The Construction of Marc-145 Cell Lines Expressing Nsp2 Gene of PRRSV and the Effects of Nsp2 Protein on PRRSV Replication

[Objective]The study aimed to investigate the effects of Nsp2 protein on porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus （ PRRSV） replication. [Method]Through in vitro cloning,the Nsp2 gene of highly pathogenic PRRSV TJ and attenuated TJM were amplified by RT-PCR and cloned into the plasmid pEGFP-N1,which containing enhanced green fluorescent protein expression box. The constructed plasmids pEGFP-TJ Nsp2 and pEGFP-TJM Nsp2 were transfected into Marc-145 cells and screened by G418. Anti-G418 Marc-145-TJ Nsp2 and Marc-145-TJM Nsp2 cells were obtained,and the expression of Nsp2 protein in anti-G418 Marc-145-TJ Nsp2 and Marc-145-TJM Nsp2 cells was proved by PCR and RT- PCR. The Marc-145-TJ Nsp2 and Marc-145-TJM Nsp2 cells were infected by PRRSV,and TCID 50 was determined. [Result]The cells expressing Nsp2 gene of highly pathogenic PRRSV TJ and attenuated TJM,Marc-145-TJ Nsp2 and Marc-145-TJM Nsp2,were stable. PRRSV replication was fast in early stage on these cells. That is to say,Nsp2 protein played a positive role in early phase of PRRSV proliferation,and the effect of Nsp2 protein of highly pathogenic PRRSV TJ was more obvious. [Conclusion]The construction of Marc-145-Nsp2 cell lines provided data for the further discuss of PRRSV replication mechanism.

Nuclear localization of Sindbis virus nonstructural protein nsP2

In early infection, approximately 10% of nonstruc-tural protein nsP2 of Sindbis virus was transported into the nuclei of virus-infected BHK-21 cells. Nuclear nsP2 was dominantly associated with nuclear matrix. During the course of infection, increasing amounts of nsP2 accumulated in the nuclear fraction. A prominent accumulation of nuclear nsP2 occurred early in infection, from 1 h to 3 h postinfection. Meanwhile, a weak NTPase activity was found to be associated with the immunocomplexed nsP2. Nuclear localization of nsP2 and its possible role were discussed in relation to the inhibition of host macro-molecular synthesis.

The cloning of non-structural-1 (NS1) gene of H9N2 subtype of avian influenza virus in pGEX-4T-1 and pMAL-c2X plasmids and expression in <i>Escherichia coli</i>DH5<i>α</i>strain

Avian influenza is a viral contagious disease that affects poultry industry and human health. Vaccination has been considered as a preventive tool in the eradication of AI, but it causes some limitations including trade embargoes and interfering with serologic surveillance in differentiation between infected and vaccinated animals (DIVA strategy). Several distinct DIVA strategies have been presented to conquer these limitations. In this study, the open reading frame of NS1 gene of a H9N2 subtype of AI virus was amplified by polymerase chain reaction. After extraction and purification of NS1 gene from agarose gel, it was inserted into two different pGEX-4T-1 and pMAL-c2X plasmids and transferred in DH5α strain of Escherichia coli by using electroporation procedure. The E. coli colonies possessing recombinant NS1 gene were screened using PCR, restriction mapping and sequencing analysis. The expressed rNS1 protein was purified using affinity chromatography based on MBP (pMAL- c2X) and GST (pGEX-4T-1). The MBP-NS1 and GST- NS1 proteins on SDS-PAGE had bands with molecular weight of 68 and 52 kDa respectively. Western blotting with MBP-NS1 protein showed positive reaction using antisera obtained from chickens challenged with a H9N2 subtype strain. But, the most sera prepared from H9N2 vaccinated chickens were negative in WB. These findings indicated that the MBP-rNS1 protein of 26 kDa expressed by pMAL-c2X plasmid can be used in a DIVA for differentiation of AI infected and vaccinated chickens.

