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A Gruenberg

Publications and source records attributed to A Gruenberg.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Evolution of the feline-subgroup parvoviruses and the control of canine host range in vivo.

A related group of parvoviruses infects members of many different carnivore families. Some of those viruses differ in host range or antigenic properties, but the true relationships are poorly understood. We examined 24 VP1/VP2 and 8 NS1 gene sequences from various parvovirus isolates to determine the phylogenetic relationships between viruses isolated from cats, dogs, Asiatic raccoon dogs, mink, raccoons, and foxes. There were about 1.3% pairwise sequence differences between the VP1/VP2 genes of viruses collected up to four decades apart. Viruses from cats, mink, foxes, and raccoons were not distinguished from each other phylogenetically, but the canine or Asiatic raccoon dog isolates formed a distinct clade. Characteristic antigenic, tissue culture host range, and other properties of the canine isolates have previously been shown to be determined by differences in the VP1/VP2 gene, and we show here that there are at least 10 nucleotide sequence differences which distinguish all canine isolates from any other virus. The VP1/VP2 gene sequences grouped roughly according to the time of virus isolation, and there were similar rates of sequence divergence among the canine isolates and those from the other species. A smaller number of differences were present in the NS1 gene sequences, but a similar phylogeny was revealed. Inoculation of mutants of a feline virus isolate into dogs showed that three or four CPV-specific differences in the VP1/VP2 gene controlled the in vivo canine host range.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Two dominant neutralizing antigenic determinants of canine parvovirus are found on the threefold spike of the virus capsid.

The 25-nm diameter parvovirus capsid is assembled from 60 copies of a sequence common to the overlapping VP1 and VP2 proteins. Here we examine the epitope specificity's of 28 monoclonal antibodies (MAb) prepared against canine parvovirus (CPV), feline panleukopenia virus (FPV), and raccoon-dog parvovirus or blue (Arctic) fox parvovirus. Comparing the reactivity of those MAb with various MAb-selected escape mutants, or with natural variants of CPV or mink enteritis virus (MEV) which differ at known sequences, showed that the binding of 20 of those MAb was strongly affected by variations of two regions on the threefold spike of the CPV capsid. One region was adjacent to the tip of the threefold spike, and the second was around VP2 residue 300, on the shoulder of that structure. MAb recognizing both antigenic sites efficiently neutralized the virus infectivity and inhibited hemagglutination. Mutations leading to natural antigenic variation have also been observed in both those sites in naturally variant strains of CPV or MEV, suggesting that they are important antigenic structures on these parvoviruses. The bindings of several MAb were not affected by the mutations at those antigenic sites, indicating that they recognized other, and perhaps conserved, structures.

Animals↗

Processing of dengue virus type 2 structural proteins containing deletions in hydrophobic domains.

The 5' end of the genome of the dengue virus type 2 encoding the structural proteins was expressed using recombinant vaccinia virus. Three additional recombinants derived by deletion of selected dengue sequences within the parental construct were also expressed. They were designed to assess the role of hydrophobic domains in the processing of the viral polyprotein in intact cells. The first construct contained a deletion of nucleotides encoding most of the C protein; nucleotides encoding the hydrophobic domain at the carboxy terminus were retained. The second and third constructs contained smaller deletions of 72 bp and 129 bp encoding hydrophobic domains at the carboxy termini of C and prM respectively. Indirect immunofluorescence and radioimmunoprecipitation were used to detect prM and E in cells infected with recombinant viruses. The results showed that deletion of 90% of C had no apparent effect on the processing of prM and E, and that the signal sequence for E at the carboxy terminus of prM was active in the absence of the upstream signal sequence for prM at the carboxy terminus of C. Deletion of the hydrophobic sequences preceding the amino terminus of E prevented cleavage at the prM-E junction. These results obtained using infected cells were consistent with the published findings for the translation of flavivirus RNA in vitro, and indicated the importance of membrane association in the cleavage of structural proteins from the flavivirus polyprotein. In addition, cells infected with the recombinant virus containing the large deletion in the C coding region released the E glycoprotein into the culture medium.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Partial nucleotide sequence and deduced amino acid sequence of the structural proteins of dengue virus type 2, New Guinea C and PUO-218 strains.

The nucleotide sequence and the deduced amino acid sequence for the genes encoding the structural proteins of two strains of dengue virus type 2 (DEN-2) were determined from cDNA clones. The genes for C, prM(M) and E proteins were sequenced for the prototype DEN-2 virus, the New Guinea C strain. Also sequenced were the prM(M) and E genes of PUO-218. This strain of DEN-2 was isolated during 1980 in Bangkok and had received a limited number of laboratory passages. Comparisons of the newly determined sequences with those published for the Jamaica 1409 and Puerto Rico PR-159 (S1 vaccine candidate) strains revealed a close relationship between New Guinea C virus and both the Jamaica and PUO-218 viruses (greater than 96% similarity in nucleotides of the E gene), whereas S1 virus was the most divergent.

Amino Acid Sequence↗