VERNON'S MODULE Flashcards
(155 cards)
what is positive-sense?
viruses with a positive sense RNA genome means the genome is in the coding sense for protein synthesis and can act as mRNA upon entering the cell
so gets translated straight to protein
what is negative-sense?
a virus with negative-sense genome means the genome is in the non-coding sense for protein synthesis and must be converted to positive-sense before protein translation can commence
so undergoes transcription by RdRp to become positive-sense RNA and then can undergo translation to protein
outline replication of the positive-sense ssRNA virus poliovirus?
poliovirus replicates in the cytoplasm and its genome consists of one piece of +ssRNA with a polyA tail
the RNA is infectious if it was artificially put in a cell i.e. everything the virus needs to replicate is in that RNA
once virus has released genome into cell step 1 is translation to make protein (cause +ve sense)
after translation it has all the enzymes it needs to replicate genome to it replicates it (transcription) making complimentary sense copy called -ve sense replicative intermediate (antigenome)
antigenome is then a template which can undergo transcription to make more +ve sense so you can make more protein (via translation)
so you get build up of viral proteins and when concentrations high enough you get assembly
why must RNA viruses encode their own RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) and what is it?
because we do not have RdRp in our cells and the virus needs it to replicate its RNA
RdRp is a transcriptase - RNA dependent cause RNA is the template and RNA polymerase cause RNA is the product
RdRp is usually part of the replicase complex
classic antiviral target since essential for viral replication and our cells don’t have it
how does poliovirus get multiple proteins from a single gene?
polyprotein processing
outline poliovirus polyprotein processing?
virus has to make multiple proteins from one piece of RNA - so it makes a polyprotein i.e. the RNA genome has only one gene with start and stop codon and one ORF
polyprotein has protease activity embedded within it so following translation it cleaves itself at cleavage sites to release multiple proteins
cleavage doesn’t occur simultaneously; proteins have different forms which perform different functions e.g. 3CD propol is a protease, 3Cpro is a protease and 3Dpol is a polymerase - protease activity different when attached and when not and the precursors of that process will have their own specific function
this is a mechanism by which poliovirus can maximise coding potential
how does hepacivirus (HepC) of the family flaviviridae infect the host cell and replicate?
HepC associates with lipoproteins which associate with elements on host cell surface. E1 and E2 envelope glycoproteins interact with CD81 (host receptor) and then virus gets endocytosed via CLDNI and clathrin
endosome acidification changes viral glycoprotein and capsid (core protein unknown) structure causing fusion of viral and endoscope membrane –> genome release
genome is one piece of +ssRNA –> first step translation to protein then replicase complex makes -ve sense antigenome which is template for more +ve sense RNA
viral proteins assemble on ER and modify it to membranous web making replication factor
what are the 5’ and 3’ non coding regions (NCR) of hepC genome?
HepC genome single RNA strand with one ORF and one start and stop codon and embedded protease activity for cleavage
but single RNA strands can undergo local basepairing to form double strands and complex 3D dynamic structures like hairpins and loops - this is what occurs at 5’ NCR and 3’ NCR at ends of hepC RNA genome
this is a critical way that so much info can be stored in a single stranded RNA genome
5’NCR - highly conserved, domain I is critical for RNA replication, domain II-IV are IRES, critical for initiating replication and establishing cap-independent translation
3’NCR - includes conserved 98bp X-tail, U(25) essential for replication, 5B structure essential
how does canonical translation initiation occur (like normally in our cells w/o virus)?
met-tRNA forms pre-initiation complex with eIF3 and 40s ribosomal subunit which assembles on cap (methyl-guanosine group on end of mRNA) and scans till it finds a start codon. Once it does it brings in the 60s subunit and begins translating protein
how does HepC initiate translation?
hepC doesn’t have methyl-guanosine cap so cannot use normal canonical translation
has IRES (internal ribosome entry site) in 5’NCR which allows direct interaction with 40s subunit and eIF3
it then brings in other components and scans to find start codon and initiates polyprotein translation
so IRES allows it to bypass cap binding complex components thus suppressing host cell translation and maximising its own production
what kinds of translation initiation do +ssRNA viruses use?
some use IRES initiation e.g. hepC
however most +ssRNA viruses are capped and do not have IRES structures and so canonical translation initiation is normally used
once hepC polyprotein has been translated, how does protein coding and processing occur?
same as poliovirus - polyprotein has proteases in it which cleave it
NS2 and NS3 are different proteases which release themselves and other proteins with different functions from each other to produce a series of protein
extra step (to poliovirus) is that core proteins and envelope glycoproteins are released from polyprotein by host cell proteases
so virus has adapted to also use host proteases
where do HepC proteins go following translation and processing and what functions do they carry out?
