James D Chappell

Vanderbilt University, Nashville, MI, USA

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Publications (21)205.44 Total impact

  • Article: Reovirus Replication Protein μ2 Influences Cell Tropism by Promoting Particle Assembly within Viral Inclusions.
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    ABSTRACT: The double-stranded RNA virus mammalian reovirus displays broad cell, tissue, and host tropism. A critical checkpoint in the reovirus replication cycle resides within viral cytoplasmic inclusions, which are biosynthetic centers of genome multiplication and new-particle assembly. Replication of strain type 3 Dearing (T3) is arrested in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells at a step subsequent to inclusion development and prior to formation of genomic double-stranded RNA. This phenotype is primarily regulated by viral replication protein μ2. To understand how reovirus inclusions differ in productively and abortively infected MDCK cells, we used confocal immunofluorescence and thin-section transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to probe inclusion organization and particle morphogenesis. Although no abnormalities in inclusion morphology or viral protein localization were observed in T3-infected MDCK cells using confocal microscopy, TEM revealed markedly diminished production of mature progeny virions. T3 inclusions were less frequent and smaller than those formed by T3-T1M1, a productively replicating reovirus strain, and contained decreased numbers of complete particles. T3 replication was enhanced when cells were cultivated at 31°C, and inclusion ultrastructure at low-temperature infection more closely resembled that of a productive infection. These results indicate that particle assembly in T3-infected MDCK cells is defective, possibly due to a temperature-sensitive structural or functional property of μ2. Thus, reovirus cell tropism can be governed by interactions between viral replication proteins and the unique cell environment that modulate efficiency of particle assembly.
    Journal of Virology 07/2012; 86(20):10979-87. · 5.40 Impact Factor
  • Article: A single-amino-acid polymorphism in reovirus protein μ2 determines repression of interferon signaling and modulates myocarditis.
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    ABSTRACT: Myocarditis is indicated as the second leading cause of sudden death in young adults. Reovirus induces myocarditis in neonatal mice, providing a tractable model system for investigation of this important disease. Alpha/beta-interferon (IFN-α/β) treatment improves cardiac function and inhibits viral replication in patients with chronic myocarditis, and the host IFN-α/β response is a determinant of reovirus strain-specific differences in induction of myocarditis. Virus-induced IFN-β stimulates a signaling cascade that establishes an antiviral state and further induces IFN-α/β through an amplification loop. Reovirus strain-specific differences in induction of and sensitivity to IFN-α/β are associated with the viral M1, L2, and S2 genes. The reovirus M1 gene-encoded μ2 protein is a strain-specific repressor of IFN-β signaling, providing one possible mechanism for the variation in resistance to IFN and induction of myocarditis between different reovirus strains. We report here that μ2 amino acid 208 determines repression of IFN-β signaling and modulates reovirus induction of IFN-β in cardiac myocytes. Moreover, μ2 amino acid 208 determines reovirus replication, both in initially infected cardiac myocytes and after viral spread, by regulating the IFN-β response. Amino acid 208 of μ2 also influences the cytopathic effect in cardiac myocytes after spread. Finally, μ2 amino acid 208 modulates myocarditis in neonatal mice. Thus, repression of IFN-β signaling mediated by reovirus μ2 amino acid 208 is a determinant of the IFN-β response, viral replication and damage in cardiac myocytes, and myocarditis. These results demonstrate that a single amino acid difference between viruses can dictate virus strain-specific differences in suppression of the host IFN-β response and, consequently, damage to the heart.
    Journal of Virology 12/2011; 86(4):2302-11. · 5.40 Impact Factor
  • Article: Coccidioides, cryptococcus, or blastomyces? A diagnostic dilemma encountered during frozen section evaluation.
