Spotlight
Structure and Assembly
Structure and AssemblyIn Situ Structures of the Polymerase Complex and RNA Genome Show How Aquareovirus Transcription Machineries Respond to UncoatingViruses in the family Reoviridae are characterized by the ability to endogenously synthesize nascent RNA within the virus. However, the mechanisms for assembling their RNA genomes with transcriptional enzymes into a multilayered virion and for priming such a virion for transcription are poorly understood. By cryo-EM and novel asymmetric reconstruction, we determined...
Genome Replication and Regulation of Viral Gene Expression
Genome Replication and Regulation of Viral Gene Expression | SpotlightPhosphorylated VP30 of Marburg Virus Is a Repressor of TranscriptionThe largest outbreak of MARV occurred in Angola in 2004 to 2005 and had a 90% case fatality rate. There are no approved treatments available for MARV. Development of antivirals as therapeutics requires a fundamental understanding of the viral life cycle. Because of the close similarity of MARV to another member of Filoviridae family, EBOV, it was assumed that the two...
Genome Replication and Regulation of Viral Gene ExpressionThe 5′ Untranslated Region of Human Bocavirus Capsid Transcripts Regulates Viral mRNA Biogenesis and Alternative TranslationAlternative translation of HBoV1 capsid mRNAs is vital for the viral life cycle, as capsid proteins perform essential functions in genome packaging, assembly, and antigenicity. The 5′ untranslated regions (UTRs) of capsid mRNAs are generated by alternative splicing, and they contain different exons. Our study shows that the 5′ UTR not only modulates mRNA abundance but also regulates capsid expression. Two upstream ATGs (uATGs) that were...
Genome Replication and Regulation of Viral Gene ExpressionCottontail Rabbit Papillomavirus E1 and E2 Proteins Mutually Influence Their Subcellular LocalizationsPapillomaviruses encode the DNA-binding E1 and E2 proteins, which form a complex and are essential for genome replication. Both proteins are targeted to the nucleus via nuclear localization signals. Our studies have uncovered that cytoplasmic mutant E1 or E2 proteins can be localized to the nucleus when E1 or E2 is also present. An interaction between E1 and E2 is necessary to target cytoplasmic E1 mutant proteins to the nucleus, but...
Genome Replication and Regulation of Viral Gene ExpressionEpstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigen 3C Inhibits Expression of COBLL1 and the ADAM28-ADAMDEC1 Locus via Interaction with the Histone Lysine Demethylase KDM2BEBV is a virus associated with human cancers and is well known for its ability to transform B lymphocytes into continuously proliferating lymphoblastoid cell lines. EBNA3C is considered an oncoprotein and has been shown to be essential for B cell transformation by EBV. EBNA3C is well characterized as a viral transcription factor, but very little is known about its mechanisms of action. In the present study, we demonstrate that removal...
Virus-Cell Interactions
Virus-Cell InteractionsCitrus Psorosis Virus Movement Protein Contains an Aspartic Protease Required for Autocleavage and the Formation of Tubule-Like Structures at PlasmodesmataInfection by citrus psorosis virus (CPsV) involves a self-cleaving aspartic protease activity within the viral movement protein (MP), which results in the production of two peptides, termed 34KCPsV and 20KCPsV, that carry the MP and viral protease activities, respectively. The underlying protease motif within the MP is also found in the MPs of other members of the...
Virus-Cell InteractionsEpstein-Barr Virus Type 2 Infects T Cells and Induces B Cell Lymphomagenesis in Humanized MiceEBV is a well-established B cell-tropic virus. However, we have recently shown that the EBV type 2 (EBV-2) strain also infects primary T cells in culture and in healthy Kenyan children. This finding suggests that EBV-2, unlike the well-studied EBV-1 strain, utilizes the T cell compartment to persist. As EBV is human specific, studies to understand the role of T cells in EBV-2 persistence require an in vivo model. Thus, we...
Virus-Cell InteractionsSelective 4-Thiouracil Labeling of RNA Transcripts within Latently Infected Cells after Infection with Human Cytomegalovirus Expressing Functional Uracil PhosphoribosyltransferaseHCMV is a significant pathogen that accounts for a substantial amount of complications within the immunosuppressed and immunocompromised. Of particular significance is the capacity of HCMV to reactivate within solid tissue and bone marrow transplant recipients. While it is known that HCMV latency resides within a fraction of HPCs and monocytes, the exact subset of cells that harbor latent viral genomes during natural infections remain...
