BoHV-4-based vector delivering Ebola virus surface glycoprotein.

BACKGROUND: Ebola virus (EBOV) is a Category A pathogen that is a member of Filoviridae family that causes hemorrhagic fever in humans and non-human primates. Unpredictable and devastating outbreaks of disease have recently occurred in Africa and current immunoprophylaxis and therapies are limited. The main limitation of working with pathogens like EBOV is the need for costly containment. To potentiate further and wider opportunity for EBOV prophylactics and therapies development, innovative approaches are necessary. METHODS: In the present study, an antigen delivery platform based on a recombinant bovine herpesvirus 4 (BoHV-4), delivering a synthetic EBOV glycoprotein (GP) gene sequence, BoHV-4-syEBOVgD106ΔTK, was generated. RESULTS: EBOV GP was abundantly expressed by BoHV-4-syEBOVgD106ΔTK transduced cells without decreasing viral replication. BoHV-4-syEBOVgD106ΔTK immunized goats produced high titers of anti-EBOV GP antibodies and conferred a long lasting (up to 6 months), detectable antibody response. Furthermore, no evidence of BoHV-4-syEBOVgD106ΔTK viremia and secondary localization was detected in any of the immunized animals. CONCLUSIONS: The BoHV-4-based vector approach described here, represents: an alternative antigen delivery system for vaccination and a proof of principle study for anti-EBOV antibodies generation in goats for potential immunotherapy applications.

BoHV-4 immediate early 1 gene is a dispensable gene and its product is not a bone marrow stromal cell antigen 2 counteracting factor.

BACKGROUND: Bovine herpesvirus 4 (BoHV-4) is a gammaherpesvirus whose genome was cloned as Bacterial Artificial Chromosome (BAC) and exploited as a gene delivery vector for vaccine purposes. Although BoHV-4 genome has been completely sequenced and its open reading frames (ORFs) structurally defined in silico, most of them are not functionally characterized. In BoHV-4 genome two major immediate early genes (IE) are present, IE1 and IE2. IE2 is an essential gene because its removal from the viral genome renders the virus unable to replicate, whereas for IE1 no many functional information are available. RESULTS: In this work, IE1 contribution in initiating and maintaining BoHV-4 lytic replication was assessed generating a recombinant BoHV-4 genome lacking of IE1 gene, BoHV-4ΔIE1. In contrast to BoHV-4IE2 deleted mutant, BoHV-4ΔIE1 infectious replicating viral particles (IRVPs) could be reconstituted following viral DNA electroporation in permissive cells. However the titer of BoHV-4ΔIE1 IRVPs produced into the cell supernatant and BoHV-4ΔIE1 plaques size were reduced respect to BoHV-4 undeleted control. Further the impaired BoHV-4ΔIE1 IRVPs produced into the cell supernatant could be rescued by expressing IE1 gene product in trans, confirming the implication of IE1 in BoHV-4 lytic replication. Next, the possible role of BoHV-4IE1 as bone marrow stromal cell antigen 2 (BST-2) counteracting factor, as hypothesized by IE1 amino-terminal gene product homology with Kaposi Sarcoma Associated Herpesvirus (KSHV) K5, was excluded too. CONCLUSIONS: Although the real function of BoHV-4IE1 is still elusive, a new BoHV-4 genome gene locus as a target site for the insertion of foreign DNA and resulting in the attenuation of the virus has been revealed. These data can be considered of relevance to improve BoHV-4 gene delivery properties.

Bovine endometrial stromal cells support tumor necrosis factor alpha-induced bovine herpesvirus type 4 enhanced replication.

Bovine uterine infections are the most important cause of economic losses in the cattle industry. Although the etiology of uterine diseases is mainly ascribed to bacterial infection, they can also be associated with viral infection, such as bovine herpesvirus 4 (BoHV-4), which is often a secondary agent following bacteria. Besides microbial infection, many inflammatory molecules belonging to the innate immune response orchestrate the outcome of the infection. In the present study, the interaction between BoHV-4-infected bovine endometrial stromal cells and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) was investigated. Bovine herpesvirus 4 possesses a special tropism toward endometrial stromal cells. For this reason, a simian virus 40 (SV40) immortalized endometrial stromal cell line (SV40BESC) was established; it was proven that it was stable, it expressed toll-like receptors (TLRs; from 1 to 10) and TNF-alpha receptors I and II, and it was responsive to exogenous TNF-alpha. Further, an increase of BoHV-4 replication and cytopathic effect was observed in BoHV-4-infected and TNF-alpha-treated SV40BESCs. This increase of viral replication was associated with BoHV-4 immediate early 2 (IE2) gene promoter trans-activation through the interaction of the nuclear factor KB (NFKB) with the putative NFKB-responsive elements found within BoHV-4 IE2 gene promoter, and this interaction was abolished when NFKB-responsive elements were deleted. These data shed light on two important and rather controversial issues: the role of TNF-alpha receptor, which is weakly expressed in the stromal layer of the bovine uterus, as well as the possible interactions between proinflammatory molecules, viral replication, and chronic uterine disease.

Clinical protection of goats against CpHV-1 induced genital disease with a BoHV-4-based vector expressing CpHV-1 gD.

Caprine herpesvirus type 1 (CpHV-1) is an alphaherpesvirus causing genital disease leading to abortion in adult pregnant goats and a systemic disease with high morbility and mortality in kids. Further, Caprine herpesvirus 1 infection represents a valuable large animal model for human herpesvirus induced genital disease, exploitable for pathogenic studies, new vaccines and antiviral molecules testing. Here, the bovine herpesvirus 4 (BoHV-4) based vector derived from an apathogenic isolate of BoHV-4 and expressing the immunodominant CpHV-1 glycoprotein D (BoHV-4-A-gD(cp)gD(106)ΔTK) was constructed and its ability to protect goats against CpHV-1 induced genital disease evaluated. The subcutaneous route of recombinant BoHV-4 administration was first tested in vivo/ex vivo by in vivo image analysis and in vitro by goat skin primary cultures preparation and transduction. Next, an exploratory immunization and safety study in goats was performed with two recombinant BoHV4, BoHV-4-A-gD(cp)gD(106)ΔTK or BoHV-4-CMV-IgK-gE2gD-TM. In both cases no clinical signs were evident but a good titer of serum neutralizing antibodies was produced in all inoculated animals. When a challenge experiment was performed in a new group of animals using a highly pathogenic dose of CpHV-1, all the vaccinated goats with BoHV-4-A-gD(cp)gD(106)ΔTK were protected toward CpHV-1 induced genital disease respect to the unvaccinated control which showed typical vaginal lesions with a high grade of clinical score as well as a long lasting viral shedding. In summary, the data acquired in the present study validate BoHV-4-based vector as a safe and effective viral vector for goat vaccination against CpHV-1 induced genital disease and pave the way for further applications.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase-armed bovine herpesvirus type 4-based vector displays enhanced oncolytic properties in immunocompetent orthotopic syngenic mouse and rat glioma models.

Gliomas are devastating tumors of the brain resistant to therapies. Although some therapies can prolong the survival time among the affected persons, gliomas are not curable and new therapeutic approaches need to be investigated. Oncolytic viruses seem to represent an interesting alternative, because anticancer agents and new viral agents have to be explored to identify the one with the best characteristics. Bovine herpesvirus type 4 (BoHV-4) is a gammaherpesvirus with a striking tropism and permissive replication toward cancer cells and rat, mouse, and human glioma cells. However, BoHV-4 does not replicate into the normal brain parenchyma. The BoHV-4 genome was cloned as a bacterial artificial chromosome to easily manipulate this large genome and be used as a viral vector platform. In the present study, a herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase suicide gene-armed BoHV-4 was constructed, characterized, and proven to be highly efficient in killing by apoptosis glioma cells in vitro when co-administered with the pro-drug ganciclovir (GCV). When the armed BoHV-4/GCV therapeutic approach was tested in immunocompetent orthotopic syngenic mouse and rat glioma models in vivo, a significant increase in survival among the treated animals was achieved, and some animals were completely cured. The BoHV-4-based vector represents a promising alternative oncolytic virus for glioma and, perhaps, other types of cancer treatment that merit further investigation. This article represents the result of a mutual interaction between human medical science and veterinary science, a combination of scientific knowledge often neglected.

The chemokine IL8 is up-regulated in bovine endometrial stromal cells by the BoHV-4 IE2 gene product, ORF50/Rta: a step ahead toward a mechanism for BoHV-4 induced endometritis.

Postpartum infections of the endometrium and metritis are common causes of delayed conception and infertility in cattle. These infections are characterized by inflammation of the endometrium and secretion of the chemokine interleukin 8 (IL8), which attracts granulocytes to the endometrium. Bovine herpesvirus 4 (BoHV-4) is tropic for the endometrium and the only virus consistently associated with postpartum metritis. The BoHV-4 Immediate Early 2 (IE2) gene is the first viral gene transcribed by host cells after infection, and the IE2 gene product, ORF50/Rta, transactivates host cell genes. The present study tested the hypothesis that ORF50/Rta transactivates the IL8 gene promoter during BoHV-4 infection of bovine endometrial stromal cells (BESCs). Infection of primary BESCs with BoHV-4 stimulated IL8 gene promoter activity and IL8 protein secretion. However, IL8 production was dependent on the transcription of viral genes, because psoralen/ultraviolet cross-linking of the viral DNA abrogated the response to BoHV-4 infection. Furthermore, IL8 promoter serial deletion analysis revealed a specific region responsive to ORF50/Rta. These observations may represent an endometrial defense mechanism against viral infection or a virulence mechanism by which viral replication stimulates chemokine secretion to attract more susceptible host cells to the endometrium.

Isolation and characterization of bovine herpesvirus 4 (BoHV-4) from a cow affected by post partum metritis and cloning of the genome as a bacterial artificial chromosome.

BACKGROUND: Bovine herpesvirus 4 (BoHV-4) is a gammaherpesvirus with a Worldwide distribution in cattle and is often isolated from the uterus of animals with postpartum metritis or pelvic inflammatory disease. Virus strain adaptation to an organ, tissue or cell type is an important issue for the pathogenesis of disease. To explore the mechanistic role of viral strain variation for uterine disease, the present study aimed to develop a tool enabling precise genetic discrimination between strains of BoHV-4 and to easily manipulate the viral genome. METHODS: A strain of BoHV-4 was isolated from the uterus of a persistently infected cow and designated BoHV-4-U. The authenticity of the isolate was confirmed by RFLP-PCR and sequencing using the TK and IE2 loci as genetic marker regions for the BoHV-4 genome. The isolated genome was cloned as a Bacterial Artificial Chromosome (BAC) and manipulated through recombineering technology RESULTS: The BoHV-4-U genome was successfully cloned as a BAC, and the stability of the pBAC-BoHV-4-U clone was confirmed over twenty passages, with viral growth similar to the wild type virus. The feasibility of using BoHV-4-U for mutagenesis was demonstrated using the BAC recombineering system. CONCLUSION: The analysis of genome strain variation is a key method for investigating genes associated with disease. A resource for dissection of the interactions between BoHV-4 and host endometrial cells was generated by cloning the genome of BoHV-4 as a BAC.

Outcome of bovine herpesvirus 4 infection following direct viral injection in the lateral ventricle of the mouse brain.

A recombinant bovine herpesvirus 4 (BoHV-4EGFPDeltaTK), obtained by the insertion of an EGFP gene into the TK locus of DN 599 BoHV-4 strain, was injected into the lateral ventricle of the brain of mice and a clinical score was evaluated for 90 days. Although BoHV-4 was not neuro-pathogenic, BoHV-4EGFPDeltaTK transduction capability was analyzed. EGFP expression was localized in close proximity to the border of the ventricles and EGFP-positive cells were found to co-localize with ependymal cells. Although most of the cells had a polarized morphology, they were not neurons. EGFP-positive cells were seen to spread in tangentially oriented rows within the rostral migratory stream (RMS). Co-localization of EGFP signal with anti-GFAP antibody showed that they were glial cells. EGFP-positive cells were observed until 31 days post-injection and then disappeared completely. Virus isolation was possible at an early post-injection time (3 days), but then virus titer was below the detection limits at later times. Viral DNA, however, could be detected until 21 days post-injection. Thus, in this report we showed that (i) BoHV-4EGFPDeltaTK did not replicate in the mouse brain, (ii) is not pathogenic and (iii) gene transfer can be obtained in long-lived cells belonging to the RMS after BoHV-4EGFPDeltaTK injection within the lateral ventricle.

Bovine herpesvirus 4 induces apoptosis of human carcinoma cell lines in vitro and in vivo.

The idea of using oncolytic viruses for the treatment of cancers was proposed a century ago. During the last two decades, viruses able to replicate specifically in cancer cells and to induce their lysis were identified and were genetically modified to improve their viro-oncolytic properties. More recently, a new approach consisting of inducing selective apoptosis in cancer cells through viral infection has been proposed; this approach has been called viro-oncoapoptosis. In the present study, we report the property of bovine herpesvirus-4 (BoHV-4) to induce, in vitro and in vivo, apoptosis of some human carcinomas. This conclusion relies on the following observations: (a) In vitro, BoHV-4 infection induced apoptosis of A549 and OVCAR carcinoma cell lines in a time- and dose-dependent manner. (b) Apoptosis was induced by the expression of an immediate-early or an early BoHV-4 gene, but did not require viral replication. (c) Cell treatment with caspase inhibitors showed that apoptosis induced by BoHV-4 relied mainly on caspase-10 activation. (d) Infection of cocultures of A549 or OVCAR cells mixed with human 293 cells (in which BoHV-4 does not induce apoptosis) showed that BoHV-4 specifically eradicated A549 or OVCAR cancer cells from the cocultures. (e) Finally, in vivo experiments done with nude mice showed that BoHV-4 intratumoral injections reduced drastically the growth of preestablished A549 xenografts. Taken together, these results suggest that BoHV-4 may have potential as a viro-oncoapoptotic agent for the treatment of some human carcinomas. Moreover, further identification of BoHV-4 proapoptotic gene(s) and the cellular pathways targeted by this or these gene(s) could lead to the design of new cancer therapeutic strategies.

Development of bovine herpesvirus 4 as an expression vector using bacterial artificial chromosome cloning.

Several features make bovine herpesvirus 4 (BoHV-4) attractive as a backbone for use as a viral expression vector and/or as a model to study gammaherpesvirus biology. However, these developments have been impeded by the difficulty in manipulating its large genome using classical homologous recombination in eukaryotic cells. In the present study, the feasibility of exploiting bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) cloning and prokaryotic recombination technology for production of BoHV-4 recombinants was explored. Firstly, the BoHV-4 genome was BAC cloned using two potential insertion sites. Both sites of insertion gave rise to BoHV-4 BAC clones stably maintained in bacteria and able to regenerate virions when transfected into permissive cells. Reconstituted virus replicated comparably to wild-type parental virus and the loxP-flanked BAC cassette was excised by growing them on permissive cells stably expressing Cre recombinase. Secondly, BoHV-4 recombinants expressing Ixodes ricinus anti-complement protein I or II (IRAC I/II) were produced using a two-step mutagenesis procedure in Escherichia coli. Both recombinants induced expression of high levels of functional IRAC molecules in the supernatant of infected cells. This study demonstrates that BAC cloning and prokaryotic recombination technology are powerful tools for the development of BoHV-4 as an expression vector and for further fundamental studies of this gammaherpesvirus.

The involvement of oxidative stress in bovine herpesvirus type 4-mediated apoptosis.

Bovine herpesvirus type 4 (BHV-4) belongs to the gamma-2-herpesviruses of the Gammaherpesvirinae subfamily. BHV-4 has a worldwide distribution and has been isolated in a variety of clinical diseases as well as from healthy cattle. In this report we demonstrate that BHV-4 induces apoptosis in MDBK cells. In the early phases of apoptosis, cells show an increase in the intracellular level of reactive oxygen species, which is indicative of oxidative stress. This precedes DNA fragmentation, a hallmark typical of apoptosis. Cells were protected from apoptosis only by certain antioxidants (butylated hydroxyanisole and ebselen), whereas N-acetylcysteine turned out to be ineffective. Antioxidants that protected cells from apoptosis prevented oxidative stress but failed to block virus growth. These observations suggest that oxidative stress may be a crucial event in the sequence leading to apoptotic cell death but apoptosis is not required for the multiplication of BHV-4.

The core 2 beta-1,6-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase-M encoded by bovine herpesvirus 4 is not essential for virus replication despite contributing to post-translational modifications of structural proteins.

The Bo17 gene of bovine herpesvirus 4 (BoHV-4) is the only virus gene known to date that encodes a homologue of the cellular core 2 beta-1,6-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase-mucine type (C2GnT-M). Recently, our phylogenetic study revealed that the Bo17 gene has been acquired from an ancestor of the African buffalo around 1.5 million years ago. Despite this recent origin, the Bo17 sequence has spread to fixation in the virus population possibly by natural selection. Supporting the latter hypothesis, it has been shown by our group for the V. test strain that Bo17 is expressed during BoHV-4 replication in vitro, and that Bo17 expression product (pBo17) has all three enzymic activities exhibited by cellular C2GnT-M, i.e. core 2, core 4 and I branching activities. In the present study, firstly it was investigated whether encoding a functional C2GnT-M is a general property of BoHV-4 strains. Analysis of nine representative strains of the BoHV-4 species revealed that all of them express the Bo17 gene and the associated core 2 branching activity during virus replication in vitro. Secondly, in order to investigate the roles of Bo17, its kinetic class of expression was analysed and a deleted recombinant strain was produced. These experiments revealed that Bo17 is expressed as an early gene which is not essential for virus replication in vitro. However, comparison of the structural proteins, produced by the wild-type, the revertant and the deleted viruses, by 2D gels demonstrated that pBo17 contributes to the post-translational modifications of structural proteins. Possible roles of Bo17 in vivo are discussed.

Mucin biosynthesis: bovine C2GnT-M gene, tissue-specific expression, and herpes virus-4 homologue.

Mucin glycans are the major determinant of mucin functions. Mucin glycan branch structures, which increase structural heterogeneity and thus functional potential, are extended from beta6 N-acetylglucosaminides formed by beta6 N-acetylglucosaminyltransferases (beta6GnT). Core 2 beta6GnT-M (C2GnT-M) is the only branching enzyme that can synthesize all known mucin beta6 N-acetylglucosaminides. We report the cloning of four different bovine (b) C2GnT-M transcripts that are different only at 5'-untranslated regions. Two bC2GnT-M transcripts are found exclusively in tracheal epithelium and testis, whereas the other two are found in all other mucus-secreting tissues. The bC2GnT-M gene contains four exons spanning 5.3 kb, and the entire open reading frame is in one exon. The bC2GnT-M ORF has 95, 83, and 75% sequence identity to those of bovine herpes virus type 4 (BHV-4), human, and rat C2GnT-Ms, respectively. The homology between bovine and BHV-4 C2GnT-M genes is in the region between 170 nucleotides upstream from ATG start codon and 114 nucleotides downstream from TGA stop codon of the viral gene. Localized at the nonconserved region of the viral genome, the BHV-4 C2GnT-M gene is the only known viral C2GnT-M gene. The results suggest that BHV-4 acquired its C2GnT-M gene from the bovine gene. The mechanism of the viral acquisition of bC2GnT-M gene and the roles of the C2GnT-M gene in the survival and pathogenesis of this virus remain to be elucidated.