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    ABSTRACT: Intraoperative consultation via frozen section is an important part of modern day surgical pathology. Recognizing fungi in tissues on frozen and permanent sections is not always a simple task, and correctly identifying the agent can be a significant challenge, even for experienced microscopists. We present a case of a 17-year-old boy with chronic osteomyelitis involving the right proximal ulna. During an irrigation and debridement operation, a frozen section was sent to surgical pathology for evaluation. A limited patient history coupled with sparse organisms present in the frozen section led to the diagnosis of fungal osteomyelitis, favor Coccidioides . Follow-up permanent sections with special staining and successful fungal culture clarified the causal agent to be Blastomyces dermatitidis . The role of frozen sections is not to perfectly speciate the fungal pathogen but to describe the morphology and infectious process and provide a differential diagnosis of the candidate fungi. The importance of intraoperative culture in infectious cases cannot be understated, and it is the responsibility of pathologists to inform surgeons that tissue is needed for culture. A brief overview of Blastomyces , including histopathologic features and key microscopic differences from Coccidioides and Cryptococcus , is discussed.
    Pediatric and Developmental Pathology 08/2011; 15(1):71-5. · 0.99 Impact Factor
  • Article: Severe pandemic 2009 H1N1 influenza disease due to pathogenic immune complexes.
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    ABSTRACT: Pandemic influenza viruses often cause severe disease in middle-aged adults without preexisting comorbidities. The mechanism of illness associated with severe disease in this age group is not well understood. Here we find preexisting serum antibodies that cross-react with, but do not protect against, 2009 H1N1 influenza virus in middle-aged adults. Nonprotective antibody is associated with immune complex-mediated disease after infection. We detected high titers of serum antibody of low avidity for H1-2009 antigen, and low-avidity pulmonary immune complexes against the same protein, in severely ill individuals. Moreover, C4d deposition--a marker of complement activation mediated by immune complexes--was present in lung sections of fatal cases. Archived lung sections from middle-aged adults with confirmed fatal influenza 1957 H2N2 infection revealed a similar mechanism of illness. These observations provide a previously unknown biological mechanism for the unusual age distribution of severe cases during influenza pandemics.
    Nature medicine 02/2011; 17(2):195-9. · 27.14 Impact Factor
  • Article: Complex febrile seizures followed by complete recovery in an infant with high-titer 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus infection.
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    ABSTRACT: We describe a 2009 H1N1 virus infection with a high viral load in a previously healthy infant who presented with complex febrile seizures and improved on oseltamivir without neurologic sequelae. Febrile seizures may be a complication in young children experiencing infection with high viral loads of 2009 H1N1 influenza virus.
    Journal of clinical microbiology 10/2010; 48(10):3803-5. · 4.16 Impact Factor
  • Article: A post-entry step in the mammalian orthoreovirus replication cycle is a determinant of cell tropism.
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    ABSTRACT: Mammalian reoviruses replicate in a broad range of hosts, cells, and tissues. These viruses display strain-dependent variation in tropism for different types of cells in vivo and ex vivo. Early steps in the reovirus life cycle, attachment, entry, and disassembly, have been identified as pivotal points of virus-cell interaction that determine the fate of infection, either productive or abortive. However, in studies of the differential capacity of reovirus strains type 1 Lang and type 3 Dearing to replicate in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells, we found that replication efficiency is regulated at a late point in the viral life cycle following primary transcription and translation. Results of genetic studies using recombinant virus strains show that reovirus tropism for MDCK cells is primarily regulated by replication protein μ2 and further influenced by the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase protein, λ3, depending on the viral genetic background. Furthermore, μ2 residue 347 is a critical determinant of replication efficiency in MDCK cells. These findings indicate that components of the reovirus replication complex are mediators of cell-selective viral replication capacity at a post-entry step. Thus, reovirus cell tropism may be determined at early and late points in the viral replication program.
    Journal of Biological Chemistry 10/2010; 285(53):41604-13. · 4.77 Impact Factor
  • Article: Use of intravenous zanamivir after development of oseltamivir resistance in a critically Ill immunosuppressed child infected with 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus.
