Previous Article | Next Article ![]()
Journal of Virology, May 2009, p. 4704-4708, Vol. 83, No. 9
0022-538X/09/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JVI.01987-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

David E. Swayne,2
Colleen Thomas,2
Marie-Anne Rameix-Welti,3
Nadia Naffakh,3
Christine Warnes,1
Melanie Altholtz,1,
Ruben Donis,1 and
Kanta Subbarao1,
*
Influenza Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia,1 Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Athens, Georgia,2 Institut Pasteur, Unité de Génétique Moléculaire des Virus à ARN, URA CNRS 3015, Paris, France3
Received 19 September 2008/ Accepted 3 February 2009
|
|
|---|
|
|
|---|
We sought to determine the significance of these changes for nonaquatic bird hosts and their effect on virulence in mammalian hosts; we examined their frequency among H5N1 viruses isolated from different species between 1996 and 2007 and evaluated the virulence and infectivity in mice of reverse genetics-derived H5N1 viruses engineered with 0 to 3 glycosylation sites on the HA paired with a short- or long-stalk NA. We also examined the stability of these motifs on passage in mice.
Sequences for NA genes of H5N1 viruses isolated between 1996 and 2007 from avian species, including gallinaceous poultry, such as chickens and related land-based species, domestic waterfowl, such as ducks and geese, other bird species commonly traded in poultry markets, and wild birds, were retrieved from the National Center for Biotechnology Information database, and the frequency of NA genes with a short stalk was calculated for each year. A majority (12 out of 18) of the sequences from 1996 to 1999 were from viruses isolated in mainland China or Hong Kong in 1997; the Hong Kong viruses had a short NA stalk, whereas mainland China had a mix of both viruses. The percentage of viruses with a short NA stalk dramatically increased in 2002, and by 2007, all avian isolates, including those from wild birds, had short NA stalks (Table 1). It is possible that viruses with a long NA stalk have a selective advantage in aquatic birds, but once the short NA stalk is selected in H5N1 viruses in terrestrial poultry, it can be stably maintained after transmission into farmed aquatic birds, suggesting that while a short-stalk NA is advantageous in poultry, it is neutral in wild birds.
|
View this table: [in a new window] |
TABLE 1. Distribution of H5N1 viruses with NA sequences with shortened stalks isolated from different species from 1996 to 2007a
|
A reverse genetics system for the influenza A/Hong Kong/486/97 (H5N1) virus was established (6, 12), and a 19-amino-acid (aa) sequence from the NA stalk of A/goose/Guangdong/1/96 (H5N1) was inserted into the 486NA plasmid. Three potential N-linked glycosylation sites (at asparagine residues at aa 131, aa 158 and aa 169, using H3 numbering) are frequently present within or near the receptor binding site of the H5 HA and were selected to assess their effect on viral pathogenesis and host adaptation (13). Consensus sequons for glycosylation at aa 131 were noted in H5N9, H5N3, and H5N2, but not in H5N1 viruses. Glycosylation at aa 158 was reported to influence the antigenicity of viruses isolated in Hong Kong in 1997 (13), and approximately 50% of the HAs of H5N1 viruses derived from the A/goose/Guangdong/96 progenitor are glycosylated at this site. Glycosylation at aa 169 was highly conserved and more than 95% of H5 viruses contain this glycosylation site. Viruses lacking all three glycosylation sites, with only one or two of the three, or with all sites present were constructed in combination with either a short-stalk NA or a reconstructed long-stalk NA. Viruses recovered by reverse genetics were amplified in the allantoic cavities of 10- to 11-day-old embryonating hen's eggs and were designated based on the glycosylation patterns of HA and the length of NA stalk (Table 2). The mutation to add glycosylation at aa 131 entailed a D131N change because it was the only option to add a potential glycosylation motif at this site. To add a potential glycosylation motif at aa 158, there were two options—to modify aa 160 to T or to S. Among the viruses with glycosylation at this position, T and S were almost equally distributed, and we selected the A160T change. The potential glycosylation at aa 169 is highly conserved among H5N1 viruses, and we selected an N169S substitution with a small neutral aa to eliminate this glycosylation motif.
