The interferon (lFN) signalling and RNA interference (RNAi) pathways are the major antiviral pathways in animals and plants, respectively. Although the mechanism of RNAi remains to be completely characterised, the genes that encode the proteins involved in this process have been identified in the plant, fungi and animal kingdoms (Fagard et al., 2000, Grishok et aI., 2000, Hall et al., 2003, Kanellopoulou et al., 2005, Kolb et al., 2005); with comparative analyses indicating that RNAi is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism. Several studies have identified RNAi suppressors encoded by animal viruses, suggesting an antiviral role for the RNAi pathway in animals as well as plants (Andersson et al., 2005, Bennasser et al., 2006, Garcia et al., 2006, Li et al., 2004, Lichner et al., 2003, Lingel et al., 2005, Lu & Cullen, 2004, Wang et al., 2006). However, most of these studies were performed in non-mammalian systems and as yet, there is no direct evidence indicating that the RNAi pathway plays a significant antiviral role during the infection of mammalian cells. Interestingly, several viruses have now been shown to express their own microRNA (miRNA) in infected cells (Grey et al., 2005, Pfeffer et al., 2005, Pfeffer et al., 2004, Samols et al., 2005, Sullivan et al., 2005). Further, in the case of hepatitis C virus (HCV), there is evidence that the virus usurps the host cell miRNAs to enhance viral replication (Jopling et al., 2005). The principal aim of this project was to investigate the role of RNAi in mammalian cells during viral infection, particularly infection with the influenza A virus. This thesis is divided into six major chapters followed by a brief general discussion. Chapter 1 contains a general introduction to the RNAi pathway. It describes the history of the discovery of RNAi and summarizes the known and proposed antiviral roles of the RNAi pathway in plants and mammalian cells. Chapter 2 describes the general materials and methods used for this project. There are four main result chapters, each dealing with a specific experimental system. Each chapter is divided into a brief introduction, specific materials and methods used, followed by presentation of the experimental results and a brief discussion. Chapter 3 describes the development of an in vitro Dicer activity assay to study the effect of viral proteins on the activity of the mammalian Dicer protein. It was demonstrated that crude cell lysates derived from influenza A virus infected cells impaired the activity of Dicer and this observation was not due to degradation of the Dicer protein by virally-induced proteases. Chapter 4 describes the use of a GFP reporter assay for screening potential RNAi suppressors. This assay is suitable for studying viral proteins in isolation. The effect of the influenza NS1 protein on the RNAi pathway in HEK293 cells was investigated and it was shown that NS1 could exert modest, but nevertheless significant, suppression of the RNAi pathway. Northern studies, performed to examine the processing of shRNA in the presence of NS1, demonstrated that NSI suppressed the RNAi mechanism through interfering with the maturation ofshRNA into siRNA. Chapter 5 describes the effect of over-expressing components of the RNAi pathway on influenza A virus infection. In these experiments, Exportin 5, which encodes a protein involved in the transport of pre-miRNA/shRNA into the cytoplasm, was over-expressed during influenza A virus infection. Reduced viral infection was observed in cells over-expressing Exportin 5, suggesting that this treatment protects cells from virus infection. Chapter 6 describes the expressed small RNA profile during influenza A virus infection in MDCK cells. Novel canine miRNA homologues were identified through cloning and sequencing. No definitive evidence for virally-derived siRNA/miRNA was found but a general reduction of endogenous miRNA expression was detected.

