Inhibition of infection spread by co-transmitted defective interfering particles.

ABSTRACT: Although virus release from host cells and tissues propels the spread of many infectious diseases, most virus particles are not infectious; many are defective, lacking essential genetic information needed for replication. When defective and viable particles enter the same cell, the defective particles can multiply while interfering with viable particle production. Defective interfering particles (DIPs) occur in nature, but their role in disease pathogenesis and spread is not known. Here, we engineered an RNA virus and its DIPs to express different fluorescent reporters, and we observed how DIPs impact viral gene expression and infection spread. Across thousands of host cells, co-infected with infectious virus and DIPs, gene expression was highly variable, but average levels of viral report

SUBMITTER: Baltes A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5600374 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature