Hepadnavirus detected in bile and liver samples from domestic pigs of commercial abattoirs.

BACKGROUND: Preliminary studies showed the prevalence of a virus similar to human hepatitis B virus (HBV-like) in swine from farms in China and the molecular evidence of Hepadnavirus infection in domestic pigs herds in Brazil. In this study, we genetically characterize the swine Hepadnavirus strains in swine from slaughterhouses located in certified abattoirs from Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil and evaluate its hepatotropic potential. RESULTS: Bile and liver samples from swine were positive for partial genome amplification (ORF S and ORF C), direct sequencing and viral load quantification. Sequencing of the gene encoding the surface antigen allowed classification of Hepadnavirus into genotypes, similar to HBV genotype classification. Indirect immunofluorescence confirmed the presence of HBsAg antigen in liver tissue sections. CONCLUSIONS: So far our data suggest that commercial swine house an HBV-like virus and this relevant finding should be considered in studies on the origin and viral evolution.

Yellow fever virus is susceptible to sofosbuvir both in vitro and in vivo.

Yellow fever virus (YFV) is a member of the Flaviviridae family. In Brazil, yellow fever (YF) cases have increased dramatically in sylvatic areas neighboring urban zones in the last few years. Because of the high lethality rates associated with infection and absence of any antiviral treatments, it is essential to identify therapeutic options to respond to YFV outbreaks. Repurposing of clinically approved drugs represents the fastest alternative to discover antivirals for public health emergencies. Other Flaviviruses, such as Zika (ZIKV) and dengue (DENV) viruses, are susceptible to sofosbuvir, a clinically approved drug against hepatitis C virus (HCV). Our data showed that sofosbuvir docks onto YFV RNA polymerase using conserved amino acid residues for nucleotide binding. This drug inhibited the replication of both vaccine and wild-type strains of YFV on human hepatoma cells, with EC50 values around 5 µM. Sofosbuvir protected YFV-infected neonatal Swiss mice and adult type I interferon receptor knockout mice (A129-/-) from mortality and weight loss. Because of its safety profile in humans and significant antiviral effects in vitro and in mice, Sofosbuvir may represent a novel therapeutic option for the treatment of YF. Key-words: Yellow fever virus; Yellow fever, antiviral; sofosbuvir.

Emergence of the East-Central-South-African genotype of Chikungunya virus in Brazil and the city of Rio de Janeiro may have occurred years before surveillance detection.

Brazil, which is hyperendemic for dengue virus (DENV), has had recent Zika (ZIKV) and (CHIKV) Chikungunya virus outbreaks. Since March 2016, CHIKV is the arbovirus infection most frequently diagnosed in Rio de Janeiro. In the analysis of 1835 syndromic patients, screened by real time RT-PCR, 56.4% of the cases were attributed to CHIKV, 29.6% to ZIKV, and 14.1% to DENV-4. Sequence analyses of CHIKV from sixteen samples revealed that the East-Central-South-African (ECSA) genotype of CHIKV has been circulating in Brazil since 2013 [95% bayesian credible interval (BCI): 03/2012-10/2013], almost a year before it was detected by arbovirus surveillance program. Brazilian cases are related to Central African Republic sequences from 1980's. To the best of our knowledge, given the available sequence published here and elsewhere, the ECSA genotype was likely introduced to Rio de Janeiro early on 2014 (02/2014; BCI: 07/2013-08/2014) through a single event, after primary circulation in the Bahia state at the Northestern Brazil in the previous year. The observation that the ECSA genotype of CHIKV was circulating undetected underscores the need for improvements in molecular methods for viral surveillance.

Sofosbuvir protects Zika virus-infected mice from mortality, preventing short- and long-term sequelae.

Zika virus (ZIKV) causes significant public health concerns because of its association with congenital malformations, neurological disorders in adults, and, more recently, death. Considering the necessity to mitigate ZIKV-associated diseases, antiviral interventions are an urgent necessity. Sofosbuvir, a drug in clinical use against hepatitis C virus (HCV), is among the FDA-approved substances endowed with anti-ZIKV activity. In this work, we further investigated the in vivo activity of sofosbuvir against ZIKV. Neonatal Swiss mice were infected with ZIKV (2 × 107 PFU) and treated with sofosbuvir at 20 mg/kg/day, a concentration compatible with pre-clinical development of this drug. We found that sofosbuvir reduced acute levels of ZIKV from 60 to 90% in different anatomical compartments, such as the blood plasma, spleen, kidney, and brain. Early treatment with sofosbuvir doubled the percentage and time of survival of ZIKV-infected animals. Sofosbuvir also prevented the acute neuromotor impairment triggered by ZIKV. In the long-term behavioural analysis of ZIKV-associated sequelae, sofosbuvir prevented loss of hippocampal- and amygdala-dependent memory. Our results indicate that sofosbuvir inhibits ZIKV replication in vivo, which is consistent with the prospective necessity of antiviral drugs to treat ZIKV-infected individuals.