Potential treatment with Chinese and Western medicine targeting NSP14 of SARS-CoV-2

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)is a serious global health threat.This raises an urgent need for the development of effective drugs against the deadly disease.SARS-CoV-2 non-structural protein 14(NSP14)carrying RNA cap guanine N7-methyltransferase and 30-50 exoribonuclease activities could be a potential drug target for intervention.NSP14 of SARS-CoV-2 shares 98.7%of similarity with the one(PDB 5NFY)of acute respiratory syndrome(SARS)by ClustalW.Then,the SARS-CoV-2 NSP14 structures were modelled by Modeller 9.18 using SARS NSP14(PDB 5NFY)as template for virtual screening.Based on the docking score from AutoDock Vina1.1.2,18 small molecule drugs were selected for further evaluation.Based on the 5 ns MD simulation trajectory,binding free energy(DG)was calculated by MM/GBSA method.The calculated binding free energies of Saquinavir,Hypericin,Baicalein and Bromocriptine for the N-terminus of the homology model wereà37.2711±3.2160,à30.1746±3.1914,à23.8953±4.4800,andà34.1350±4.3683 kcal/mol,respectively,while the calculated binding free energies wereà60.2757±4.7708,à30.9955±2.9975,à46.3099±3.5689,andà59.8104±3.5389 kcal/mol,respectively,when binding to the C-terminus.Thus,the compounds including Saquinavir,Hypericin,Baicalein and Bromocriptine could bind to the N-terminus and C-terminus of the homology model of the SARS-CoV-2 NSP14,providing a candidate drug against SARS-CoV-2 for further study.

Analysis of molecular variation in porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus in China between 2007 and 2012

In the present study, 89 porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus(PRRSV) isolates in China during 2007 to 2012 were randomly selected from the GenBank genetic sequence database. Evolutionary characteristics of these isolates were analyzed based on the sequences of non-struc-tural protein 2(Nsp2) and glycoprotein 5(GP5). The genetic variations of the isolates were also compared with six representative strains. The results showed that a high degree of genetic diversity exists among the PRRSV population in China. Highly pathogenic PRRSV isolates, with a discon-tinuous deletion of a 30 amino acid residue in the Nsp2 region, remained the most dominant virus throughout 2007–2012 in China. Owing to the extensive use of representative vaccine strains, natu-ral recombination events occurred between strains. Three isolates – HH08, DY, and YN-2011 – were more closely related to vaccine strains than the other isolates. Both YN-2011 and DY were the evolu-tionary products of recombination events between strains SP and CH-1R. The results of the present study provide useful information for the epidemiology of PRRSV as well as for vaccine development.

Variation analysis of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus putative non-structural protein 2 gene and construction of three-dimensional model

Background The rapid transmission and high mortality rate made severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) a global threat for which no efficacious therapy is available now. Without sufficient knowledge about the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), it is impossible to define the candidate for the anti-SARS targets. The putative non-structural protein 2 (nsp2) (3CL pro , following the nomenclature by Gao et al, also known as nsp5 in Snidjer et al) of SARS-CoV plays an important role in viral transcription and replication, and is an attractive target for anti-SARS drug development, so we carried on this study to have an insight into putative polymerase nsp2 of SARS-CoV Guangdong (GD) strain. Methods The SARS-CoV strain was isolated from a SARS patient in Guangdong, China, and cultured in Vero E6 cells. The nsp2 gene was amplified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and cloned into eukaryotic expression vector pCI-neo (pCI-neo/nsp2). Then the recombinant eukaryotic expression vector pCI-neo/nsp2 was transfected into COS-7 cells using lipofectin reagent to express the nsp2 protein. The expressive protein of SARS-CoV nsp2 was analyzed by 7% sodium dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The nucleotide sequence and protein sequence of GD nsp2 were compared with that of other SARS-CoV strains by nucleotide-nucleotide basic local alignment search tool (BLASTN) and protein-protein basic local alignment search tool (BLASTP) to investigate its variance trend during the transmission. The secondary structure of GD strain and that of other strains were predicted by Garnier-Osguthorpe-Robson (GOR) Secondary Structure Prediction. Three-dimensional-PSSM Protein Fold Recognition (Threading) Server was employed to construct the three-dimensional model of the nsp2 protein.Results The putative polymerase nsp2 gene of GD strain was amplified by RT-PCR. The eukaryotic expression vector (pCI-neo/nsp2) was constructed and expressed the protein in COS-7 cells successfully. The result of sequencing and sequence comparison with other SARS-CoV strains showed that nsp2 gene was relatively conservative during the transmission and total five base sites mutated in about 100 strains investigated, three of which in the early and middle phases caused synonymous mutation, and another two base sites variation in the late phase resulted in the amino acid substitutions and secondary structure changes. The three-dimensional structure of the nsp2 protein was successfully constructed. Conclusions The results suggest that polymerase nsp2 is relatively stable during the phase of epidemic. The amino acid and secondary structure change may be important for viral infection. The fact that majority of single nucleotide variations (SNVs) are predicted to cause synonymous, as well as the result of low mutation rate of nsp2 gene in the epidemic variations, indicates that the nsp2 is conservative and could be a target for anti-SARS drugs. The three-dimensional structure result indicates that the nsp2 protein of GD strain is high homologous with 3CL pro of SARS-CoV urbani strain, 3CL pro of transmissible gastroenteritis virus and 3CL pro of human coronavirus 229E strain, which further suggests that nsp2 protein of GD strain possesses the activity of 3CL pro .

