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Most influenza a virions fail to express at least one essential viral protein

Christopher B Brooke1, William L Ince, Jens Wrammert

  • 1Laboratory of Viral Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, MD, USA.

Journal of Virology
|January 4, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Influenza A virus (IAV) genome segmentation complicates assembly. Most infected cells lack essential proteins, producing semi-infectious virions that challenge traditional infectivity assays.

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • The segmented genome of influenza A virus (IAV) facilitates rapid genetic reassortment.
  • This segmentation presents challenges for complete viral genome assembly and understanding viral replication.
  • Traditional infectivity assays rely on viral propagation, which may not accurately reflect virion potential.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the expression of multiple viral proteins in IAV-infected cells.
  • To determine the proportion of infected cells producing infectious progeny.
  • To evaluate the accuracy of traditional infectivity assays for IAV.

Main Methods:

  • Infection of Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells with IAV at low multiplicity.
  • Simultaneous probing for the expression of multiple viral proteins.
  • Assessment of infectious progeny release and single-round infection capabilities.

Main Results:

  • The majority of IAV-infected cells showed undetectable expression of one or more essential viral proteins.
  • Up to 90% of IAV-infected cells failed to release infectious progeny.
  • Many IAV virions, deemed noninfectious by traditional assays, were capable of single-round infection.
  • The proportion of semi-infectious virions varied between IAV strains but was not significantly affected by cell type.

Conclusions:

  • IAV predominantly exists as a swarm of complementation-dependent, semi-infectious virions.
  • Traditional, propagation-dependent infectivity assays may significantly misrepresent the infectious potential of IAV populations.
  • Understanding IAV replication requires considering the contribution of semi-infectious particles.

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