The genetic requirements for Influenza virus to infect and adapt to new species is largely unknown. To understand the evolutionary steps required by a virus to become virulent, a human virus (A/HK/1/68) (HK), avirulent in mice, was subjected to 20 and 21 serial lung-to-lung passages in mouse. Sequence analysis revealed the emergence of eleven mutations within the NS1 gene of the new virulent strains, many of which occurred in binding sites for transcriptional and translational cellular factors. In the present study we have rescued viruses containing each of the NS1 mouse adapted mutations onto A/PR/8/34 (PR8) backbone. We found 9 of 16 NS1 mutants were adaptive by inducing mortality, body weight loss in BALB/c mice and enhanced virus replication in MDCK cells with properties of host cell interferon transcription inhibition. Sequence comparisons with the highly pathogenic A/Hong Kong/156/1997 (H5N1) and the most severe pandemic A/Brevig Mission/1/1918 (H1N1) NS1 genes showed convergent evolution with some of the mouse adapted viruses for F103L plus M106I and V226I plus R227K mutations respectively. The F103L and M106I mutations in the HK NS1 gene were shown to be adaptive by assessment with respect to replication, early viral protein synthesis, interferon-β antagonism and tropism in the mouse lung. We extended the study and proved increased virulence associated with F103L+M106I mutations in their respective H5N1 NS1 gene on the PR8 and HK backbones, as well as the PR8 NS1 gene and the H9N2 (A/Ck/Bj/1/95) gene in the PR8 and A/WSN/33 backbones respectively. However the V226I and R227K mutations in their respective HK and 1918 NS1 genes slightly enhanced virulence and viral growth at later stages of infection. This study demonstrates that NS1 is a virulence factor; involved in multiple viral processes including interferon antagonism and viral protein synthesis. Furthermore, NS1 mutations acquired during mouse adaptation are proven to be adaptive in human, mouse and avian NS1 genes.

A dengue é uma doença infecciosa com grandes taxas de morbimortalidade, causada pelo vírus da dengue (DENV). Segundo a Organização Mundial de Saúde, cerca de 50 a 100 milhões de pessoas são infectadas anualmente em mais de 100 países tropicais e subtropicais de todos os continentes. O espectro clínico da infecção pelo DENV pode incluir formas assintomáticas ou sintomaticas que variam desde uma febre indeterminada e autolimitada, passando pela febre clássica da dengue (FD) até quadros graves denominados febre hemorrágica da dengue/síndrome do choque da dengue (FHD/SCD). Recentemente, ocorreu um dramático aumento do número de casos de FHD/SCD nas Américas, e este aumento coincidiu com a introdução do dengue sorotipo 3, genótipo III. No presente trabalho, objetivou-se a clonagem e a expressão das proteínas NS1 e NS3 do vírus da dengue tipo 3. As proteínas NS1 e NS3 do DENV-3 foram clonadas e expressas com sucesso em sistema procarioto. A amplificação dos genes das proteínas NS1 e NS3 foi realizada por RT-PCR, o qual gerou amplicons de cerca de 1050 e 1850 pb, respectivamente. Em seguida, os genes foram clonados por inserção dos amplicons no vetor plasmidial pCR-XL. Os genes de NS1 e NS3 foram subclonados no vetor de expressão pQE-30 através de sítios de restrição para as enzimas BamHI e HindIII. A expressão proteica foi obtida em sistema procarioto utilizando a cepa BL21(DE3) de E. coli, resultando em proteínas de 45 e 70 kDa as quais foram confirmadas por análises em Western blot utilizando como anticorpo primário fluido ascítico imune de camundongos e soro de pacientes com dengue. Estas proteínas virais podem ser utilizadas para estudos relacionados à patogênese, replicação e mecanismos de escape do sistema imune do DENV, além disso, podem ser potencias antígenos em métodos de diagnóstico. / Dengue is an infectious disease with high morbidity and mortality rates caused by dengue virus (DENV). According to the World Health Organization, about 50 to 100 million people are infected annually in more than 100 tropical and subtropical countries from all continents. The clinical spectrum of DENV infection can includes asymptomatic or symptomatic forms ranging from undetermined and self-limited fever, through dengue fever (DF) to severe disease called dengue hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome (DHF/DSS). Recently, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of cases of DHF/DSS in the Americas, and this increase coincided with the introduction of dengue virus type 3 (DENV-3), genotype III. The present study aimed to clone and express NS1 and NS3 proteins of DENV-3. The NS1 and NS3 proteins of DENV-3 was successfully cloned and expressed in a prokaryotic system. Amplification of NS1 and NS3 genes was carried out by RT-PCR, which yielded amplicons of approximately 1050 and 1850 bp, respectively. Then, the genes were cloned by inserting the amplicons into the plasmid vector pCR-XL. NS1 and NS3 genes were subcloned into the expression vector pQE-30 through the restriction sites for BamHI and HindIII enzymes. The protein expression was obtained in a prokaryotic system using the strain BL21 (DE3) of E. coli, resulting in 45 and 70 kDa proteins, which were confirmed by Western blot analysis using immune mouse ascitic fluid and serum of patients with dengue as primary antibody. These viral proteins can be used to study the pathogenesis, mechanisms of replication and immune escape of DENV, moreover, can be potential antigens in diagnostic methods.

A dengue é uma doença causada pelo vírus da dengue (DENV) cuja incidência é alarmante no mundo. Seu principal método de controle, combate ao vetor, não é totalmente eficaz, o que faz da busca por vacinas seguras e eficazes uma prioridade. Por outro lado o uso de proteínas não estruturais do vírus mostra-se promissor ao desenvolvimento de vacinas contra a dengue. Assim, neste trabalho buscamos desenvolver e caracterizar estratégias vacinais, baseadas na proteína NS1, utilizando a via intradérmica (i.d.) de imunização. Para isso foram obtidas proteínas quimeras contendo a NS1 DENV2 fusionada a anticorpos específicos para os receptores DEC e DCIR2 de células dendríticas. O emprego destas proteínas em ensaios de imunização pelas vias i.d. e i.p induziram respostas humorais NS1-específicas, com modulação do perfil de subclasses de IgG, aumento da afinidade dos mesmos, sem causar efeitos adversos nos animais imunizados. Assim, a inédita combinação da estratégia de direcionamento aqui descrita com a via i.d. faz-se promissora ao desenvolvimento de vacinas contra o DENV. / Dengue is a disease caused by dengue virus (DENV) whose incidence is alarming in the world. Its main method of control, combating the vector, is not fully effective, which makes the search for safe and effective vaccines a priority. Moreover the use of non-structural proteins of the virus shows promise for the development of vaccines against dengue. In this work we developed and characterized vaccine strategies based on the NS1 protein using the intradermal route (i.d.) immunization. For this, chimeras containing the NS1 protein fused to DENV2 antibodies specific for the receptor DEC and DCIR2 dendritic cells were obtained. The use of these proteins in immunization trials by way i.d. and i.p. induced NS1-specific humoral responses, with modulation of the IgG subclasses profile, increased affinity thereof without causing adverse effects in the immunized animals. Thus, the new combination of targeting strategy described here with via i.d. any be promising for the development of vaccines against DENV.

Submitted by Fabio Sobreira Campos da Costa (fabio.sobreira@ufpe.br) on 2017-03-29T12:58:51Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Dissertação OK Priscila Mendonça.pdf: 4293178 bytes, checksum: abd6cd49376b8e172e0ce8adf3135b8d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-29T12:58:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Dissertação OK Priscila Mendonça.pdf: 4293178 bytes, checksum: abd6cd49376b8e172e0ce8adf3135b8d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-06-10 / CAPES / CNPQ / A dengue é uma doença viral considerada um dos maiores problemas de saúde pública nas regiões tropicais e sub-tropicais do mundo, sendo endemicamente prevalente em cerca de 112 países. Anualmente, afeta cerca de 50 a 100 milhões de pessoas, resultando em taxas de mortalidade entre 0,03% a 1,4%. É uma doença auto-limitante, caracterizada por febre, dor de cabeça, mialgia, entre outros sintomas. Na sua forma severa (síndrome do choque por dengue e febre hemorrágica), a doença pode levar ao óbito, principalmente em crianças. A proteína não estrutural 1 (NS1) do vírus dengue circula abundantemente no sangue durante toda a viremia, estando em níveis maiores na fase aguda; assim esta pode ser utilizada como marcador do estado agudo. Para o controle da infecção estão disponíveis testes diagnósticos baseados em ensaios sorológicos, testes imunocromatográficos e moleculares, entretanto estes apresentam limitações. O desenvolvimento de alternativas mais práticas, quantitativas e econômicas tem resultado na crescente busca por testes baseados em biossensores. Neste trabalho foi desenvolvido um imunossensor para detecção de NS1 baseado em uma plataforma nanoestruturada, constituída de nano-híbrido formado por nanotubos de carbono e filme polimérico de polietilenoimina montado sobre sistema eletroquímico constituído por microeletrodo de ouro. Os anticorpos monoclonais anti-NS1 foram imobilizados sobre a superfície eletródica por ligações covalentes com os nanotubos de carbono, permitindo