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    ABSTRACT: Immunosuppressed patients receiving oseltamivir for 2009 novel H1N1 influenza A infection may develop drug resistance, leading to treatment failure. Intravenous zanamivir was administered on a compassionate-use basis to a profoundly immunosuppressed pediatric patient with severe oseltamivir-resistant novel H1N1 pneumonia. The regimen was well tolerated and was associated with a decrease in viral burden.
    Clinical Infectious Diseases 04/2010; 50(11):1493-6. · 9.15 Impact Factor
  • Article: An improved reverse genetics system for mammalian orthoreoviruses.
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    ABSTRACT: Mammalian orthoreoviruses (reoviruses) are highly useful models for studies of double-stranded RNA virus replication and pathogenesis. We previously developed a strategy to recover prototype reovirus strain T3D from cloned cDNAs transfected into murine L929 fibroblast cells. Here, we report the development of a second-generation reovirus reverse genetics system featuring several major improvements: (1) the capacity to rescue prototype reovirus strain T1L, (2) reduction of required plasmids from 10 to 4, and (3) isolation of recombinant viruses following transfection of baby hamster kidney cells engineered to express bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase. The efficiency of virus rescue using the 4-plasmid strategy was substantially increased in comparison to the original 10-plasmid system. We observed full compatibility of T1L and T3D rescue vectors when intermixed to produce a panel of T1LxT3D monoreassortant viruses. Improvements to the reovirus reverse genetics system enhance its applicability for studies of reovirus biology and clinical use.
    Virology 03/2010; 398(2):194-200. · 3.35 Impact Factor
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    Article: Pediatric hospitalizations associated with 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) in Argentina.
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    ABSTRACT: While the Northern Hemisphere experiences the effects of the 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus, data from the recent influenza season in the Southern Hemisphere can provide important information on the burden of disease in children. We conducted a retrospective case series involving children with acute infection of the lower respiratory tract or fever in whom 2009 H1N1 influenza was diagnosed on reverse-transcriptase polymerase-chain-reaction assay and who were admitted to one of six pediatric hospitals serving a catchment area of 1.2 million children. We compared rates of admission and death with those among age-matched children who had been infected with seasonal influenza strains in previous years. Between May and July 2009, a total of 251 children were hospitalized with 2009 H1N1 influenza. Rates of hospitalization were double those for seasonal influenza in 2008. Of the children who were hospitalized, 47 (19%) were admitted to an intensive care unit, 42 (17%) required mechanical ventilation, and 13 (5%) died. The overall rate of death was 1.1 per 100,000 children, as compared with 0.1 per 100,000 children for seasonal influenza in 2007. (No pediatric deaths associated with seasonal influenza were reported in 2008.) Most deaths were caused by refractory hypoxemia in infants under 1 year of age (death rate, 7.6 per 100,000). Pandemic 2009 H1N1 influenza was associated with pediatric death rates that were 10 times the rates for seasonal influenza in previous years.
    New England Journal of Medicine 01/2010; 362(1):45-55. · 53.30 Impact Factor
  • Article: Genetic and pharmacologic alteration of cathepsin expression influences reovirus pathogenesis.
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    ABSTRACT: The cathepsin family of endosomal proteases is required for proteolytic processing of several viruses during entry into host cells. Mammalian reoviruses utilize cathepsins B (Ctsb), L (Ctsl), and S (Ctss) for disassembly of the virus outer capsid and activation of the membrane penetration machinery. To determine whether cathepsins contribute to reovirus tropism, spread, and disease outcome, we infected 3-day-old wild-type (wt), Ctsb(-/-), Ctsl(-/-), and Ctss(-/-) mice with the virulent reovirus strain T3SA+. The survival rate of Ctsb(-/-) mice was enhanced in comparison to that of wt mice, whereas the survival rates of Ctsl(-/-) and Ctss(-/-) mice were diminished. Peak titers at sites of secondary replication in all strains of cathepsin-deficient mice were lower than those in wt mice. Clearance of the virus was delayed in Ctsl(-/-) and Ctss(-/-) mice in comparison to the levels for wt and Ctsb(-/-) mice, consistent with a defect in cell-mediated immunity in mice lacking cathepsin L or S. Cathepsin expression was dispensable for establishment of viremia, but cathepsin L was required for maximal reovirus growth in the brain. Treatment of wt mice with an inhibitor of cathepsin L led to amelioration of reovirus infection. Collectively, these data indicate that cathepsins B, L, and S influence reovirus pathogenesis and suggest that pharmacologic modulation of cathepsin activity diminishes reovirus disease severity.
