Modeling the synergy between HSV-2 and HIV and potential impact of HSV-2 therapy

Mounting evidence indicates that genital HSV-2 infection may increase susceptibility to HIV infection and that co-infection may increase infectiousness. Accordingly, antiviral treatment of people with HSV-2 may mitigate the incidence of HIV in populations where both pathogens occur. To better understand the epidemiological synergy between HIV and HSV-2, we formulate a deterministic compartmental model that describes the transmission dynamics of these pathogens. Unlike earlier models, ours incorporates gender and heterogeneous mixing between activity groups. We derive explicit expressions for the reproduction numbers of HSV-2 and HIV, as well as the invasion reproduction numbers via next generation matrices. A qualitative analysis of the system includes the local and global behavior of the model. Simulations reinforce these analytical results and demonstrate epidemiological synergy between HSV-2 and HIV. In particular, numerical results show that HSV-2 favors the invasion of HIV, may dramatically increase the peak as well as reducing the time-to-peak of HIV prevalence, and almost certainly has exacerbated HIV epidemics. The potential population-level impact of HSV-2 on HIV is demonstrated by calculating the fraction of HIV infections attributable to HSV-2 and the difference between HIV prevalence in the presence and absence of HSV-2. The potential impact of treating people with HSV-2 on HIV control is demonstrated by comparing HIV prevalence with and without HSV-2 therapy. Most importantly, we illustrate that the aforementioned aspects of the population dynamics can be significantly influenced by the sexual structure of the population.     

Immunization with herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) genes plus inactivated HSV-2 is highly protective against acute and recurrent HSV-2 disease

To date, no vaccine that is safe and effective against herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) disease has been licensed. In this study, we evaluated a DNA prime-formalin-inactivated-HSV-2 (FI-HSV2) boost vaccine approach in the guinea pig model of acute and recurrent HSV-2 genital disease. Five groups of guinea pigs were immunized and intravaginally challenged with HSV-2. Two groups were primed with plasmid DNAs encoding the secreted form of glycoprotein D2 (gD2t) together with two genes required for viral replication, either the helicase (UL5) and DNA polymerase (UL30) genes or the single-stranded DNA binding protein (UL29) and primase (UL52) genes. Both DNA-primed groups were boosted with FI-HSV2 formulated with monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL) and alum adjuvants. Two additional groups were primed with the empty backbone plasmid DNA (pVAX). These two groups were boosted with MPL and alum (MPL-alum) together with either formalin-inactivated mock HSV-2 (FI-Mock) or with FI-HSV2. The final group was immunized with gD2t protein in MPL-alum. After challenge, 0/9 animals in the group primed with UL5, UL30, and gD2t DNAs and all 10 animals in the mock-immunized control group (pVAX-FI-Mock) developed primary lesions. All mock controls developed recurrent lesions through day 100 postchallenge. Only 1 guinea pig in the group primed with pVAX DNA and boosted with FI-HSV2 (pVAX-FI-HSV2 group) and 2 guinea pigs in the group primed with UL5, UL30, and gD2t DNAs and boosted with FI-HSV2 (UL5, UL30, gD2t DNA-FI-HSV2 group) developed recurrent lesions. Strikingly, the UL5, UL30, gD2t DNA-FI-HSV2 group showed a 97% reduction in recurrent lesion days compared with the mock controls, had the highest reduction in days with recurrent disease, and contained the lowest mean HSV-2 DNA load in the dorsal root ganglia.     

