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Molecular Characterization of the Viral Structural Genes of Human Rhinovirus A11 from Children Hospitalized with
Zhilei Zhang1, Li Tan2, Miao Tan1
1Institute of Pediatrics, The Kunming Children's Hospital, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, PR China; Yunnan Key Laboratory of Children's Major Disease Research, Kunming, PR China.
Insights
Human rhinovirus (HRV) caused lower respiratory tract infections in China. Genetic analysis revealed epidemic HRV-A11 strains with mutations in key protein regions, offering insights for surveillance and vaccine development.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Molecular Biology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Human rhinovirus (HRV), a picornavirus, is linked to respiratory illnesses like pneumonia and asthma.
- While HRV infections are rising in Europe, cases in China remain infrequent.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the genetic characteristics of human rhinovirus-A11 (HRV-A11) strains causing lower respiratory tract infections in China.
- To analyze mutations and phylogenetic relationships of epidemic HRV-A11 strains.
Main Methods:
- Whole-genome sequencing of HRV-A11 strains using segmented polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
- Phylogenetic, nucleotide mutation, recombination, and comparative amino acid mutation analyses were performed.
Main Results:
- Phylogenetic analysis confirmed epidemic strains belong to HRV-A11 subgenotypes, similar to US strains.
- No significant homologous recombination was detected.
- 498 nucleotide and 47 amino acid mutations were identified compared to the prototype strain, particularly in capsid protein regions and epitopes.
Conclusions:
- This study reports the first documented case of HRV-A11-associated lower respiratory tract infection in China.
- Identified mutations in P1a and T-cell epitopes may aid virological surveillance and vaccine design.
Background:
The human rhinovirus (HRV) is a picornavirus that can cause a variety of respiratory diseases, including the aggravation of chronic respiratory diseases, such as bronchitis, pneumonia, and asthma. Although an increasing number of lower respiratory tract infection cases have been reported with HRV infection in Europe, few such cases have been reported in China.
Methods:
The complete genomic sequences of the HRV-A11 epidemic strains were amplified and obtained by segmented polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequence, and then the phylogenetic, nucleotide mutation, recombinant, and comparative analyses of amino acid mutations were performed.
Results:
Phylogenetic analyses showed that the epidemic strains from 3 rare cases of pneumonia belong to the HRV-A11 subgenotypes. All strains were highly similar to strains from the United States. No obvious homologous recombination signals were observed in the epidemic strains. There were 498 nucleotide and 47 amino acid mutations compared with the HRV-A11 prototype strain. Amino acid mutations were observed at the capsid protein region, P1a, RVA2147-2155, and RVA97-114 epitopes of these clinical strains.
Conclusions:
We reported the first case of HRV-A11-associated lower respiratory tract infection in China. These mutations in the P1a, HRV A-specific CD8, and CD4 T-cell epitopes might provide a reference for virological surveillance and vaccine development.