Cynomolgus monkeys are successfully and persistently infected with hepatitis E virus genotype 3 (HEV-3) after long-term immunosuppressive therapy.

Epidemiological studies found that hepatitis E virus genotype 3 (HEV-3) infection was associated with chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis in immunocompromised patients. Our study aimed to investigate the relationship between the host immunosuppressive status and the occurrence of HEV-related chronic hepatitis. Here we describe a successful experimental study, using cynomolgus monkeys previously treated with tacrolimus, a potent calcineurin inhibitor immunosuppressant, and infected with a Brazilian HEV-3 strain isolated from naturally infected pigs. HEV infected monkeys were followed up during 160 days post infection (dpi) by clinical signs; virological, biochemical and haematological parameters; and liver histopathology. The tacrolimus blood levels were monitored throughout the experiment. Immunosuppression was confirmed by clinical and laboratorial findings, such as: moderate weight loss, alopecia, and herpes virus opportunistic infection. In this study, chronic HEV infection was characterized by the mild increase of liver enzymes serum levels; persistent RNA viremia and viral faecal shedding; and liver histopathology. Three out of four immunosuppressed monkeys showed recurrent HEV RNA detection in liver samples, evident hepatocellular ballooning degeneration, mild to severe macro and microvesicular steatosis (zone 1), scattered hepatocellular apoptosis, and lobular focal inflammation. At 69 dpi, liver biopsies of all infected monkeys revealed evident ballooning degeneration (zone 3), discrete hepatocellular apoptosis, and at most mild portal and intra-acinar focal inflammation. At 160 dpi, the three chronically HEV infected monkeys showed microscopic features (piecemeal necrosis) corresponding to chronic hepatitis in absence of fibrosis and cirrhosis in liver parenchyma. Within 4-months follow up, the tacrolimus-immunosuppressed cynomolgus monkeys infected with a Brazilian swine HEV-3 strain exhibited more severe hepatic lesions progressing to chronic hepatitis without liver fibrosis, similarly as shown in tacrolimus-immunosuppressed solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients. The cause-effect relationship between HEV infection and tacrolimus treatment was confirmed in this experiment.

The clinically approved antiviral drug sofosbuvir inhibits Zika virus replication.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a member of the Flaviviridae family, along with other agents of clinical significance such as dengue (DENV) and hepatitis C (HCV) viruses. Since ZIKV causes neurological disorders during fetal development and in adulthood, antiviral drugs are necessary. Sofosbuvir is clinically approved for use against HCV and targets the protein that is most conserved among the members of the Flaviviridae family, the viral RNA polymerase. Indeed, we found that sofosbuvir inhibits ZIKV RNA polymerase, targeting conserved amino acid residues. Sofosbuvir inhibited ZIKV replication in different cellular systems, such as hepatoma (Huh-7) cells, neuroblastoma (SH-Sy5y) cells, neural stem cells (NSC) and brain organoids. In addition to the direct inhibition of the viral RNA polymerase, we observed that sofosbuvir also induced an increase in A-to-G mutations in the viral genome. Together, our data highlight a potential secondary use of sofosbuvir, an anti-HCV drug, against ZIKV.

Changes in cellular proliferation and plasma products are associated with liver failure.

AIM: To study the differences in immune response and cytokine profile between acute liver failure and self-limited acute hepatitis. METHODS: Forty-six patients with self-limited acute hepatitis (AH), sixteen patients with acute liver failure (ALF), and twenty-two healthy subjects were involved in this study. The inflammatory and anti-inflammatory products in plasma samples were quantified using commercial enzyme-linked immunoassays and quantitative real-time PCR. The cellular immune responses were measured by proliferation assay using flow cytometry. The groups were divided into viral- and non-viral-induced self-limited AH and ALF. Thus, we worked with five groups: Hepatitis A virus (HAV)-induced self-limited acute hepatitis (HAV-AH), HAV-induced ALF (HAV-ALF), non-viral-induced self-limited acute hepatitis (non-viral AH), non-viral-induced acute liver failure (non-viral ALF), and healthy subjects (HC). Comparisons among HAV and non-viral-induced AH and ALF were performed. RESULTS: The levels of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and the cytokines investigated [interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-10, interferon gamma, and tumor necrosis factor] were significantly increased in ALF patients, independently of etiology (P < 0.05). High plasma mtDNA and IL-10 were the best markers associated with ALF [mtDNA: OR = 320.5 (95%CI: 14.42-7123.33), P < 0.0001; and IL-10: OR = 18.8 (95%CI: 1.38-257.94), P = 0.028] and death [mtDNA: OR = 12.1 (95%CI: 2.57-57.07), P = 0.002; and IL-10: OR = 8.01 (95%CI: 1.26-50.97), P = 0.027]. In the cellular proliferation assay, NKbright, NKT and regulatory T cells (TReg) predominated in virus-specific stimulation in HAV-induced ALF patients with an anergic behavior in the cellular response to mitotic stimulation. Therefore, in non-viral-induced ALF, anergic behavior of activated T cells was not observed after mitotic stimulation, as expected and as described by the literature. CONCLUSION: mtDNA and IL-10 may be predictors of ALF and death. TReg cells are involved in immunological disturbance in HAV-induced ALF.