表达HSV－2 gD基因的重组痘苗病毒保护小鼠对抗致死量HSV病霉攻击

利用ＰＣＲ方法对单纯疱疹病毒Ⅱ型糖蛋白Ｄ（ＨＳＶ－２ｇＤ）基因进行了修饰,在其５＇端删去约５００ｂｐ的非编码区,仅保留ＡＴＧ上游７个ｂｐ。将修饰后的ＨＳＶ－２ｇＤ基因插入到带有痘苗病毒天坛株ＴＫ基因区段的痘苗表达质粒ｐＪＳＡ１１７５,置于痘苗病毒Ｐ７．５ｋ早／晚期启动子控制下。将此重组质粒用脂质体Ｌｉｐｏｆｅｃｔｉｎ方法转染已受野型ＴＫ￣＋痘苗病毒天坛株感染的ＴＫ￣－１４３细胞,通过同源重组机制和标志基因ＬａｃＺ产物的蓝斑显色作用,以及ＢｕｄＲ试剂对ＴＫ表型的选择压力,筛选出整合有ＨＳＶ－２ｇＤ基因的重组痘苗病毒。Ｓｏｕｔｈｅｍ杂交表明,ＨＳＶ－２ｇＤ基因已正确地插入痘苗病毒ＴＫ基因区内;间接免疫荧光检测显示,ＨＳＶ－２ｇＤ蛋白已得到有效表达,且主要分布于细胞膜。重组病毒免疫家兔可产生明显的抗ＨＳＶ－２ｇＤ中和抗体。用重组病毒免疫小鼠,３周后可使９４％（１７／１８）的小鼠对抗ＨＳＶ－２的致死量攻击,表明重组病毒具有明显的免疫保护作用。     

Identification of an HSV-1/HSV-2 cross-reactive T cell determinant.

The results from a number of studies have documented that the HSV glycoprotein gD is an important target for neutralizing antibodies. In contrast, little is known about the Th cell determinants present on HSV that are required for anti HSV gD antibody production. In our study we have immunized BALB/c mice with a recombinant source of HSV-1 gD lacking the carboxyl-terminal 93 amino acids. T cell hybridomas produced from the immunized animals recognized a single antigenic peptide (amino acids 246-261) in the context of I-Ad. The determinant expressed by gD peptide 246-261 was generated and presented by both HSV-1 and HSV-2 infected APC. Fine specificity analysis using truncated synthetic gD peptides revealed that the minimal amino acids recognized by the T hybrids were identical between HSV-1 and HSV-2. In addition, the minimal peptide-I-Ad binding analysis demonstrated that the minimal peptide sequence required for the binding to I-Ad and for T cell recognition contained two prolines. Thus, this important HSV antigenic determinant would not be expected to form an amphipathic alpha-helix and could therefore be missed by algorithms currently used to predict which amino acid sequences would be antigenic based on the propensity to form helices.     

Protection Provided by a Herpes Simplex Virus 2 (HSV-2) Glycoprotein C and D Subunit Antigen Vaccine against Genital HSV-2 Infection in HSV-1-Seropositive Guinea Pigs

A prophylactic vaccine for genital herpes disease remains an elusive goal. We report the results of two studies performed collaboratively in different laboratories that assessed immunogenicity and vaccine efficacy in herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1)-seropositive guinea pigs immunized and subsequently challenged intravaginally with HSV-2. In study 1, HSV-2 glycoproteins C (gC2) and D (gD2) were produced in baculovirus and administered intramuscularly as monovalent or bivalent vaccines with CpG and alum. In study 2, gD2 was produced in CHO cells and given intramuscularly with monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL) and alum, or gC2 and gD2 were produced in glycoengineered Pichia pastoris and administered intramuscularly as a bivalent vaccine with Iscomatrix and alum to HSV-1-naive or -seropositive guinea pigs. In both studies, immunization boosted neutralizing antibody responses to HSV-1 and HSV-2. In study 1, immunization with gC2, gD2, or both immunogens significantly reduced the frequency of genital lesions, with the bivalent vaccine showing the greatest protection. In study 2, both vaccines were highly protective against genital disease in naive and HSV-1-seropositive animals. Comparisons between gD2 and gC2/gD2 in study 2 must be interpreted cautiously, because different adjuvants, gD2 doses, and antigen production methods were used; however, significant differences invariably favored the bivalent vaccine. Immunization of naive animals with gC2/gD2 significantly reduced the number of days of vaginal shedding of HSV-2 DNA compared with that for mock-immunized animals. Surprisingly, in both studies, immunization of HSV-1-seropositive animals had little effect on recurrent vaginal shedding of HSV-2 DNA, despite significantly reducing genital disease.     

