A Recombinant System and Reporter Viruses for Papiine Alphaherpesvirus 2
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Published on: April 17, 2020
Abdul Rahman Siregar1,2,3, Sabine Gärtner1, Jasper Götting4
1German Primate Center, Infection Biology Unit, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, 37077 Gottingen, Germany.
Abstract:
Primate simplex viruses, including Herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2, form a group of closely related herpesviruses, which establish latent infections in neurons of their respective host species. While neuropathogenic infections in their natural hosts are rare, zoonotic transmission of Macacine alphaherpesvirus 1 (McHV1) from macaques to humans is associated with severe disease. Human infections with baboon-derived Papiine alphaherpesvirus 2 (PaHV2) have not been reported, although PaHV2 and McHV1 share several biological properties, including neuropathogenicity in mice. The reasons for potential differences in PaHV2 and McHV1 pathogenicity are presently not understood, and answering these questions will require mutagenic analysis. Here, we report the development of a recombinant system, which allows rescue of recombinant PaHV2. In addition, we used recombineering to generate viruses carrying reporter genes (Gaussia luciferase or enhanced green fluorescent protein), which replicate with similar efficiency as wild-type PaHV2. We demonstrate that these viruses can be used to analyze susceptibility of cells to infection and inhibition of infection by neutralizing antibodies and antiviral compounds. In summary, we created a recombinant system for PaHV2, which in the future will be invaluable for molecular analyses of neuropathogenicity of PaHV2.
Insights
Researchers developed a new system to study Papiine alphaherpesvirus 2 (PaHV2) and its potential to cause disease. This tool will help understand why PaHV2 may be less dangerous than similar viruses, aiding future research on neuropathogenicity.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Neuroscience
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Primate alphaherpesviruses establish latent infections in neurons.
- Zoonotic transmission of Macacine alphaherpesvirus 1 (McHV1) causes severe human disease.
- Papiine alphaherpesvirus 2 (PaHV2) shares properties with McHV1 but human infections are unreported, suggesting differing pathogenicity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a recombinant system for studying Papiine alphaherpesvirus 2 (PaHV2).
- To enable molecular analyses of PaHV2 neuropathogenicity.
- To investigate potential differences in pathogenicity between PaHV2 and McHV1.
Main Methods:
- Development of a recombinant system for PaHV2 rescue.
- Utilizing recombineering to insert reporter genes (Gaussia luciferase or enhanced green fluorescent protein) into PaHV2.
- Assessing replication efficiency of engineered viruses compared to wild-type PaHV2.
Main Results:
- Successful rescue of recombinant PaHV2.
- Generation of reporter viruses (PaHV2-Gluc, PaHV2-eGFP) that replicate efficiently.
- Demonstration of the utility of these viruses for analyzing cell susceptibility and antiviral compound efficacy.
Conclusions:
- A functional recombinant system for PaHV2 has been established.
- This system facilitates molecular studies of PaHV2 neuropathogenicity.
- Future research can now investigate the mechanisms underlying differential pathogenicity of primate alphaherpesviruses.
