Project description:Airborne transmissibility of avian influenza viruses (AIVs) in humans is considered an essential component to their pandemic risk. While several viral factors regulating airborne transmission (AT) have been delineated, it is not known what, if any, responses at the respiratory epithelia are determinant of AIV AT. Using responses in the ferret nasal epithelium to a panel of H1N1 AIVs, here we describe host responses that segregate with AT phenotypes. AIV infection upregulated interferon alpha and gamma responses, IL-6 JAK-STAT signaling and downregulated oxidative phosphorylation. Single cell transcriptomics revealed that cellular genotoxic stress, NF-kB, interferon and cell fate pathways differentiated host responses to AIVs with different transmissibility. These responses culminated in greater AIV antigen-containing exudate and debris in the respiratory spaces of the nasal epithelium of ferrets inoculated with AT AIVs. More abundant CMPK2, SP100 and CXCL10 transcription in infected epithelia were a hallmark of AT viruses. Overall, our study reveals host responses associated with AIV infection and transmission in the nasal epithelium, the determinant anatomical site of influenza virus transmission.
Project description:Airborne transmissibility of avian influenza viruses (AIVs) in humans is considered an essential component to their pandemic risk. While several viral factors regulating airborne transmission (AT) have been delineated, it is not known what, if any, responses at the respiratory epithelia are determinant of AIV AT. Using responses in the ferret nasal epithelium to a panel of H1N1 AIVs, here we describe host responses that segregate with AT phenotypes (DE300 and DE256 were AT and DE558 and DE213 were not AT). AIV infection upregulated interferon alpha and gamma responses, IL-6 JAK-STAT signaling and downregulated oxidative phosphorylation. Single cell transcriptomics revealed that cellular genotoxic stress, NF-kB, interferon and cell fate pathways differentiated host responses to AIVs with different transmissibility. These responses culminated in greater AIV antigen-containing exudate and debris in the respiratory spaces of the nasal epithelium of ferrets inoculated with AT AIVs. More abundant CMPK2, SP100 and CXCL10 transcription in infected epithelia were a hallmark of AT viruses. Overall, our study reveals host responses associated with AIV infection and transmission in the nasal epithelium, the determinant anatomical site of influenza virus transmission.
Project description:The determinants of influenza transmission remain poorly understood. Swine influenza viruses preferentially attach to receptors found in the upper airways; however, most swine influenza viruses fail to transmit efficiently from swine to humans, and from human-to-human. The pandemic 2009 H1N1 (H1N1pdm) virus was a rare exception of a swine virus that acquired efficient transmissibility from human-to-human, and is reflected in efficient respiratory droplet transmission in ferrets. We hypothesize that virus-induced host responses in the upper airways correlate with airborne transmission in ferrets. To address this question, we used the H1N1pdm virus and swine influenza A/swine/Hong Kong/201/2010 (HK201) virus that has comparable titre in the ferret nasopharynx, but it exhibits differential transmissibility in ferrets via respiratory droplet route. We performed a transcriptomic analysis of tissues from the upper and lower respiratory tract from ferrets infected with either H1N1pdm or HK201 viruses using ferret-specific Agilent oligonucleotide arrays. We found differences in the kinetics of the innate immune response elicited by these two viruses that varied across tissues.
Project description:RNA viruses are a major threat to global human health. The life cycles of many highly pathogenic RNA viruses like influenza A virus (IAV) and Lassa virus depends on host mRNA, as viral polymerases cleave 5′m7G-capped host transcripts to prime viral mRNA synthesis (‘cap-snatching’). We hypothesized that start codons within cap-snatched host transcripts could drive the expression of chimeric human-viral coding sequences. Here, we report the existence of this mechanism of gene origination (‘start-snatching’), which creates, depending on the translatability of the viral UTRs, human-virus protein chimeras either as N-terminally extended viral proteins or entirely novel polypeptides by genetic overprinting. We show that both types of chimeric proteins are made in IAV-infected cells, can generate T cell responses and contribute to virulence. Our results indicate that IAV, and likely a multitude of other human-, animal- and plant-viruses, use this host-dependent mechanism to expand their proteome diversity during infection.
