Name: in vitro disassembly of influenza a virus capsids by gradient centrifugation
Uploaded: 2016-03-27T15:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about In Vitro Disassembly of Influenza A Virus Capsids by Gradient Centrifugation at JoVE.com

We thank Yohei Yamauchi and Roberta Mancini for providing us with reagents. The A. H. laboratory was supported by the Marie Curie Initial Training Networks (ITN), the European Research Council (ERC), and by the Swiss National Science Foundation (Sinergia).

1. Preparation of Buffers and Stock Solutions
<ol>
	<li>Prepare MNT buffer (20 mM MES, 30 mM Tris and 100 mM NaCl) by dissolving 470 mg Tris Hydrochloride, 390 mg MES hydrate and 580 mg NaCl in 80 ml ddH2O. Adjust the buffer to pH 7.4 and bring it to a final volume of 100 ml with ddH2O.</li>
	<li>Prepare three identical solutions of 500 mM MES buffer by dissolving 9.76 g MES hydrate in 80 ml dH2O each. Adjust the buffers to pH 5.8, 5.4, and 5.0, respectively, by titrating with concentra...

<ol>
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L., Knipe, D. M., Howley, P. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Chapter+47.">Chapter 47.</a> Fields Virology. , 1647-1690 (2006).</li><li>Chou, Y. -. Y., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Colocalization+of+Different+Influenza+Viral+RNA+Segments+in+the+Cytoplasm+before+Viral+Budding+as+Shown+by+Single-molecule+Sensitivity+FISH+Analysis.">Colocalization of Different Influenza Viral RNA Segments in the Cytoplasm before Viral Budding as Shown by Single-molecule Sensitivity FISH Analysis.</a> PLoS Pathog. 9 (5), e1003358 (2013).</li><li>Martin, K., Helenius, A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Transport+of+incoming+influenza+virus+nucleocapsids+into+the+nucleus.">Transport of incoming influenza virus nucleocapsids into the nucleus.</a> Journal of Virology. 65 (1), 232-244 (1991).</li><li>Bui, M., Whittaker, G., Helenius, A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Effect+of+M1+protein+and+low+pH+on+nuclear+transport+of+influenza+virus+ribonucleoproteins.">Effect of M1 protein and low pH on nuclear transport of influenza virus ribonucleoproteins.</a> Journal of Virology. 70 (12), 8391-8401 (1996).</li><li>Li, S., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=pH-Controlled+Two-Step+Uncoating+of+Influenza+Virus.">pH-Controlled Two-Step Uncoating of Influenza Virus.</a> Biophysical Journal. 106 (7), 1447-1456 (2014).</li><li>Stauffer, S., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Stepwise+priming+by+acidic+pH+and+high+K++is+required+for+efficient+uncoating+of+influenza+A+virus+cores+after+penetration.">Stepwise priming by acidic pH and high K+ is required for efficient uncoating of influenza A virus cores after penetration.</a> Journal of Virology. , (2014).</li><li>Zhirnov, O. P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Solubilization+of+matrix+protein+M1/M+from+virions+occurs+at+different+pH+for+orthomyxo-+and+paramyxoviruses.">Solubilization of matrix protein M1/M from virions occurs at different pH for orthomyxo- and paramyxoviruses.</a> Virology. 176 (1), 274-279 (1990).</li><li>Banerjee, I., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Influenza+A+virus+uses+the+aggresome+processing+machinery+for+host+cell+entry.">Influenza A virus uses the aggresome processing machinery for host cell entry.</a> Science. 346 (6208), 473-477 (2014).</li><li>Huotari, J., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Cullin-3+regulates+late+endosome+maturation.">Cullin-3 regulates late endosome maturation.</a> Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 109 (3), 823-828 (2012).</li><li>Yamauchi, Y., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Histone+Deacetylase+8+Is+Required+for+Centrosome+Cohesion+and+Influenza+A+Virus+Entry.">Histone Deacetylase 8 Is Required for Centrosome Cohesion and Influenza A Virus Entry.</a> PLoS Pathog. 7 (10), e1002316 (2011).</li><li>Bachmayer, H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Selective+Solubilization+of+Hemagglutinin+and+Neuraminidase+from+Influenza+Viruses.">Selective Solubilization of Hemagglutinin and Neuraminidase from Influenza Viruses.</a> Intervirology. 5 (5), 260-272 (1975).</li><li>Reginster, M., Nermut, M. V. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Preparation+and+Characterization+of+Influenza+Virus+Cores.">Preparation and Characterization of Influenza Virus Cores.</a> Journal of General Virology. 31 (2), 211-220 (1976).</li><li>Nermut, M. V. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Further+Investigation+on+the+Fine+Structure+of+Influenza+Virus.">Further Investigation on the Fine Structure of Influenza Virus.</a> Journal of General Virology. 17 (3), 317-331 (1972).</li><li>Schulze, I. T. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+structure+of+influenza+virus:+II.+A+model+based+on+the+morphology+and+composition+of+subviral+particles.">The structure of influenza virus: II. A model based on the morphology and composition of subviral particles.</a> Virology. 47 (1), 181-196 (1972).</li><li>Candiano, G., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Blue+silver:+A+very+sensitive+colloidal+Coomassie+G-250+staining+for+proteome+analysis.">Blue silver: A very sensitive colloidal Coomassie G-250 staining for proteome analysis.</a> Electrophoresis. 25 (9), 1327-1333 (2004).</li><li>Greber, U. 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Viral capsids are metastable macromolecular complexes. While assembly of virions requires the encapsidation and condensation of the virus genome, initiation of the next round of infection depends on disassembly of this compact capsid structure. Viruses have evolved to exploit various cellular mechanisms to control the coating-uncoating cycle, including cellular receptors, chaperones, proteolytic enzymes, physical forces provided by motor proteins or helicases as well as pH and ionic switches26,27. Here, we des...

Influenza A virus (IAV) is an enveloped virus and belongs to the family of Orthomyxoviridae. Its genes are encoded on a segmented, negative-sense and single-stranded RNA genome. In humans, IAV causes respiratory infections, which occur in seasonal epidemic outbreaks and bears the potential for global pandemics1. Upon binding to sialic acid residues on the host cell surface2, IAV is internalized by clathrin-dependent endocytosis and clathrin-independent pathways3-8. The acidic milieu (pH &#60; 5.5) in the endocytic vacuoles triggers a major conformational change in the IAV spike glycoprotein hemagglutinin (HA), which results in fusion of the viral and the late endosomal membrane9. Once the IAV capsid (here also referred to as viral &#34;core&#34;) has escaped from late endosomes (LEs), it is uncoated in the cytosol followed by transport of the viral ribonucleoproteins (vRNPs) into the nucleus &#8212; the site of virus replication and transcription10-13. Prior to acid activation of HA the virus experiences a gradual decrease in pH in the endocytic system, which primes the core for its subsequent disassembly14-16. In this &#34;priming&#34; step the M2 ion channels in the viral membrane mediate the influx of protons and K+10,14,16. The change in ionic concentration in the virus interior disturbs the interactions build up by the viral matrix protein M1 and the eight vRNP bundle, and facilitates IAV uncoating in the cytoplasm following membrane fusion10,14-17.
Direct and quantitative analysis of the priming step has been hampered by the fact that endosomes are difficult to access experimentally. The entry process is, moreover, highly non-synchronous. In addition, end-point assays, such as qRT-PCR of released viral RNA or infectivity measurements, do not provide a detailed picture about the biochemical state of the viral capsid at any given step of entry. While perturbation of endosomes by siRNA or drug treatment has significantly contributed to the understanding of IAV entry18-20, fine-tuning is difficult and prone to unspecific side effects in the tightly controlled endosome maturation program.
To avoid these problems, we have adapted a previously developed in vitro protocol based on the use of velocity gradient centrifugation17. In contrast to other attempts 21,22,23,24, which were mostly based on combinations of proteolytic cleavage and detergent treatment followed by EM analysis, this approach enabled an easily quantifiable result. Centrifugation through different gradient layers allows the sedimenting particles to be exposed to and react with changing conditions in a controlled manner. In the presented protocol, IAV derived from clarified allantoic fluid or purified viral particles are sedimented into a two-layer glycerol gradient in which the bottom layer contains the non-ionic detergent NP-40 (Figure 1). As the virus enters the second, detergent-containing layer, the viral lipid envelope and envelope glycoproteins are gently solubilized and left behind. The core, composed of the eight vRNP bundle and surrounded by a matrix layer, sediments as a stable structure into the pellet fraction. Viral core proteins, such as M1 and vRNP-associated nucleoprotein (NP), can be identified in the pellet by SDS-PAGE and Coomassie staining. In particular, taking advantage of commercially available gradient gels and staining with the highly sensitive colloidal Coomassie25, enables high precision and detection of even small amounts of viral core-associated proteins.
This sets the basis for testing whether different conditions such as pH, salt concentration, and putative uncoating factors have effects on the sedimentation behavior of core components and core stability. To this aim, only the lower, detergent-containing layer in the glycerol gradient is modified by introducing the factor or condition of interest. The technique has been particularly valuable in investigating the effect of different pH values and salt concentrations on the integrity of the IAV core16. Intermediate steps of IAV uncoating could be monitored including dissociation of the matrix layer at mildly acidic pH (&#60;6.5) followed by vRNP dissociation at pH 5.5 and lower16,17 (Figure 1). The latter step was further enhanced by the presence of high K+ concentration in the glycerol layer, reflecting a late endocytic environment16. Thus, as the virus and the core sedimented through the gradient they experienced a changing milieu that mimics conditions in endosomes. The outcome was a stepwise disassembly of the viral core in vitro, complementing results derived from cell biology assays.
The method presented here has enabled fast and highly reproducible analysis of IAV (X31 and A/WSN/33) and IBV (B/Lee/40) uncoating triggered by acidic pH and increasing K+16,17 as well as disassembly of paramyxovirus cores upon alkaline pH exposure17. It is conceivable that the approach can be adapted to other enveloped viruses to gain insights into the biochemical properties of the viral capsid structure and capsid disassembly during cell entry.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="1103">
	
	<tbody>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:391px;">cOmplete&#8482;, EDTA-free protease inhibitor tablets</td>
			<td style="width:123px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:116px;">11873580001</td>
			<td style="width:473px;">The stock solution can be stored at 2 to 8 &#176;C for 1 to 2 weeks</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Glacial acetic acid</td>
			<td>Merck Millipore</td>
			<td>100063</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Glycerol anhydrous BioChemica</td>
			<td>AppliChem</td>
			<td>A1123</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Hydrochloric acid</td>
			<td>Merck Millipore</td>
			<td>100317</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Long injection needle (21 GA, 9 cm, bevel or blunt-end)</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">MES hydrate</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>M8250</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Methanol</td>
			<td>Merck Millipore</td>
			<td>106009</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">NP-40</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>I8896</td>
			<td>Now commercially available as IGEPAL&#174; CA-630</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">NuPAGE&#174; 4-12% Bis-Tris mini gels, 10 wells, 1.0 mm</td>
			<td>Life Technologies</td>
			<td>NP0321</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">NuPAGE&#174; LDS sample buffer (4X)</td>
			<td>Life Technologies</td>
			<td>NP0008</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">NuPAGE&#174; MOPS SDS running buffer (20X)</td>
			<td>Life Technologies</td>
			<td>NP0001</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">pH indicator strips, pH 4.0 - 7.0</td>
			<td>Merck Millipore</td>
			<td>109542</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">QC Colloidal Coomassie Stain</td>
			<td>BIO RAD</td>
			<td>1610803</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Sodium chloride</td>
			<td>Merck Millipore</td>
			<td>106406</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Sodiumhydroxide</td>
			<td>Merck Millipore</td>
			<td>106498</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Steritop&#8482; filter unit</td>
			<td>Merck Millipore</td>
			<td>SCGPT05RE</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">SW41 Ti, ultracentrifuge rotor set</td>
			<td>Beckman Coulter</td>
			<td>331336</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Thinwall, Ultra-clear centrifuge tubes, 13.2 ml, 14 x 89 mm</td>
			<td>Beckman Coulter</td>
			<td>344059</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Tris hydrochloride&#160;</td>
			<td>AppliChem</td>
			<td>A1087</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">X31 Influenza A virus (H3N2), egg-grown, clarified allantoic fluid</td>
			<td>Virapur</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Freshly thawed on 4&#176;C</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

in vitro disassembly of influenza a virus capsids by gradient centrifugation

Acid-triggered molecular processes closely control cell entry of many viruses that enter through the endocytic system. In the case of influenza A virus (IAV), virus fusion with the endosomal membrane as well as the subsequent disassembly of the viral capsid, called uncoating, is governed by the ionic conditions inside endocytic vesicles. The early steps in the virus life cycle are hard to study because endosomes cannot be directly accessed experimentally, creating the need for an in vitro approach. Here, we describe a method based on velocity gradient centrifugation of purified virions through a two-layer glycerol gradient, which enables analysis of the IAV core and its stability. The gradient contains a non-ionic detergent (NP-40) in its lower layer to remove the viral membrane by solubilization as the virus sediments toward the bottom. At neutral pH, viral cores are pelleted as stable structures. The major core components, matrix protein (M1) and the viral ribonucleoproteins (vRNPs), can be clearly identified in the pellet fraction by SDS-PAGE. Decreasing the pH to 6.0 or lower in the bottom layer selectively removes M1 from the pellet followed by release of vRNPs at more acidic conditions. Viral protein bands on Coomassie-stained gels can be subjected to densitometric quantification to monitor intermediate states of IAV disassembly. Besides pH, other factors that influence viral core stability can be assessed, such as salt concentration and putative viral uncoating factors, simply by modifying the detergent-containing glycerol layer accordingly. Taken together, the presented technique allows highly reproducible and quantitative analysis of viral uncoating in vitro. It can be applied to other enveloped viruses that undergo complex uncoating processes.

As already discussed, priming in endosomes is required to render the IAV core uncoating competent. Protonation of the core weakens interaction of M1 and vRNPs (composed of the viral RNA, NP, and the polymerase complex PB1/PB2/PA). This process is initiated when incoming virus is exposed to a pH of 6.5 (or lower) in early endosomes (EEs) and continues until the virus fuses at around pH 5.0 in LEs.
In order to mimic the decrease o...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about In Vitro Disassembly of Influenza A Virus Capsids by Gradient Centrifugation at JoVE.com

In Vitro Disassembly of Influenza A Virus Capsids by Gradient Centrifugation

Disassembly of influenza A virus cores during virus entry into host cells is a multistep process. We describe an in vitro method to analyze the early stages of viral uncoating. In this approach, velocity gradient centrifugation is used to biochemically dissect the steps that initiate uncoating under defined conditions.

In Vitro Disassembly of Influenza A Virus Capsids by Gradient Centrifugation

Acid-triggered molecular processes closely control cell entry of many viruses that enter through the endocytic system. In the case of influenza A virus ...

The overall goal of this velocity gradient centrifugation is to analyze influenza A virus capsids under conditions mimicking the endocytic milieu that incoming viruses encounter during cell entry. This method can help answer key questions about how influenza A virus capsids disassemble during cell entry, such as the specific effect of mildly acidic pH on capsid stability. The main advantage of this technique is that it enables quantitative analysis of the influenza A virus uncoating process under defined experimental conditions.Besides providing insights into how influenza A virus uncoating is initiated, this method can also be applied to the study other envelope viruses with related uncoating mechanisms. Demonstrating the procedure, will be Firat Nebloglu, a former student from my lab. After preparing stock buffers and reagents according to the text protocol, for each pH condition to test, prepare detergent buffer master mix by mixing nine milliliters of one Molar sodium chloride, six milliliters of 10%NP40, 2.4 milliliters of the 25X protease inhibitor stock, and nine milliliters of doubly-distilled water.Then for each pH condition, pipet 4.4 milliliters of the master mix into a 50 milliliter conical tube. For pH values above 5.8, add 0.6 milliliters of the respective pH-adjusted 500 milliMolar Tris stock solution to the tube. For pH values 5.8 and lower, add 0.6 milliliters of the respective pH-adjusted 500 milliMolar MES stock solution.Make five milliliters of buffer solution, containing 300 milliMolar sodium chloride, 2X protease inhibitor, 60 milliMolar Tris, adjusted to pH 7.4, and double-distilled water. This will serve as the detergent-free control gradient buffer. Next, add five milliliters of the 50%glycerol stock to five milliliters of the detergent-containing and detergent-free buffer mixtures, resulting six different 25%glycerol solutions.Use pH strips to verify the pH values. Prepare a 15%glycerol solution by mixing a three to seven ratio of 50%glycerol stock with distilled water. Using a five milliliter syringe and a needle, add three milliliters of 15%glycerol solution to six ultraclear centrifugation tubes.Wash the needle in double-distilled water after every step. Use a five milliliter syringe and a long needle to carefully inject 3.4 milliliters of 25%glycerol solution under the 15%glycerol layer, taking care not to mix the two layers. An interface between both layers is clearly visible.Repeat this for all six conditions to test with the respective pH-adjusted glycerol solutions. Next, in a Class II biosafety cabinet, use one milliliter of clarified, diluted allantoic fluid, containing influenza A virus, to gently overlay the glycerol gradients. Transfer tubes into rotor buckets, balance opposing tubes, and carefully place them into a pre-cooled SW-41 ultracentrifugation rotor.Centrifuge at 2100 rpm and 12 degrees Celsius for 150 minutes. After the centrifugation, use a clean Pasteur pipette and an aspirator to carefully remove both glycerol layers. Then with 40 milliliters of 1X non-reducing LDS sample buffer, completely resuspend the pellet by pipetting up and down before transferring the sample into a 1.5 milliliter microcentrifuge tube.To carry out SDS-PAGE, heat all the samples at 95 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes. Load 20 microliters of the dissolved pellets onto a precast gradient Bis-Tris mini-gel and run at 200 Volts for one hour in 1X MOPS SDS running buffer. Incubate the gel in fixation solution for one hour.Rinse one to two times with water, and stain overnight in a 15 centimeter cell culture dish with a sufficient volume of colloidal Coomassie solution while gently shaking at room temperature. Destain the gel in doubly-distilled water, replacing the liquid every 15 to 20 minutes until the gel background becomes clear. Store the gel in doubly-distilled water at four degrees Celsius until it is scanned for band quantification.Finally, scan the gel at high resolution and use commercially available custom-made software for quantification of protein band intensities. Subtract the background signal from a region close to the respective bands and normalize the values to the detergent-free control values. In this experiment, X31 derived from clarified allantoic fluid was subjected to velocity gradient centrifugation at pH levels between 7.4 and 5.0 and analyzed by SDS-PAGE.Without detergent present in the gradient, intact virions are pelleted as reflected by the characteristic pattern of bands, representing HA, NP, and M1 in the Coomassie-stained gel. Upon addition of NP40 to the bottom glycerol layer, the viral envelope, including HA, NA, and M2, was solubilized and the viral core alone sedimented into the pellet during ultracentrifugation. Starting at a pH below 6.5, M1 is gradually lost from the pellet fraction, reaching a minimum between pH 5.8 and pH 5.4.Below pH 5.8, vRNPs were dissociated and thus lost from the pellet. From the protein bands analyzed, two distinct pH thresholds for disassembly of the M1 layer and dissociation of vRNP bundles were revealed, including pH 6.5 and pH 5.8, respectively. While attempting this procedure, it's important to remember that depending on the particular influenza A virus strain or mutant, different disassembly properties may be observed.Following this procedure, other methods like electron microscopy can be performed in order to gain additional insights like the structure of isolated influenza virus capsids.

