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Published on: January 28, 2019
Molecular Analysis of VP7 Gene of Rotavirus G1 Strains Isolated from North India
Swapnil Jain1, Jitendraa Vashistt1, Kanika Gupta2
1Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Jaypee University of Information Technology, Waknaghat, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, 173234, India.
Insights
Rotavirus G1 strains in India show genetic variations from common rotavirus vaccines. These differences in G1 strains may impact vaccine effectiveness, necessitating further research into viral evolution and vaccine efficacy.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Immunology
- Public Health
Background:
- Rotavirus G1 strains are a primary cause of childhood diarrhea globally.
- Current rotavirus vaccines, including Rotarix and RotaTeq, incorporate G1 for immunization.
- India recently integrated rotavirus vaccination into its Universal Immunization Programme.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the phylogenetic characteristics of circulating rotavirus G1 strains in Himachal Pradesh, India.
- To compare these G1 strains with those used in Rotarix and RotaTeq vaccines.
- To assess potential impacts of observed genetic variations on vaccine efficacy.
Main Methods:
- Isolation and sequencing of the VP7 gene from rotavirus G1 strains in diarrheal children.
- Phylogenetic analysis to determine the genetic clustering and relatedness of the strains.
- Comparative sequence and structural analysis focusing on epitope regions and neutralization sites.
Main Results:
- Himachal Pradesh rotavirus G1 strains clustered within G1-Lineage 1, showing high similarity (96.4-98.8%) among themselves.
- These strains exhibited significant divergence from Rotarix (93.9-94.5% amino acid similarity) and RotaTeq (91.9-92.6% amino acid similarity) vaccine strains.
- Key amino acid differences were identified in the epitope regions, particularly at antibody neutralization sites.
Conclusions:
- Circulating rotavirus G1 strains in Himachal Pradesh, India, display notable genetic variations compared to current vaccine strains.
- These variations may influence the neutralization capacity of antibodies, potentially affecting vaccine effectiveness.
- Further investigation into intragenotype antigenic variability and viral evolution is crucial for understanding and enhancing rotavirus vaccine performance.
Abstract:
Rotavirus G1 strains are the predominant cause of diarrhoea in children. Universally common rotavirus vaccines (Rotarix and RotaTeq) include G1 as the immunological component. India has recently introduced rotavirus vaccine in Universal Immunization Programme. Therefore, in the present study, VP7 gene of rotavirus G1 strains circulating in Himachal Pradesh, India is analysed to study their phylogenetic characteristics, and further comparative analysis was performed for assessment of their divergence from the vaccine strains. The rotavirus strains (JU-SOL-5, JU-SOL-58, JU-SOL-77, JU-SOL-173 and JU-SHI-14) analysed in the study were isolated from the faeces of diarrhoeic children during active surveillance for rotaviruses. The Himachal strains clustered together in G1-Lineage 1 in the phylogenetic analysis. All five isolates showed 96.4-98.8 % similarity with the other G1-Lineage 1 strains at amino acid level. However, none of them clustered in the pre-defined sublineages within lineage 1. Interestingly, all the strains were distantly related to the vaccine strains having 93.9-94.5 and 91.9-92.6 % similarities at amino acid level with Rotarix and RotaTeq strains, respectively. The comparative sequence and structural analysis of the Himachal strains with vaccine strains revealed differences in amino acids in epitope region of the protein especially at the antibody neutralization sites. The study highlights variations between the G1 strains from Himachal Pradesh, India and Rotarix and RotaTeq vaccine strains. These differences might have an impact on the neutralization efficiency of vaccine and subsequently on vaccine efficacy. This underscores further investigation to study intragenotype antigenic variability and also impact of viral evolution on vaccine effectiveness.
