Residue 82 of the Chikungunya virus E2 attachment protein modulates viral dissemination and arthritis in mice.

ABSTRACT:

Unlabelled

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne alphavirus that has reemerged to cause profound epidemics of fever, rash, and arthralgia throughout sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean. Like other arthritogenic alphaviruses, mechanisms of CHIKV pathogenesis are not well defined. Using the attenuated CHIKV strain 181/25 and virulent strain AF15561, we identified a residue in the E2 viral attachment protein that is a critical determinant of viral replication in cultured cells and pathogenesis in vivo. Viruses containing an arginine at E2 residue 82 displayed enhanced infectivity in mammalian cells but reduced infectivity in mosquito cells and diminished virulence in a mouse model of CHIKV disease. Mice inoculated with virus containing an arginine at this pos

SUBMITTER: Ashbrook AW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4248890 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature