Chikungunya virus adaptation to Aedes albopictus mosquitoes does not correlate with acquisition of cholesterol dependence or decreased pH threshold for fusion reaction

Public Deposited
Analytics

Downloadable Content

Download PDF
Request Version for Screen Reader
Creator
  • Tsetsarkin, Konstantin A
    • Other Affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA
  • McGee, Charles E
    • Affiliation: School of Medicine, Carolina Vaccine Institute
  • Higgs, Stephen
    • Other Affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA
Abstract
  • Abstract Background Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito transmitted alphavirus that recently caused several large scale outbreaks/epidemics of arthritic disease in tropics of Africa, Indian Ocean basin and South-East Asia. This re-emergence event was facilitated by genetic adaptation (E1-A226V substitution) of CHIKV to a newly significant mosquito vector for this virus; Aedes albopictus. However, the molecular mechanism explaining the positive effect of the E1-A226V mutation on CHIKV fitness in this vector remains largely unknown. Previously we demonstrated that the E1-A226V substitution is also associated with attenuated CHIKV growth in cells depleted by cholesterol. Methods In this study, using a panel of CHIKV clones that varies in sensitivity to cholesterol, we investigated the possible relationship between cholesterol dependence and Ae. albopictus infectivity. Results We demonstrated that there is no clear mechanistic correlation between these two phenotypes. We also showed that the E1-A226V mutation increases the pH dependence of the CHIKV fusion reaction; however, subsequent genetic analysis failed to support an association between CHIKV dependency on lower pH, and mosquito infectivity phenotypes. Conclusion the E1-A226V mutation probably acts at different steps of the CHIKV life cycle, affecting multiple functions of the virus.
Date of publication
DOI
Identifier
Resource type
  • Article
Rights statement
  • In Copyright
Rights holder
  • Konstantin A Tsetsarkin et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
License
Journal title
  • Virology Journal
Journal volume
  • 8
Journal issue
  • 1
Page start
  • 376
Language
  • English
Is the article or chapter peer-reviewed?
  • Yes
ISSN
  • 1743-422X
Bibliographic citation
  • Virology Journal. 2011 Jul 29;8(1):376
Publisher
  • BioMed Central Ltd
Access right
  • Open Access
Date uploaded
  • August 23, 2012

Relations

Parents:

This work has no parents.

Items

Thumbnail Title Date Uploaded Visibility Actions
file details 1743-422X-8-376.pdf 2019-05-06 Public Download
file details Figure S1, Table S1, Table S2, Table S3 and Table S4. The file contains Figure S1, Table S1, Table S2, Table S3, Table S4 and legends for these Figure and Tables. 2019-05-06 Public Download
file details 1743-422X-8-376.xml 2019-05-06 Public Download