um alta estabilidade durante as medidas. Todas as etapas de modificações da superfície eletródica foram caracterizadas eletroquimicamente, estrutural e morfologicamente através das técnicas de voltametria cíclica, espectroscopia de infravermelho por transformada de Fourier (FT-IR) e microscopia eletrônica de varredura, respectivamente. A espessura do filme nanoestruturado foi determinada por medidas piezoelétricas, em um sistema de microbalança de cristal de quartzo de acordo com a equação de Sauerbrey. A resposta analítica do imunossensor frente a proteína NS1 foi obtida por amperometria aplicando-se a técnica de voltametria de onda quadrada (VOC). O imunossensor apresentou resposta linear entre 0,1 a 0,6 µg.mL-1 de NS1. Os dados ajustados para a equação de regressão linear exibiu coeficiente de correlação de 0,996 (p << 0,01, n = 7) e um baixo erro relativo (aproximadamente 1%). O imunossensor apresentou limite de detecção de 0,038 µg.mL-1 e limite de quantificação de 0,1 µg.mL-1 de NS1, sendo similar aos obtidos na literatura, porém com a vantagem de não requerer antígenos ou anticorpos marcados (label-free) e utilizar técnica analítica mais simples (VOC). Os resultados indicam que o imunossensor apresenta sensibilidade compatível para detecção de NS1 em níveis sorológicos, permitindo ser uma ferramenta prática, rápida e econômica para o diagnóstico da dengue, sobretudo para detecção precoce da fase aguda. / Dengue is a viral disease considered as a major public health problems in tropical and sub-tropical world, endemically being prevalent in about 112 countries. Annually, it affects 50 to 100 million people, resulting in mortality rates of 0.03% to 1.4%. It is a self-limiting disease characterized by fever, headache, myalgia, among other symptoms. In its severe form (shock syndrome and dengue haemorrhagic fever), the disease can lead to death, especially in children. The nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) of the dengue virus circulates in blood abundantly throughout viremia, with higher levels in the acute phase; thus it can be used as a marker of the acute stage. For control of infection are available diagnostic testings based on serological assays, immunochromatographic and molecular assyas, however these have limitations. The development of more practical, quantitative and economic alternatives has resulted in growing demand for tests based on biosensors. In this work, it was developed an immunosensor for NS1 detection based on a nanostructured platform consisting of nanohybrid comprising carbon nanotubes and polymeric film polyethyleneimine mounted on electrochemical system consisting of gold microelectrode. The anti-NS1 monoclonal antibodies were immobilized on the electrode surface by covalent bonds with carbon nanotubes, allowing for a high stability during the measurements. All steps of electrode modifications were characterized by electrochemical, structural and morphologically techniques through cyclic voltammetry, infrared spectroscopy by Fourier transform (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The thickness of the nanostructured film was determined by piezoelectric system using a quartz crystal microbalance, according to the Sauerbrey equation. The analytical response of the immunosensor against NS1 protein was obtained by applying amperometry by square wave voltammetry (SWV). The immunosensor showed a linear response between 0.1 to 0.6 μg.mL-1 NS1. The data set into the linear regression equation showed a correlation coefficient of 0.996 (p << 0.01, n = 7) and a low relative error (about 1%). The immunosensor presented detection limit of 0.038 μg.mL-1 and a limit of quantification of 0.1 μg.mL-1 NS1, being similar to those obtained in literature, but with advantage of not requiring labeled antigen or antibody (label- free) and to require a more simple analytical technique (VOC). The results indicate that the achieved sensitivity was similar NS1 immunosensors, allowing it to be convenient, fast and economical tool for dengue diagnosis, particularly for early detection of acute phase.

A dengue é uma doença infecciosa com grandes taxas de morbimortalidade, causada pelo vírus da dengue (DENV). Segundo a Organização Mundial de Saúde, cerca de 50 a 100 milhões de pessoas são infectadas anualmente em mais de 100 países tropicais e subtropicais de todos os continentes. O espectro clínico da infecção pelo DENV pode incluir formas assintomáticas ou sintomaticas que variam desde uma febre indeterminada e autolimitada, passando pela febre clássica da dengue (FD) até quadros graves denominados febre hemorrágica da dengue/síndrome do choque da dengue (FHD/SCD). Recentemente, ocorreu um dramático aumento do número de casos de FHD/SCD nas Américas, e este aumento coincidiu com a introdução do dengue sorotipo 3, genótipo III. No presente trabalho, objetivou-se a clonagem e a expressão das proteínas NS1 e NS3 do vírus da dengue tipo 3. As proteínas NS1 e NS3 do DENV-3 foram clonadas e expressas com sucesso em sistema procarioto. A amplificação dos genes das proteínas NS1 e NS3 foi realizada por RT-PCR, o qual gerou amplicons de cerca de 1050 e 1850 pb, respectivamente. Em seguida, os genes foram clonados por inserção dos amplicons no vetor plasmidial pCR-XL. Os genes de NS1 e NS3 foram subclonados no vetor de expressão pQE-30 através de sítios de restrição para as enzimas BamHI e HindIII. A expressão proteica foi obtida em sistema procarioto utilizando a cepa BL21(DE3) de E. coli, resultando em proteínas de 45 e 70 kDa as quais foram confirmadas por análises em Western blot utilizando como anticorpo primário fluido ascítico imune de camundongos e soro de pacientes com dengue. Estas proteínas virais podem ser utilizadas para estudos relacionados à patogênese, replicação e mecanismos de escape do sistema imune do DENV, além disso, podem ser potencias antígenos em métodos de diagnóstico. / Dengue is an infectious disease with high morbidity and mortality rates caused by dengue virus (DENV). According to the World Health Organization, about 50 to 100 million people are infected annually in more than 100 tropical and subtropical countries from all continents. The clinical spectrum of DENV infection can includes asymptomatic or symptomatic forms ranging from undetermined and self-limited fever, through dengue fever (DF) to severe disease called dengue hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome (DHF/DSS). Recently, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of cases of DHF/DSS in the Americas, and this increase coincided with the introduction of dengue virus type 3 (DENV-3), genotype III. The present study aimed to clone and express NS1 and NS3 proteins of DENV-3. The NS1 and NS3 proteins of DENV-3 was successfully cloned and expressed in a prokaryotic system. Amplification of NS1 and NS3 genes was carried out by RT-PCR, which yielded amplicons of approximately 1050 and 1850 bp, respectively. Then, the genes were cloned by inserting the amplicons into the plasmid vector pCR-XL. NS1 and NS3 genes were subcloned into the expression vector pQE-30 through the restriction sites for BamHI and HindIII enzymes. The protein expression was obtained in a prokaryotic system using the strain BL21 (DE3) of E. coli, resulting in 45 and 70 kDa proteins, which were confirmed by Western blot analysis using immune mouse ascitic fluid and serum of patients with dengue as primary antibody. These viral proteins can be used to study the pathogenesis, mechanisms of replication and immune escape of DENV, moreover, can be potential antigens in diagnostic methods.

