Hepatitis C virus envelope glycoprotein fitness defines virus population composition following transmission to a new host

Genetic variability is a hallmark of RNA virus populations. However, transmission to a new host often results in a marked decrease in population diversity. This genetic bottlenecking is observed during hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission and can arise via a selective sweep or through the founder ef...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Brown, Richard J.P., Hudson, Natalia, Wilson, Garrick, Rehman, Shafiq Ur, Jabbari, Sara, Hu, Ke, Tarr, Alexander W., Borrow, Persephone, Joyce, Michael, Lewis, Jamie, Zhu, Lin Fu, Law, Mansun, Kneteman, Norman, Tyrrell, D. Lorne, McKeating, Jane A., Ball, Jonathan K.
Format: Article
Published: American Society for Microbiology 2012
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2387/
_version_ 1848790771971391488
author Brown, Richard J.P.
Hudson, Natalia
Wilson, Garrick
Rehman, Shafiq Ur
Jabbari, Sara
Hu, Ke
Tarr, Alexander W.
Borrow, Persephone
Joyce, Michael
Lewis, Jamie
Zhu, Lin Fu
Law, Mansun
Kneteman, Norman
Tyrrell, D. Lorne
McKeating, Jane A.
Ball, Jonathan K.
author_facet Brown, Richard J.P.
Hudson, Natalia
Wilson, Garrick
Rehman, Shafiq Ur
Jabbari, Sara
Hu, Ke
Tarr, Alexander W.
Borrow, Persephone
Joyce, Michael
Lewis, Jamie
Zhu, Lin Fu
Law, Mansun
Kneteman, Norman
Tyrrell, D. Lorne
McKeating, Jane A.
Ball, Jonathan K.
author_sort Brown, Richard J.P.
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Genetic variability is a hallmark of RNA virus populations. However, transmission to a new host often results in a marked decrease in population diversity. This genetic bottlenecking is observed during hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission and can arise via a selective sweep or through the founder effect. To model HCV transmission, we utilized chimeric SCID/Alb-uPA mice with transplanted human hepatocytes and infected them with a human serum HCV inoculum. E1E2 glycoprotein gene sequences in the donor inoculum and recipient mice were determined following single-genome amplification (SGA). In independent experiments, using mice with liver cells grafted from different sources, an E1E2 variant undetectable in the source inoculum was selected for during transmission. Bayesian coalescent analyses indicated that this variant arose in the inoculum pretransmission. Transmitted variants that established initial infection harbored key substitutions in E1E2 outside HVR1. Notably, all posttransmission E1E2s had lost a potential N-linked glycosylation site (PNGS) in E2. In lentiviral pseudoparticle assays, the major posttransmission E1E2 variant conferred an increased capacity for entry compared to the major variant present in the inoculum. Together, these data demonstrate that increased envelope glycoprotein fitness can drive selective outgrowth of minor variants posttransmission and that loss of a PNGS is integral to this improved phenotype. Mathematical modeling of the dynamics of competing HCV variants indicated that relatively modest differences in glycoprotein fitness can result in marked shifts in virus population composition. Overall, these data provide important insights into the dynamics and selection of HCV populations during transmission.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T18:17:55Z
format Article
id nottingham-2387
institution University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T18:17:55Z
publishDate 2012
publisher American Society for Microbiology
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling nottingham-23872020-05-04T20:21:11Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2387/ Hepatitis C virus envelope glycoprotein fitness defines virus population composition following transmission to a new host Brown, Richard J.P. Hudson, Natalia Wilson, Garrick Rehman, Shafiq Ur Jabbari, Sara Hu, Ke Tarr, Alexander W. Borrow, Persephone Joyce, Michael Lewis, Jamie Zhu, Lin Fu Law, Mansun Kneteman, Norman Tyrrell, D. Lorne McKeating, Jane A. Ball, Jonathan K. Genetic variability is a hallmark of RNA virus populations. However, transmission to a new host often results in a marked decrease in population diversity. This genetic bottlenecking is observed during hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission and can arise via a selective sweep or through the founder effect. To model HCV transmission, we utilized chimeric SCID/Alb-uPA mice with transplanted human hepatocytes and infected them with a human serum HCV inoculum. E1E2 glycoprotein gene sequences in the donor inoculum and recipient mice were determined following single-genome amplification (SGA). In independent experiments, using mice with liver cells grafted from different sources, an E1E2 variant undetectable in the source inoculum was selected for during transmission. Bayesian coalescent analyses indicated that this variant arose in the inoculum pretransmission. Transmitted variants that established initial infection harbored key substitutions in E1E2 outside HVR1. Notably, all posttransmission E1E2s had lost a potential N-linked glycosylation site (PNGS) in E2. In lentiviral pseudoparticle assays, the major posttransmission E1E2 variant conferred an increased capacity for entry compared to the major variant present in the inoculum. Together, these data demonstrate that increased envelope glycoprotein fitness can drive selective outgrowth of minor variants posttransmission and that loss of a PNGS is integral to this improved phenotype. Mathematical modeling of the dynamics of competing HCV variants indicated that relatively modest differences in glycoprotein fitness can result in marked shifts in virus population composition. Overall, these data provide important insights into the dynamics and selection of HCV populations during transmission. American Society for Microbiology 2012-11 Article PeerReviewed Brown, Richard J.P., Hudson, Natalia, Wilson, Garrick, Rehman, Shafiq Ur, Jabbari, Sara, Hu, Ke, Tarr, Alexander W., Borrow, Persephone, Joyce, Michael, Lewis, Jamie, Zhu, Lin Fu, Law, Mansun, Kneteman, Norman, Tyrrell, D. Lorne, McKeating, Jane A. and Ball, Jonathan K. (2012) Hepatitis C virus envelope glycoprotein fitness defines virus population composition following transmission to a new host. Journal of Virology, 86 (22). pp. 11956-11966. ISSN 0022-538X http://jvi.asm.org/content/86/22/11956.long doi:10.1128/JVI.01079-12 doi:10.1128/JVI.01079-12
spellingShingle Brown, Richard J.P.
Hudson, Natalia
Wilson, Garrick
Rehman, Shafiq Ur
Jabbari, Sara
Hu, Ke
Tarr, Alexander W.
Borrow, Persephone
Joyce, Michael
Lewis, Jamie
Zhu, Lin Fu
Law, Mansun
Kneteman, Norman
Tyrrell, D. Lorne
McKeating, Jane A.
Ball, Jonathan K.
Hepatitis C virus envelope glycoprotein fitness defines virus population composition following transmission to a new host
title Hepatitis C virus envelope glycoprotein fitness defines virus population composition following transmission to a new host
title_full Hepatitis C virus envelope glycoprotein fitness defines virus population composition following transmission to a new host
title_fullStr Hepatitis C virus envelope glycoprotein fitness defines virus population composition following transmission to a new host
title_full_unstemmed Hepatitis C virus envelope glycoprotein fitness defines virus population composition following transmission to a new host
title_short Hepatitis C virus envelope glycoprotein fitness defines virus population composition following transmission to a new host
title_sort hepatitis c virus envelope glycoprotein fitness defines virus population composition following transmission to a new host
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2387/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2387/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2387/