|
View this table: [in a new window] |
TABLE 2. Generation of A/Hong Kong/486/97 (H5N1) mutant viruses
|
-D-N-acetylneuraminic acid] substrate on cells transiently expressing the NA, as described previously (17). The Michaelis-Menten constants (Km) that reflect the affinity for the substrate were very similar (59 ± 7 and 50 ± 11 µM) for the short- and long-stalk NAs, respectively, and were in the range reported for the N1 NA of influenza A viruses (25 to 100 µM) (10, 23). The maximal velocity of reaction (Vmax), which is determined by both the specific activity and the amount of enzyme in the reaction, was about fivefold higher for the short-stalk NA than for the long-stalk NA (P < 0.001) (Table 3). To establish the surface expression of NA, fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis was performed using a rabbit polyclonal antibody raised against total A/New Caledonia/20/99 (H1N1) virions diluted 1:150. This dilution corresponded to saturating levels, as similar signals were observed when dilutions at 1:400 and 1:150 were compared in preliminary experiments. Similar levels of the short- and long-stalk NAs were detected at the surface of transfected cells (data not shown). However, an underestimation of the levels of short-stalk NA due to a lower accessibility of the NA head to the anti-NA antibodies used for fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis cannot be excluded. Earlier studies showed that a similar deletion in an N2 NA did not affect recognition of the NA head by a series of monoclonal antibodies, or the efficiency of small substrate catalysis (8), suggesting possible subtype or strain differences in the functional consequences of the stalk deletion. |
View this table: [in a new window] |
TABLE 3. Enzymatic parameters measured for the short- and long-stalk NA
|
![]() View larger version (12K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 1. Decreased elution from chicken erythrocytes of viruses with a short-stalk NA compared to that from chicken erythrocytes of viruses with a long-stalk NA. The 486-131/158/169 (circles) and 486-169 (triangles) viruses with a short- (open symbols) or long-stalk (closed symbols) NA were adsorbed to a 1% suspension of chicken erythrocytes at 4°C for 30 min, and the HA titer at 37°C representing virus elution from chicken erythrocytes was monitored each hour for 6 h (x axis). The HA titer following incubation at 37°C is expressed as a percentage of the HA titer at time zero at 4°C (y axis).
|
|
View this table: [in a new window] |
TABLE 4. Effect of HA glycosylation and the length of NA stalk on infectivity and virulence in mice
|
108.37 EID50) than those without this glycosylation site (MLD50 = 104.82
106.2 EID50) (Table 4). This pattern was not seen among viruses with a long-stalk NA. It was previously shown that loss of carbohydrate at aa 158 increased the binding affinity of the H5 HA (13) and reduced the dependence of an H7 or H1 HA expressed in CV-1 cells on treatment with Vibrio cholerae NA for hemadsorbing activity (14). Our observation that additional glycosylation sites on the HA protein resulted in decreased virulence in mice is consistent with a report that increased glycosylation of human H3N2 influenza viruses results in decreased virulence in mice, mediated by lung surfactant protein (21). Virulence for poultry. The pathogenicity of four mutant viruses with either none or all three targeted glycosylation sites in the HA in combination with a short or long NA stalk was evaluated in 4-week-old specific-pathogen-free White Leghorn chickens. Unlike in mice, there was no significant difference in the virulence of these viruses for chickens; the viruses were uniformly lethal for chickens at a dose of 106 EID50, presumably because a highly cleavable HA was present in the four mutant viruses and because this virulence determinant was sufficient for lethality. The mean chicken 50% lethal doses were similar to those of the parent virus (102.4 EID50): 102.0, 102.4, 101.8, and 101.9 EID50 for 486-none with a long-stalk NA (486-none-L), 486-none with a short-stalk NA (486-none-S), 486-131/158/169-L, and 486-131/158/169-S, respectively. Increased glycosylation of the HA protein did not affect the mean death time (Table 5) in association with short-stalk NA, but the mean death time was significantly longer for chickens infected with the virus that had an NA protein with a long stalk and an HA protein with no glycosylation at positions 131, 158, and 169. This suggests that, in addition to a multibasic HA cleavage site, the presence of a truncated NA protein may contribute to a shorter death time. To determine the effect of HA glycosylation and NA stalk length on virus replication in the respiratory tract of chickens, nucleic acid was extracted from oropharyngeal swabs obtained 2 days postinoculation, and viral M gene RNA copies were quantified by real-time reverse transcription-PCR (20). In general, the virus shedding data suggested a trend toward increased viral replication when the HA protein had numerous glycosylation sites, irrespective of the NA protein stalk length (Table 5). The virus with a long-stalk NA and an HA protein with no glycosylation sites was seldom detected in oropharyngeal swabs.
