Chul Joong Kim

The Polymerase Acidic Protein Gene of Influenza A Virus Contributes to Pathogenicity in a Mouse Model

ABSTRACT Adaptation of influenza A viruses to a new host species usually involves the mutation of one or more of the eight viral gene segments, and the molecular basis for host range restriction is still poorly understood. To investigate the molecular changes that occur during adaptation of a low-pathogenic avian influenza virus subtype commonly isolated from migratory birds to a mammalian host, we serially passaged the avirulent wild-bird H5N2 strain A/Aquatic bird/Korea/W81/05 (W81) in the lungs of mice. The resulting mouse-adapted strain (ma81) was highly virulent (50% mouse lethal dose = 2.6 log10 50% tissue culture infective dose) and highly lethal. Nonconserved mutations were observed in six viral genes (those for PB2, PB1, PA, HA, NA, and M). Reverse genetic experiments substituting viral genes and mutations demonstrated that the PA gene was a determinant of the enhanced virulence in mice and that a Thr-to-Iso substitution at position 97 of PA played a key role. In growth kinetics studies, ma81 showed enhanced replication in mammalian but not avian cell lines; the PA97I mutation in strain W81 increased its replicative fitness in mice but not in chickens. The high virulence associated with the PA97I mutation in mice corresponded to considerably enhanced polymerase activity in mammalian cells. Furthermore, this characteristic mutation is not conserved among avian influenza viruses but is prevalent among mouse-adapted strains, indicating a host-dependent mutation. To our knowledge, this is the first study that the isoleucine residue at position 97 in PA plays a key role in enhanced virulence in mice and is implicated in the adaptation of avian influenza viruses to mammalian hosts.

Oral Administration of High Molecular Mass Poly-γ-Glutamate Induces NK Cell-Mediated Antitumor Immunity

We analyzed the in vivo tumor regression activity of high molecular mass poly-γ-glutamate (γ-PGA) from Bacillus subtilis sups. chungkookjang. C57BL/6 mice were orally administered 10-, 100-, or 2000-kDa γ-PGA or β-glucan (positive control), and antitumor immunity was examined. Our results revealed higher levels of NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity and IFN-γ secretion in mice treated with higher molecular mass γ-PGA (2000 kDa) vs those treated with lower molecular mass γ-PGA (10 or 100 kDa) or β-glucan. We then examined the effect of oral administration of 10- or 2000-kDa γ-PGA on protection against B16 tumor challenge in C57BL/6 mice. Mice receiving high molecular mass γ-PGA (2000 kDa) showed significantly smaller tumor sizes following challenge with the MHC class I-down-regulated tumor cell lines, B16 and TC-1 P3 (A15), but not with TC-1 cells, which have normal MHC class I expression. Lastly, we found that γ-PGA-induced antitumor effect was decreased by in vivo depletion of NK cells using mAb PK136 or anti-asialo GM1 Ab, and that was completely blocked in NK cell-deficient B6 beige mice or IFN-γ knockout mice. Taken together, we demonstrated that oral administration of high molecular mass γ-PGA (2000 kDa) generated significant NK cell-mediated antitumor activity in mice bearing MHC class I-deficient tumors.

Virulence and Genetic Compatibility of Polymerase Reassortant Viruses Derived from the Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Influenza Virus and Circulating Influenza A Viruses

ABSTRACT Gene mutations and reassortment are key mechanisms by which influenza A virus acquires virulence factors. To evaluate the role of the viral polymerase replication machinery in producing virulent pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza viruses, we generated various polymerase point mutants (PB2, 627K/701N; PB1, expression of PB1-F2 protein; and PA, 97I) and reassortant viruses with various sources of influenza viruses by reverse genetics. Although the point mutations produced no significant change in pathogenicity, reassortment between the pandemic A/California/04/09 (CA04, H1N1) and current human and animal influenza viruses produced variants possessing a broad spectrum of pathogenicity in the mouse model. Although most polymerase reassortants had attenuated pathogenicity (including those containing seasonal human H3N2 and high-pathogenicity H5N1 virus segments) compared to that of the parental CA04 (H1N1) virus, some recombinants had significantly enhanced virulence. Unexpectedly, one of the five highly virulent reassortants contained a A/Swine/Korea/JNS06/04(H3N2)-like PB2 gene with no known virulence factors; the other four had mammalian-passaged avian-like genes encoding PB2 featuring 627K, PA featuring 97I, or both. Overall, the reassorted polymerase complexes were only moderately compatible for virus rescue, probably because of disrupted molecular interactions involving viral or host proteins. Although we observed close cooperation between PB2 and PB1 from similar virus origins, we found that PA appears to be crucial in maintaining viral gene functions in the context of the CA04 (H1N1) virus. These observations provide helpful insights into the pathogenic potential of reassortant influenza viruses composed of the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza virus and prevailing human or animal influenza viruses that could emerge in the future.

Active reassortment of H9 influenza viruses between wild birds and live-poultry markets in Korea.

Surveillance of H9 avian influenza viruses in Korean live-poultry markets from September 2004 through October 2007 was carried out to investigate active reassortment between wild migratory birds and domestic poultry in Korea. Antigenic and phylogenetic analyses showed that most of the isolates belong to the previous Korean H9N2-like lineage and differ from the southeastern Chinese strains. Interestingly, the Ck/Korea/LPM77/06 group (genotype B) and Dk/Korea/LPM248/07 group (genotype C) showed unique properties distinct from those of other Korean H9N2 strains. Although the HA genes of these two groups belong to Korean H9N2-like lineage, the PA genes closely resemble those of the Chinese Y280-like lineage. In addition, the PB2 genes of the Dk/Korea/LPM248/07 group were closely related to those isolated from migratory birds. Several other isolates also clustered within the H9N2 B genotype, an indication that there are at least two predominant H9N2 influenza genotypes in Korea. Another isolate, Dk/Korea/LPM71/06, was identified as an H9N1 subtype, the first ever discovered in Korean live-poultry markets. These findings reveal that reassortment of Korean H9 influenza viruses has occurred frequently in live-poultry markets and may have been mediated by introduction of genetic material from viruses circulating among migratory wild birds to domestic birds. Consequently, the new dominant H9N2 genotypes have become established in Korean live-poultry markets through continued reassortment.

Emergence of H3N2pM-like and novel reassortant H3N1 swine viruses possessing segments derived from the A (H1N1)pdm09 influenza virus, Korea

Human‐to‐swine transmission of the pandemic H1N1 2009 [A(H1N1)pdm09] virus in pig populations resulted in reassortment events with endemic swine influenza viruses worldwide.

Identification of hepatitis C virus core domain inducing suppression of allostimulatory capacity of dendritic cells

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is remarkably efficient at establishing chronic infection. One of the reasons for this appears to be the suppression of the accessory cell function of professional antigen presenting cells. In the present study, the immunosuppressive activity of HCV protein was examined on dendritic cells (DCs) generated from mouse bone marrow progenitor cellsin vitro. We found that the DCs forced to express HCV protein have defective allostimulatory ability. DCs expressing HCV protein were phenotypically indistinguishable from normal DCs. However, they were unable to produce IL-12 effectively when stimulated with lipopolysaccharide. The functional domain of the HCV protein essential for immunosuppression was determined using a series of NH2-and C-terminal deletion mutants of HCV core protein. We found that amino acid residues residing between the 21st and the 40th residues from the NH2-terminus of HCV core protein are required for immunosuppression. These findings suggest that HCV core protein suppresses the elicitation of protective Th1 responses by the inhibition of IL-12 production by DCs.

Altered virulence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N8 reassortant viruses in mammalian models