in-vitro-disassembly-influenza-virus-capsids-gradient

Research

JoVE Journal

Immunology and Infection

Generation of Recombinant Influenza Virus from Plasmid DNA

Efforts by a number of influenza research groups have been pivotal in the development and improvement of influenza A virus reverse genetics. Originally established in 1999 1,2 plasmid-based reverse genetic techniques to generate recombinant viruses have revolutionized the influenza research field because specific questions have been answered by genetically engineered, infectious, recombinant influenza viruses. Such studies include virus replication, function of viral proteins, the contribution of specific mutations in viral proteins in viral replication and/or pathogenesis and, also, viral vectors using recombinant influenza viruses expressing foreign proteins 3.

Rescue of influenza A viruses from plasmid DNA is a basic and essential experimental technique that allows influenza researchers to generate recombinant viruses to study multiple aspects in the biology of influenza virus, and to be used as potential vectors or vaccines.

Efforts by a number of influenza research groups have been pivotal in the development and improvement of influenza A virus reverse genetics. Originally ...

Using Bioluminescent Imaging to Investigate Synergism Between Streptococcus pneumoniae and Influenza A Virus in Infant Mice

During the 1918 influenza virus pandemic, which killed approximately 50 million people worldwide, the majority of fatalities were not the result of infection with influenza virus alone. Instead, most individuals are thought to have succumbed to a secondary bacterial infection, predominately caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus). The synergistic relationship between infections caused by influenza virus and the pneumococcus has subsequently been observed during the 1957 Asian influenza virus pandemic, as well as during seasonal outbreaks of the virus (reviewed in 1, 2). Here, we describe a protocol used to investigate the mechanism(s) that may be involved in increased morbidity as a result of concurrent influenza A virus and S. pneumoniae infection. We have developed an infant murine model to reliably and reproducibly demonstrate the effects of influenza virus infection of mice colonised with S. pneumoniae. Using this protocol, we have provided the first insight into the kinetics of pneumococcal transmission between co-housed, neonatal mice using in vivo imaging 3.

Using Bioluminescent Imaging to Investigate Synergism Between Streptococcus pneumoniae and Influenza A Virus in Infant Mice

A concurrent infection with influenza A virus is one of the factors implicated in the induction of invasive pneumococcal disease during asymptomatic Streptococcus pneumoniae carriage. Here we describe a mixed infection method using infant mice to investigate the synergism between these two respiratory pathogens.

During the 1918 influenza virus pandemic, which killed approximately 50 million people worldwide, the majority of fatalities were not the result of ...

High-throughput Detection Method for Influenza Virus

Influenza virus is a respiratory pathogen that causes a high degree of morbidity and mortality every year in multiple parts of the world. Therefore, precise diagnosis of the infecting strain and rapid high-throughput screening of vast numbers of clinical samples is paramount to control the spread of pandemic infections. Current clinical diagnoses of influenza infections are based on serologic testing, polymerase chain reaction, direct specimen immunofluorescence and cell culture 1,2.
Here, we report the development of a novel diagnostic technique used to detect live influenza viruses. We used the mouse-adapted human A/PR/8/34 (PR8, H1N1) virus 3 to test the efficacy of this technique using MDCK cells 4. MDCK cells (104 or 5 x 103 per well) were cultured in 96- or 384-well plates, infected with PR8 and viral proteins were detected using anti-M2 followed by an IR dye-conjugated secondary antibody. M2 5 and hemagglutinin 1 are two major marker proteins used in many different diagnostic assays. Employing IR-dye-conjugated secondary antibodies minimized the autofluorescence associated with other fluorescent dyes. The use of anti-M2 antibody allowed us to use the antigen-specific fluorescence intensity as a direct metric of viral quantity. To enumerate the fluorescence intensity, we used the LI-COR Odyssey-based IR scanner. This system uses two channel laser-based IR detections to identify fluorophores and differentiate them from background noise. The first channel excites at 680 nm and emits at 700 nm to help quantify the background. The second channel detects fluorophores that excite at 780 nm and emit at 800 nm. Scanning of PR8-infected MDCK cells in the IR scanner indicated a viral titer-dependent bright fluorescence. A positive correlation of fluorescence intensity to virus titer starting from 102-105 PFU could be consistently observed. Minimal but detectable positivity consistently seen with 102-103 PFU PR8 viral titers demonstrated the high sensitivity of the near-IR dyes. The signal-to-noise ratio was determined by comparing the mock-infected or isotype antibody-treated MDCK cells.
Using the fluorescence intensities from 96- or 384-well plate formats, we constructed standard titration curves. In these calculations, the first variable is the viral titer while the second variable is the fluorescence intensity. Therefore, we used the exponential distribution to generate a curve-fit to determine the polynomial relationship between the viral titers and fluorescence intensities. Collectively, we conclude that IR dye-based protein detection system can help diagnose infecting viral strains and precisely enumerate the titer of the infecting pathogens.

This method describes the use of Infrared dye based imaging system for detection of H1N1 in bronchioalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid of infected mice at a high sensitivity. This methodology can be performed in a 96- or 384-well plate, requires &lt;10 &mu;l volume of test material and has the potential for concurrent screening of multiple pathogens.

Influenza virus is a respiratory pathogen that causes a high degree of morbidity and mortality every year in multiple parts of the world. Therefore, ...

Isolation of Human Monocytes by Double Gradient Centrifugation and Their Differentiation to Macrophages in Teflon-coated Cell Culture Bags

Human macrophages are involved in a plethora of pathologic processes ranging from infectious diseases to cancer. Thus they pose a valuable tool to understand the underlying mechanisms of these diseases. We therefore present a straightforward protocol for the isolation of human monocytes from buffy coats, followed by a differentiation procedure which results in high macrophage yields. The technique relies mostly on commonly available lab equipment and thus provides a cost and time effective way to obtain large quantities of human macrophages. Briefly, buffy coats from healthy blood donors are subjected to a double density gradient centrifugation to harvest monocytes from the peripheral blood. These monocytes are then cultured in fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) Teflon-coated cell culture bags in the presence of macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF). The differentiated macrophages can be easily harvested and used for subsequent studies and functional assays. Important methods for quality control and validation of the isolation and differentiation steps will be highlighted within the protocol. In summary, the protocol described here enables scientists to routinely and reproducibly isolate human macrophages without the need for cost intensive tools. Furthermore, disease models can be studied in a syngeneic human system circumventing the use of murine macrophages.

We present a simple and efficient protocol for the generation of human macrophages. Buffy coats are processed by double density gradient centrifugation and isolated monocytes are then differentiated to macrophages in Teflon-coated cell culture bags. This maximizes macrophage yields and facilitates cell harvesting for subsequent experiments.

Human macrophages are involved in a plethora of pathologic processes ranging from infectious diseases to cancer. Thus they pose a valuable tool to ...

Influenza Virus Propagation in Embryonated Chicken Eggs

Influenza infection is associated with about 36,000 deaths and more than 200,000 hospitalizations every year in the United States. The continuous emergence of new influenza virus strains due to mutation and re-assortment complicates the control of the virus and necessitates the permanent development of novel drugs and vaccines. The laboratory-based study of influenza requires a reliable and cost-effective method for the propagation of the virus. Here, a comprehensive protocol is provided for influenza A virus propagation in fertile chicken eggs, which consistently yields high titer viral stocks. In brief, serum pathogen-free (SPF) fertilized chicken eggs are incubated at 37 &#176;C and 55-60% humidity for 10 &#8211; 11 days. Over this period, embryo development can be easily monitored using an egg candler. Virus inoculation is carried out by injection of virus stock into the allantoic cavity using a needle. After 2 days of incubation at 37 &#176;C, the eggs are chilled for at least 4 hr at 4 &#176;C. The eggshell above the air sac and the chorioallantoic membrane are then carefully opened, and the allantoic fluid containing the virus is harvested. The fluid is cleared from debris by centrifugation, aliquoted and transferred to -80 &#176;C for long-term storage. The large amount (5-10 ml of virus-containing fluid per egg) and high virus titer which is usually achieved with this protocol has made the usage of eggs for virus preparation our favorable method, in particular for in vitro studies which require large quantities of virus in which high dosages of the same virus stock are needed.

