Rational design of universal immunotherapy for TfR1-tropic arenaviruses.

Certain arenaviruses that circulate in rodent populations can cause life-threatening hemorrhagic fevers when they infect humans. Due to their efficient transmission, arenaviruses pose a severe risk for outbreaks and might be exploited as biological weapons. Effective countermeasures against these viruses are highly desired. Ideally, a single remedy would be effective against many or even all the pathogenic viruses in this family. However, despite the fact that all pathogenic arenaviruses from South America utilize transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1) as a cellular receptor, their viral glycoproteins are highly diversified, impeding efforts to isolate cross-neutralizing antibodies. Here we address this problem using a rational design approach to target TfR1-tropic arenaviruses with high potency and breadth. The pan-reactive molecule is highly effective against all arenaviruses that were tested, offering a universal therapeutic approach. Our design scheme avoids the shortcomings of previous immunoadhesins and can be used to combat other zoonotic pathogens.

Modulation of asymmetric cell division as a mechanism to boost CD8+ T cell memory.

Asymmetric partitioning of fate determinants is a mechanism that contributes to T cell differentiation. However, it remains unclear whether the ability of T cells to divide asymmetrically is influenced by their differentiation state, as well as whether enforcing asymmetric cell division (ACD) rates would have an impact on T cell differentiation and memory formation. Using the murine LCMV infection model, we established a correlation between cell stemness and the ability of CD8+ T cells to undergo ACD. Transient mTOR inhibition was proven to increase ACD rates in naïve and memory cells and to install this ability in exhausted CD8+ T cells. Functionally, enforced ACD correlated with increased memory potential, leading to more efficient recall response and viral control upon acute or chronic LCMV infection. Moreover, transient mTOR inhibition also increased ACD rates in human CD8+ T cells. Transcriptional profiling revealed that progenies emerging from enforced ACD exhibited more pronounced early memory signatures, which functionally endowed these cells with better survival in the absence of antigen exposure and more robust homing to secondary lymphoid organs, providing critical access to survival niches. Our data provide important insights into how ACD can improve long-term survival and function of T cells and open new perspectives for vaccination and adoptive T cell transfer therapies.

Native functionality and therapeutic targeting of arenaviral glycoproteins.

Surface glycoproteins direct cellular targeting, attachment, and membrane fusion of arenaviruses and are the primary target for neutralizing antibodies. Despite significant conservation of the glycoprotein architecture across the arenavirus family, there is considerable variation in the molecular recognition mechanisms used during host cell entry. We review recent progress in dissecting these infection events and describe how arenaviral glycoproteins can be targeted by small-molecule antivirals, the natural immune response, and immunoglobulin-based therapeutics. Arenaviral glycoprotein-mediated assembly and infection pathways present numerous opportunities and challenges for therapeutic intervention.

TNFRs and Control of Chronic LCMV Infection: Implications for Therapy.

The control of persistent viral infections requires the immune system to limit the spread of the virus while avoiding immunopathology. Recent studies have revealed that members of the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) superfamily play unique and pivotal roles in control of chronic lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection and in some settings can tip the balance between immune control and immune pathology. We review these findings and discuss how our understanding of the role of TNFRs in the immune response to chronic LCMV infection may shed light on what happens during HIV infection in humans. We discuss preclinical models of TNF/TNFR family-targeted immunotherapy of chronic LCMV infection and evaluate which TNFRs present the most promising targets for immune intervention.

Functional restoration of exhausted CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells in chronic viral infection by vinegar-processed flos of Daphne genkwa.

T-cell exhaustion has become an important issue in chronic infection because exhausted antigen-specific T cells show impaired abilities to eradicate persistently infected pathogens and produce effector cytokines, such as IFN-γ and TNF-α. Thus, strategies to either restore endogenous exhausted T cell responses or provide functional T cells are needed for therapeutics of chronic infection. Despite promising developments using antibodies and cell immunotherapy, there have been no reported attempts to restore exhausted T cells using treatment with materials derived from natural resources. Here, using a mouse model of chronic infection with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), we found that vinegar-processed flowers (flos) of Daphne genkwa (vp-genkwa), which was composed mainly of four index components, restored exhausted CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells significantly, as corroborated by evidence that vp-genkwa treatment enhanced functional LCMV-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Furthermore, pretreatment with vp-genkwa prevented the generation of exhausted LCMV-specific CD8(+) T cells. Such restorations of exhausted LCMV-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells by vp-genkwa were closely associated with reduced viral burden in sera and tissues. More interestingly, vp-genkwa treatment induced down-regulation of negative molecules, such as PD-1 and Tim-3, in exhausted CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells with more apparent down-regulation of Tim-3, suggesting that Tim-3 molecule may be a major target in restoring exhausted T cell responses. Collectively, these results provide valuable new insights into the use of vp-genkwa to develop a therapeutic strategy for chronic human diseases, such as hepatitis B and C virus, human immunodeficiency virus, and cancers.