ABSTRACT Recently identified highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N8 viruses (clade 2.3.4.4) are relatively low to moderately pathogenic in mammalian hosts compared with HPAI H5N1 viruses. In this study, we generated reassortant viruses comprised of A/MD/Korea/W452/2014(H5N8) with substitution of individual genes from A/EM/Korea/W149/2006(H5N1) to understand the contribution of each viral gene to virulence in mammals. Substituting the PB2 gene segment or the NA gene segment of the H5N8 virus by that from the H5N1 virus resulted in significantly enhanced pathogenicity compared with the parental H5N8 virus in mice. Of note, substitution of the PB2 gene segment of the H5N8 virus by that from the H5N1 virus resulted in a 1000-fold increase in virulence for mice compared with the parental virus (MLD50 decreased from 105.8 to 102.5 EID50). Further, the W452W149PB2 virus also induced the highest virus titers in lungs at all time points and the highest levels of inflammatory cytokine responses among all viruses tested. This high virulence phenotype was also confirmed by high viral titers in the respiratory tracts of infected ferrets. Further, a mini-genome assay revealed that W452W149PB2 has significantly increased polymerase activity (p < 0.001). Taken together, our study demonstrates that a single gene substitution from other avian influenza viruses can alter the pathogenicity of recent H5N8 viruses, and therefore emphasizes the need for intensive monitoring of reassortment events among co-circulating avian and mammalian viruses.

Early Regulation of Viral Infection Reduces Inflammation and Rescues Mx-Positive Mice from Lethal Avian Influenza Infection

Differing sensitivity of influenza A viruses to antiviral effects of the Myxovirus resistance (Mx) protein implies varying global gene expression profiles in the host. The role of Mx protein during lethal avian influenza (AI) virus infection was examined using Mx1-deficient C57BL/6 (B6-Mx1(-/-)) and congenic Mx1-expressing (B6-Mx1(+/+)) mice infected with a virulent, mouse-adapted avian H5N2 Ab/Korea/ma81/07 (Av/ma81) virus. After infection, B6-Mx1(+/+) mice were completely protected from lethal AI-induced mortality, and exhibited attenuated clinical disease and reduced viral titers and pathology in the lungs, compared with B6-Mx1(-/-) mice. Transcriptional profiling of lung tissues revealed that most of the genes up-regulated after infection are involved in activation of the immune response and host defense. Notably, more abundant and sustained expression of cytokine/chemokine genes was observed up to 3 dpi in B6-Mx1(-/-) mice, and this was associated with excessive induction of cytokines and chemokines. Consequently, massive infiltration of macrophages/monocytes and granulocytes into lung resulted in severe viral pneumonia and potentially contributed to decreased survival of B6-Mx1(-/-) mice. Taken together, our data show that dysregulated gene transcriptional activity corresponded to persistent induction of cytokine/chemokines and recruitment of cytokine-producing cells that promote inflammation in B6-Mx1(-/-) mouse lungs. Thus, we provide additional evidence of the interplay of genetic, molecular, and cellular correlates governed by the Mx1 protein that critically determine disease outcome during lethal AI virus infection.

Cross-protective efficacies of highly-pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 vaccines against a recent H5N8 virus.

To investigate cross-protective vaccine efficacy of highly-pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 viruses against a recent HPAI H5N8 virus, we immunized C57BL/6 mice and ferrets with three alum-adjuvanted inactivated whole H5N1 vaccines developed through reverse-genetics (Rg): [Vietnam/1194/04xPR8 (clade 1), Korea/W149/06xPR8 (clade 2.2), and Korea/ES223N/03xPR8 (clade 2.5)]. Although relatively low cross-reactivities (10-40 HI titer) were observed against heterologous H5N8 virus, immunized animals were 100% protected from challenge with the 20 mLD50 of H5N8 virus, with the exception of mice vaccinated with 3.5μg of Rg Vietnam/1194/04xPR8. Of note, the Rg Korea/ES223N/03xPR8 vaccine provided not only effective protection, but also markedly inhibited viral replication in the lungs and nasal swabs of vaccine recipients within five days of HPAI H5N8 virus challenge. Further, we demonstrated that antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) of an antibody-coated target cell by cytotoxic effector cells also plays a role in the heterologous protection of H5N1 vaccines against H5N8 challenge.

Erratum: Dynamic changes in host gene expression associated with H5N8 avian influenza virus infection in mice (Scientific Reports (2015) 5 (16512) DOI: 10.1038/srep16512)

In Table 2, the number of genes associated with 1, 3 and 7 dpi were incorrectly presented. The correct Table 2 appears below as Table 1. In addition, the Figure labels were omitted in Figures 4 and 5. The correct Figures 4 and 5 appear below as Figs 1 and 2 respectively. And lastly, the Acknowledgements section is incomplete.