Equine Herpesvirus 1: Elucidation of the Core Fusogenic Glycoproteins, Entry Receptors, and Clinical Isolate Analysis
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EQUINE HERPESVIRUS 1: ELUCIDATION OF THE CORE FUSOGENIC GLYCOPROTEINS, ENTRY RECEPTORS, AND CLINICAL ISOLATE ANALYSIS Jekaterina Arnette A Thesis Submitted to the University of North Carolina Wilmington in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Department of Biology and Marine Biology University of North Carolina Wilmington 2014 Advisory Committee Sonja J. Pyott Paulo F. Almeida Alison R. Taylor Arthur R. Frampton Chair Accepted by Dean, Graduate School This thesis has been prepared in the style and format consistent with Cancer Gene Therapy ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES................................................................................................................................................. viii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................................. ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................................................................................x INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................................... 1 1: EQUINE HERPESVIRUS 1 (EHV-1) OVERVIEW ............................................................................. 1 EHV-1 History .......................................................................................................................................... 1 EHV-1 Classification and Structure .................................................................................................. 2 EHV-1 Glycoproteins ............................................................................................................................. 4 2: EHV-1 LIFECYCLE ..................................................................................................................................... 6 EHV-1 Attachment and Entry ............................................................................................................. 7 EHV-1 Replication ................................................................................................................................11 EHV-1 Assembly, Release, and Cell to Cell Spread ...................................................................12 3: EHV-1 PATHOGENESIS, VACCINES, and ANTIVIRAL THERAPIES.......................................13 EHV-1 Pathogenesis .............................................................................................................................13 EHV-1 Vaccines ......................................................................................................................................15 EHV-1 Antiviral Therapies ................................................................................................................19 CHAPTER 1: CLINICAL ISOLATE ANALYSIS ......................................................................................22 MATERIALS AND METHODS ............................................................................................................22 Cells and Viruses ................................................................................................................................22 Generation of Virus Stocks ............................................................................................................23 iii Viral Replication Analysis of EHV-1 Isolates in EE Cells ....................................................24 Plaque Phenotype Analysis of EHV-1 Isolates in EE Cells .................................................24 RESULTS ...................................................................................................................................................25 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................................................26 CHAPTER 2: CORE FUSOGENIC GLYCOPROTEIN SET ...................................................................30 MATERIAL AND METHODS ..............................................................................................................30 Cells .........................................................................................................................................................30 Generation of EHV-1 Glycoprotein Expression Plasmids ..................................................30 PCR Analysis of Glycoprotein Expression in B78H1 Cells .................................................34 Elucidation of the Core Set of EHV-1 Fusogenic Glycoproteins ......................................35 RESULTS ...................................................................................................................................................36 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................................................38 CHAPTER 3: ALTERNATIVE EHV-1 ENTRY RECEPTORS .............................................................42 MATERIALS AND METHODS ............................................................................................................42 Cells .........................................................................................................................................................42 Generation of Equine Nectin-1 and HVEM Expression Plasmids ...................................42 Generation of Stable Nectin-1 and HVEM Receptor Lines in B78H1 Cells ..................43 RESULTS ...................................................................................................................................................43 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................................................44 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................................48 iv ABSTRACT This project was aimed at gaining a better understanding of equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) infection mechanics via a three-fold study: The first study was initiated to investigate potential differences between neurologic and non-neurologic EHV-1 strains in terms of viral replication and cell to cell spread, in equine endothelial (EE) cells. Twenty-four hour virus yields were measured for 9 neurologic and 7 non-neurologic clinical isolates. In addition to virus yields, mean plaque size formed after infection with each strain was determined. Results of this study showed that there are no trends in significant differences in terms of both replication and plaque size, suggesting that the aggressive pathology often associated with infection with neurologic EHV-1 strains may not be caused simply by enhanced replication or cell to cell spread of a particular strain. The second study was focused on identifying the minimum subset of EHV-1 glycoproteins sufficient for the fusion of the virus and host cell membranes. In the cell culture study, a subset of glycoproteins gB, gD, gH, and gL was expressed in one cell type and then these cells were combined with cells that express a known EHV-1 gD receptor, MHC-I. After mixing, cells were analyzed for their ability to fuse to one another and form multinucleated cells. Results from this study showed that, for EHV-1 strain Ohio 2003, a set of gB, gD, gH, and gL was not sufficient to mediate fusion, suggesting that more glycoproteins or other cell/viral factors may be required for fusion. The final study examined whether equine cell homologues of the two major alphaherpesvirus receptors, nectin-1 and herpes virus entry mediator (HVEM), are able to serve as entry receptors for EHV-1 and/or contribute to cell to cell spread. Currently, work v is underway to express each receptor in cells resistant to EHV-1 infection. Once these cell lines are generated, their ability to be infected with EHV-1 will be evaluated. Overall, this project identified that gB, gD, gH, and gL are not sufficient for cell fusion, and that neurologic and non-neurologic EHV-1 clinical isolates do not differ significantly in replication rate and cell to cell spread. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS When I think of the people who have helped me through being in the Master's program, the list unquestionably begins with my advisor, Dr. Art Frampton, who has given me one of the greatest opportunities in my life for intellectual and personal growth by accepting me into his Virology lab. I am grateful for all the important work that I got to do over the past two years, and, equally, for the support and inspiration you have given me along the way. I would like to thank my committee members—Dr. Sonja Pyott, Dr. Alison Taylor, and Dr. Paulo Almeida—for their support, feedback, and cheer. It has been an honor to work with you. Every DIS student who has shared with me the ups and downs of generating the expression plasmids, so that the assays of this project were one day made possible—I owe much of the success to your hard work, and I could not thank you enough. Maria and Stephanie, my lab peers, deserve big thanks (and medals) not