Research efforts to control highly pathogenic arenaviruses: a summary of the progress and gaps.

Significant progress has been made in the past 10 years in unraveling the molecular biology of highly pathogenic arenaviruses that are endemic in several West African countries (Lassa fever virus) and in some regions of South America (Argentine and Bolivian hemorrhagic fever viruses). While this has resulted in proof-of-concept studies of novel vaccine candidates in non-human primates and in the discovery of several novel antiviral small molecule drug candidates, none of them has been tested in the clinic to date. The recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa has demonstrated very clearly that there is an urgent need to develop the prophylactic and therapeutic armamentarium against viral hemorrhagic fever viruses as part of a global preparedness for future epidemics. As it pertains to this goal, the present article summarizes the current knowledge of highly pathogenic arenaviruses and identifies opportunities for translational research.

Host cell factors as antiviral targets in arenavirus infection.

Among the members of the Arenaviridae family, Lassa virus and Junin virus generate periodic annual outbreaks of severe human hemorrhagic fever (HF) in endemic areas of West Africa and Argentina, respectively. Given the human health threat that arenaviruses represent and the lack of a specific and safe chemotherapy, the search for effective antiviral compounds is a continuous demanding effort. Since diverse host cell pathways and enzymes are used by RNA viruses to fulfill their replicative cycle, the targeting of a host process has turned an attractive antiviral approach in the last years for many unrelated virus types. This strategy has the additional benefit to reduce the serious challenge for therapy of RNA viruses to escape from drug effects through selection of resistant variants triggered by their high mutation rate. This article focuses on novel strategies to identify inhibitors for arenavirus therapy, analyzing the potential for antiviral developments of diverse host factors essential for virus infection.

A multivalent and cross-protective vaccine strategy against arenaviruses associated with human disease.

Arenaviruses are the causative pathogens of severe hemorrhagic fever and aseptic meningitis in humans, for which no licensed vaccines are currently available. Pathogen heterogeneity within the Arenaviridae family poses a significant challenge for vaccine development. The main hypothesis we tested in the present study was whether it is possible to design a universal vaccine strategy capable of inducing simultaneous HLA-restricted CD8+ T cell responses against 7 pathogenic arenaviruses (including the lymphocytic choriomeningitis, Lassa, Guanarito, Junin, Machupo, Sabia, and Whitewater Arroyo viruses), either through the identification of widely conserved epitopes, or by the identification of a collection of epitopes derived from multiple arenavirus species. By inoculating HLA transgenic mice with a panel of recombinant vaccinia viruses (rVACVs) expressing the different arenavirus proteins, we identified 10 HLA-A02 and 10 HLA-A03-restricted epitopes that are naturally processed in human antigen-presenting cells. For some of these epitopes we were able to demonstrate cross-reactive CD8+ T cell responses, further increasing the coverage afforded by the epitope set against each different arenavirus species. Importantly, we showed that immunization of HLA transgenic mice with an epitope cocktail generated simultaneous CD8+ T cell responses against all 7 arenaviruses, and protected mice against challenge with rVACVs expressing either Old or New World arenavirus glycoproteins. In conclusion, the set of identified epitopes allows broad, non-ethnically biased coverage of all 7 viral species targeted by our studies.

[Use of guinea pigs to evaluate the efficacy of a heterological immunoglobulin against Bolivian hemorrhagic fever].

The use of guinea pigs as a laboratory model was proven to be appropriate in investigating the protective properties of a heterological immunoglobulin against Bolivian hemorrhagic fever at the preclinical stage of the study. A highly pathogenic Machupo virus strain that caused guinea pigs' death with respect with an agent's dose was cultivated. Injection of 1.0 ml of the immunoglobulin provided a 100% protective effect for the guinea pigs infected with the highly pathogenic Machupo virus strain in a dose of 10 LD50.

Enhancing therapeutic vaccination by blocking PD-1-mediated inhibitory signals during chronic infection.

Therapeutic vaccination is a potentially promising strategy to enhance T cell immunity and viral control in chronically infected individuals. However, therapeutic vaccination approaches have fallen short of expectations, and effective boosting of antiviral T cell responses has not always been observed. One of the principal reasons for the limited success of therapeutic vaccination is that virus-specific T cells become functionally exhausted during chronic infections. We now provide a novel strategy for enhancing the efficacy of therapeutic vaccines. In this study, we show that blocking programmed death (PD)-1/PD-L1 inhibitory signals on exhausted CD8(+) T cells, in combination with therapeutic vaccination, synergistically enhances functional CD8(+) T cell responses and improves viral control in mice chronically infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. This combinatorial therapeutic vaccination was effective even in the absence of CD4(+) T cell help. Thus, our study defines a potent new approach to augment the efficacy of therapeutic vaccination by blocking negative signals. Such an approach may have broad applications in developing treatment strategies for chronic infections in general, and perhaps also for tumors.

