Mutations in the NS2B and NS3 genes affect mouse neuroinvasiveness of a Western European field strain of tick-borne encephalitis virus

Daniel Růžek, Tamara S. Gritsun, Naomi L. Forrester, Ernest A. Gould, Jan Kopecký, Maryna Golovchenko, Nataliia Rudenko, Libor Grubhoffer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

50 Scopus citations

Abstract

An attenuated strain (263) of the tick-borne encephalitis virus, isolated from field ticks, was either serially subcultured, 5 times in mice, or at 40 °C in PS cells, producing 2 independent strains, 263-m5 and 263-TR with identical genomes; both strains exhibited increased plaque size, neuroinvasiveness and temperature-resistance. Sequencing revealed two unique amino acid substitutions, one mapping close to the catalytic site of the viral protease. These observations imply that virus adaptation from ticks to mammals occurs by selection of pre-existing virulent variants from the quasispecies population rather than by the emergence of new random mutations. The significance of these observations is discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)249-255
Number of pages7
JournalVirology
Volume374
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - May 10 2008
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Neuroinvasiveness
  • Tick-borne encephalitis virus
  • Viral protease

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Virology

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