Zhong Lei, Wang Xiaoquan, Li Qunhui, Liu Dong, Chen Hongzhi, Zhao Mingjun, Gu Xiaobing, He Liang, Liu Xiaowen, Gu Min, Peng Daxin, Liu Xiufan
College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China.
College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
J Virol. 2014 Sep 1;88(17):9568-78. doi: 10.1128/JVI.00943-14. Epub 2014 Jun 11.
H9N2 avian influenza virus has been prevalent in poultry in many parts of the world since the 1990s and occasionally crosses the host barrier, transmitting to mammals, including humans. In recent years, these viruses have contributed genes to H5N1 and H7N9 influenza viruses, threatening public health. To explore the molecular mechanism for the airborne transmission of H9N2 virus, we compared two genetically close strains isolated from chickens in 2001, A/chicken/Shanghai/7/2001(SH7) and A/chicken/Shanghai/14/2001 (SH14). SH7 is airborne transmissible between chickens, whereas SH14 is not. We used reverse genetics and gene swapping to derive recombinant SH7 (rSH7), rSH14, and a panel of reassortant viruses. Among the reassortant viruses, we identified segments HA and PA as governing the airborne transmission among chickens. In addition, the NP and NS genes also contributed to a lesser extent. Furthermore, the mutational analyses showed the transmissibility phenotype predominantly mapped to the HA and PA genes, with HA-K363 and PA-L672 being important for airborne transmissibility among chickens. In addition, the viral infectivity and acid stability are related to the airborne transmissibility. Importantly, airborne transmission studies of 18 arbitrarily chosen H9N2 viruses from our collections confirmed the importance of both 363K in HA and 672L in PA in determining their levels of transmissibility. Our finding elucidates the genetic contributions to H9N2 transmissibility in chickens and highlights the importance of their prevalence in poultry.
Our study investigates the airborne transmissibility of H9N2 viruses in chickens and the subsequent epidemic. H9N2 virus is the donor for several prevalent reassortant influenza viruses, such as H7N9/2013 and the H5N1 viruses. Poultry as the reservoir hosts of influenza virus is closely associated with human society. Airborne transmission is an efficient pathway for influenza virus transmission among flocks and individuals. Exploring the mechanism of the airborne transmission of the H9N2 virus in chickens could provide essential data regarding prevention and control of influenza endemics and pandemics.
自20世纪90年代以来，H9N2禽流感病毒在世界许多地区的家禽中普遍存在，偶尔会跨越宿主屏障，传播给包括人类在内的哺乳动物。近年来，这些病毒为H5N1和H7N9流感病毒贡献了基因，威胁着公众健康。为了探索H9N2病毒空气传播的分子机制，我们比较了2001年从鸡中分离出的两个基因相近的毒株，A/鸡/上海/7/2001（SH7）和A/鸡/上海/14/2001（SH14）。SH7可在鸡之间空气传播，而SH14则不能。我们使用反向遗传学和基因交换技术获得了重组SH7（rSH7）、rSH14和一组重配病毒。在这些重配病毒中，我们确定HA和PA片段决定鸡之间的空气传播。此外，NP和NS基因也有较小程度的贡献。此外，突变分析表明，传播表型主要定位于HA和PA基因，HA-K363和PA-L672对鸡之间的空气传播很重要。此外，病毒感染性和酸稳定性与空气传播有关。重要的是，对我们收集的18种任意选择的H9N2病毒进行的空气传播研究证实了HA中的363K和PA中的672L在决定其传播水平方面的重要性。我们的发现阐明了对鸡中H9N2传播的遗传贡献，并突出了其在家禽中流行的重要性。
我们的研究调查了H9N2病毒在鸡中的空气传播及随后的流行情况。H9N2病毒是几种流行的重配流感病毒的供体，如H7N9/2013和H5N1病毒。家禽作为流感病毒的储存宿主与人类社会密切相关。空气传播是流感病毒在禽群和个体之间传播的有效途径。探索H9N2病毒在鸡中空气传播的机制可为预防和控制流感地方病和大流行提供重要数据。
