Irina N. Gavrilovskaya

Pathogenic and nonpathogenic hantaviruses differentially regulate endothelial cell responses

Hantaviruses cause two human diseases: hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). Hantaviruses infect human endothelial cells but cause little or no damage to the infected endothelium. We analyzed with Affymetrix DNA Arrays (Santa Clara, CA) the endothelial cell transcriptional responses directed by hantaviruses associated with HPS [New York-1 virus (NY-1V)], HFRS [Hantaan virus (HTNV)], or by a hantavirus not associated with human disease [Prospect Hill virus (PHV)]. Hantavirus infections induced 117 cellular genes and repressed 25 genes by >3-fold, 4 days postinfection (p.i.). Although >80% of cells were infected by each virus 1 day p.i., PHV induced or repressed 67 genes at this early time compared with three genes altered by HTNV or NY-1V. The early high-level induction of 24 IFN-stimulated genes by PHV (4- to 229-fold) represents a fundamental difference in the temporal regulation of cellular responses by pathogenic and nonpathogenic hantaviruses. Because all hantaviruses induced >23 IFN-stimulated genes at late times p.i., pathogenic hantaviruses appear to suppress early cellular IFN responses that are activated by nonpathogenic hantaviruses. At late times p.i., 13 genes were commonly induced by HTNV and NY-1V that were not induced by PHV. In contrast to NY-1V, HTNV uniquely induced a variety of chemokines and cell adhesion molecules (i.e., IL-8, IL-6, GRO-β, ICAM), as well as two complement cascade-associated factors that may contribute to immune components of HFRS disease. NY-1V failed to induce most cellular chemokines directed by HTNV (3/14) or genes primarily activated by NF-κB. However, NY-1V uniquely induced β3 integrin-linked potassium channels, which could play a role in HPS-associated vascular permeability. These studies provide a basic understanding of hantavirus-directed cellular responses that are likely to differentiate pathogenic and nonpathogenic hantaviruses, contribute to HFRS and HPS pathogenesis, and provide insight into disease mechanisms and potential therapeutic interventions.

The Pathogenic NY-1 Hantavirus G1 Cytoplasmic Tail Inhibits RIG-I- and TBK-1-Directed Interferon Responses

ABSTRACT Hantaviruses cause two diseases with prominent vascular permeability defects, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. All hantaviruses infect human endothelial cells, although it is unclear what differentiates pathogenic from nonpathogenic hantaviruses. We observed dramatic differences in interferon-specific transcriptional responses between pathogenic and nonpathogenic hantaviruses at 1 day postinfection, suggesting that hantavirus pathogenesis may in part be determined by viral regulation of cellular interferon responses. In contrast to pathogenic NY-1 virus (NY-1V) and Hantaan virus (HTNV), nonpathogenic Prospect Hill virus (PHV) elicits early interferon responses following infection of human endothelial cells. We determined that PHV replication is blocked in human endothelial cells and that RNA and protein synthesis by PHV, but not NY-1V or HTNV, is inhibited at 2 to 4 days postinfection. The addition of antibodies to beta interferon (IFN-β) blocked interferon-directed MxA induction by >90% and demonstrated that hantavirus infection induces the secretion of IFN-β from endothelial cells. Coinfecting endothelial cells with NY-1V and PHV resulted in a 60% decrease in the induction of interferon-responsive MxA transcripts by PHV and further suggested the potential for NY-1V to regulate early IFN responses. Expression of the NY-1V G1 cytoplasmic tail inhibited by >90% RIG-I- and downstream TBK-1-directed transcription from interferon-stimulated response elements or β-interferon promoters in a dose-dependent manner. In contrast, expression of the NY-1V nucleocapsid or PHV G1 tail had no effect on RIG-I- or TBK-1-directed transcriptional responses. Further, neither the NY-1V nor PHV G1 tails inhibited transcriptional responses directed by a constitutively active form of interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF-3 5D), and IRF-3 is a direct target of TBK-1 phosphorylation. These findings indicate that the pathogenic NY-1V G1 protein regulates cellular IFN responses upstream of IRF-3 phosphorylation at the level of the TBK-1 complex. These findings further suggest that the G1 cytoplasmic tail contains a virulence element which determines the ability of hantaviruses to bypass innate cellular immune responses and delineates a mechanism for pathogenic hantaviruses to successfully replicate within human endothelial cells.