Herpes Simplex Virus 2 (HSV-2) Infected Cell Proteins Are among the Most Dominant Antigens of a Live-Attenuated HSV-2 Vaccine

Virion glycoproteins such as glycoprotein D (gD) are believed to be the dominant antigens of herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2). We have observed that mice immunized with a live HSV-2 ICP0^- mutant virus, HSV-2 0ΔNLS, are 10 to 100 times better protected against genital herpes than mice immunized with a HSV-2 gD subunit vaccine (PLoS ONE 6:e17748). In light of these results, we sought to determine which viral proteins were the dominant antibody-generators (antigens) of the live HSV-2 0ΔNLS vaccine. Western blot analyses indicated the live HSV-2 0ΔNLS vaccine elicited an IgG antibody response against 9 or more viral proteins. Many antibodies were directed against infected-cell proteins of >100 kDa in size, and only 10 ± 5% of antibodies were directed against gD. Immunoprecipitation (IP) of total HSV-2 antigen with 0ΔNLS antiserum pulled down 19 viral proteins. Mass spectrometry suggested 44% of immunoprecipitated viral peptides were derived from two HSV-2 infected cells proteins, RR-1 and ICP8, whereas only 14% of immunoprecipitated peptides were derived from HSV-2’s thirteen glycoproteins. Collectively, the results suggest the immune response to the live HSV-2 0ΔNLS vaccine includes antibodies specific for infected cell proteins, capsid proteins, tegument proteins, and glycoproteins. This increased breadth of antibody-generating proteins may contribute to the live HSV-2 vaccine’s capacity to elicit superior protection against genital herpes relative to a gD subunit vaccine.     

单纯疱疹病毒2型潜伏相关转录体ORF2的表达及其抗凋亡作用

本文探讨了单纯疱疹病毒2型 (HSV-2)潜伏相关转录体 (LAT)的开放读码框2 (ORF2)在细胞中的表达, 及其对5-氟尿嘧啶 (5-FU)诱导的非洲绿猴肾细胞 (Vero)凋亡的影响。通过将重组质粒pEGPF-ORF2转染Vero细胞, 绿色荧光蛋白检测转染效率, RT-PCR验证目的基因的表达, 5-FU 诱导细胞凋亡, 通过荧光显微镜观察凋亡小体, Gimesa染色检测细胞核形态, MTT法检测细胞的存活率, DNA ladder片段分析, 结果表明, 转染后绿色荧光蛋白表达效率很高, RT-PCR验证有目的基因的转录。凋亡诱导后的细胞形态正常, MTT法分析活性率与正常无差异, 而显著高于空质粒组, DNA ladder未见凋亡条带。由此我们认为HSV-2 LAT ORF2 基因在Vero细胞中得到了高效表达, 并且具有抗5-FU诱导的凋亡作用。     

HSV-2 Specifically Down Regulates HLA-C Expression to Render HSV-2-Infected DCs Susceptible to NK Cell Killing

Both NK cells and CTLs kill virus-infected and tumor cells. However, the ways by which these killer cells recognize the infected or the tumorigenic cells are different, in fact almost opposite. CTLs are activated through the interaction of the TCR with MHC class I proteins. In contrast, NK cells are inhibited by MHC class I molecules. The inhibitory NK receptors recognize mainly MHC class I proteins and in this regard practically all of the HLA-C proteins are recognized by inhibitory NK cell receptors, while only certain HLA-A and HLA-B proteins interact with these receptors. Sophisticated viruses developed mechanisms to avoid the attack of both NK cells and CTLs through, for example, down regulation of HLA-A and HLA-B molecules to avoid CTL recognition, leaving HLA-C proteins on the cell surface to inhibit NK cell response. Here we provide the first example of a virus that through specific down regulation of HLA-C, harness the NK cells for its own benefit. We initially demonstrated that none of the tested HSV-2 derived microRNAs affect NK cell activity. Then we show that surprisingly upon HSV-2 infection, HLA-C proteins are specifically down regulated, rendering the infected cells susceptible to NK cell attack. We identified a motif in the tail of HLA-C that is responsible for the HSV-2-meduiated HLA-C down regulation and we show that the HLA-C down regulation is mediated by the viral protein ICP47. Finally we show that HLA-C proteins are down regulated from the surface of HSV-2 infected dendritic cells (DCs) and that this leads to the killing of DC by NK cells. Thus, we propose that HSV-2 had developed this unique and surprising NK cell-mediated killing strategy of infected DC to prevent the activation of the adaptive immunity.     