Virus-Cell Interactions | SpotlightSirtuin 2 Isoform 1 Enhances Hepatitis B Virus RNA Transcription and DNA Synthesis through the AKT/GSK-3β/β-Catenin Signaling PathwayEven though Sirt2, a NAD+-dependent protein deacetylase, is overexpressed in many HCCs, and overexpressed Sirt2 promotes hepatic fibrosis and associates positively with vascular invasion by primary HCCs through AKT/GSK-3β/β-catenin signaling, the relationship between Sirt2, HBV, HBx, and/or HBV-associated hepatocarcinogenesis is unclear. Here, we show that HBV DNA replication, not HBV expression, correlates positively with...
Virus-Cell InteractionsNewly Distinguished Cell Punctures Associated with Transmission of the Semipersistent Phloem-Limited Beet Yellows VirusWe discovered the specific feeding activities of Myzus persicae (Sulzer, 1776) associated with the transmission of Beet yellows virus (BYV; Closterovirus). Our work strongly suggests that aphids can insert their stylets into the membranes of phloem cells—visualized as a unique type of...
Virus-Cell Interactions | SpotlightNeuralized E3 Ubiquitin Protein Ligase 3 Is an Inducible Antiviral Effector That Inhibits Hepatitis C Virus Assembly by Targeting Viral E1 GlycoproteinThe exact biological function of NEURL3, a putative E3 ligase, remains largely unknown. In this study, we found that NEURL3 could be upregulated upon HCV infection in a manner dependent on pattern recognition receptor-mediated innate immune response. NEURL3 inhibits HCV assembly by directly binding viral E1 envelope glycoprotein to disrupt its interaction with E2, an action that requires its Neuralized homology repeat (NHR) domain but...
Virus-Cell InteractionsDistinctive Roles for Type I and Type II Interferons and Interferon Regulatory Factors in the Host Cell Defense against Varicella-Zoster VirusWhile both type I and type II IFNs are involved in the control of herpesvirus infections in the human host, to our knowledge, their relative contributions to the restriction of viral replication and spread have not been assessed. We report that IFN-γ has more potent activity than IFN-α against VZV. Findings from this comparative analysis show that the IFN-α–IRF9 axis functions as a first line of defense to delay the onset of viral...
Virus-Cell InteractionsThe Endonucleolytic RNA Cleavage Function of nsp1 of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Promotes the Production of Infectious Virus Particles in Specific Human Cell LinesMERS-CoV represents a high public health threat. Because CoV nsp1 is a major viral virulence factor, uncovering the biological functions of MERS-CoV nsp1 could contribute to our understanding of MERS-CoV pathogenicity and spur development of medical countermeasures. Expressed MERS-CoV nsp1 suppresses host gene expression, but its biological functions for virus replication and effects on host gene expression in infected cells are largely...
Virus-Cell InteractionsTranscriptome Analysis of Infected and Bystander Type 2 Alveolar Epithelial Cells during Influenza A Virus Infection Reveals In Vivo Wnt Pathway DownregulationInfluenza virus infection remains a major public health problem. Utilizing a recombinant green fluorescent protein-expressing influenza virus, we compared the in vivo transcriptomes of directly infected and uninfected bystander cells from infected mouse lungs and discovered many pathways uniquely regulated in each population. The Wnt signaling pathway was downregulated in directly infected cells and was shown to affect virus...
Virus-Cell InteractionsThe Human Cytomegalovirus Trimer and Pentamer Promote Sequential Steps in Entry into Epithelial and Endothelial Cells at Cell Surfaces and EndosomesHCMV infects nearly 80% of the world's population and causes significant morbidity and mortality. The current antiviral agents used to treat HCMV infections are prone to resistance and can be toxic to patients, and there is no current vaccine against HCMV available. The data in this report will lead to a better understanding of how essential HCMV envelope glycoproteins function during infection of biologically important cell types and...
Cellular Response to Infection
Cellular Response to Infection | SpotlightSemen Exosomes Promote Transcriptional Silencing of HIV-1 by Disrupting NF-κB/Sp1/Tat CircuitryHIV is most commonly transmitted sexually, and semen is the primary vector. Despite progress in studies of HIV pathogenesis and the success of combination antiretroviral therapy in controlling viral replication, current therapy cannot completely control sexual transmission. Thus, there is a need to identify effective methods of controlling HIV replication and transmission. Recently, it was shown that human semen contains exosomes that...
