| 1. |
- Ahmed Hassan Ahmed, Osama, 1972-
(författare)
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Rift Valley fever : challenges and new insights for prevention and control using the “One Health” approach
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Rift Valley fever (RVF) is an emerging viral zoonosis that causes frequent outbreaks in east Africa and on the Arabian Peninsula. The likelihood of RVF global expansion due to climate change and human anthropogenic factors is an important issue. The causative agent, RVF virus, is an arbovirus that is transmitted by several mosquito species and is able to infect a wide range of livestock as well as people. The infection leads to mass abortions and death in livestock and a potentially deadly hemorrhagic fever in humans. RVF has severe socio-economic consequences such as animal trade bans between countries, disruption of food security, and economic disaster for farmers and pastoralists as well as for countries. Human behavior such as direct contact with infected animals or their fluids and exposure to mosquito bites increases the risk for contracting the disease.To better understand the challenges associated with RVF outbreaks and to explore prevention and control strategies, we used the One Health approach. The local community had to be involved to understand the interaction between the environment, animals, and humans. We focused on Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and Kenya. First, we systematically reviewed the literature and then we performed cross sectional community-based studies using a special One Health questionnaire. Climatic and remote sensing data were used in combination with statistics to develop a sub-region predictive model for RVF.For both Saudi Arabia and Sudan, the ecology and environment of the affected areas were similar. These areas included irrigation canals and excessive rains that provide an attractive habitat for mosquito vectors to multiply. The surveillance systems were unable to detect the virus in livestock before it spread to humans. Ideally, livestock should serve as sentinels to prevent loss of human lives, but the situation here was reversed. Differences between countries regarding further spread of RVF was mainly determined by better economic and infrastructure resources.In Sudan, there was a lack of knowledge and appropriate practices at the studied community regarding RVF disease symptoms and risk factors for both animals and humans. The community was hesitant in notifying the authorities about RVF suspicion in livestock due to the lack of a compensation system. The perceived role of the community in controlling RVF was fragmented, increasing the probability of RVF transmission and disease.In Kenya, our study found that better knowledge about RVF does not always translate to more appropriate practices that avoid exposure to the disease. However, the combination of good knowledge, attitudes, and practices may explain why certain communities were less affected. Strategies to combat RVF should consider socio-cultural and behavioral differences among communities. We also noticed that RVF outbreaks in Kenya occurred in regions with high livestock density exposed to heavy rains and wet soil fluxes, which could be measured by evapotranspiration and vegetation seasonality variables. We developed a RVF risk map on a sub-regional scale. Future outbreaks could be better managed if such relevant RVF variables are integrated into early warning systems.To confront RVF outbreaks, a policy is needed that better incorporates ecological factors and human interactions with livestock and environment that help the RVF pathogen spread. Early detection and notification of RVF is essential because a delay will threaten the core of International Health Regulations (IHR), which emphasizes the share of information during a transboundary disease outbreak to avoid unnecessary geographical expansion.
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| 2. |
- Baudin, Maria, 1982-
(författare)
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Rift Valley fever : consequences of virus-host interactions
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a mosquito-borne virus which has the ability to infect a large variety of animals including humans in Africa and Arabian Peninsula. The abortion rate among these animals are close to 100%, and young animals develop severe disease which often are lethal.In humans, Rift Valley fever (RVF) presents in most cases as a mild illness with influenza-like symptoms. However, in about 8% of the cases it progresses into a more severe disease with a high case fatality rate. Since there is such a high abortion rate among infected animals, a link between human miscarriage and RVFV has been suggested, but never proven.We could in paper I for the first time show an association between acute RVFV infection and miscarriage in humans. We observed an increase in pregnant women arriving at the Port Sudan Hospital with fever of unknown origin, and several of the patients experienced miscarriage. When we analysed their blood samples for several viral diseases we found that many had an acute RVFV infection and of these, 54% experienced a miscarriage. The odds of having a miscarriage was 7 times higher for RVFV patients compared to the RVFV negative women of which only 12% miscarried. These results indicated that RVFV infection could be a contributing factor to miscarriage.RVFV is an enveloped virus containing the viral glycoproteins n and c (Gn and Gc respectively), where Gn most likely is responsible for the initial cellular contact. The protein DC-SIGN on dendritic cells and the glycosaminoglycan heparan sulfate has been suggested as cellular receptors for RVFV, however other mechanisms are probably also involved in binding and entry. Charge is a driving force for molecular interaction and has been shown to be important for cellular attachment of several viruses, and in paper II we could show that when the charge around the cells was altered, the infection was affected. We also showed that Gn most likely has a positive charge at a physiological pH.When we added negatively charged molecules to the viral particles before infection, we observed a decreased infection efficiency, which we also observed after removal of carbohydrate structures from the cell surface.Our results suggested that the cellular interaction partner for initial attachment is a negatively charged carbohydrate. Further investigations into the mechanisms of RVFV cellular interactions has to be undertaken in order to understand, and ultimately prevent, infection and disease.There is currently no vaccine approved for human use and no specific treatments for RVF, so there is a great need for developing safe effective drugs targeting this virus. We designed a whole-cell based high-throughput screen (HTS) assay which we used to screen libraries of small molecular compounds for anti-RVFV properties. After dose-response and toxicity analysis of the initial hits, we identified six safe and effective inhibitors of RVFV infection that with further testing could become drug candidates for treatment of RVF. This study demonstrated the application of HTS using a whole-cell virus replication reporter gene assay as an effective method to identify novel compounds with potential antiviral activity against RVFV.
