Emerging Chikungunya Virus Variants at the E1-E1 Interglycoprotein Spike Interface Impact Virus Attachment and Inflammation.

ABSTRACT: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a reemerging arthropod-borne alphavirus and a serious threat to human health. Therefore, efforts toward elucidating how this virus causes disease and the molecular mechanisms underlying steps of the viral replication cycle are crucial. Using an in vivo transmission system that allows intrahost evolution, we identified an emerging CHIKV variant carrying a mutation in the E1 glycoprotein (V156A) in the serum of mice and saliva of mosquitoes. E1 V156A has since emerged in humans during an outbreak in Brazil, cooccurring with a second mutation, E1 K211T, suggesting an important role for these residues in CHIKV biology. Given the emergence of these variants, we hypothesized that they function to promote CHIKV infectivity and subsequent disease. Here, we show

SUBMITTER: Rangel MV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8865554 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature