Kyoko Shinya

Influenza A virus‐associated encephalopathy triggered by influenza virus infection often occurs in children aged five and younger in Japan. However, the mechanisms behind Influenza A virus‐associated encephalopathy are not yet well understood. This study developed an Influenza A virus‐associated encephalopathy‐like model using mice infected with Influenza A virus and given lipopolysaccharide treatment. The results showed that the mice used in the model suffered from brain edemas nearly three times more severe, as well as having higher cytokine levels in sera compared to those of the control groups. Using gene expression profiling, cytokine‐related genes were found not to be up‐regulated in the brain in situ, while protein coding genes, which are known to be involved in blood–brain barrier disruption, were up‐regulated. Categorizing the functional groups using gene ontology revealed the terms “ion channels,” “calcium oscillation,” and “membrane transporter activities.” The blood–brain barrier disruption found in this Influenza A virus‐associated encephalopathy model can therefore be assumed to be due to a cellular electrolyte imbalance of the neuronal tissue, in addition to a cytokine storm. J. Med. Virol. 86:905–911, 2014.

Although the viral factors of host adaptation from domestic poultry to humans have been studied several times since the first cases of direct transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses from domestic poultry to humans were confirmed in 1997, the host-specific adaptation mechanisms from waterfowl to domestic poultry remain unknown. To study the mechanisms involved, a waterfowl-derived virus was passaged in a chicken fibroblast cell line. This passaged virus was found to have much higher growth titer than that of the original virus and several mutations were discovered in its genome. One of the most characteristics was an increase of the polymorphism of the internal genes. In addition, the general applicability of this property to the field isolates of influenza A viruses by database sequences analysis was confirmed, with the smallest amount of amino acid polymorphism in viral internal proteins observed in waterfowl-derived viruses, more in domestic poultry and the most in human-derived viruses. Although specific amino acid changes conserved in human-derived viruses were found, such amino acid changes were not observed in poultry-derived viruses.

Although oral exposure to H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses is a risk factor for infection in humans, it is unclear how oral exposure to these virus results in lethal respiratory infections. To address this issue, we inoculated ferrets and hamsters with two highly pathogenic H5N1 strains. These viruses, inoculated directly into the stomach, were isolated from the large intestine and the mesenteric lymph nodes within 1 day of inoculation and subsequently spread to multiple tissues, including lung, liver, and brain. Histopathologic analysis of ferrets infected with virus via direct intragastric inoculation revealed lymph folliculitis in the digestive tract and mesenteric lymph nodes and focal interstitial pneumonia. Comparable results were obtained with the hamster model. We conclude that, in mammals, ingested H5N1 influenza viruses can disseminate to nondigestive organs, possibly through the lymphatic system of the gastrointestinal tract.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, humans have experienced four influenza pandemics, including the devastating 1918 'Spanish influenza'. Moreover, H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses are currently spreading worldwide, although they are not yet efficiently transmitted among humans. While the threat of a global pandemic involving a highly pathogenic influenza virus strain looms large, our mechanisms to address such a catastrophe remain limited. Here, we show that pre-stimulation of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) 2 and 4 increased resistance against influenza viruses known to induce high pathogenicity in animal models. Our data emphasize the complexity of the host response against different influenza viruses, and suggest that TLR agonists might be utilized to protect against lethality associated with highly pathogenic influenza virus infection in humans.

A/Hong Kong/213/97 (HK213; H5N1), isolated from a human, binds to both avian- and human-type receptors, due to a haemagglutinin (HA) mutation probably acquired during adaptation to humans. Duck passage of this virus conferred lethality in ducks. Sequence analyses of the duck-passaged virus revealed that its HA gene reverted back to one recognizing only avian-type receptors, and consequently it bound human tissue to a lesser extent. This finding suggests that viruses with human-type receptor specificity are unlikely to be maintained in waterfowl, unlike those with the human-type PB2 mutation, such as H5N1 viruses of the Qinghai Lake lineage.

Influenza A virus infection occurs in many species. Wild waterfowl harbor the widest variety of influenza A viruses and serve as a constant reservoir for the emergence of new viruses. Highly pathogenic avian influenza, or “fowl plague,” has been a known poultry disease for more than 130 years. It continues to emerge and reemerge, but global changes in trade and poultry production have expanded the impact and geographic range of these outbreaks. One subtype of highly pathogenic avian influenza, H5N1, has infected poultry on several continents as well as many people, leading to a human disease that is markedly different from seasonal influenza and that is associated with high mortality.

Amino acids at positions 627 and 701 in the PB2 protein (PB2-627 and PB2-701, respectively) of avian influenza A viruses affect virus replication in some mammalian cells. Highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza viruses possessing mammalian-type PB2-627 were detected during the Qinghai Lake outbreak in 2005 and spread to Europe and Africa. Via a database search, we found a high rate of viral isolates from Ratitae , including ostrich, possessing mammalian-type PB2-627 or -701. Here, we report that H5N1 avian influenza viruses possessing mammalian-type amino acids in PB2-627 or -701 are selected during replication in ostrich cells in vitro and in vivo.