Project description:Ixodes species ticks are competent vectors of tick-borne viruses including tick-borne encephalitis and Powassan encephalitis. Tick saliva has been shown to facilitate and enhance viral infection. This likely occurs by saliva-mediated modulation of host responses into patterns favorable for viral infection and dissemination. Because of the rapid kinetics of tick-borne viral transmission, this modulation must occur as early as tick attachment and initiation of feeding. In this study, the gene expression profile of cutaneous bite-site lesions created by uninfected ticks were analyzed at 1, 3, 6, and 12 hours after Ixodes scapularis nymphal tick attachment to discover host pathways or responses potentially important in tick-borne viral establishment. Four milimeter ear biopsies from BALB/cJ mice infested with Ixodes scapularis nymphs were assayed using Affymetrix genechip 430A 2.0 arrays at 1, 3, 6, and 12 hours after infestation during a primary exposure. 3 mice were measured at each time point. Controls were 3 similarly housed but tick-free mice.
Project description:Plant viruses rely on both host plant and vectors for a successful infection. This study investigated the global transcriptomic changes in Arabidopsis thaliana that were simultaneously exposed to both a plant virus (turnip yellows virus, polerovirus genus and Solemoviridae family) and its aphid vector (Myzus persicae). Some of these modifications in gene expression may promote in a timely manner viral transmission and dispersion.
Project description:Ixodes species ticks are competent vectors of tick-borne viruses including tick-borne encephalitis and Powassan encephalitis. Tick saliva has been shown to facilitate and enhance viral infection. This likely occurs by saliva-mediated modulation of host responses into patterns favorable for viral infection and dissemination. Because of the rapid kinetics of tick-borne viral transmission, this modulation must occur as early as tick attachment and initiation of feeding. In this study, the gene expression profile of cutaneous bite-site lesions created by uninfected ticks were analyzed at 1, 3, 6, and 12 hours after Ixodes scapularis nymphal tick attachment to discover host pathways or responses potentially important in tick-borne viral establishment.
Project description:Bats can host viruses of pandemic concern without developing disease. The mechanisms underlying their exceptional resilience to viral infections are largely unresolved, necessitating the development of physiologically relevant and genetically tractable research models. Here, we developed respiratory and intestinal organoids that recapitulated the cellular diversity of the in vivo epithelium present in Rousettus aegyptiacus, the natural reservoir for the highly pathogenic Marburg virus (MARV). In contrast to human counterparts, bat organoids and mucosal tissue exhibited elevated constitutive expression of innate immune effectors, including type I interferon (IFNε) and IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs). Upon infection with diverse zoonotic viruses, including MARV, bat organoids strongly induced type I and III IFN responses, which conferred robust antiviral protection. Type III IFNλ-3 additionally displayed virus-independent self-amplification, acting as an ISG to enhance antiviral immunity. Our organoid platform reveals key features of bat epithelial antiviral immunity that may inform therapeutic strategies for viral disease resilience.
Project description:Mosquitoes transmit many flaviviruses of global public health significance. Efficient viral transmission to mammalian hosts requires mosquito salivary factors that modulate local host responses, such as recruitment of virus-permissive myeloid cells to the bite sites. However, the specific salivary components facilitating viral transmission and their mechanisms of action remain largely unknown. Here, we showed that a female mosquito salivary gland-specific protein, named Aedes aegypti Neutrophil Recruitment Protein (AaNRP), acts as a key salivary component to facilitate the transmission of Zika (ZIKV) and dengue (DENV) viruses. AaNRP promotes a rapid influx of neutrophils followed by virus-susceptible myeloid cells toward mosquito bite sites, which facilitate establishment of local infection and systemic dissemination. Mechanistically, AaNRP engages TLR1 and TLR4 of skin resident macrophages and activates MyD88-dependent NF-κB signaling to induce the expression of neutrophil chemoattractants. Inhibition of MyD88-NF-κB with dietary resveratrol, a phytochemical, neutralizes the AaNRP effects, thus reducing flavivirus transmission by mosquitoes. This study offers mechanistic insight into saliva-aided viral transmission and provides a potential prophylactic target.