[Infection due to Hantavirus and other rodent-borne viruses]. / Infección por hantavirus y otros virus transmitidos por roedores.

The term "robovirus" (rodent-borne virus) refers to viruses belonging to the Bunyaviridae (genus Hantavirus) and Arenaviridae families, which are occasionally transmitted to human beings from rodents, their natural hosts. Hantaviruses cause two human diseases: hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Arenaviruses produce hemorrhagic fevers or acute central nervous system disease in humans. This article reviews the biology, epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical features, diagnostic methods, treatment and prevention of hantavirus and, more concisely, arenavirus infections.

RNA interference-mediated virus clearance from cells both acutely and chronically infected with the prototypic arenavirus lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus.

Several arenaviruses, including Lassa fever virus, cause severe, often lethal hemorrhagic fever in humans. No licensed vaccines are available in the United States, and currently there is no efficacious therapy to treat this viral infection. Therefore the importance of developing effective antiviral approaches to combat pathogenic arenaviruses is clear. Moreover, the prototypic arenavirus lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) is an important model for the study of viral persistence and associated diseases, as well as for exploring therapies to treat viral chronic infections. The use of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to downregulate gene expression via RNA interference (RNAi) has emerged as a powerful genetic tool for the study of gene function. In addition, the successful use of siRNAs to target a variety of animal viruses has led us to consider RNAi as a potential novel antiviral strategy. We have investigated the use of RNAi therapy against LCMV. Here, we show that siRNAs targeting sequences within the viral L polymerase and Z mRNAs inhibit LCMV multiplication in cultured cells. Unexpectedly, the antiviral efficacy of RNAi-based therapy against LCMV was highly dependent on the method used to deliver effector siRNA molecules. Thus, transfection of chemically synthesized siRNA pools to L and Z was ineffective in preventing virus multiplication. In contrast, targeting of the same viral L and Z gene products with siRNAs produced inside cells using a replication-deficient recombinant adenovirus expression system inhibited LCMV multiplication very efficiently. Notably, transduction with the replication-deficient recombinant adenovirus expression system to Z and L effectively cured persistently LCMV-infected cells, suggesting the feasibility of using RNAi therapy to combat viral chronic infections by riboviruses.

Rodent-borne emerging viral zoonosis. Hemorrhagic fevers and hantavirus infections in South America.

Hantaviruses and arenaviruses are naturally occurring viruses of rodents. Four South American hemorrhagic fevers caused by arenaviruses have emerged in the last 5 decades. All have similar clinical manifestations, with a case-fatality rate as high as 15% to 30%. Hantavirus infections have been increasingly recognized in South America since the description in 1993 of Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Given the diversity of rodent species in the region, it can be foreseen that many other viruses will be discovered, and some of them will be causing human illnesses of high public health impact.

[Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever: eight years of observation]. / Fiebre hemorrágica venezolana: ocho años de observación.

Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever (VHF) is a severe disease characterised by fever, malaise, sore throat, followed by abdominal pain, diarrhea, a variety of hemorrhagic manifestations and convulsions. The arenavirus Guanarito is the causal agent and the virus natural reservoir is the rodent Zygodontomys brevauda (cane mouse). The disease affect agricultural male workers, between 14-54 years of age, mainly from Guanarito municipality of Portuguesa state and adjacent regions of Barinas State. Since VHF emergency in 1989 up till 1997, 220 cases have been reported with a fatality rate of 33%. Epidemiological informations suggest that VHF has a cyclic behaviour, with epidemic periods of high incidence, every 4-5 years. During the interepidemic periods few VHF cases are reported.

Fiebre hemorrágica Venozolana: ocho anos de observacion / Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever: eight of observation

La fiebre hemorrágica Venezolana (FHV) es una enfermedad severa, caracterizada por fiebre, malestar general, dolor de cabeza dolor de garganta, seguida por dolor abdominal, diarrea, una variedad de manifestaciones hemorrágicas y convulsiones. El agente causal es el arenavirus Guanarito, el cual es mantenido en la naturaleza por el roedor de la especie Zygodontomys brevicauda: ratón de la caña de azúcar. La enfermedad afecta principalmente a agricultores del sexo masculino, en edades comprendidas entre 14- 54 años, procedentes del Municipio Guanarito del estado Portuguesa y áreas adyacentes del Estado Barinas. Desde la emergencia de la FHV en 1989 hasta 1997, se han reportado 220 casos con una letalidad del 33 por ciento. Tiene un comportamiento epidemiológico cíclico, registrándose periodos epidémicos cada 4-5 años, e interepidémicos con un numero reducido de casos.