Dengue virus regulates type I interferon signalling in a strain-dependent manner in human cell lines.
Outbreaks of dengue disease are constant threats to tropical and subtropical populations but range widely in severity, from mild to haemorrhagic fevers, for reasons that are still elusive. We investigated the interferon (IFN) response in infected human cell lines A549 and HepG2, using two strains (NGC and TSV01) of dengue serotype 2 (DEN2) and found that the two viruses exhibited a marked difference in inducing type I IFN response. While TSV01 infection led to activation of type I antiviral genes such as EIF2AK2 (PKR), OAS, ADAR and MX, these responses were absent in NGC-infected cells. Biochemical analysis revealed that NGC but not TSV01 suppressed STAT-1 and STAT-2 activation in response to type I IFN (alpha and beta). However, these two strains did not differ in their response to type II IFN (gamma). Although unable to suppress IFN signalling, TSV01 infection caused a weaker IFN-beta induction compared with NGC, suggesting an alternative mechanism of innate immune escape. We extended our study to clinical isolates of various serotypes and found that while MY10245 (DEN2) and MY22713 (DEN4) could suppress the IFN response in a similar fashion to NGC, three other strains of dengue [EDEN167 (DEN1), MY02569 (DEN1) and MY10340 (DEN2)] were unable to suppress the IFN response, suggesting that this difference is strain-dependent but not serotype-specific. Our report indicates the existence of a strain-specific virulence factor that may impact on disease severity.
Umareddy
Indira
I
Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases, 10, Biopolis Road, #05-01 Chromos, 138670, Singapore.
Tang
Kin Fai
KF
Genome Institute of Singapore, 60, Biopolis Road, #02-01, Genome, 138672, Singapore.
Vasudevan
Subhash G
SG
Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases, 10, Biopolis Road, #05-01 Chromos, 138670, Singapore.
Devi
Shamala
S
Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Hibberd
Martin L
ML
Genome Institute of Singapore, 60, Biopolis Road, #02-01, Genome, 138672, Singapore.
Gu
Feng
F
Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases, 10, Biopolis Road, #05-01 Chromos, 138670, Singapore.
D000818:Animals; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000378:metabolism; D002460:Cell Line; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D003716:Dengue Virus / Q000145:classification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D007370:Interferon Type I / Q000378:metabolism*; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology / Q000821:virology*; D008168:Lung / Q000166:cytology / Q000821:virology*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D050794:STAT1 Transcription Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D050795:STAT2 Transcription Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D012703:Serotyping; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013045:Species Specificity
D000998:Antiviral Agents; D007370:Interferon Type I; D050794:STAT1 Transcription Factor; D050795:STAT2 Transcription Factor