    Journal of Virology 08/2009; 83(19):9630-40. · 5.40 Impact Factor
  • Article: Identification of functional domains in reovirus replication proteins muNS and mu2.
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    ABSTRACT: Mammalian reoviruses are nonenveloped particles containing a genome of 10 double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) gene segments. Reovirus replication occurs within viral inclusions, which are specialized nonmembranous cytoplasmic organelles formed by viral nonstructural and structural proteins. Although these structures serve as sites for several major events in the reovirus life cycle, including dsRNA synthesis, gene segment assortment, and genome encapsidation, biochemical mechanisms of virion morphogenesis within inclusions have not been elucidated because much remains unknown about inclusion anatomy and functional organization. To better understand how inclusions support viral replication, we have used RNA interference (RNAi) and reverse genetics to define functional domains in two inclusion-associated proteins, muNS and mu2, which are interacting partners essential for inclusion development and viral replication. Removal of muNS N-terminal sequences required for association with mu2 or another muNS-binding protein, sigmaNS, prevented the capacity of muNS to support viral replication without affecting inclusion formation, indicating that muNS-mu2 and muNS-sigmaNS interactions are necessary for inclusion function but not establishment. In contrast, introduction of changes into the muNS C-terminal region, including sequences that form a putative oligomerization domain, precluded inclusion formation as well as viral replication. Mutational analysis of mu2 revealed a critical dependence of viral replication on an intact nucleotide/RNA triphosphatase domain and an N-terminal cluster of basic amino acid residues conforming to a nuclear localization motif. Another domain in mu2 governs the capacity of viral inclusions to affiliate with microtubules and thereby modulates inclusion morphology, either globular or filamentous. However, viral variants altered in inclusion morphology displayed equivalent replication efficiency. These studies reveal a modular functional organization of inclusion proteins muNS and mu2, define the importance of specific amino acid sequences and motifs in these proteins for viral replication, and demonstrate the utility of complementary RNAi-based and reverse genetic approaches for studies of reovirus replication proteins.
    Journal of Virology 02/2009; 83(7):2892-906. · 5.40 Impact Factor
  • Article: Detection of viruses in human adenoid tissues by use of multiplex PCR.
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    ABSTRACT: By PCR, we detected a high frequency of viruses in adenoids obtained from children without acute respiratory symptoms. Our results suggest that persistent/latent viral infection in the respiratory tract confounds interpretation of the association of pathogen detection by PCR with acute respiratory infection in these sources.
    Journal of clinical microbiology 01/2009; 47(3):771-3. · 4.16 Impact Factor
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    Article: Genotype prevalence and risk factors for severe clinical adenovirus infection, United States 2004-2006.
