Variations in long- and middle-wavelength-sensitive opsin gene loci in crab-eating monkeys.

We analyzed variations in long (L)- and middle (M)-wavelength-sensitive opsin gene loci in crab-eating monkeys. Unlike humans, most monkeys have a single L and a single M gene. Two variant genotypes, one with only one opsin gene (dichromatic) and one with tandemly arrayed multiple genes, were also found in the monkeys. However, the frequency of the former was 0.47%, and that of the latter was 5% in the monkeys, while 2% and 66%, respectively, in Caucasian males. The two variants were found only in Java Island, Indonesia, and South Thailand, respectively. The data suggest that the frequency of each genotype is different among Old World primates.

Role of the alpha/beta interferon response in the acquisition of susceptibility to poliovirus by kidney cells in culture.

Replication of poliovirus (PV) is restricted to a few sites, including the brain and spinal cord. However, this neurotropism is not conserved in cultured cells. Monkey kidney cells become susceptible to PV infection after cultivation in vitro, and cell lines of monolayer cultures from almost any tissue of primates are susceptible to PV infection. These observations suggest that cellular changes during cultivation are required for acquisition of susceptibility. The molecular basis for the cellular changes during this process is not known. We investigated the relationship between PV susceptibility and interferon (IFN) response in primary cultured kidney and liver cells derived from transgenic mice expressing human PV receptor and in several primate cell lines. Both kidneys and liver in vivo showed rapid IFN response within 6 h postinfection. However, monkey and mouse kidney cells in culture and primate cell lines, which were susceptible to PV, did not show such rapid response or showed no response at all. On the other hand, primary cultured liver cells, which were partially resistant to infection, showed rapid IFN induction. The loss of IFN inducibility in kidney cells was associated with a decrease in expression of IFN-stimulated genes involved in IFN response. Mouse kidney cells pretreated with a small dose of IFN, in turn, restored IFN inducibility and resistance to PV. These results strongly suggest that the cells in culture acquire PV susceptibility during the process of cultivation by losing rapid IFN response that has been normally maintained in extraneural tissues in vivo.

The alpha/beta interferon response controls tissue tropism and pathogenicity of poliovirus.

Poliovirus selectively replicates in neurons in the spinal cord and brainstem, although poliovirus receptor (PVR) expression is observed in both the target and nontarget tissues in humans and transgenic mice expressing human PVR (PVR-transgenic mice). We assessed the role of alpha/beta interferon (IFN) in determining tissue tropism by comparing the pathogenesis of the virulent Mahoney strain in PVR-transgenic mice and PVR-transgenic mice deficient in the alpha/beta IFN receptor gene (PVR-transgenic/Ifnar knockout mice). PVR-transgenic/Ifnar knockout mice showed increased susceptibility to poliovirus. After intravenous inoculation, severe lesions positive for the poliovirus antigen were detected in the liver, spleen, and pancreas in addition to the central nervous system. These results suggest that the alpha/beta IFN system plays an important role in determining tissue tropism by protecting nontarget tissues that are potentially susceptible to infection. We subsequently examined the expression of IFN and IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) in the PVR-transgenic mice. In the nontarget tissues, ISGs were expressed even in the noninfected state, and the expression level increased soon after poliovirus infection. On the contrary, in the target tissues, ISG expression was low in the noninfected state and sufficient response after poliovirus infection was not observed. The results suggest that the unequal IFN response is one of the important determinants for the differential susceptibility of tissues to poliovirus. We consider that poliovirus replication was observed in the nontarget tissues of PVR-transgenic/Ifnar knockout mice because the IFN response was null in all tissues.

Comparison of neuropathogenicity of poliovirus in two transgenic mouse strains expressing human poliovirus receptor with different distribution patterns.

In order to determine the influence of poliovirus receptor (PVR) expression on poliovirus cell tropism and neuropathogenesis, two transgenic (tg) mouse models were produced in which PVR was expressed under the transcriptional control of the human PVR gene promoter (hg-PVR mice) and the CAG promoter (CAG-PVR mice). Then the pathogenicity of poliovirus after intracerebral inoculation of the type 1 Mahoney strain was compared. These showed completely different clinical and pathological changes. In the former, the expression of PVR in neurons in the central nervous system (CNS) conferred susceptibility to poliovirus, and a paralytic disease that resembled the human poliomyelitis occurred. In the latter, PVR expression was detected in glial and ependymal cells in addition to the neurons. Paralysis of the limbs and death were rarely observed and mice survived without showing substantial clinical abnormality. Histopathological examination revealed that glial and ependymal cells also became susceptible to poliovirus infection. Poliovirus antigens were mainly detected in ependymal and glial cells and hippocampal neurons near the lateral ventricles in the brain, but were not frequently detected in neurons in the brainstem unlike in the hg-PVR mice. The levels of viral antigens and virus recovered from the CNS of CAG-PVR mice began to decrease as early as 2 days after inoculation, which suggested induction of a fast immune response. These results suggest that the neuropathogenicity of poliovirus changes markedly depending on the specific expression of the PVR molecule in the CNS.