A lentiviral vector-based, herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) glycoprotein B vaccine affords cross-protection against HSV-1 and HSV-2 genital infections

Genital herpes is caused by herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2, and its incidence is constantly increasing in the human population. Regardless of the clinical manifestation, HSV-1 and HSV-2 infections are highly transmissible to sexual partners and enhance susceptibility to other sexually transmitted infections. An effective vaccine is not yet available. Here, HSV-1 glycoprotein B (gB1) was delivered by a feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) vector and tested against HSV-1 and HSV-2 vaginal challenges in C57BL/6 mice. The gB1 vaccine elicited cross-neutralizing antibodies and cell-mediated responses that protected 100 and 75% animals from HSV-1- and HSV-2-associated severe disease, respectively. Two of the eight fully protected vaccinees underwent subclinical HSV-2 infection, as demonstrated by deep immunosuppression and other analyses. Finally, vaccination prevented death in 83% of the animals challenged with a HSV-2 dose that killed 78 and 100% naive and mock-vaccinated controls, respectively. Since this FIV vector can accommodate two or more HSV immunogens, this vaccine has ample potential for improvement and may become a candidate for the development of a truly effective vaccine against genital herpes.     

A Single Intramuscular Vaccination of Mice with the HSV-1 VC2 Virus with Mutations in the Glycoprotein K and the Membrane Protein UL20 Confers Full Protection against Lethal Intravaginal Challenge with Virulent HSV-1 and HSV-2 Strains

Herpes Simplex Virus type-1 (HSV-1) and type-2 (HSV-2) establish life-long infections and cause significant orofacial and genital infections in humans. HSV-1 is the leading cause of infectious blindness in the western world. Currently, there are no available vaccines to protect against herpes simplex infections. Recently, we showed that a single intramuscular immunization with an HSV-1(F) mutant virus lacking expression of the viral glycoprotein K (gK), which prevents the virus from entering into distal axons of ganglionic neurons, conferred significant protection against either virulent HSV-1(McKrae) or HSV-2(G) intravaginal challenge in mice. Specifically, 90% of the mice were protected against HSV-1(McKrae) challenge, while 70% of the mice were protected against HSV-2(G) challenge. We constructed the recombinant virus VC2 that contains specific mutations in gK and the membrane protein UL20 preventing virus entry into axonal compartments of neurons, while allowing efficient replication in cell culture, unlike the gK-null virus, which has a major defect in virus replication and spread. Intramuscular injection of mice with 10⁷ VC2 plaque forming units did not cause any significant clinical disease in mice. A single intramuscular immunization with the VC2 virus protected 100% of mice against lethal intravaginal challenge with either HSV-1(McKrae) or HSV-2(G) viruses. Importantly, vaccination with VC2 produced robust cross protective humoral and cellular immunity that fully protected vaccinated mice against lethal disease. Quantitative PCR did not detect any viral DNA in ganglionic tissues of vaccinated mice, while unvaccinated mice contained high levels of viral DNA. The VC2 virus may serve as an efficient vaccine against both HSV-1 and HSV-2 infections, as well as a safe vector for the production of vaccines against other viral and bacterial pathogens.     

Development of a glycoprotein D-expressing dominant-negative and replication-defective herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) recombinant viral vaccine against HSV-2 infection in mice

Using the T-REx (Invitrogen, California) gene switch technology and a dominant-negative mutant polypeptide of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1)-origin binding protein UL9, we previously constructed a glycoprotein D-expressing replication-defective and dominant-negative HSV-1 recombinant viral vaccine, CJ9-gD, for protection against HSV infection and disease. It was demonstrated that CJ9-gD is avirulent following intracerebral inoculation in mice, cannot establish detectable latent infection following different routes of infection, and offers highly effective protective immunity against primary HSV-1 and HSV-2 infection and disease in mouse and guinea pig models of HSV infections. Given these favorable safety and immunological profiles of CJ9-gD, aiming to maximize levels of HSV-2 glycoprotein D (gD2) expression, we have constructed an ICP0 null mutant-based dominant-negative and replication-defective HSV-2 recombinant, CJ2-gD2, that contains 2 copies of the gD2 gene driven by the tetracycline operator (tetO)-bearing HSV-1 major immediate-early ICP4 promoter. CJ2-gD2 expresses gD2 as efficiently as wild-type HSV-2 infection and can lead to a 150-fold reduction in wild-type HSV-2 viral replication in cells coinfected with CJ2-gD2 and wild-type HSV-2 at the same multiplicity of infection. CJ2-gD2 is avirulent following intracerebral injection and cannot establish a detectable latent infection following subcutaneous (s.c.) immunization. CJ2-gD2 is a more effective vaccine than HSV-1 CJ9-gD and a non-gD2-expressing dominant-negative and replication-defective HSV-2 recombinant in protection against wild-type HSV-2 genital disease. Using recall response, we showed that immunization with CJ2-gD2 elicited strong HSV-2-specific memory CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cell responses. Collectively, given the demonstrated preclinical immunogenicity and its unique safety profiles, CJ2-gD2 represents a new class of HSV-2 replication-defective recombinant viral vaccines in protection against HSV-2 genital infection and disease.     

