles, IAV populations often contain defective-interfering (DI) particles, which actively interfere with production of infectious progeny. With the aim of understanding the significance to viral evolution of these incomplete particles, we tested the hypothesis that SI and DI particles promote diversification through reassortment. Our approach combined computational simulations with experimental determination of infection, co-infection and reassortment levels following co-inoculation of cultured cells with two distinct influenza A/Panama/2007/99 (H3N2)-based viruses. Computational results predicted enhanced reassortment at a given % infection or multiplicity of infection with increasing semi-infectious particle content. Comparison of experimental data to the model indicated that the likelihood that a given segment is missing varies among the segments and that most particles fail to deliver ≥1 segment. To verify the prediction that SI particles augment reassortment, we performed co-infections using viruses exposed to low dose UV. As expected, the introduction of semi-infectious particles with UV-induced lesions enhanced reassortment. In contrast to SI particles, inclusion of DI particles in modeled virus populations could not account for observed reassortment outcomes. DI particles were furthermore found experimentally to suppress detectable reassortment, relative to that seen with standard virus stocks, most likely by interfering with production of infectious progeny from co-infected cells. These data indicate that semi-infectious particles increase the rate of reassortment and may therefore accelerate adaptive evolution of IAV.

Project description:BackgroundInfections with influenza A virus (IAV) cause high morbidity and mortality in humans. Additional to vaccination, antiviral drugs are a treatment option. Besides FDA-approved drugs such as oseltamivir or zanamivir, virus-derived defective interfering (DI) particles (DIPs) are considered promising new agents. IAV DIPs typically contain a large internal deletion in one of their eight genomic viral RNA (vRNA) segments. Consequently, DIPs miss the genetic information necessary for replication and can usually only propagate by co-infection with infectious standard virus (STV), compensating for their defect. In such a co-infection scenario, DIPs interfere with and suppress STV replication, which constitutes their antiviral potential.ResultsIn the present study, we generated a genetically engineered MDCK suspension cell line for production of a purely clonal DIP preparation that has a large deletion in its segment 1 (DI244) and is not contaminated with infectious STV as egg-derived material. First, the impact of the multiplicity of DIP (MODIP) per cell on DI244 yield was investigated in batch cultivations in shake flasks. Here, the highest interfering efficacy was observed for material produced at a MODIP of 1E-2 using an in vitro interference assay. Results of RT-PCR suggested that DI244 material produced was hardly contaminated with other defective particles. Next, the process was successfully transferred to a stirred tank bioreactor (500 mL working volume) with a yield of 6.0E+8 PFU/mL determined in genetically modified adherent MDCK cells. The produced material was purified and concentrated about 40-fold by membrane-based steric exclusion chromatography (SXC). The DI244 yield was 92.3% with a host cell DNA clearance of 97.1% (99.95% with nuclease digestion prior to SXC) and a total protein reduction of 97.2%. Finally, the DIP material was tested in animal experiments in D2(B6).A2G-Mx1r/r mice. Mice infected with a lethal dose of IAV and treated with DIP material showed a reduced body weight loss and all animals survived.ConclusionIn summary, experiments not only demonstrated that purely clonal influenza virus DIP preparations can be obtained with high titers from animal cell cultures but confirmed the potential of cell culture-derived DIPs as an antiviral agent.

Project description:Defective interfering particles (DIPs) are a natural byproduct of influenza A virus (IAV) replication. DIPs interfere with the propagation and spread of infectious standard virus (STV), reduce virus yields by competing for viral and cellular resources, and induce antiviral responses. These properties open exciting possibilities for the development of DIP-based antivirals. Exploring options for cell culture-based DIP production, we have established a fully continuous cultivation process, where one bioreactor is used to grow cells that are fed to two bioreactors operated in parallel for virus production. This system allows head-to-head comparisons of STV and DIP replication dynamics over extended time periods. Cultivations were performed at two residence times (RT, 22 and 36 h) using MDCK suspension cells grown in a fully defined medium. For infection, we used a virus seed generated by reverse genetics containing STVs and a known DIP carrying a deletion in segment 1 (delS1(1)). Four days post infection, DIPs achieved maximum concentrations of 7.0·109 virions/mL and 8.4·109 virions/mL for RTs of 22 and 36 h, respectively. Furthermore, oscillations in virus titers with two to three maxima were found for DIP accumulation at 36 and 22 h RT, respectively. To complement the study, a basic mathematical model using simple kinetics and a reasonable number of parameters to describe DIP-propagation in continuous cultures was established. Upon fitting the model individually to each of the two data sets, oscillations in the viral dynamics and the cell population dynamics were described well. Modeling suggests that both STV inactivation and virus degradation have to be taken into account to achieve good agreement of simulations and experimental data for longer RTs. Together, the high DIP titers obtained, and the successful simulation of the experimental data showed that the combination of continuous bioreactors and mathematical models can enable studies regarding DIP dynamics over extended time periods and allow large scale manufacturing of DIP-based antivirals.

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A system for production of defective interfering particles in the absence of infectious influenza A virus.

Publications

A system for production of defective interfering particles in the absence of infectious influenza A virus.

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