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    ABSTRACT: Recently, epidemiological and clinical data have revealed important changes with regard to clinical adenovirus infection, including alterations in antigenic presentation, geographical distribution, and virulence of the virus. In an effort to better understand the epidemiology of clinical adenovirus infection in the United States, we adopted a new molecular adenovirus typing technique to study clinical adenovirus isolates collected from 22 medical facilities over a 25-month period during 2004-2006. A hexon gene sequence typing method was used to characterize 2237 clinical adenovirus-positive specimens, comparing their sequences with those of the 51 currently recognized prototype human adenovirus strains. In a blinded comparison, this method performed well and was much faster than the classic serologic typing method. Among civilians, the most prevalent adenovirus types were types 3 (prevalence, 34.6%), 2 (24.3%), 1 (17.7%), and 5 (5.3%). Among military trainees, the most prevalent types were types 4 (prevalence, 92.8%), 3 (2.6%), and 21 (2.4%). For both populations, we observed a statistically significant increasing trend of adenovirus type 21 detection over time. Among adenovirus isolates recovered from specimens from civilians, 50% were associated with hospitalization, 19.6% with a chronic disease condition, 11% with a bone marrow or solid organ transplantation, 7.4% with intensive care unit stay, and 4.2% with a cancer diagnosis. Multivariable risk factor modeling for adenovirus disease severity found that age <7 years (odds ratio [OR], 3.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.4-7.4), chronic disease (OR, 3.6; 95% CI, 2.6-5.1), recent transplantation (OR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.3-5.2), and adenovirus type 5 (OR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.5-4.7) or type 21 infection (OR, 7.6; 95% CI, 2.6-22.3) increased the risk of severe disease.
    Clinical Infectious Diseases 11/2007; 45(9):1120-31. · 9.15 Impact Factor
  • Article: Simultaneous detection and high-throughput identification of a panel of RNA viruses causing respiratory tract infections.
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    ABSTRACT: Clinical presentations for viral respiratory tract infections are often nonspecific, and a rapid, high-throughput laboratory technique that can detect a panel of common viral pathogens is clinically desirable. We evaluated two multiplex reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) products coupled with microarray-based systems for simultaneous detection of common respiratory tract viral pathogens. The NGEN respiratory virus analyte-specific assay (Nanogen, San Diego, CA) detects influenza A virus (Flu-A) and Flu-B, parainfluenza virus 1 (PIV-1), PIV-2, and PIV-3, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), while the ResPlex II assay (Genaco Biomedical Products, Inc., Huntsville, AL) detects Flu-A, Flu-B, PIV-1, PIV-2, PIV-3, PIV-4, RSV, human metapneumovirus (hMPV), rhinoviruses (RhVs), enteroviruses (EnVs), and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus (CoV). A total of 360 frozen respiratory specimens collected for a full year were tested, and results were compared to those obtained with a combined reference standard of cell culture and monoplex real-time TaqMan RT-PCR assays. NGEN and ResPlex II gave comparable sensitivities for Flu-A (82.8 to 86.2%), Flu-B (90.0 to 100.0%), PIV-1 (87.5 to 93.8%), PIV-3 (66.7 to 72.2%), and RSV (63.3 to 73.3%); both assays achieved excellent specificities (99.1 to 100.0%) for these five common viruses. The ResPlex II assay detected hMPV in 13 (3.6%) specimens, with a sensitivity of 80.0% and specificity of 99.7%. The ResPlex II assay also differentiated RSV-A and RSV-B and gave positive results for RhV and EnV in 31 (8.6%) and 19 (5.3%) specimens, respectively. PIV-2, PIV-4, and SARS CoV were not detected in the specimens tested. The two systems can process 80 (NGEN) and 96 (ResPlex II) tests per run, with a hands-on time of approximately 60 min and test turnaround times of 6 h (ResPlex II) and 9 h (NGEN). Multiple-panel testing detected an additional unsuspected 9 (3.4%) PIV-1 and 10 (3.7%) PIV-3 infections. While test sensitivities for RSV and PIV-3 need improvement, both the NGEN and ResPlex II assays provide user-friendly and high-throughput tools for simultaneous detection and identification of a panel of common respiratory viral pathogens in a single test format. The multiplex approach enhances diagnosis through detection of respiratory viral etiologic agents in cases in which the presence of the agent was not suspected and a test was not ordered by the clinicians.
    Journal of Clinical Microbiology 08/2007; 45(7):2105-9. · 4.15 Impact Factor
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    Article: A plasmid-based reverse genetics system for animal double-stranded RNA viruses.