Dynamics of Puumala hantavirus infection in naturally infected bank voles (Clethrinomys glareolus)

Summary Specific features of hantavirus infection in bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) were studied in the endemic area of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in the foothills of the Ural mountains, using long-term observations on living animals by the capture-mark-recapture (CMR) method. The results demonstrated that the infection naturally circulating in the voles is chronic (lasting for up to 15 months) and asymptomatic, with a peak of Puumala virus accumulation and release from the organism during the first month after infection. It was shown that the bank vole population includes young animals with maternal immunity, which remain resistant to the Puumala virus infection for 3–3.5 months. The infection rate in voles depended on the age and sexual maturity of animals. The greatest proportion of seropositive animals was observed among overwintered males. Seroconversion in voles was more frequent during the period of high reproductive activity.

Hantaviruses Direct Endothelial Cell Permeability by Sensitizing Cells to the Vascular Permeability Factor VEGF, while Angiopoietin 1 and Sphingosine 1-Phosphate Inhibit Hantavirus-Directed Permeability

ABSTRACT Hantaviruses infect human endothelial cells and cause two vascular permeability-based diseases: hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Hantavirus infection alone does not permeabilize endothelial cell monolayers. However, pathogenic hantaviruses inhibit the function of αvβ3 integrins on endothelial cells, and hemorrhagic disease and vascular permeability deficits are consequences of dysfunctional β3 integrins that normally regulate permeabilizing vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) responses. Here we show that pathogenic Hantaan, Andes, and New York-1 hantaviruses dramatically enhance the permeability of endothelial cells in response to VEGF, while the nonpathogenic hantaviruses Prospect Hill and Tula have no effect on endothelial cell permeability. Pathogenic hantaviruses directed endothelial cell permeability 2 to 3 days postinfection, coincident with pathogenic hantavirus inhibition of αvβ3 integrin functions, and hantavirus-directed permeability was inhibited by antibodies to VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2). These studies demonstrate that pathogenic hantaviruses, similar to αvβ3 integrin-deficient cells, specifically enhance VEGF-directed permeabilizing responses. Using the hantavirus permeability assay we further demonstrate that the endothelial-cell-specific growth factor angiopoietin 1 (Ang-1) and the platelet-derived lipid mediator sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) inhibit hantavirus directed endothelial cell permeability at physiologic concentrations. These results demonstrate the utility of a hantavirus permeability assay and rationalize the testing of Ang-1, S1P, and antibodies to VEGFR2 as potential hantavirus therapeutics. The central importance of β3 integrins and VEGF responses in vascular leak and hemorrhagic disease further suggest that altering β3 or VEGF responses may be a common feature of additional viral hemorrhagic diseases. As a result, our findings provide a potential mechanism for vascular leakage after infection by pathogenic hantaviruses and the means to inhibit hantavirus-directed endothelial cell permeability that may be applicable to additional vascular leak syndromes.

Hantavirus regulation of endothelial cell functions

Hantaviruses cause two vascular permeability-based diseases and primarily infect endothelial cells which form the primary fluid barrier of the vasculature. Since hantavirus infections are not lytic, the mechanisms by which hantaviruses cause haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) or Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) are indeterminate. HPS is associated with acute pulmonary oedema and HFRS with moderate haemorrhage and renal sequelae, perhaps reflecting the location of vast microvascular beds and endothelial cell reservoirs available for hantavirus infection. Endothelial cells regulate capillary integrity, and hantavirus infection provides a primary means for altering vascular permeability that contributes to pathogenesis. The central importance of endothelial cells in regulating oedema, vascular repair, angiogenesis, immune cell recruitment, platelet deposition as well as gas exchange and solute delivery suggest that a multitude of inputs and cellular responses may be influenced by hantavirus infection and contribute to pathogenic changes in vascular permeability. Here we focus on understanding hantavirus interactions with endothelial cells which are linked to vascular permeability, and provide insight into the contribution of endothelial cell responses in hantavirus pathogenesis.

Pathogenic hantaviruses selectively inhibit β3 integrin directed endothelial cell migration

Summary. Hantaviruses cause two diseases of man, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). Pathogenic and non-pathogenic hantaviruses use β3 and β1 integrins, respectively, to enter endothelial cells. β3 integrins were recently reported to bind receptors that regulate vascular permeability suggesting that hantavirus β3 integrin interactions may regulate endothelial cell function and contribute to viral pathogenesis. In this study we investigated the ability of pathogenic and non-pathogenic hantaviruses to regulate β3 and β1 integrin directed endothelial cell functions. We found that pathogenic NY-1, SNV, HTN, SEO and PUU viruses blocked endothelial cell migration on β3, but not β1, integrin ligands. Migration is similarly inhibited by antibodies to β3 integrins which selectively block vitronectin directed endothelial cell migration. As a result, the ability of endothelial cells to migrate on integrin ligands was selectively inhibited by only pathogenic hantaviruses. Infection by NY-1 virus inhibited endothelial cell migration as early as 24–48 h post-infection. In contrast, non-pathogenic PH and TUL viruses had no effect on the ability of endothelial cells to migrate on either β3 or β1 integrin ligands from 1 to 5 days post-infection. These findings indicate that only hantaviruses which use β3 integrins, and are associated with HPS and HFRS diseases, functionally dysregulate endothelial cell migration. These findings further demonstrate that hantaviruses regulate only β3 integrin directed endothelial cell functions and have no effect on β1 integrin functions. Since β3 integrins are linked to changes in vascular permeability and the maintenance of vascular integrity, these findings suggest a means by which hantavirus usage and regulation of β3 integrins may contribute to hantavirus pathogenesis.

The NY-1 Hantavirus Gn Cytoplasmic Tail Coprecipitates TRAF3 and Inhibits Cellular Interferon Responses by Disrupting TBK1-TRAF3 Complex Formation

ABSTRACT Pathogenic hantaviruses replicate within human endothelial cells and cause two diseases, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. In order to replicate in endothelial cells pathogenic hantaviruses inhibit the early induction of beta interferon (IFN-β). Expression of the cytoplasmic tail of the pathogenic NY-1 hantavirus Gn protein is sufficient to inhibit RIG-I- and TBK1-directed IFN responses. The formation of TBK1-TRAF3 complexes directs IRF-3 phosphorylation, and both IRF-3 and NF-κB activation are required for transcription from the IFN-β promoter. Here we report that the NY-1 virus (NY-1V) Gn tail inhibits both TBK1-directed NF-κB activation and TBK1-directed transcription from promoters containing IFN-stimulated response elements. The NY-1V Gn tail coprecipitated TRAF3 from cellular lysates, and analysis of TRAF3 deletion mutants demonstrated that the TRAF3 N terminus is sufficient for interacting with the NY-1V Gn tail. In contrast, the Gn tail of the nonpathogenic hantavirus Prospect Hill virus (PHV) failed to coprecipitate TRAF3 or inhibit NF-κB or IFN-β transcriptional responses. Further, expression of the NY-1V Gn tail blocked TBK1 coprecipitation of TRAF3 and infection by NY-1V, but not PHV, blocked the formation of TBK1-TRAF3 complexes. These findings indicate that the NY-1V Gn cytoplasmic tail forms a complex with TRAF3 which disrupts the formation of TBK1-TRAF3 complexes and downstream signaling responses required for IFN-β transcription.

Pathogenic Hantaviruses Direct the Adherence of Quiescent Platelets to Infected Endothelial Cells

