Article

Non structural protein of avian influenza A (H11N1) virus is a weaker suppressor of immune responses but capable of inducing apoptosis in host cells.

Virology Journal (impact factor: 2.34). 08/2012; 9(1):149. DOI:10.1186/1743-422X-9-149 pp.149
Source: PubMed

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: The Non-Structural (NS1) protein of Influenza A viruses is an extensively studied multifunctional protein which is commonly considered as key viral component to fight against host immune responses. Even though there has been a lot of studies on the involvement of NS1 protein in host immune responses there are still ambiguities regarding its role in apoptosis in infected cells. Interactions of NS1 protein with host factors, role of NS1 protein in regulating cellular responses and apoptosis are quiet complicated and further studies are still needed to understand it completely. RESULTS: NS1 genes of influenza A/Chicken/India/WBNIV2664/2008 (H5N1) and A/Aquatic bird/India/NIV-17095/2007(H11N1) were cloned and expressed in Human embryonic kidney (293T) cells. Microarray based approach to study the host cellular responses to NS1 protein of the two influenza A viruses of different pathogenicity showed significant differences in the host gene expression profile. NS1 protein of H5N1 resulted in suppression of IFN-beta mediated innate immune responses in 293T cells, leading to down-regulation of the components of JAK-STAT pathway like STAT1 which further suppressed the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines like CXCL10 and CCL5. The degree of suppression of host immune genes was found considerable with NS1 protein of H11N1 but was not as prominent as with H5N1-NS1. TUNEL assay analyses were found to be positive in both the NS1 transfected cells indicating both H5N1 as well as H11N1 NS1 proteins were able to induce apoptosis in transfected cells. CONCLUSIONS: We propose that NS1 protein of both H5N1 and H11N1 subtypes of influenza viruses are capable of influencing host immune responses and possess necessary functionality to support apoptosis in host cells. H11N1, a low pathogenic virus without any proven evidence to infect mammals, contains a highly potential NS1 gene which might contribute to greater virus virulence in different gene combinations.

0 0
 · 
0 Bookmarks
 · 
31 Views
  • Article: The pathogenesis of influenza virus infections: the contributions of virus and host factors.
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: Influenza viruses cause acute respiratory inflammation in humans and symptoms such as high fever, body aches, and fatigue. Usually these symptoms improve after several days; however, the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza virus [influenza A(H1N1) 2009] is more pathogenic than seasonal influenza viruses and the pathogenicity of highly pathogenic H5N1 viruses is still higher. The 1918 influenza pandemic virus caused severe pneumonia, resulting in an estimated 50 million deaths worldwide. Several virulence factors have been identified in these virus strains, but host factors are also responsible for the pathogenesis of infections caused by virulent viruses. Here, we review the contributions of both virus and host factors to the pathogenesis of these viral infections.
    Current opinion in immunology 08/2011; 23(4):481-6. · 10.88 Impact Factor
  • Article: NS1 protein of influenza A virus down-regulates apoptosis.
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: Wild-type (WT) influenza A/PR/8/34 virus and its variant lacking the NS1 gene (delNS1) have been compared for their ability to mediate apoptosis in cultured cells and chicken embryos. Cell morphology, fragmentation of chromatin DNA, and caspase-dependent cleavage of the viral NP protein have been used as markers for apoptosis. Another marker was caspase cleavage of the viral M2 protein, which was also found to occur in an apoptosis-specific manner. In interferon (IFN)-competent host systems, such as MDCK cells, chicken fibroblasts, and 7-day-old chicken embryos, delNS1 virus induced apoptosis more rapidly and more efficiently than WT virus. As a consequence, delNS1 virus was also more lethal for chicken embryos than WT virus. In IFN-deficient Vero cells, however, apoptosis was delayed and developed with similar intensity after infection with both viruses. Taken together, these data indicate that the IFN antagonistic NS1 protein of influenza A viruses has IFN-dependent antiapoptotic potential.
    Journal of Virology 03/2002; 76(4):1617-25. · 5.40 Impact Factor
  • Article: A cytoplasmic prolyl hydroxylation and glycosylation pathway modifies Skp1 and regulates O2-dependent development in Dictyostelium.
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: The soil amoeba Dictyostelium is an obligate aerobe that monitors O(2) for informational purposes in addition to utilizing it for oxidative metabolism. Whereas low O(2) suffices for proliferation, a higher level is required for slugs to culminate into fruiting bodies, and O(2) influences slug polarity, slug migration, and cell-type proportioning. Dictyostelium expresses a cytoplasmic prolyl 4-hydroxylase (P4H1) known to mediate O(2)-sensing in animals, but lacks HIFalpha, a major hydroxylation target whose accumulation directly induces animal hypoxia-dependent transcriptional changes. The O(2)-requirement for culmination is increased by P4H1-gene disruption and reduced by P4H1 overexpression. A target of Dictyostelium P4H1 is Skp1, a subunit of the SCF-class of E3-ubiquitin ligases related to the VBC-class that mediates hydroxylation-dependent degradation of animal HIFalpha. Skp1 is a target of a novel cytoplasmic O-glycosylation pathway that modifies HyPro143 with a pentasaccharide, and glycosyltransferase mutants reveal that glycosylation intermediates have antagonistic effects toward P4H1 in O(2)-signaling. Current evidence indicates that Skp1 is the only glycosylation target in cells, based on metabolic labeling, biochemical complementation, and enzyme specificity studies. Bioinformatics studies suggest that the HyPro-modification pathway existed in the ancestral eukaryotic lineage and was retained in selected modern day unicellular organisms whose life cycles experience varying degrees of hypoxia. It is proposed that, in Dictyostelium and other protists including the agent for human toxoplasmosis Toxoplasma gondii, prolyl hydroxylation and glycosylation mediate O(2)-signaling in hierarchical fashion via Skp1 to control the proteome, directly via degradation rather than indirectly via transcription as found in animals.
    Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 11/2009; 1800(2):160-71. · 4.66 Impact Factor

Keywords

different gene combinations
 
different pathogenicity
 
host cellular responses
 
host factors
 
host gene expression profile
 
host immune genes
 
host immune responses
 
Human embryonic kidney
 
induce apoptosis
 
influencing host immune responses
 
influenza viruses
 
innate immune responses
 
key viral component
 
low pathogenic virus
 
necessary functionality
 
potential NS1 gene
 
regulating cellular responses
 
support apoptosis
 
TUNEL assay analyses
 
two influenza