Fertile chicken eggs are widely used to produce large amounts of human influenza A virus as they provide a convenient and cost-effective system to prove high yields of virus.

Influenza infection is associated with about 36,000 deaths and more than 200,000 hospitalizations every year in the United States. The continuous ...

Co-immunoprecipitation of the Mouse Mx1 Protein with the Influenza A Virus Nucleoprotein

Studying the interaction between proteins is key in understanding their function(s). A very powerful method that is frequently used to study interactions of proteins with other macromolecules in a complex sample is called co-immunoprecipitation. The described co-immunoprecipitation protocol allows to demonstrate and further investigate the interaction between the antiviral myxovirus resistance protein 1 (Mx1) and one of its viral targets, the influenza A virus nucleoprotein (NP). The protocol starts with transfected mammalian cells, but it is also possible to use influenza A virus infected cells as starting material. After cell lysis, the viral NP protein is pulled-down with a specific antibody and the resulting immune-complexes are precipitated with protein G beads. The successful pull-down of NP and the co-immunoprecipitation of the antiviral Mx1 protein are subsequently revealed by western blotting. A prerequisite for successful co-immunoprecipitation of Mx1 with NP is the presence of N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) in the cell lysis buffer. NEM alkylates free thiol groups. Presumably this reaction stabilizes the weak and/or transient NP&#8211;Mx1 interaction by preserving a specific conformation of Mx1, its viral target or an unknown third component. An important limitation of co-immunoprecipitation experiments is the inadvertent pull-down of contaminating proteins, caused by nonspecific binding of proteins to the protein G beads or antibodies. Therefore, it is very important to include control settings to exclude false positive results. The described co-immunoprecipitation protocol can be used to study the interaction of Mx proteins from different vertebrate species with viral proteins, any pair of proteins, or of a protein with other macromolecules. The beneficial role of NEM to stabilize weak and/or transient interactions needs to be tested for each interaction pair individually.

This co-immunoprecipitation protocol allows to study the interaction between the influenza A virus nucleoprotein and the antiviral Mx1 protein in human cells. The protocol emphasizes the importance of N-ethylmaleimide for successful co-immunoprecipitation of Mx1 and influenza A virus nucleoprotein.

Studying the interaction between proteins is key in understanding their function(s). A very powerful method that is frequently used to study interactions ...

Nasal Wipes for Influenza A Virus Detection and Isolation from Swine

Surveillance for influenza A viruses in swine is critical to human and animal health because influenza A virus rapidly evolves in swine populations and new strains are continually emerging. Swine are able to be infected by diverse lineages of influenza A virus making them important hosts for the emergence and maintenance of novel influenza A virus strains. Sampling pigs in diverse settings such as commercial swine farms, agricultural fairs, and live animal markets is important to provide a comprehensive view of currently circulating IAV strains. The current gold-standard ante-mortem sampling technique (i.e. collection of nasal swabs) is labor intensive because it requires physical restraint of the pigs. Nasal wipes involve rubbing a piece of fabric across the snout of the pig with minimal to no restraint of the animal. The nasal wipe procedure is simple to perform and does not require personnel with professional veterinary or animal handling training. While slightly less sensitive than nasal swabs, virus detection and isolation rates are adequate to make nasal wipes a viable alternative for sampling individual pigs when low stress sampling methods are required. The proceeding protocol outlines the steps needed to collect a viable nasal wipe from an individual pig.

The authors present a protocol to collect swine nasal wipes to detect and isolate influenza A viruses.

Surveillance for influenza A viruses in swine is critical to human and animal health because influenza A virus rapidly evolves in swine populations and ...

