RESUMEN
We use a small animal model, based on guinea pigs infected with a non-pathogenic Pichinde virus (PICV), to understand the virulence mechanisms of arenavirus infections in the hosts. PICV P2 strain causes a mild febrile reaction in guinea pigs, while P18 causes severe disease with clinical and pathological features reminiscent of Lassa hemorrhagic fever in humans. The envelope glycoproteins (GPC) of P2 and P18 viruses differ at positions 119, 140, and 164, all localized to the receptor-binding G1 subunit. We found that lentiviral pseudotyped virions (VLPs) bearing P18 GPC show more efficient cell entry than those with P2 GPC, and that the E140 residue plays a critical role in this process. Infection of guinea pigs with the recombinant viruses containing the E140K change demonstrated that E140 of GPC is a necessary virulence determinant of P18 infections, possibly by enhancing the ability of virus to enter target cells.
Asunto(s)
Infecciones por Arenaviridae/virología , Hígado/virología , Virus Pichinde/patogenicidad , Subunidades de Proteína/genética , Proteínas del Envoltorio Viral/genética , Sustitución de Aminoácidos , Animales , Infecciones por Arenaviridae/patología , Línea Celular , Modelos Animales de Enfermedad , Cobayas , Humanos , Fiebre de Lassa/patología , Fiebre de Lassa/virología , Hígado/patología , Mutación , Virus Pichinde/fisiología , Isoformas de Proteínas/química , Isoformas de Proteínas/genética , Isoformas de Proteínas/metabolismo , Subunidades de Proteína/química , Subunidades de Proteína/metabolismo , Proteínas del Envoltorio Viral/química , Proteínas del Envoltorio Viral/metabolismo , Carga Viral , Virulencia , Internalización del VirusRESUMEN
Several arenaviruses can cause hemorrhagic fever diseases (VHFs) in humans, the pathogenic mechanism of which is poorly understood due to their virulent nature and the lack of molecular clones. A safe, convenient, and economical small animal model of arenavirus hemorrhagic fever is based on guinea pigs infected by the arenavirus Pichinde (PICV). PICV does not cause disease in humans, but an adapted strain of PICV (P18) causes a disease in guinea pigs that mimics arenavirus hemorrhagic fever in humans in many aspects, while a low-passaged strain (P2) remains avirulent in infected animals. In order to identify the virulence determinants within the PICV genome, we developed the molecular clones for both the avirulent P2 and virulent P18 viruses. Recombinant viruses were generated by transfecting plasmids that contain the antigenomic L and S RNA segments of PICV under the control of the T7 promoter into BSRT7-5 cells, which constitutively express T7 RNA polymerase. By analyzing viral growth kinetics in vitro and virulence in vivo, we show that the recombinant viruses accurately recapitulate the replication and virulence natures of their respective parental viruses. Both parental and recombinant virulent viruses led to high levels of viremia and titers in different organs of the infected animals, whereas the avirulent viruses were effectively controlled and cleared by the hosts. These novel infectious clones for the PICV provide essential tools to identify the virulence factors that are responsible for the severe VHF-like disease in infected animals.