Prognostic value of antibodies to Merkel cell polyomavirus T antigens and VP1 protein in patients with Merkel cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) is the main aetiological agent of Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). Serum antibodies against the major MCPyV capsid protein (VP1) are detected in the general population, whereas antibodies against MCPyV oncoproteins (T antigens) have been reported specifically in patients with MCC. OBJECTIVES: The primary aim was to assess whether detection of serum antibodies against MCPyV proteins at baseline was associated with disease outcome in patients with MCC. The secondary aim was to establish whether evolution of these antibodies during follow-up was associated with the course of the disease. METHODS: Serum T-antigen and VP1 antibodies were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using recombinant proteins in a cohort of 143 patients with MCC, including 84 patients with serum samples available at baseline. RESULTS: Low titres of VP1 antibodies at baseline (< 10 000) were significantly and independently associated with increased risk of recurrence [hazard ratio (HR) 2·71, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1·13-6·53, P = 0·026] and death (HR 3·74, 95% CI 1·53-9·18, P = 0·004), whereas T-antigen antibodies were not found to be associated with outcome. VP1 antibodies did not differ between patients in remission and those with recurrence or progression during follow-up. However, T-antigen antibodies were more frequently detected in patients with recurrence or progression at 12 months (P = 0·020) and 24 months (P = 0·016) after diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: VP1 antibodies constitute a prognostic marker at baseline, whereas T-antigen antibodies constitute a marker of disease recurrence or progression if detected > 12 months after diagnosis.

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with greater tumor size and poorer outcome in Merkel cell carcinoma patients.

BACKGROUND: Merkel cell polyomavirus has been recognized to be associated with Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), but the evolution of this cancer probably depends on various factors. Vitamin D deficiency, defined by serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <50 nmol/L, seems to influence cancer behavior and progression, but has never been assessed in MCC patients. OBJECTIVES: First, to evaluate whether vitamin D deficiency was associated with tumor characteristics and prognosis in a cohort of MCC patients. Second, to assess expression of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) in MCC tumors. METHODS: Clinical findings, Merkel cell polyomavirus markers and vitamin D status were assessed in a cohort of French MCC patients. The study was limited to the 89 patients for whom the serum sample had been collected within 3 years after the diagnosis of MCC. Correlation between vitamin D deficiency and MCC characteristics and outcome were determined in regression analyses. VDR expression in MCC tumours was assessed by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Vitamin D deficiency was noted in 65.1% of the patients and was independently associated with greater tumor size at diagnosis (P = 0.006) and with metastasis recurrence (HR, 2.89; 95% CI, 1.03 to 8.13; P = 0.043), but not with death from MCC, although there was a trend (HR, 5.28; 95% CI, 0.75 to 36.96; P = 0.093). VDR was found to be strongly expressed in all 28 MCC tumor specimens investigated. CONCLUSION: The association between vitamin D deficiency and MCC characteristics and outcome, together with detection of the VDR in MCC cells, suggest that vitamin D could influence the biology of MCC.

PrPSc accumulation in myocytes from sheep incubating natural scrapie.

Because variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans probably results from consumption of products contaminated with tissue from animals with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, whether infectious prion protein is present in ruminant muscles is a crucial question. Here we show that experimentally and naturally scrapie-affected sheep accumulate the prion protein PrP(Sc) in a myocyte subset. In naturally infected sheep, PrP(Sc) is detectable in muscle several months before clinical disease onset. The relative amounts of PrP(Sc) suggest a 5,000-fold lower infectivity for muscle as compared to brain.

Unexpected high testis-specific transcriptional activity of the cyclin T1 promoter in transgenic mice.

The ubiquitously expressed cyclin T1 gene encodes for a protein involved in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) transcription activation. The goat gene was recently shown to share an expression pattern similar to that of its endogenous counterpart when incorporated into mice using a BAC insert. To assess if its promoter could target ubiquitous expression of the bovine Prnp in transgenic mice, two constructs carrying either 1 or 30 kb of cyclin T1 5'-flanking sequences were built and microinjected. Both constructs resulted in the unexpected high male germ cell-specific expression of the prion protein. These data re-question the suspected location of the cyclin T1 gene regulatory elements.

Enteric coronavirus TGEV: partial sequence of the genomic RNA, its organization and expression.