Measuring Attachment and Internalization of Influenza A Virus in A549 Cells by Flow Cytometry

Attachment to target cells followed by internalization are the very first steps of the life cycle of influenza A virus (IAV). We provide here a detailed protocol for measuring relative changes in the amount of viral particles that attach to A549 cells, a human lung epithelial cell line, as well as in the amount of particles that are internalized into the cell. We use biotinylated virus which can be easily detected following staining with Cy3-labeled streptavidin (STV-Cy3). We describe the growth, purification and biotinylation of A/WSN/33, a widely used IAV laboratory strain. Cold-bound biotinylated IAV particles on A549 cells are stained with STV-Cy3 and measured using flow cytometry. To investigate uptake of viral particles, cold-bound virus is allowed to internalize at 37 &#176;C. In order to differentiate between external and internalized viral particles, a blocking step is applied: Free binding spots on the biotin of attached virus on the cell surface are bound by unlabeled streptavidin (STV). Subsequent cell permeabilization and staining with STV-Cy3 then enables detection of internalized viral particles. We present a calculation to determine the relative amount of internalized virus. This assay is suitable to measure effects of drug-treatments or other manipulations on attachment or internalization of IAV.

We present a protocol describing a semi-quantitative method for measuring both, the attachment of influenza A virus to A549 cells, as well as the internalization of virus particles into the target cells by flow cytometry.

Attachment to target cells followed by internalization are the very first steps of the life cycle of influenza A virus (IAV). We provide here a detailed ...

Neutrophil Isolation and Analysis to Determine their Role in Lymphoma Cell Sensitivity to Therapeutic Agents

Neutrophils are the most abundant (40% to 75%) type of white blood cells and among the first inflammatory cells to migrate towards the site of inflammation. They are key players in the innate immune system and play major roles in cancer biology. Neutrophils have been proposed as key mediators of malignant transformation, tumor progression, angiogenesis and in the modulation of the antitumor immunity; through their release of soluble factors or their interaction with tumor cells. To characterize the specific functions of neutrophils, a fast and reliable method is coveted for in vitro isolation of neutrophils from human blood. Here, a density gradient separation method is demonstrated to isolate neutrophils as well as mononuclear cells from the blood. The procedure consists of layering the density gradient solution such as Ficoll carefully above the diluted blood obtained from patients diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), followed by centrifugation, isolation of mononuclear layer, separation of neutrophils from RBCsby dextran then lysis of residual erythrocytes. This method has been shown to isolate neutrophils &#8805; 90 % pure. To mimic the tumor microenvironment, 3-dimensional (3D) experiments were performed using basement membrane matrix such as Matrigel. Given the short half-life of neutrophils in vitro, 3D experiments with fresh human neutrophils cannot be performed. For this reason promyelocytic HL60 cells are differentiated along the granulocytic pathway using the differentiation inducers dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and retinoic acid (RA). The aim of our experiments is to study the role of neutrophils on the sensitivity of lymphoma cells to anti-lymphoma agents. However these methods can be generalized to study the interactions of neutrophils or neutrophil-like cells with a large range of cell types in different situations.

Neutrophils are the most abundant type of white blood cells. The isolation of neutrophils from human blood by density gradient separation method and the differentiation of human promyelocytic (HL60) cells along the granulocytic pathway are described here; to test their role on sensitivity of lymphoma cells to anti-lymphoma agents.

Neutrophils are the most abundant (40% to 75%) type of white blood cells and among the first inflammatory cells to migrate towards the site of ...

Influenza A Virus Studies in a Mouse Model of Infection

Influenza viruses cause over 500,000 deaths worldwide1 and are associated with an annual cost of 12 - 14 billion USD in the United States alone considering direct medical and hospitalization expenses and work absenteeism2. Animal models are crucial in Influenza A virus (IAV) studies to evaluate viral pathogenesis, host-pathogen interactions, immune responses, and the efficacy of current and/or novel vaccine approaches as well as antivirals. Mice are an advantageous small animal model because their immune system is evolutionarily similar to that found in humans, they are available from commercial vendors as genetically identical subjects, there are multiple strains that can be exploited to evaluate the genetic basis of infections, and they are relatively inexpensive and easy to manipulate. To recapitulate IAV infection in humans via the airways, mice are first anesthetized prior to intranasal inoculation with infectious IAVs under proper biosafety containment. After infection, the pathogenesis of IAVs is determined by monitoring daily the morbidity (body weight loss) and mortality (survival) rate. In addition, viral pathogenesis can also be evaluated by assessing virus replication in the upper (nasal mucosa) or lower (lungs) respiratory tract of infected mice. Humoral responses upon IAV infection can be rapidly evaluated by non-invasive bleeding and secondary antibody detection assays aimed at detecting the presence of total or neutralizing antibodies. Here, we describe the common methods used to infect mice intranasally (i.n) with IAV and evaluate pathogenesis, humoral immune responses and protection efficacy.

Influenza A viruses (IAVs) are important human respiratory pathogens. To understand the pathogenicity of IAVs and to perform preclinical testing of novel vaccine approaches, animal models mimicking human physiology are required. Here, we describe techniques to evaluate IAV pathogenesis, humoral responses and vaccine efficacy using a mouse model of infection.