Structural Basis for Complementary and Alternative Medicine:Phytochemical Interaction with Non-Structural Protein 2 Protease-A Reverse Engineering Strategy

Objective： To understand the druggability of the bioactive compounds from traditional herbal formulations ＂Nilavembu Kudineer＂ and ＂Swasthya Raksha Amruta Peya＂ to heal chikungunya virus （CHIKV） infection. Methods： The efficiency of twenty novel chemical entities from ＂Nilavembu Kudineer＂ and ＂Swasthya Raksha Amruta Peya＂ to inhibit CHIKV infection in silico were evaluated. Ligands were prepared using Ligprep module of Schr0dinger. Active site was identified using SiteMap program. Grid box was generated using receptor grid generation wizard. Molecular docking was carried out using Grid Based Ligand Docking with Energetics （GLIDE） program. Results： Molecular docking studies showed that among twenty compounds, andrographoside, deoxyandrographoside, neoandrographolide, 14-deoxy-11-oxoandrographolide, butoxone and oleanolic acid showed GLIDE extra precision （XP） score of-9.10,-8.72, -8.25,-7.38,-7.28 and -7.01, respectively which were greater than or comparable with chloroquine （reference compound） XP score （-7.08） and were found to interact with the key residues GLLI 1043, LYS 1045, GLY 1176, LEU 1203, HIS 1222 and LYS 1239 which were characteristic functional unit crucial for replication of CHIKV. Conclusion： The binding affinity and the binding mode of chemical entities taken from herbal formulations with non-structural protein 2 protease were understood and our study provided a novel strategy in the development and design of drugs for CHIKV infection.

Nsp2 and GP5-M of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus Contribute to Targets for Neutralizing Antibodies

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus(PRRSV)is characterized by its genetic variation and limited cross protection among heterologous strains.Even though several viral structural proteins have been regarded as inducers of neutralizing antibodies(NAs)against PRRSV,the mechanism underlying limited cross-neutralization among heterologous strains is still controversial.In the present study,examinations of NA cross reaction between a highly pathogenic PRRSV(HP-PRRSV)strain,JXwn06,and a low pathogenic PRRSV(LP-PRRSV)strain,HB-1/3.9,were conducted with viral neutralization assays in MARC-145 cells.None of the JXwn06-hyperimmuned pigs’sera could neutralize HB-1/3.9 in vitro and vice versa.To address the genetic variation between these two viruses that are associated with limited crossneutralization,chimeric viruses with coding regions swapped between these two strains were constructed.Viral neutralization assays indicated that variations in nonstructural protein 2(nsp2)and structural proteins together contribute to weak cross-neutralization activity between JXwn06 and HB-1/3.9.Furthermore,we substituted the nsp2-,glycoprotein2(GP2)-,GP3-,and GP4-coding regions together,or nsp2-,GP5-,and membrane(M)protein-coding regions simultaneously between these two viruses to construct chimeric viruses to test cross-neutralization reactivity with hyperimmunized sera induced by their parental viruses.The results indicated that the swapped nsp2 and GP5-M viruses increased the neutralization reactivity with the donor strain antisera in MARC-145 cells.Taken together,these results show that variations in nsp2 and GP5-M correlate with the limited neutralization reactivity between the heterologous strains HP-PRRSV JXwn06 and LP-PRRSV HB-1/3.9.

冠状病毒非结构蛋白的研究进展

近20年来,动物冠状病毒(coronavirus,CoV)变异并传播于人,引起严重的烈性传染病,在全球造成巨大的经济损失。因此,对CoV进行基础研究非常重要。CoV的非结构蛋白(non-structural protein,NSP)在病毒复制过程中发挥着重要作用,如抑制宿主的固有免疫、帮助病毒逃避宿主细胞感应、形成复制转录复合物(replication transcription complex,RTC)等。本文主要以严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒(severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus,SARSCoV)和严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2(SARS-CoV-2)为例,对存在于CoV中的病毒编码蛋白,特别是16种NSP的结构以及在病毒复制过程中的作用作一综述。