The sequence of the 3'-most 8300 nucleotides of the genome RNA of the Purdue-115 strain of the transmissible gastroenteritis virus TGEV, a porcine coronavirus, was determined from cDNA clones. The available sequence corresponds to the part of the genome (total length greater than 20 kb) expressed through subgenomic mRNAs. The 5 subgenomic and the genomic RNA species detected in TGEV-infected cells form a 3'-coterminal 'nested' structure, a unique feature of Coronaviridae. The transcription initiation site of the TGEV subgenomic RNAs appears to involve the hexameric sequence 5'CTAAAC, which is present upstream from each coding region. In addition to the previously identified genes encoding the three structural proteins, E2, E1 and N, two regions, X1 and X2, corresponding to the non-overlapping portion of mRNAs 4 and 3, may code for so far unidentified non-structural polypeptides. The predicted X1 polypeptide (9.2 kDa) is highly hydrophobic. The sequence of the X2 region allows the translation of two non-overlapping products, i.e., X2a (7.7 kDa) and X2b (18.8 kDa). No RNA species liable to express the extreme 3' open reading frame X3 was found.

Carbohydrate-induced conformational changes strongly modulate the antigenicity of coronavirus TGEV glycoproteins S and M.

The carbohydrate composition and the immunoreactivity of the S and M glycoproteins of the coronavirus TGEV were studied at different stages of their maturation. The biosynthesis of S and M was analyzed in the presence of tunicamycin and monensin. The effect of treatment with endoglycosidases H and F and glycopeptidase F on the precursors and mature forms of S and M were also examined. Species 175K and 29K were characterized as high mannose forms of S and M, respectively, and species 220K and 30-36K as complex type glycosylated forms of these two proteins. M was present mainly as a 29K species in mature virions whereas the 175K form of S was not detected, thus implying that the two proteins undergo Golgi modifications at a far different efficiency. Anti-S and -M monoclonal antibodies were examined for their reactivity towards polypeptide species either treated with endo H or produced in the presence of tunicamycin. It was found that (i) among the four major antigenic sites previously defined (Delmas et al., 1986), only site C (amino acids 363 to 371) was notably expressed by the unglycosylated S polypeptide 155K, whereas the three other sites were dependent upon core-glycosylation, (ii) three of the four anti-M mAbs tested did not recognize the unglycosylated M polypeptide 26K. These data led us to conclude that co-translational, but not terminal glycosylation is an essential requirement for both acquisition and maintenance of the antigenicity of TGEV glycoproteins.

Molecular biology of transmissible gastroenteritis virus.

The causative agent (TGEV) of porcine transmissible gastroenteritis belongs to the Coronaviridae, a family of enveloped viruses with a positive, single-stranded RNA genome. Important progress has recently been made concerning the molecular biology of TGEV. The research work of our group has been focused on two main aspects: genome structure and functional domains of the envelope proteins. TGEV genomic RNA is organised into seven regions. The sequence of six of them, i.e. the 3' most 8300 nucleotides, has been established from cDNA clones. Three genes encoding the structural proteins, the peplomer protein E2, the transmembrane protein E1 and the nucleoprotein, have been identified. Additional open reading frames allowed for the prediction of four non-structural polypeptides, the role of which remains to be discovered. The remaining part of the genome (estimated length 20 kb) is thought to encode the polymerase. Expression of TGEV genes involves the production of six subgenomic mRNAs, which together with the virion RNA, form a 3' terminal nested set. The peplomer glycoprotein E2 (220 kDa) is 1431 residues long and highly glycosylated. Several domains were identified, including a C-terminal anchoring region and at least four major antigenic sites, which cluster in the amino half part of the molecule. Two sites containing most of the critical neutralisation determinants are highly conserved among TGEV strains. The glycoprotein E1 (29kDa) is mostly embedded in the membrane and plays a crucial role in the virion architecture. However, a short N-terminal domain protruding out of the particle mediates complement-dependent neutralisation, and induces alpha interferon synthesis, likely through a direct interaction with the lymphocyte membrane.

Establishment of astrocyte cell lines from sheep genetically susceptible to scrapie.

Primary cultures of the brain from sheep embryos were used to establish cell lines after transfection by the simian virus 40 (SV40) large T gene. Two of the lines (A15 and 4A6) displayed astroglial properties. They expressed the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), intermediate filament protein vimentin, and S-100 (beta-subunit) protein. While numerous rodent and human glial cell lines are available, this is to our knowledge the first description of ovine cell lines with astrocyte features. In addition, these cell lines were derived from sheep embryos chosen for their genetic susceptibility to scrapie (PrP genotype: VV136, QQ171). Therefore, they could be attractive tissue culture models for the study of propagation and pathogenesis of the scrapie agent ex vivo.

Recombinant expression of the TGEV membrane glycoprotein M.

We have previously shown that the membrane protein M of TGEV is involved in efficient induction of alpha interferon (IFN alpha) synthesis by non-immune peripheral blood mononuclear cells incubated with fixed, TGEV-infected cells or inactivated virions. In order to determine whether M protein is able to induce interferon in the absence of other viral factors, we expressed the protein either stably in the porcine ST cells or transiently in the simian COS7 cells. Although showing no obvious difference in intracellular localization or glycosylation compared to its viral counterpart, the recombinant molecule failed to induce significant IFN activity.

Is the sialic acid binding activity of the S protein involved in the enteropathogenicity of transmissible gastroenteritis virus?

Transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) is able to recognize sialic acid on sialo-glycoconjugates. Analysis of mutants indicated that single point mutations in the S protein (around amino acids 145-155) of TGEV may result both in the loss of the sialic acid binding activity and in a drastic reduction of the enteropathogenicity. From this observation we conclude that the sialic acid binding activity is involved in the enteropathogenicity of TGEV. On the basis of our recent results we propose that binding of sialylated macromolecules to the virions surface may increase virus stability. This in turn would explain how TGEV as an enveloped virus can survive the gastrointestinal passage and cause intestinal infections.

Overexpression of TGEV cell receptor impairs the production of virus particles.

The porcine aminopeptidase-N (pAPN) is the cellular receptor for the transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) due to the specific binding of the spike protein S to APN. In the present study, we performed both biological and biochemical experiments to analyze how the level of expression of a virus receptor can influence the viral protein biosynthesis and the virus production. We generated two swine testis cell clones overexpressing pAPN (ST-APN clones). These clones produced 10(4) less infectious virus than control ST cells. Plaque assays revealed a four-fold reduction of the diameter of the plaques in ST-APN cells compared to ST cells. Pulse-chase experiments revealed that S transport from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi apparatus was not affected in ST-APN cells. Additionally, an anti-APN antibody was able to increase the virus released in the supernatant of ST-APN cells. Likewise, BHK clones expressing variable amounts of pAPN were shown to acquire TGEV susceptibility and to produce infectious particles as an inverse function of their level of pAPN expression. In contrast, MDCK clones expressing low or large amounts of pAPN failed to produce infectious particles. Taken together, these studies strongly suggest that overexpression of receptor, but also other(s) undetermined factor(s), can impair the production of viral particles.

Genome organization of porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus.

In order to study the organization of the genome of porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus (PEDV), we constructed a cDNA library in a phage expression vector by using poly(A) RNA from PEDV-infected Vero cells. An anti-PEDV hyperimmune serum was used to probe the library. The first isolated clone mapped within the N gene and was subsequently used for rescreening the library. The selected clones allowed us to establish the sequence of the 3'-most 7.4 kb of the PEDV genome. Analysis of the cDNA sequences revealed a 3'-coterminal nested structure, which is typical of Coronaviridae and the presence of a hexameric sequence XUA(A/G)AC upstream of each coding region. The amino acid sequences deduced from four of the five ORFs identified showed the characteristic features of the structural proteins S, M, sM and N. Only one ORF located between the S and M genes was found to potentially encode a non-structural polypeptide. Our data lead us to conclude that PEDV is a member of Coronaviridae and belongs to the same genetic subset as TGEV, FIPV and HCV 229E.

Obtention of porcine aminopeptidase-n transgenic mice and analysis of their susceptibility to transmissible gastroenteritis virus.

To obtain a laboratory animal model for transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) infection, transgenic mice (Tg) were produced by introducing two porcine aminopeptidase-n (APN) cDNA-derived constructs into the mouse genome. In the first construct, the APN cDNA was fused in 5' with the 1 kb upstream region of the APN gene and in 3' with the SV40 small intron and polyadenylation site. In the second construct, the 5' end of the APN cDNA was replaced by the corresponding domain of the APN gene comprising the three first introns, an additional intron (the rabbit beta-like globine intron 2) was inserted at the 3' extremity of the construct and the resulting DNA stretch was placed under the control of the rat intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (I-FABP) gene promoter. Transgenes were obtained with these two constructs, and RNA expression was evidenced by RT-PCR with the second construct in a transgene lineage. Using two different immunoassays, expression of the porcine APN protein was not detected in the transgenic intestines of animals of the RT-PCR positive lineage. Northern blot analyses did not revealed TGEV replication in infected adult mice. Additional assays will be carried out on young animals to detect potential TGEV susceptibility.

Further characterization of aminopeptidase-N as a receptor for coronaviruses.

We recently reported that porcine aminopeptidase-N (pAPN) acts as a receptor for transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV). In the present work, we addressed the question of whether TGEV tropism is determined only by the virus-receptor interaction. To this end, different non-permissive cell lines were transfected with the porcine APN cDNA and tested for their susceptibility to TGEV infection. The four transfected cell lines shown to express pAPN at their membrane became sensitive to infection. Two of these cell lines were found to be defective for the production of viral particles. This suggests that other factor(s) than pAPN expression may be involved in the production of infectious virions. The pAPN-transfected cells were also tested for their susceptibility to several viruses which have a close antigenic relationship to TGEV. So far, we failed to evidence permissivity to the feline infectious peritonitis coronavirus FIPV and canine coronavirus CCV. In contrast, we found clear evidence that porcine respiratory coronavirus PRCV, a variant of TGEV which replicates efficiently in the respiratory tract but to a very low extent in the gut, may also utilise APN to gain entry into the host cells. This suggests that the switch between TGEV and PRCV tropisms in vivo may involve other determinant(s) than receptor recognition.

Functional domains in the spike protein of transmissible gastroenteritis virus.

The coronavirus spike protein S is assumed to mediate essential biological functions, including recognition of target cells. Earlier studies from our and other groups identified two regions of the TGEV S (220K) protein possibly implicated in such functions. The first of these corresponds to the 224 amino acid N-terminal region which is deleted in PRCV, the respiratory variant of TGEV. We have examined the pathogenicity for the newborn piglet of a series of neutralization escape mutants encoding an S protein mutated in this region. Several amino acid changes were correlated with a dramatic loss of enterovirulence, thus indicating that crucial determinants are associated with this domain of S. The second region of potential relevance is the major neutralization domain. Baculovirus-vectored expression of 150 to 220 amino acid-long stretches encompassing this region, which is encoded by both TGEV and PRCV, was performed. The resultant recombinant proteins were shown to react with the cognate antibodies and to bind APN specifically, thus localizing the receptor-binding site on the S primary structure. Altogether these data lend support to the view that a domain of S protein structurally distinct from the receptor binding site is required for the virus to express its enteric tropism.

Interferon alpha inducing property of coronavirus particles and pseudoparticles.

Previous work in our laboratory have provided evidence that the membrane glycoprotein M of TGEV is centrally involved in efficient induction of alpha interferon (IFN-alpha) synthesis by non-immune peripheral blood mononuclear cells incubated with fixed, TGEV-infected cells or inactivated virions. Here we report recent completion of studies initiated to get a better understanding of the nature of the interferogenic determinant(s). Transfected cells expressing TGEV M together with the minor structural component E (formerly called sM) were found to trigger IFN-alpha synthesis. Co-expression of these two proteins was shown to be necessary and sufficient for assembly and release of pseudoparticles resembling TGEV virions. Purified pseudoparticles exhibited an interferogenic activity close to that of authentic virions. Chimeric recombinant particles expressing BCV M ectodomain also induced IFN. Examination of cell cultures infected by viruses representative of the three Nidovirales genera revealed that the capacity to act as an efficient IFN-alpha inducer is a common feature of viral particles of the coronavirus genus. Altogether these data bring new insights regarding the putative nature of the viral structure involved in IFN-alpha induction.

The Coronaviridae now comprises two genera, coronavirus and torovirus: report of the Coronaviridae Study Group.

At the April 1992, mid-term meeting of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) a proposal from the Coronaviridae Study Group (CSG) to include the torovirus genus in the Coronaviridae was accepted. Following another proposal, the arterivirus genus was removed from the Togaviridae but not assigned to another family. The arteriviruses have some features in common with the Coronaviridae but also have major differences. After much debate, culminating in September 1992, it was decided that the CSG would not recommend inclusion of arterivirus in the Coronaviridae. It was agreed that (a) the nomenclature used for coronavirus genes, mRNAs and polypeptides (Cavanagh et al., 1990) should be used for toroviruses, (b) that the small (about 100 amino acids) membrane-associated protein, which is distinct from the integral membrane glycoprotein M, associated with virions of infectious bronchitis (Liu & Inglis, 1991) and transmissible gastroenteritis (Godet et al., 1992) coronaviruses would be referred to by the acronym sM (lower case 's') and (c) that 'pol' (polymerase) should be used as a working term for gene 1, which comprises open reading frames (ORFs) 1a and 1b in both genera of the Coronaviridae.

Detection of transmissible gastroenteritis coronavirus antigens by a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique.

A new sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, using monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies, was developed to detect transmissible gastroenteritis virus antigens from cell culture and from intestinal wash or feces obtained from experimentally infected pigs. This technique was shown to be suitable for the detection of virulent field strain unadapted to cell culture. Cross reactions had not been observed with other enteric pathogens, rotavirus, porcine epizootic diarrhea virus, and Escherichia coli.