HSV-2 LAT ORF2在Vero细胞中的表达及对细胞的作用

旨在研究人单纯疱疹病毒2型(HSV-2)潜伏相关转录体(LAT)开放读码框2(ORF2)对体外培养的非洲绿猴肾细胞(Vero)形态和活性的作用。将构建好的带绿色荧光蛋白(EGFP)标签的HSV-2LAT ORF2真核表达载体pEGFP-ORF2,转染vero细胞,荧光显微镜观测细胞形态的改变和MTT法进行活性分析。结果:显示,HSV-2LATORF2诱导细胞形态发生明显变化,绿色荧光蛋白在细胞的定位也发生了改变,细胞活性降低。由此证实,HSV-2LAT ORF2对细胞有损伤作用,为阐明HSV-2LATORF2的功能提供了资料。     

Herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) evolves faster in cell culture than HSV-1 by generating greater genetic diversity

Herpes simplex virus type 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2, respectively) are prevalent human pathogens of clinical relevance that establish long-life latency in the nervous system. They have been considered, along with the Herpesviridae family, to exhibit a low level of genetic diversity during viral replication. However, the high ability shown by these viruses to rapidly evolve under different selective pressures does not correlates with that presumed genetic stability. High-throughput sequencing has revealed that heterogeneous or plaque-purified populations of both serotypes contain a broad range of genetic diversity, in terms of number and frequency of minor genetic variants, both in vivo and in vitro. This is reminiscent of the quasispecies phenomenon traditionally associated with RNA viruses. Here, by plaque-purification of two selected viral clones of each viral subtype, we reduced the high level of genetic variability found in the original viral stocks, to more genetically homogeneous populations. After having deeply characterized the genetic diversity present in the purified viral clones as a high confidence baseline, we examined the generation of de novo genetic diversity under culture conditions. We found that both serotypes gradually increased the number of de novo minor variants, as well as their frequency, in two different cell types after just five and ten passages. Remarkably, HSV-2 populations displayed a much higher raise of nonconservative de novo minor variants than the HSV-1 counterparts. Most of these minor variants exhibited a very low frequency in the population, increasing their frequency over sequential passages. These new appeared minor variants largely impacted the coding diversity of HSV-2, and we found some genes more prone to harbor higher variability. These data show that herpesviruses generate de novo genetic diversity differentially under equal in vitro culture conditions. This might have contributed to the evolutionary divergence of HSV-1 and HSV-2 adapting to different anatomical niche, boosted by selective pressures found at each epithelial and neuronal tissue.     

Computational and Theoretical Analysis of the Association Between Gender and HSV-2 Treatment Adherence

Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) is the most prevalent sexually transmitted infection in the world, despite the availability of effective anti-viral treatments. A mathematical model to explore the association between gender and HSV-2 treatment adherence is developed. Threshold parameters are determined and stabilities analyzed. Sensitivity analysis of the reproduction number and the numerical simulations suggest that treatment adherence for both females and males are equally important in keeping the reproduction as low as possible. The basic model is then extended to incorporate time-dependent intervention strategies. The Pontryagin’s Maximum Principle is used to characterize the optimal level of the controls, and the resulting optimality system is solved numerically.

     

Comparison of the host immune response to herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2 at two different mucosal sites

A study was undertaken to compare the host immune responses to herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2 infection by the ocular or genital route in mice. Titers of HSV-2 from tissue samples were elevated regardless of the route of infection. The elevation in titers of HSV-2, including cell infiltration and cytokine/chemokine levels in the central nervous system relative to those found following HSV-1 infection, was correlative with inflammation. These results underscore a dichotomy between the host immune responses to closely related alphaherpesviruses.