ABSTRACT Hantavirus infections are noted for their ability to infect endothelial cells, cause acute thrombocytopenia, and trigger 2 vascular-permeability-based diseases. However, hantavirus infections are not lytic, and the mechanisms by which hantaviruses cause capillary permeability and thrombocytopenia are only partially understood. The role of β3 integrins in hemostasis and the inactivation of β3 integrin receptors by pathogenic hantaviruses suggest the involvement of hantaviruses in altered platelet and endothelial cell functions that regulate permeability. Here, we determined that pathogenic hantaviruses bind to quiescent platelets via a β3 integrin-dependent mechanism. This suggests that platelets may contribute to hantavirus dissemination within infected patients and provides a means by which hantavirus binding to β3 integrin receptors prevents platelet activation. The ability of hantaviruses to bind platelets further suggested that cell-associated hantaviruses might recruit platelets to the endothelial cell surface. Our findings indicate that Andes virus (ANDV)- or Hantaan virus (HTNV)-infected endothelial cells specifically direct the adherence of calcein-labeled platelets. In contrast, cells comparably infected with nonpathogenic Tula virus (TULV) failed to recruit platelets to the endothelial cell surface. Platelet adherence was dependent on endothelial cell β3 integrins and neutralized by the addition of the anti-β3 Fab fragment, c7E3, or specific ANDV- or HTNV-neutralizing antibodies. These findings indicate that pathogenic hantaviruses displayed on the surface of infected endothelial cells bind platelets and that a platelet layer covers the surface of infected endothelial cells. This fundamentally changes the appearance of endothelial cells and has the potential to alter cellular immune responses, platelet activation, and endothelial cell functions that affect vascular permeability. Hantavirus-directed platelet quiescence and recruitment to vast endothelial cell beds further suggests mechanisms by which hantaviruses may cause thrombocytopenia and induce hypoxia. These findings are fundamental to our understanding of pathogenic-hantavirus regulation of endothelial cell responses that contribute to vascular permeability.

Genetic variation of wild Puumala viruses within the serotype, local rodent populations and individual animal

Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction cloning and sequencing were used to determine the range of S gene/N protein variability in wild Puumala virus (PUU) strains and to study phylogenetic relationships between two groups of strains which originated from Finland and from European Russia. Analyses of the nucleotide and predicted amino acid sequences showed: (1) all PUU strains shared a common ancient ancestor; and (2) the more recent ancestors were different for the Finnish branch and the Russian branch of PUU strains. A cluster of amino acid substitutions in the N protein of Finnish strains was found; this cluster was located within a highly variable region of the molecule carrying B-cell epitopes (Vapalahti et al., J. Med. Virol., 1995, in press). Different levels of S gene/N protein diversity of PUU were revealed supporting the view of geographical clustering of genetic variants. Puumala virus from individual voles was found to be a complex mixture of closely related variants-quasispecies. The ratio of non-silent to silent nucleotide mutations registered in the S genes/N proteins of PUU quasispecies was 4- to 16-fold higher than that in Puumala virus strains, resulting in a more wide range of quasispecies N protein sequence diversity.

Pathogenic hantaviruses Andes virus and Hantaan virus induce adherens junction disassembly by directing vascular endothelial cadherin internalization in human endothelial cells.

ABSTRACT Hantaviruses infect endothelial cells and cause 2 vascular permeability-based diseases. Pathogenic hantaviruses enhance the permeability of endothelial cells in response to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). However, the mechanism by which hantaviruses hyperpermeabilize endothelial cells has not been defined. The paracellular permeability of endothelial cells is uniquely determined by the homophilic assembly of vascular endothelial cadherin (VE-cadherin) within adherens junctions, which is regulated by VEGF receptor-2 (VEGFR2) responses. Here, we investigated VEGFR2 phosphorylation and the internalization of VE-cadherin within endothelial cells infected by pathogenic Andes virus (ANDV) and Hantaan virus (HTNV) and nonpathogenic Tula virus (TULV) hantaviruses. We found that VEGF addition to ANDV- and HTNV-infected endothelial cells results in the hyperphosphorylation of VEGFR2, while TULV infection failed to increase VEGFR2 phosphorylation. Concomitant with the VEGFR2 hyperphosphorylation, VE-cadherin was internalized to intracellular vesicles within ANDV- or HTNV-, but not TULV-, infected endothelial cells. Addition of angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) or sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) to ANDV- or HTNV-infected cells blocked VE-cadherin internalization in response to VEGF. These findings are consistent with the ability of Ang-1 and S1P to inhibit hantavirus-induced endothelial cell permeability. Our results suggest that pathogenic hantaviruses disrupt fluid barrier properties of endothelial cell adherens junctions by enhancing VEGFR2-VE-cadherin pathway responses which increase paracellular permeability. These results provide a pathway-specific mechanism for the enhanced permeability of hantavirus-infected endothelial cells and suggest that stabilizing VE-cadherin within adherens junctions is a primary target for regulating endothelial cell permeability during pathogenic hantavirus infection.