title: Mechanisms of foot-and-mouth disease virus tropism inferred from differential tissue gene expression.
abstract: Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) targets specific tissues for primary infection, secondary high-titer replication (e.g. foot and mouth where it causes typical vesicular lesions) and long-term persistence at some primary replication sites. Although integrin αVβ6 receptor has been identified as primary FMDV receptors in animals, their tissue distribution alone fails to explain these highly selective tropism-driven events. Thus, other molecular mechanisms must play roles in determining this tissue specificity. We hypothesized that differences in certain biological activities due to differential gene expression determine FMDV tropism and applied whole genome gene expression profiling to identify genes differentially expressed between FMDV-targeted and non-targeted tissues in terms of supporting primary infection, secondary replication including vesicular lesions, and persistence. Using statistical and bioinformatic tools to analyze the differential gene expression, we identified mechanisms that could explain FMDV tissue tropism based on its association with differential expression of integrin αVβ6 heterodimeric receptor (FMDV receptor), fibronectin (ligand of the receptor), IL-1 cytokines, death receptors and the ligands, and multiple genes in the biological pathways involved in extracellular matrix turnover and interferon signaling found in this study. Our results together with reported findings indicate that differences in (1) FMDV receptor availability and accessibility, (2) type I interferon-inducible immune response, and (3) ability to clear virus infected cells via death receptor signaling play roles in determining FMDV tissue tropism and the additional increase of high extracellular matrix turnover induced by FMDV infection, likely via triggering the signaling of highly expressed IL-1 cytokines, play a key role in the pathogenesis of vesicular lesions.
authors.affiliation: Foreign Animal Disease Research Unit, United States Department of Agriculture, Plum Island Animal Disease Research Center, Orient Point, New York, United States of America. james.zhu@ars.usda.gov
authors.forename: James J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Arzt
authors.forename: Michael C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Puckette
authors.forename: George R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Smoliga
authors.forename: Juan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Pacheco
authors.forename: Luis L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001665:Binding Sites; D002417:Cattle; D019295:Computational Biology; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism; D005353:Fibronectins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005536:Foot-and-Mouth Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology; D029544:Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus / Q000502:physiology*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D016023:Integrins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D007372:Interferons / Q000378:metabolism; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008024:Ligands; D008297:Male; D005810:Multigene Family / Q000235:genetics; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000235:genetics*; D053218:Receptors, Death Domain / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D056189:Viral Tropism / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D005353:Fibronectins; D016023:Integrins; D007375:Interleukin-1; D008024:Ligands; D053218:Receptors, Death Domain; D014157:Transcription Factors; C073878:integrin alphavbeta6; D007372:Interferons