Le virus de l'Influenza A est l'agent étiologique des épidémies de grippe saisonnière. Ce virus a développé des stratégies complexes pour exprimer ses protéines dans les cellules hôtes dès 4 heures après infection. Au départ de cette étude, je me suis intéressé aux événements intervenant dans l'initiation de la traduction des ARN messagers viraux. L'infection par le virus de l'Influenza A perturbe profondément la physiologie cellulaire, et notamment les processus d'expression des gènes au niveau des étapes de transcription, maturation et export des ARN messagers. De ce fait, j'ai donc commencé par développer les outils permettant de m'affranchir de ces événements nucléaires pour pouvoir me focaliser sur les mécanismes viraux spécifiques de l'initiation de la traduction. Ainsi, j'ai conçu et élaboré un nouveau système de traduction in vitro qui dérive du lysat de réticulocytes de lapin dans lequel sont ajoutés des ribosomes isolés de cellules en culture. Ce lysat, dit hybride, présente l'avantage d'être très efficace pour la production de protéines tout en conservant les caractéristiques traductionnelles des cellules dont les ribosomes dérivent. Le second volet de mes travaux porte sur le rôle de la protéine virale NS1 au niveau de la traduction cellulaire et virale. En combinant des infections virales avec des expériences in vitro et ex-vivo, par transfection d'ARN, je montre que NS1 est capable de stimuler la synthèse protéique des ARNm cellulaires et viraux. Par de la mutagénèse dirigée sur cette protéine de 230 acides aminés, j'observe que la région amino-terminale de la protéine (aa 1-81) est responsable de cet effet activateur. Des mutations ponctuelles au sein de ce domaine révèlent l'importance de deux résidus aminés (R38 et K41) dans la stimulation. En résumé, ces travaux ont permis de mettre au point un nouveau système d'expression in vitro et de mieux comprendre comment est contrôlée la synthèse des protéines virales du virus Influenza A / Influenza A belongs to the orthomyxoviridae family and is the causal agent for the seasonal and epidemic Influenza infections. This virus has developed complex strategies to utilize the host cell protein apparatus for viral protein expression. In this study, I have focused on the events involved during the initiation of translation of viral mRNAs. Influenza A infection profoundly disrupts host cell gene expression mainly at the level of transcription, maturation and mRNA export. As such, it is quite difficult to investigate directly translational control of Influenza. Therefore, I have started my project by elaborating experimental tools that can be used for this purpose. This was done by designing and developing a new in vitro translation system derived from the rabbit reticulocyte lysate which is supplemented with exogeneous ribosomes that have been isolated from different cell types. This lysate, called hybrid system, offers the advantage to be very effective in the production of proteins while maintaining the translational characteristics of the cells from which the ribosomes originate. The second part of my work focusses on the role of the viral NS1 protein on cellular and viral translation. By using an experimental approach based on viral infections together with in vitro and ex vivo translational assays, I could show that NS1 is able to stimulate both viral and cellular protein synthesis. Then, the introduction of deletion mutants of this 230 amino acids protein revealed that its amino-terminal domain (aa 1-81) was responsible for this stimulatory effect (aa 1-81). Finally, the introduction of point mutations in this region showed the importance of two conserved positively charged residues (R38 and K41) for stimulation. In summary, these studies have yielded a new in vitro translation expression system and have shed light on how viral proteins synthesis is regulated by Influenza A virus

Influenza B virus is a major human pathogen causing highly contagious respiratory disease. It accounts for approximately ~30% of influenza virus infection per year. The effector domain of the NS1 protein of influenza B virus (NS1B protein), encompassing the carboxy terminal two thirds of the protein, suppresses interferon-β (IFN-β) synthesis in virus-infected cells by unknown mechanism(s). The induced IFN-β mediates innate immunity. To elucidate the mechanism by which the NS1B effector domain suppresses the production of IFN-β, we identified cellular proteins that interact with the NS1B effector domain. Two approaches were used. The approach that succeeded employed the transfection into cells of plasmids expressing the NS1B effector domain containing two affinity tags. After double affinity purification, co-purified cellular proteins were identified by mass spectrometry. We identified Brd2 as a cellular protein that interacts with the NS1B protein. We established that Brd2 specifically binds to the NS1B effector domain in vitro, in vivo, and in virus-infected cells. Serial mutagenesis experiments showed the phenylalanine at position 171 (F171) of the NS1B protein is essential for Brd2 binding. To determine the function of the interaction of Brd2 with the NS1B protein, we generated a recombinant virus encoding an NS1B protein in which F at position 171 was replaced by an alanine. The F171A mutant virus was attenuated, and unlike the wild-type virus, induced the synthesis of IFN-β mRNA. IRF3, a key transcription factor for transcription of the IFN-β gene, was activated in mutant virusinfected cells, but not in wild-type virus-infected cells. Transfection assays implicated the activation of the TBK1 kinase as the step in IRF3 activation that is induced in mutant virus-infected cells. We interpreted these results as showing that Brd2 binding to the NS1B protein is required for suppressing IRF3 activation and IFN-β induction. Attempts at further confirmation by depletion of endogenous Brd2 using RNA interference were not successful because of inefficient knock-down efficiency and nonspecific IFN-β induction. A further complication is that another bromodomain protein, Brd4, interacts with the NS1B protein and could compensate for depletion of Brd2. / text

Like the majority of host cell mRNAs, the mRNAs of influenza virus are capped and polyadenylated. The NS1 protein of influenza has been implicated as a translational activator for both influenza and reporter gene mRNAs. Data is presented showing that influenza A virus infection resulted in an increased ratio of cap-dependent to cap-independent translation. This ratio increase was largely due to an increase in cap-dependent translation. These experiments employed a bicistronic reporter construct measuring cap-dependent and cap-independent translation in a single sample. Expression of NS1 alone resulted in a small, but reproducible increase in the ratio of cap-dependent to cap-independent translation. Additionally, with use of an NS1 deleted mutant influenza A virus (delNS1) it is shown that infection without NS1 expression produced less of a translation ratio increase compared to wild-type virus infection. Furthermore, expression of NS1 rescued a more wild-type ratio increase in delNS1 infected Vero cells. These results implicate NS1 as playing a role in increasing the ratio of cap-dependent to cap-independent translation in influenza A virus infected cells. Additionally, eIF4E-binding protein-1 (4E-BP1), a member of the protein family that inhibits cap-dependent translation through their inhibition of the cap-binding protein, eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E), is shown to be inactivated throughout the majority of the influenza A virus infection process.

