ABSTRACT
Objective To evaluate the infectivity and virulence variation caused by mutations in the 5' untranslated region(5'UTR)pyrimidine-rich tract of coxsackievirus B1(CVB1)genome.Methods Five pyrimidines in the 5'UTR pyrimidine-rich tract(nt563-nt573)of CVB1 genome were substituted with purines by site-directed mutagenesis.The mutant,CVB1/m563-573,was purified by plaque assay,and subjected to infectivity and virulence assessments by means of cytopathic effect(CPE),plaque forming,one-step growth curve,and 50% lethal dose(LD50)assays.Results Sequencing data revealed that the sequence of pyrimidine-rich tract in the 5'UTR of CVB1/m563-573 mutant was exactly identical to our design(C565A,U567C,U568A,U570A,and U572G).CPE assay showed that the infectivity of CVB1/m563-573 was weaker than that of its prototype CVB1/wt(A490=0.710±0.074,0.812±0.092)though no significant difference could be observed(t=-2.204,P>0.05).Plaque forming assay showed that the plaque quantities of CVB1/m563-573 were(6.40±1.52)×103,(11.60±2.19)×103 pfu/L and the plaque diameters of CVB1/m563-573 were(2.00±0.35),(2.47±0.41)mm at 46 and 58 hours pestinfection,respectively.The plaque quantities of CVB1/wt were(8.40±2.51)×103,(11.80±1.92)×103 pfu/L and the plaque diameters of CVB1/wt were(1.80±0.27),(2.85±0.44)mm,respectively.There was no significant difference between the plaque quantities and sizes of CVB1/m563-573 and CVB1/wt(t=8.000,0.985,10.000,9.000,all P>0.05).One-step growth curve demonstrated that the numbers(lg)of CVB1/m563-573 progenies at time-points of 3,5,7 h postinfection were 2.10±0.09,4.28±0.03,7.44±0 and that of CVB1/wt progenies were 2.80±0.02,4.77±0.02,8.55±0.01,respectively.The replication of CVB1/m563-573 was significantly slower than that of CVB1/wt at all three time-points(t=-13.151,-24.319,-47.714,all P<0.01).The LD50 of CVB1/m563-573(3.10×109 pfu/L)and CVB1/wt(1.26×107 pfu/L)indicated that the virulence of CVB1/m563-573 was significantly weakened compared to that of CVB1/wt.Conclusions The infectivity and virulence of CVB1 are weakened by substitution of pyrimidines with purines in the pyrimidine-rich tract of CVB1 5'UTR.Site-directed mutagenesis in the pyrimidine-rich tract may be a strategy for developing attenuated CVB vaccine.