Dataset Information

Guinea Pig Transferrin Receptor 1 Mediates Cellular Entry of Junin Virus and Other Pathogenic New World Arenaviruses.

ABSTRACT: Several clade B New World arenaviruses (NWAs) can cause severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fever, for which preventive and therapeutic measures are severely limited. These NWAs use human transferrin receptor 1 (hTfR1) as a host cell receptor for virus entry. The most prevalent of the pathogenic NWAs is Junín virus (JUNV), the etiological agent of Argentine hemorrhagic fever. Small animal models of JUNV infection are limited because most laboratory rodent species are refractory to disease. Only guinea pigs are known to develop disease following JUNV infection, but the underlying mechanisms are not well characterized. In the present study, we demonstrate marked susceptibility of Hartley guinea pigs to uniformly lethal disease when challenged with as few as 4 PFU of the Romero strain of JUNV. In vitro, we show that infection of primary guinea pig macrophages results in greater JUNV replication compared to infection of hamster or mouse macrophages. We provide evidence that the guinea pig TfR1 (gpTfR1) is the principal receptor for JUNV, while hamster and mouse orthologs fail to support viral entry/infection of pseudotyped murine leukemia viruses expressing pathogenic NWA glycoproteins or JUNV. Together, our results indicate that gpTfR1 serves as the primary receptor for pathogenic NWAs, enhancing viral infection in guinea pigs.IMPORTANCE JUNV is one of five known NWAs that cause viral hemorrhagic fever in humans. Countermeasures against JUNV infection are limited to immunization with the Candid#1 vaccine and immune plasma, which are available only in Argentina. The gold standard small animal model for JUNV infection is the guinea pig. Here, we demonstrate high sensitivity of this species to severe JUNV infection and identify gpTfR1 as the primary receptor. Use of hTfR1 for host cell entry is a feature shared by pathogenic NWAs. Our results show that expression of gpTfR1 or hTfR1 comparably enhances JUNV virus entry/infectivity. Our findings shed light on JUNV infection in guinea pigs as a model for human disease and suggest that similar pathophysiological mechanisms related to iron sequestration during infection and regulation of TfR1 expression may be shared between humans and guinea pigs. A better understanding of the underlying disease process will guide development of new therapeutic interventions.

SUBMITTER: Hickerson BT

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6997753 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Guinea Pig Transferrin Receptor 1 Mediates Cellular Entry of Junín Virus and Other Pathogenic New World Arenaviruses.

Hickerson Brady T BT Westover Jonna B JB Wang Zhongde Z Lee Young-Min YM Gowen Brian B BB

Journal of virology 20200131 4

Several clade B New World arenaviruses (NWAs) can cause severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fever, for which preventive and therapeutic measures are severely limited. These NWAs use human transferrin receptor 1 (hTfR1) as a host cell receptor for virus entry. The most prevalent of the pathogenic NWAs is Junín virus (JUNV), the etiological agent of Argentine hemorrhagic fever. Small animal models of JUNV infection are limited because most laboratory rodent species are refractory to disease. Only g ...[more]

PMID: 31748396

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Project description:At least five New World (NW) arenaviruses cause hemorrhagic fevers in South America. These pathogenic clade B viruses, as well as nonpathogenic arenaviruses of the same clade, use transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1) of their host species to enter cells. Pathogenic viruses are distinguished from closely related nonpathogenic ones by their additional ability to utilize human TfR1 (hTfR1). Here, we investigate the receptor usage of North American arenaviruses, whose entry proteins share greatest similarity with those of the clade B viruses. We show that all six North American arenaviruses investigated utilize host species TfR1 orthologs and present evidence consistent with arenavirus-mediated selection pressure on the TfR1 of the North American arenavirus host species. Notably, one of these viruses, AV96010151, closely related to the prototype Whitewater Arroyo virus (WWAV), entered cells using hTfR1, consistent with a role for a WWAV-like virus in three fatal human infections whose causative agent has not been identified. In addition, modest changes were sufficient to convert hTfR1 into a functional receptor for most of these viruses, suggesting that a minor alteration in virus entry protein may allow these viruses to use hTfR1. Our data establish TfR1 as a cellular receptor for North American arenaviruses, highlight an "arms race" between these viruses and their host species, support the association of North American arenavirus with fatal human infections, and suggest that these viruses have a higher potential to emerge and cause human diseases than has previously been appreciated.hTfR1 use is a key determinant for a NW arenavirus to cause hemorrhagic fevers in humans. All known pathogenic NW arenaviruses are transmitted in South America by their host rodents. North American arenaviruses are generally considered nonpathogenic, but some of these viruses have been tentatively implicated in human fatalities. We show that these North American arenaviruses use the TfR1 orthologs of their rodent host species and identify TfR1 polymorphisms suggesting an ongoing "arms race" between these viruses and their hosts. We also show that a close relative of a North American arenavirus suggested to have caused human fatalities, the Whitewater Arroyo species complex virus AV96010151, uses human TfR1. Moreover, we present data that imply that modest changes in other North American arenaviruses might allow these viruses to infect humans. Collectively, our data suggest that North American arenaviruses have a higher potential to cause human disease than previously assumed.

Dataset Information

Guinea Pig Transferrin Receptor 1 Mediates Cellular Entry of Junin Virus and Other Pathogenic New World Arenaviruses.

Publications

Guinea Pig Transferrin Receptor 1 Mediates Cellular Entry of Junín Virus and Other Pathogenic New World Arenaviruses.

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