0000000000126197
AUTHOR
Rebeca Montava
The G428A Nonsense Mutation in FUT2 Provides Strong but Not Absolute Protection against Symptomatic GII.4 Norovirus Infection
In November 2004, 116 individuals in an elderly nursing home in El Grao de Castellón, Spain were symptomatically infected with genogroup II.4 (GII.4) norovirus. The global attack rate was 54.2%. Genotyping of 34 symptomatic individuals regarding the FUT2 gene revealed that one patient was, surprisingly, a non-secretor, hence indicating secretor-independent infection. Lewis genotyping revealed that Lewis-positive and negative individuals were susceptible to symptomatic norovirus infection indicating that Lewis status did not predict susceptibility. Saliva based ELISA assays were used to determine binding of the outbreak virus to saliva samples. Saliva from a secretor-negative individual boun…
Transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV)-based vectors with engineered murine tropism express the rotavirus VP7 protein and immunize mice against rotavirus
A coronavirus vector based on the genome of the porcine transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) expressing the rotavirus VP7 protein was constructed to immunize and protect against rotavirus infections in a murine model. The tropism of this TGEV-derived vector was modified by replacing the spike S protein with the homologous protein from mouse hepatitis virus (MHV). The rotavirus gene encoding the VP7 protein was cloned into the coronavirus cDNA. BALB/c and STAT1-deficient mice were inoculated with the recombinant viral vector rTGEVS-MHV-VP7, which replicates in the intestine and spreads to other organs such as liver, spleen and lungs. TGEV-specific antibodies were detected in all the in…
Nasal immunization of mice with a rotavirus DNA vaccine that induces protective intestinal IgA antibodies
International audience; DNA vaccination using a plasmid encoding the rotavirus inner capsid VP6 has been explored in the mouse model of rotavirus infection. BALB/c mice were immunized with a VP6 DNA vaccine by the intramuscular, nasal and oral routes. VP6 DNA vaccination by the nasal and oral routes induced the production of anti-VP6 IgA antibodies by intestinal lymphoid cells. Intramuscular DNA injection stimulated the production of serum anti-VP6 IgG but not serum anti-VP6 IgA antibodies. Protection against shedding of rotaviruses in stools after oral challenge with the murine EDIM rotavirus strain was investigated in the immunized mice. A significant reduction in the level of rotavirus a…
Aetiology and epidemiology of viral gastroenteritis outbreaks in Catalonia (Spain) in 2004-2005.
Abstract Background Acute infectious gastroenteritis causes substantial morbidity and economic loss. Objective The aetiology, epidemiology, and clinical features of acute viral gastroenteritis outbreaks reported during 1 year in Catalonia were investigated. Study Design This was a population-based study in which enzyme immunoassay and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) techniques were used to determine the presence of virus in stool specimens from outbreaks clinically and epidemiologically compatible with a viral aetiology and negative for bacteria, parasites and toxins. Results Sixty outbreaks affecting 1791 people were evaluated. Fifty-five outbreaks were positive fo…
Expression and purification of polyhistidine-tagged rotavirus NSP4 proteins in insect cells
The rotavirus nonstructural NSP4 protein, a transmembrane endoplasmic reticulum-specific glycoprotein, has been described as the first viral enterotoxin. Purified NSP4 or a peptide corresponding to NSP4 residues 114-135 induces diarrhea in young mice. NSP4 has a membrane-destabilizing activity and causes an increase in intracellular calcium levels and chloride secretion by a calcium-dependent signalling pathway in eucaryotic cells. In this study, four recombinant baculoviruses were generated expressing the rotavirus NSP4 glycoprotein from the human strains Wa and Ito, the porcine strain OSU, and the simian strain SA11, which belong to two different NSP4 genotypes, A and B. The recombinant g…
Sequential evolution of genotype GII.4 norovirus variants causing gastroenteritis outbreaks from 2001 to 2006 in Eastern Spain.
Noroviruses are the most common cause of outbreaks of viral gastroenteritis worldwide. Norovirus outbreaks were surveyed in Catalonia and the region of Valencia (Eastern Spain) between January 2001 and December 2006 as part of the European Union funded network "Food-borne viruses in Europe". During this time the etiology and epidemiological features of 194 outbreaks of acute non-bacterial gastroenteritis were investigated and norovirus was identified as causing 169 (87.1%) of them. Molecular epidemiology of viral strains was studied by RT-PCR and sequencing part of the RNA polymerase gene in ORF1 from 153 outbreak strains. The most commonly identified norovirus genotype was GII.4 (71.9% of …
Seroprevalence of Aichi Virus in a Spanish Population from 2007 to 2008
ABSTRACT Viruses are among the most common causes of acute gastroenteritis. In recent years, new viruses causing outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis have been described. Among these, Aichi virus was identified in Japan in 1989. Aichi virus belongs to the Kobuvirus genus in the family Picornaviridae . This virus has been detected in outbreaks of gastroenteritis associated with oyster consumption and in pediatric stool samples, but little is known about its epidemiology or pathogenesis. In the present study, the prevalence of antibodies to Aichi virus in a Spanish population was determined between 2007 and 2008 by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). As in previous studies, a hi…
Novel Probiotic Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis CECT 7210 Strain Active against Rotavirus Infections
ABSTRACT Rotavirus is the leading cause of severe acute gastroenteritis among children worldwide. It is well known that breast-feeding and vaccination afford infants protection. Since breast-feeding has drastically decreased in developed countries, efforts have been focused on the potential use of probiotics as preventive agents. In this study, a novel Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis strain was isolated from infant feces and selected, based on its capacity to inhibit in vitro rotavirus Wa replication (up to 36.05% infectious foci reduction) and also to protect cells from virus infection (up to 48.50% infectious foci reduction) in both MA-104 and HT-29 cell lines. Furthermore, studies…
Enteric calicivirus and rotavirus infections in domestic pigs
SUMMARYWe report the prevalence of rotavirus and calicivirus infections, along with their respective association with diarrhoea in the porcine population of the region of northern Spain. A total of 221 samples were collected at random from different farms in the region and from the main slaughterhouse facility in the city of Zaragoza. Faecal samples were scored as diarrhoeic or normal and grouped into five groups to match general farm management and age criteria: group I (suckling 0–4 weeks), group II (weaning >4–8 weeks), group III (transition >8–16 weeks), group IV (fattening >16–24 weeks) and group V (adults >24 weeks). Group A rotavirus detection and caliciviruses were inves…
Humoral immune response to rotavirus NSP4 enterotoxin in Spanish children.
The rotavirus non-structural protein 4 (NSP4) has been shown to play a crucial role in rotavirus-induced diarrhea, acting as a viral enterotoxin. It has also been demonstrated that antibody to NSP4 can reduce the severity of rotavirus-induced diarrhea in newborn mice. Two recombinant baculoviruses, expressing the NSP4 protein from the SA11 and Wa rotavirus strains, genotypes A and B, respectively, were used to produce and purify these glycoproteins, which were applied as antigen in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to test the specific antibody response to NSP4 in human sera. Serum samples from 30 children convalescing from a rotavirus infection, from 54 healthy children under 5-…