they assemble on ER membranes which is where the replication complex assembles (hepC replicates on membranes)
many of these proteins carry out multiple functions e.g. NS4A and NS3 complex are proteases which don’t just cleave viral proteins but also host proteins to antagonise the innate immune response (TRIF and MAVS inactivation)
NS4B is responsible for membranous web formation which allows membrane area to be maximised for replication
what are membrane associated replication complexes and what do they provide?
membrane bound replication sites - these are a hallmark of +ssRNA viruses
they provide compartmentalisation, localised concentration of viral proteins, RNA tethering to replication site, provides lipids for replication (hepC needs these) and also protects from innate dsRNA responses
hepC maturation occurs via budding into ER and cell secretion pathways completing the replication cycle
what is the Sindbis virus?
family - togaviridae
genus - alphavirus
+ssRNA virus w more than one ORF (i.e. more than one gene on its genome)
30-42nm icosahedral virus in envelope
60-65nm diameter spherical virion
10-12,000 base genome
5’ cap and 3’ poly-A tail (canonically translated)
purified RNA is infectious
attachment via Lamina receptor, endocytosis entry then fusion with endosome, E1 and E2 type II fusion proteins on viral surface (in envelope derived from host membrane)
outline expression and polyprotein processing of Sindbis non-structural (NS) proteins (first ORF)?
first ORF; things at 5’ end necessary for viral replication
40s ribosome starts scanning from methyl-guanosine cap and continues until it finds start codon and starts translating protein and continues until it finds stop codon
this polyprotein gets cleaved by viral proteases and produces a bunch of important proteins - NSP1/methyl-transferase (puts cap on mRNA, ours is in nucleus and virus replicates in cytoplasm hence why it must encode its own), NSP2 (protease for ppp and also helices for unwinding genome for replication), NSP3 (rep complex)
but stop codon doesn’t always work in which case ribosome just keeps going (read through) to next stop codon and when read through happens there are all four proteins for replication (incl. NSP4 - RdRp which can then synthesise full length antigenome from + strand)
BUT there is still the other ORF and we haven’t made any structural proteins yet
outline expression of Sindbis virus structural (S) proteins
sub-genomic RNAs (sgRNA) are a common feature in +ssRNA viruses and can encode a polyprotein
-ve sense antigenome has very strong promoter for viral replicase for viral replicase and sometimes get (from an internal promoter part way through -ve sense) production of shorter part of +ve sense which will be the untranslated second ORF of the genome - the subgenome
this will get capped by methyl-transferase and seen as a piece of mRNA so translated into polyprotein until ribosome hits stop codon
protease cleaves it into structural proteins e.g. envelope, capsid proteins, E1 and E2 (surface glycoprotein dimers)
what is polyprotein123 and polyprotein 1234?
P123 - sindbis virus NS proteins (before processing) without read through (Nsp1;methyl-transferase, Nsp2;Hel/Pro, Nsp3;rep complex)
P1234 - sindbis virus NS proteins (before processing) with read through (Nsp1;methyl-transferase, Nsp2;Hel/Pro, Nsp3;rep complex, Nsp4;RdRp)
they are the same polyprotein one is just bigger cause read through occurred
when does RNA copying begin to occur in sindbis virus and what occurs following that?
when ORF1 (P1234) has been translated and processed cause that has all the NS replication proteins required for replication
first step is make antigenome from +ve sense template from which it can make more +ve sense and thus more protein
BUT sometimes instead of making full-length +ve sense it makes shorter one which gets capped and encodes the second ORF (containing structural proteins)
why aren’t all proteins made at the same level (using sindbis virus as example)?
not all proteins needed in the same amount
one RdRp (Nsp4) can move along template many times but capsid needs lots of protein - so virus generally needs lots more structural proteins
RdRp recognises sgRNA promoter strongly so you tend to get more of this and the S proteins it encodes
what are the two severe acute respiratory syndrome coronaviruses ?
SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2
SARS-CoV-2 has caused almost 800,000 confirmed cases and almost 7,000,000 deaths
what does COVID-19 affect?
ACE2 receptor present in lots of tissues so lots of different symptoms e.g. neurological, pulmonary, cardiac, GI etc. because it causes systemic infection
what underlying medical conditions make you more susceptible to severe COVID-19 and what does this indicate the importance of?
respiratory disease
heart conditions
immunocompromised
obesity
hypertension
diabetes
liver or kidney disease
hence importance of masks
who else (other than those with underlying medical issues) are more susceptible to COVID-19?
disproportionately impacts ethnic minorities including Māori and Pasifika due to higher rate of chronic health conditions, crowded housing, difficulty accessing healthcare (so due to socioeconomic inequities)