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    ABSTRACT: Mammalian orthoreoviruses (reoviruses) are highly tractable experimental models for studies of double-stranded (ds) RNA virus replication and pathogenesis. Reoviruses infect respiratory and intestinal epithelium and disseminate systemically in newborn animals. Until now, a strategy to rescue infectious virus from cloned cDNA has not been available for any member of the Reoviridae family of dsRNA viruses. We report the generation of viable reovirus following plasmid transfection of murine L929 (L) cells using a strategy free of helper virus and independent of selection. We used the reovirus reverse genetics system to introduce mutations into viral capsid proteins sigma1 and sigma3 and to rescue a virus that expresses a green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgene, thus demonstrating the tractability of this technology. The plasmid-based reverse genetics approach described here can be exploited for studies of reovirus replication and pathogenesis and used to develop reovirus as a vaccine vector.
    Cell host & microbe 05/2007; 1(2):147-57. · 13.02 Impact Factor
  • Article: Gene-specific inhibition of reovirus replication by RNA interference.
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    ABSTRACT: Mammalian reoviruses contain a genome of 10 segments of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). Reovirus replication and assembly occur within distinct structures called viral inclusions, which form in the cytoplasm of infected cells. Viral nonstructural proteins muNS and sigmaNS and core protein mu2 play key roles in forming viral inclusions and recruiting other viral proteins and RNA to these structures for replication and assembly. However, the precise functions of these proteins in viral replication are poorly defined. Therefore, to better understand the functions of reovirus proteins associated with formation of viral inclusions, we used plasmid-based vectors to establish 293T cell lines stably expressing small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) specific for transcripts encoding the mu2, muNS, and sigmaNS proteins of strain type 3 Dearing (T3D). Infectivity assays revealed that yields of T3D, but not those of strain type 1 Lang, were significantly decreased in 293T cells stably expressing mu2, muNS, or sigmaNS siRNA. Stable expression of siRNAs specific for any one of these proteins substantially diminished viral dsRNA, protein synthesis, and inclusion formation, indicating that each is a critical component of the viral replication machinery. Using cell lines stably expressing muNS siRNA, we developed a complementation system to rescue viral replication by transient transfection with recombinant T3D muNS in which silent mutations were introduced into the sequence targeted by the muNS siRNA. Furthermore, we demonstrated that muNSC, which lacks the first 40 amino residues of muNS, is incapable of restoring reovirus growth in the complementation system. These results reveal interdependent functions for viral inclusion proteins and indicate that cell lines stably expressing reovirus siRNAs are useful tools for the study of viral protein structure-function relationships.
    Journal of Virology 10/2006; 80(18):9053-63. · 5.40 Impact Factor
  • Article: Reovirus delays diabetes onset but does not prevent insulitis in nonobese diabetic mice.
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    ABSTRACT: Mice infected with reovirus develop abnormalities in glucose homeostasis. Reovirus strain type 3 Abney (T3A) was capable of systemic infection of nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice, an experimental model of autoimmune diabetes. Reovirus antigen was detected in pancreatic islets of T3A-infected mice, and primary cultures of pancreatic islets from NOD mice supported T3A growth. Significantly fewer T3A-infected animals compared to uninfected controls developed diabetes. However, despite the alteration in diabetes penetrance, insulitis was evident in T3A-infected mice. These results suggest that viral infection of NOD mice alters autoimmune responses to beta-cell antigens and thereby delays development of diabetes.
    Journal of Virology 04/2006; 80(6):3078-82. · 5.40 Impact Factor
  • Article: Organ-specific roles for transcription factor NF-kappaB in reovirus-induced apoptosis and disease.