Le genre Flavivirus regroupe plus de 70 espèces dont plusieurs sont des pathogènes humains de première importance responsables dans les formes les plus graves de manifestations hémorragiques ou d’encéphalites parfois mortelles. L’absence de traitements antiviraux spécifiques et l’augmentation croissante des flaviviroses, surtout dans les régions tropicales, justifient un effort de recherche et développement pour lutter contre ces maladies.Ce travail a abordé deux aspects de l’infection à flavivirus : un aspect épidémiologique et un aspect plus fondamental sur l’immunité innée et les contremesures flavivirales. L’étude épidémiologique a été menée en collaboration avec le CENETROP (Centro national de enfermedades tropicales) de Bolivie grâce à la contribution de l’IRD. De par l’analyse des différentes souches circulantes dans ce pays, elle a permis une meilleure compréhension de l’épidémiologie de la dengue et de la fièvre jaune et nous a fait prendre conscience de la variabilité génétique de ces virus. Devant le peu de données répertoriées en Bolivie, nos travaux serviront de référence pour comprendre les épidémies futures, peut-être améliorer les techniques de diagnostic et permettre le développement de stratégies de prévention adaptées et l’amélioration des politiques de lutte contre la fièvre jaune en Amérique du Sud. La cohabitation entre le virus et l’hôte immunocompétent est le résultat d’un équilibre subtil entre le taux de réplication virale et la clairance du système immunitaire pour garantir la survie des deux espèces. Chacun a évolué en développant des mécanismes de défenses contre l’autre. Notre second travail visait à analyser l’influence de la protéine flavivirale non structurale NS1 sur la réponse interféron de l’hôte. L’identification de stratégies virales d’évasion face à l’immunité de l’hôte et l’analyse de leurs fonctions dans l’infection virale permettrait de mieux comprendre le système immunitaire ainsi que l’interaction virus–hôte. Ceci aiderait au développement de nouvelles stratégies antivirales afin de traiter les pathologies associées à ces arbovirus. / The Flavivirus genus consists of sevevral human pathogens responsible for hemorragic syndrome or encephalitis. The absence of specific antiviral treatment and an increase in Flavivirus incidence has led to a greater research effort in fighting these diseases. The study takes an epidemiological and a fundamental approach in its analysis of the innate immune response to flavivirus infection as well as flaviviral adaptation to evade this response. The analysis of circulating strains in Bolivia has led to a better understanding of dengue and yellow fever and also an awareness of their genetic variability. Given the limited information available in Bolivia, our studies could be used as a reference to understand future epidemics, improve diagnostic methods and allow the development of prevention strategies to fight against yellow fever in south Africa. The relationship between virus and host results from a subtle balance between viral replication and immunity clearance allowing the survival of both species. Each one as developed defence mechanisms against the other. We also examined the role of the non structural protein NS1 in the interferon respons to Flaviviral infection. Knowledge on viral escape strategies from host immunity could help to develop antiviral treatment for these arbovirus diseases