Determining the pathogenicity of MUT gene variant by mini-gene splicing assay

ObjectiveTo perform gene mutation splicing analysis on 12 suspected pathogenic MMUT/MUT gene mutation sites to verify the pathogenicity of the mutation.MethodsWild-type and mutant minigenes were inserted into pcMINI vector, and total 5 wild-type recombinant vectors and 12 mutant recombinant vectors were constructed. The total RNA in 293T cells was extracted after the recombinant vectors were transfected into 293T cell line. Then PCR products were detected by agarose gel electrophoresis and analyzed by sequencing.ResultsRT-PCR and sequencing results showed that among 12 mutations, 9 mutations (c.419T>C, 469G>T, c.470T>A, c.626dupC, c.693C>G, c.976A>G, c.1009T>C, c.1777G>T and c.1874A>C) did not affect the gene splicing, and the other 3 mutations (c.454C>T, c.421G>A and c.2125-3C>G) all affected mRNA splicing.ConclusionIn recent case reports of MMUT/MUT gene mutation sites, variant of uncertain significance (VUS) variation is very common. In this study, the pathogenicity of three mutation sites is confirmed by the mini-gene method.

DESIGNING AND CLONING NA GENE OF INFLUENZA A/H5N1 VIRUS INTO pHW2000 VECTOR FOR PREPARATION OF A CANDIDATE VACCINE MASTERSEED STRAIN

The influenza A/H5N1 virus is an RNA virus belonging to the family of Orthomyxoviridae. The highly pathogenic influenza A/H5N1 virus exhibit the ability to cause high mortality in poultry and infect humans. Technology for vaccine seed strain production of influenza A virus using reverse genetics requires the creation of recombinant vectors carrying viral genomic segments. To create recombinant pHW2000 vectors containing the neuraminidase (NA) gene segment encoding an important surface antigen of influenza A virus, two N1 NA gene structures were designed based on the NA gene sequences of two subtypes of highly pathogenic influenza A/H5N1 clade (clade 1.1 and clade 2.3.2.1c) and then inserted into pHW2000 vector. These two clades of highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses that are still circulating in Vietnam, with antigen homology and genetic relationships to many strains of influenza A viruses, have been suggested to be used for producing vaccines against emerging avian influenza A/H5N1 virus. Each NA gene construct consists of 1453 nucleotides in which two ends of the gene are two non-coding regions (46 nucleotides and 57 nucleotides) containing primer binding site and cleavage site of BsaI. In the middle of each NA gene is one region of 1350 nucleotides encoding 449 amino acids, ensuring catalytic function and antigenicity of NA protein. Two NA segments corresponding to the two clades of influenza A viruses were successfully cloned into pHW2000 vectors for the generation of two recombinant vectors pHW2000-NA clade 1.1 and pHW2000-NA clade 2.3.2.1c. These recombinant vectors will be used for production of candidate avian influenza vaccine strains using reverse genetics technique.

LLOVIU VIRUS - A NOVEL FILOVIRUS, ENDEMIC IN EUROPE

The data on a recently revealed novel filovirus (Lloviu virus, family Filoviridae, genera Cuevavirus) in Europe are viewed in this issue. The molecular-biological properties of genome fragments of Lloviu virus were isolated from perished bats (Miniopterus sсhreibersii). Because infectious Lloviu virus has not been isolated yet, the capacity of virus to infect cells of different species and its potential to cause disease in humans is unclear. The recombinant vectors (vesicular stomatitis virus and plasmids) expressing structural proteins of Lloviu virus were used to study different elements of the virus. The question of interaction of structural proteins of Lloviu virus expressed by recombinant vectors with receptors of bat and human cells is considered. The possibility of pathogenicity of the novel agent for humans is considered. The conclusion is made about the necessity of continuous epidemical and epizootical monitoring of the new filovirus infection.

Relevance of Assembly-Activating Protein for Adeno-associated Virus Vector Production and Capsid Protein Stability in Mammalian and Insect Cells

ABSTRACT The discovery that adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) encodes an eighth protein, called assembly-activating protein (AAP), transformed our understanding of wild-type AAV biology. Concurrently, it raised questions about the role of AAP during production of recombinant vectors based on natural or molecularly engineered AAV capsids. Here, we show that AAP is indeed essential for generation of functional recombinant AAV2 vectors in both mammalian and insect cell-based vector production systems. Surprisingly, we observed that AAV2 capsid proteins VP1 to -3 are unstable in the absence of AAP2, likely due to rapid proteasomal degradation. Inhibition of the proteasome led to an increase of intracellular VP1 to -3 but neither triggered assembly of functional capsids nor promoted nuclear localization of the capsid proteins. Together, this underscores the crucial and unique role of AAP in the AAV life cycle, where it rapidly chaperones capsid assembly, thus preventing degradation of free capsid proteins. An expanded analysis comprising nine alternative AAV serotypes (1, 3 to 9, and rh10) showed that vector production always depends on the presence of AAP, with the exceptions of AAV4 and AAV5, which exhibited AAP-independent, albeit low-level, particle assembly. Interestingly, AAPs from all 10 serotypes could cross-complement AAP-depleted helper plasmids during vector production, despite there being distinct intracellular AAP localization patterns. These were most pronounced for AAP4 and AAP5, congruent with their inability to rescue an AAV2/AAP2 knockout. We conclude that AAP is key for assembly of genuine capsids from at least 10 different AAV serotypes, which has implications for vectors derived from wild-type or synthetic AAV capsids. IMPORTANCE Assembly of adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) is regulated by the assembly-activating protein (AAP), whose open reading frame overlaps with that of the viral capsid proteins. As the majority of evidence was obtained using virus-like particles composed solely of the major capsid protein VP3, AAP's role in and relevance for assembly of genuine AAV capsids have remained largely unclear. Thus, we established a trans-complementation assay permitting assessment of AAP functionality during production of recombinant vectors based on complete AAV capsids and derived from any serotype. We find that AAP is indeed a critical factor not only for AAV2, but also for generation of vectors derived from nine other AAV serotypes. Moreover, we identify a new role of AAP in maintaining capsid protein stability in mammalian and insect cells. Thereby, our study expands our current understanding of AAV/AAP biology, and it concomitantly provides insights into the importance of AAP for AAV vector production.