Genotypic Characterization of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Isolates in Immunocompromised Patients in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a prevalent human pathogen that causes a variety of diseases, including an increased risk of developing more severe disease in HIV-infected individuals. In Brazil, there is no information about the molecular epidemiology of HSV-1 infection, especially in HIV-infected individuals. The aim of this study was to perform the genotypic characterization of HSV-1 among HIV-infected patients. A total of 214 serum samples from HIV-positive patients without HSV infection symptoms were enrolled in one of two reference hospitals for HIV infection managing in Rio de Janeiro. The gG and gI genes were analyzed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and full nucleotide sequencing of the US8 (1601 bp), UL44 (1996 bp), and UL23 (1244 bp) regions was performed. A total of 38.3% (82/214) and 32.7% (70/214) of the serum samples tested positive for gG and gI genes, respectively. RFLP analysis classified the HSV-1 as belonging to genotype A. Phylogenetic analysis of the Brazilian samples for the US8, UL44, and UL23 regions demonstrated that the nucleotide identity between Brazilian samples was higher than 97% for all genes. No acyclovir mutation was detected in the patients. The shedding of HSV in the serum samples from HIV-positive patients who were asymptomatic for HSV infection was detected in this work. This is the first report of molecular characterization of HSV-1 in Brazilian samples since there is no previous data available in the literature concerning the genotypic classification and stable distribution of Brazilian strains of HSV-1 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Investigação da circulação de hepadnavírus em animais domésticos e selvagens

Os hepadnavírus são os únicos vírus animais que replicam seu genoma de DNA via transcrição reversa. Pertencem à família Hepadnaviridae, a qual pode ser encontrada circulando em mamíferos (Gênero Orthohepadnavirus) e aves (Gênero Avihepadnavirus). Humanos, chimpanzés, gibões, gorilas e orangotangos podem ser infectados pelo HBV, a espécie protótipo. Vírus similares são encontrados em uma variedade de outros mamíferos como macacos-barrigudos, marmotas, esquilos e morcegos, além de aves como patos, gansos, garças e cegonhas. Desde 2010, a literatura evidencia a circulação de hepadnavírus em uma maior diversidade de hospedeiros, como suínos, galinhas, anfíbios e peixes. Além disso, achados fósseis demonstram a presença de elementos virais endógenos em cobras, tartarugas, crocodilianos e aves. Essas descobertas podem ajudar a identificar e caracterizar o hepadnavírus circulante em animais, contribuir para elucidar a origem do vírus HBV e sua história evolutiva, e identificar possíveis novos modelos de estudo in vivo. Diante disso, inicialmente investigamos a infecção por hepadnavírus em suínos domésticos de rebanhos brasileiros através de testagem sorológica, e buscamos evidências moleculares da presença do DNA viral. Foi possível demonstrar a infecção ativa em 0,8% dos suínos brasileiros, a presença de anti-HBc total em 7,54% dos animais, e a confirmação molecular em 1,06% do grupo de estudo. Em seguida, buscamos avaliar a frequência de DNA dos hepadnavírus em suínos de abatedouros comerciais, caracterizar molecularmente o vírus circulante, determinar a distância genética e realizar a inferência filogenética dos vírus encontrados frente aos demais hepadnavírus conhecidos. Verificamos a presença do DNA viral em 11,11% da população de estudo. A identidade com o HBV foi de 98,9-99,7%, e os hepadnavírus se agruparam próximo às sequências correspondentes aos genótipos A e E. Análises de imunofluorescência em biópsias hepáticas dos animais também confirmaram a presença do HBsAg. Por fim, realizamos a busca por novos hospedeiros de hepadnavírus em animais domésticos, de importância econômica, e selvagens e/ou exóticos, em localidades do Brasil e Uruguai. A circulação de hepadnavírus em animais domésticos foi demonstrada pela primeira vez para os suínos domésticos do Uruguai e os cavalos do Brasil, assim como de forma pioneira para os animais de vida livre, como os porcos selvagens, os cães domésticos, o cachorro do mato, a onça, o lobo-guará e o mão-pelada do Brasil. Nossos resultados indicam evidências sorológicas e moleculares da circulação de um vírus similar ao HBV em animais domésticos e selvagens. Além do aumento da lista de candidatos a hospedeiros de hepadnavírus, evidências da sua circulação em animais selvagens denotam que a fonte de infecção pode não depender da proximidade com o homem.