|
View this table: [in a new window] |
TABLE 5. Effect of HA glycosylation and the length of NA stalk on infectivity and virulence in chickens
|
The functional basis for the selective advantage of the variants with a shorter NA stalk in poultry is still unclear, although in our study, a long-stalk NA in combination with a lack of glycosylation sites on the HA lengthened mean death times and reduced virus shedding in chickens. In vitro, a long-stalk NA was reported to be the optimal combination for an H7 HA lacking glycosylation, and a short-stalk NA was optimal for an HA with glycan at aa 158 (2). In contrast, in our study with the A/Hong Kong/486/97 (H5N1) virus, the increase in infectivity and virulence in mice conferred by a short NA stalk was most apparent when the HA had no glycosylation sites at aa 131, aa 158, and aa 169. Overall, the data indicate that while the short-stalk NA contributes to the virulence of the H5N1 viruses in mice, multiple parameters are involved in the functional balance between HA receptor affinity and NA sialidase activity; this is achieved differently in different viruses, and optimal balance in vitro is not necessarily optimal in vivo. Glycosylation of the HA can block recognition of the protein by antibodies (1, 19) and can also lead to a reduced receptor affinity of the HA (15). Reduced binding of avian sialic acids by HA may require a compensatory reduction in NA activity (2, 22). In agreement with previous studies (2, 8, 9), we found that shortening of the NA stalk was associated with reduced enzyme activity, as measured by the rate of virus elution from chicken erythrocytes. This reduction may be attributed to reduced accessibility of the NA active site to sialic acids present at the cell surface, because it was not observed when a small soluble MUNANA substrate of the NA was used. Whether the fivefold higher activity we measured for the short-stalk NA using MUNANA results from a higher specific activity and/or level of expression of the enzyme remains to be ascertained.
In summary, the deletion in the NA stalk and the acquisition of additional glycosylation sites on the HA are now widespread in H5N1 viruses isolated from several avian species. These features were stably maintained in experimentally infected mice, suggesting that they are not detrimental. Short-stalk-NA viruses were more virulent than long-stalk-NA viruses in mice. Glycosylation of the HA had less of an impact on virulence than did NA stalk length in mice, but such an increase in glycosylation was associated with increased quantity of virus shed from the respiratory tract of infected chickens. As H5N1 viruses have replicated in poultry and acquired glycans on the HA, the resulting HA receptor affinity was likely balanced by the shortening of the NA stalk. We conclude that the short-stalk NA of currently circulating H5N1 viruses may contribute to virulence in humans.
The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Published ahead of print on 18 February 2009. ![]()
Present address: Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 33 North Drive, MSC 3203, Bethesda, MD 20892. ![]()
Present address: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tufts Medical Center, 800 Washington Street #22, Boston, MA 02111. ![]()
|
|
|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology. For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»