Cellular Response to InfectionAcute-Phase CD4+ T Cell Responses Targeting Invariant Viral Regions Are Associated with Control of Live Attenuated Simian Immunodeficiency VirusStudies defining effective cellular immune responses to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and SIV have largely focused on a rare population that express specific MHC class I alleles and control virus replication in the absence of antiretroviral treatment. This leaves in question whether similar effective immune responses can be achieved in the larger population. The majority of HIV-infected individuals mount CD8+ T cell...
Vaccines and Antiviral Agents
Vaccines and Antiviral AgentsSurfactin Inhibits Membrane Fusion during Invasion of Epithelial Cells by Enveloped VirusesMembrane fusion inhibitors are a rapidly emerging class of antiviral drugs that inhibit the infection process of enveloped viruses. They can be classified, on the basis of the viral components targeted, as fusion protein targeting or membrane lipid targeting. Lipid-targeting membrane fusion inhibitors have a broader antiviral spectrum and are less likely to select for drug-resistant mutations. Here we show that surfactin is a membrane...
Vaccines and Antiviral Agents | SpotlightUsing a Virion Assembly-Defective Dengue Virus as a Vaccine ApproachMany flaviviruses are significant human pathogens that pose global threats to public health. Although licensed vaccines are available for yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, tick-borne encephalitis, and dengue viruses, new approaches are needed to develop improved vaccines. Using dengue virus as a model, we developed a vaccine platform using a virion assembly-defective virus. We show that such an assembly-defective virus could be...
Vaccines and Antiviral AgentsAlternative Strategy for a Quadrivalent Live Attenuated Influenza Virus VaccineSeasonal influenza viruses infect 1 billion people worldwide and are associated with ∼500,000 deaths annually. In addition, the never-ending emergence of zoonotic influenza viruses associated with lethal human infections and of pandemic concern calls for the development of better vaccines and/or vaccination strategies against influenza virus. Regardless of the strategy, novel influenza virus vaccines must aim at providing protection...
Pathogenesis and Immunity
Pathogenesis and ImmunityIntrahepatic Cross-Presentation and Hepatocellular Antigen Presentation Play Distinct Roles in the Induction of Hepatitis B Virus-Specific CD8+ T Cell ResponsesHepatitis B virus (HBV) causes acute and chronic hepatitis. Approximately 260 million people are chronically infected with HBV and under an increased risk of developing cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Host immune responses, particularly HBV-specific CD8+ T cell responses, largely determine the outcome of HBV infection. It is widely accepted that antigen inexperienced CD8+ T cells should be initially...
Pathogenesis and ImmunityExploring Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus-Induced Hepatic Injury Using Antibody-Mediated Type I Interferon Blockade in MiceCCHFV is an important human pathogen that is both endemic and emerging throughout Asia, Africa, and Europe. A common feature of acute disease is liver injury ranging from mild to fulminant hepatic failure. The processes through which CCHFV induces severe liver injury are unclear, mostly due to the limitations of existing small-animal systems. The only small-animal model in which CCHFV consistently produces severe liver damage is mice...
Pathogenesis and ImmunityInfection Dynamics of Hepatitis E Virus in Wild-Type and Immunoglobulin Heavy Chain Knockout JH−/− Gnotobiotic PigletsAccording to the World Health Organization, approximately 20 million HEV infections occur annually, resulting in 3.3 million cases of hepatitis E and >44,000 deaths. The lack of an efficient animal model that can mimic the full-spectrum of infection outcomes hinders our ability to delineate the mechanism of HEV pathogenesis. Here, we successfully generated immunoglobulin heavy chain JH−/− knockout gnotobiotic...
Pathogenesis and ImmunityIn Vivo Persistence of Chimeric Virus after Substitution of the Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus LANA DNA Binding Domain with That of Murid Herpesvirus 4KSHV is a human oncogenic virus for which there is no tractable, immunocompetent animal model of infection. MuHV-4, a related rodent gammaherpesvirus, enables pathogenesis studies in mice. In latency, both viruses persist as extrachromosomal, circular genomes (episomes). LANA proteins encoded by KSHV (kLANA) and MuHV-4 (mLANA) contain a C-terminal DNA binding domain (DBD) that acts on the virus terminal repeats to enable episome...
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Journal of Virology® (JVI) explores the nature of viruses, reporting important new discoveries and pointing to new directions in research.
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