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    ABSTRACT: Reovirus induces apoptosis in cultured cells and in vivo. In cell culture models, apoptosis is contingent upon a mechanism involving reovirus-induced activation of transcription factor NF-kappaB complexes containing p50 and p65/RelA subunits. To explore the in vivo role of NF-kappaB in this process, we tested the capacity of reovirus to induce apoptosis in mice lacking a functional nfkb1/p50 gene. The genetic defect had no apparent effect on reovirus replication in the intestine or dissemination to secondary sites of infection. In comparison to what was observed in wild-type controls, apoptosis was significantly diminished in the CNS of p50-null mice following reovirus infection. In sharp contrast, the loss of p50 was associated with massive reovirus-induced apoptosis and uncontrolled reovirus replication in the heart. Levels of IFN-beta mRNA were markedly increased in the hearts of wild-type animals but not p50-null animals infected with reovirus. Treatment of p50-null mice with IFN-beta substantially diminished reovirus replication and apoptosis, which suggests that IFN-beta induction by NF-kappaB protects against reovirus-induced myocarditis. These findings reveal an organ-specific role for NF-kappaB in the regulation of reovirus-induced apoptosis, which modulates encephalitis and myocarditis associated with reovirus infection.
    Journal of Clinical Investigation 10/2005; 115(9):2341-50. · 15.39 Impact Factor
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    Article: A chimeric adenovirus vector encoding reovirus attachment protein sigma1 targets cells expressing junctional adhesion molecule 1.
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    ABSTRACT: The utility of adenovirus (Ad) vectors for gene transduction can be limited by receptor specificity. We developed a gene-delivery vehicle in which the potent Ad5 vector was genetically reengineered to display the mucosal-targeting sigma1 protein of reovirus type 3 Dearing (T3D). A sigma1 construct containing all but a small virion-anchoring domain was fused to the N-terminal 44 aa of Ad5 fiber. This chimeric attachment protein Fibtail-T3Dsigma1 forms trimers and assembles onto Ad virions. Fibtail-T3Dsigma1 was recombined into the Ad5 genome, replacing sequences encoding wild-type fiber. The resulting vector, Ad5-T3Dsigma1, expresses Fibtail-T3Dsigma1 and infects Chinese hamster ovary cells transfected with human or mouse homologs of the reovirus receptor, junctional adhesion molecule 1 (JAM1), but not the coxsackievirus and Ad receptor. Treatment of Caco-2 intestinal epithelial cells with either JAM1-specific antibody or neuraminidase reduced transduction by Ad5-T3Dsigma1, and their combined effect decreased transduction by 95%. Ad5-T3Dsigma1 transduces primary cultures of human dendritic cells substantially more efficiently than does Ad5, and this transduction depends on expression of JAM1. These data provide strong evidence that Ad5-T3Dsigma1 can be redirected to cells expressing JAM1 and sialic acid for application as a vaccine vector.
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 05/2004; 101(16):6188-93. · 9.68 Impact Factor
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    Article: Crystal structure of reovirus attachment protein sigma1 reveals evolutionary relationship to adenovirus fiber.
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    ABSTRACT: Reovirus attaches to cellular receptors with the sigma1 protein, a fiber-like molecule protruding from the 12 vertices of the icosahedral virion. The crystal structure of a receptor-binding fragment of sigma1 reveals an elongated trimer with two domains: a compact head with a new beta-barrel fold and a fibrous tail containing a triple beta-spiral. Numerous structural and functional similarities between reovirus sigma1 and the adenovirus fiber suggest an evolutionary link in the receptor-binding strategies of these two viruses. A prominent loop in the sigma1 head contains a cluster of residues that are conserved among reovirus serotypes and are likely to form a binding site for junction adhesion molecule, an integral tight junction protein that serves as a reovirus receptor. The fibrous tail is mainly responsible for sigma1 trimer formation, and it contains a highly flexible region that allows for significant movement between the base of the tail and the head. The architecture of the trimer interface and the observed flexibility indicate that sigma1 is a metastable structure poised to undergo conformational changes upon viral attachment and cell entry.
    The EMBO Journal 02/2002; 21(1-2):1-11. · 9.20 Impact Factor