Prevalence of Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor variant in a cholera-endemic zone of Kenya

Since 2007, Kenya has experienced an increase in cholera outbreaks characterized by a high fatality rate. In this study, we characterized 81 Vibrio cholerae isolates from diarrhoeal stool samples in Nyanza, a cholera-endemic lake region of Kenya, for virulence properties, clonality and antibiotic susceptibility. Eighty of these isolates were V. cholerae O1 El Tor variants carrying the classical ctxB gene sequence, while one isolate was V. cholerae non-O1/O139. All of the El Tor variants were of clonal origin, as revealed by PFGE, and were susceptible to ampicillin, tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, fosfomycin, kanamycin and norfloxacin. However, the isolates showed resistance to sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim and streptomycin, and intermediate resistance to nalidixic acid, chloramphenicol and imipenem. The non-O1/O139 isolate carried the cholix toxin II gene (chxA II) and was susceptible to all antimicrobials tested except ampicillin. We propose that an El Tor variant clone caused the Nyanza cholera outbreak of 2007–2008.

A Rapid Progressor-Specific Variant Clone of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Replicates Efficiently In Vivo Only in the Absence of Immune Reponses

ABSTRACT A subset of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected macaques progresses rapidly to disease with transient SIV-specific immune responses and high viral loads. Unique SIV variants with convergent Env mutations evolve in these rapid progressor (RP) macaques. To address the pathogenic significance of RP-specific variants, we generated infectious molecular clones from the terminal-phase plasma of an RP macaque. Inoculation of macaques with a representative clone, SIVsmH635FC, resulted in a persistent viremia, comparable to that produced by pathogenic SIVsmE543-3, and a chronic disease with progressive loss of CD4+ T cells. However, SIVsmH635FC did not reproduce the rapid-disease phenomenon. Molecular analyses of viruses from these macaques revealed rapid reversion to the wild-type SIVsmE543-3 sequence at two RP-specific sites and slower reversion at another three sites. SIVsmH635FC infection was not sufficient to cause rapid progression even following coinoculation with SIVsmE543-3, despite acute depletion of memory CD4+ T cells. SIVsmH635FC competed efficiently during primary infection in the coinoculated macaques, but SIVsmE543-3 predominated after the development of SIV-specific immune responses. These data suggest that the replication fitness of the RP variant was similar to that of SIVsmE543-3 in a naïve host; however, SIVsmH635FC was at a disadvantage following the development of SIV-specific immune responses. Consistent with these findings, neutralization assays revealed that SIVsmH635FC was highly sensitive to neutralization but that the parental SIVsmE543-3 strain was highly resistant. This study suggests that the evolution of RP-specific variants is the result of replication in a severely immunocompromised host, rather than the direct cause of rapid progression.

A preadipose 3T3 cell variant highly sensitive to adipogenic factors and to human growth hormone

We describe a new Swiss 3T3 preadipose clone, 3T3-F442A/C4, which shows higher sensitivity to serum adipogenic factors and to human growth hormone as compared to other 3T3 preadipose clones. The 3T3-F442A/C4 clone exhibited several characteristics different from the parental 3T3-F442A cells, mainly a high extent of adipose conversion under culture conditions that are non-adipogenic for the parental cells. The 3T3-F442A/C4 cells are not committed to undergo adipose differentiation, since they do not differentiate into adipocytes under serum-free or low-serum culture conditions, unless adipogenic factors or growth hormone are added into the culture medium. The 3T3-F442A/C4 cells showed 1.5- to 3.6-fold higher sensitivity to serum adipogenic factors and 5- to 6-fold higher sensitivity to human growth hormone as compared to the 3T3-F442A cells. The 3T3-F442A/C4 variant clone also differed from the parental clone by having a shorter population doubling time, an increased saturation density, and lower activity levels in some biochemical markers of adipose differentiation. On the other hand, the new variant clone has a similar proportion of cells susceptible to become adipocytes, and a similar response to insulin as compared to the parental cells. Our results show that the 3T3-F442A/C4 cells represent a new 3T3 preadipose clone that could be useful as a bioassay to evaluate growth hormone activity, as well as to purify and characterize hormones, adipogenic factors, and those compounds that affect mammalian adipogenesis.

Genetic basis of viral persistence: single amino acid change in the viral glycoprotein affects ability of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus to persist in adult mice.

This study has identified a single amino acid change in the viral glycoprotein that profoundly affects the ability of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) to persist in its natural host. Adult immunocompetent mice infected with a variant of the Armstrong strain, spleen isolate clone 13 (svA/svA), harbor virus for several months and exhibit suppressed T cell responses. In contrast, adult mice infected with a reassortant virus (svA/wtA) that contains the L segment of the spleen variant and the S segment of the parental wt Armstrong, make potent LCMV-specific CTL responses and clear the infection within 2-4 wk. These two viruses, spleen variant clone 13 and the reassortant svA/wtA, are identical in their noncoding regions and show no amino acid changes in any of their viral genes except for one substitution in the glycoprotein. The reassortant virus svA/wtA has a phenylalanine at amino acid residue 260 of the glycoprotein, whereas the spleen variant clone 13 has a leucine at this position. This study constitutes one of the first reports defining the genetic basis of viral persistence at the whole animal level, and identifying a single mutation that markedly increases the ability of a virus to persist in its natural host.