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| 3. |
- Pettersson, Lisa, 1975-
(författare)
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TRANSMISSION AND PATHOGENESIS OF HANTAVIRUS
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Hantaviruses are the causative agents of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in Eurasia, and of hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) in the Americas. Transmission to humans usually occurs by inhalation of aerosolized virus-contaminated rodent excreta. To date, human-to-human transmission has only been described for the Andes hantavirus. The mode of transmission of Andes hantavirus is not yet known, but transmission through saliva has been suggested. In Sweden, we have one hantavirus that is pathogenic to humans, Puumala virus (PUUV), which is endemic in Central and Northern Europe. It induces a relatively mild form of HFRS, also called nephropathia epidemica (NE). The rodent reservoir is the bank vole (Myodes glareolus). The mechanism behind the pathogenesis of hantavirus is complex and probably involves both virus-mediated and host-mediated mechanisms. The aim of this project was to investigate the transmission mechanisms and pathogenesis of hantavirus disease in humans.In our first study, we described the largest outbreak of PUUV so far in Sweden. We investigated factors that might be important for causing the outbreak, and suggested that a peak in the bank vole population together with concurrent extreme weather conditions most probably contributed to the outbreak.Our next studies concentrated on human-to-human transmission of hantaviruses. We found PUUV RNA in saliva from PUUV-infected patients, suggesting that there is PUUV in the saliva of infected humans, although no person-to person transmission appears to occur with PUUV. In the studies that followed, we showed that human saliva and human salivary components could inhibit hantavirus replication. We also found PUUV-specific IgA in the saliva of PUUV-infected patients, which might prevent person-to-person transmission of the virus. In the final study, we focused on the pathogenesis of NE. One hundred five patients were included in a prospective study. They were divided into a group with mild disease and a group with moderate or severe disease. We found that the immune response had a dual role in disease development. It was partly responsible for development of severe disease, with significantly higher amounts of neutrophils in severely ill patients, but it was also protective against severe disease, because patients with mild disease had higher levels of PUUV-specific IgG.In conclusion, a peak in the bank vole population in combination with extreme weather will increase the risk of human infection, PUUV RNA is present in saliva, PUUV-specific IgA and salivary components inhibit person-to-person transmission of PUUV, and the immune response is important for the pathogenesis of PUUV and the severity of the disease.
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| 4. |
- Rasmuson, Johan
(författare)
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Cardiopulmonary involvement in Puumala hantavirus infection
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) causes hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in Europe. After inhalation of virus shed by bank voles, the virus systemically targets the vascular endothelium leading to vascular dysfunction and leakage. Many patients with PUUV infection experience cardiopulmonary manifestations but the underlying mechanisms have not been determined.The aims of the studies presented were to describe cardiopulmonary manifestations, investigate pathogenetic mechanisms including presence of virus in the lungs and the local immune response in PUUV infection.The results showed cardiopulmonary involvement of varying severity in almost all studied patients. High-resolution computed tomography frequently revealed vascular leakage into the lungs or pleural cavities. Pulmonary function tests generally showed reduced gas diffusing capacity, evidenced in patients as dyspnea, poor oxygenation and frequent need of oxygen treatment. Among patients who were not fully recovered at 3 months follow-up, remaining decreased gas diffusing capacity was highly common.Echocardiography revealed mainly right heart dysfunction which was related to manifestations within the lungs, in terms of increased estimated pulmonary vascular resistance, mild to moderate pulmonary hypertension, and reduced right ventricular systolic function in patients with more pronounced lung involvement, as indicated by need of oxygen treatment.Analyses on bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and bronchial biopsies revealed a highly activated cytotoxic T cell (CTL) response in the lungs. The CTL response was not balanced by the expansion of regulatory T cells and high numbers of CTLs were associated with more severe disease. PUUV RNA was detected in almost all patients’ BAL samples and the viral load was inversely correlated to the number of CTLs.Three patients presenting with severe and fatal cardiopulmonary distress were also described. Autopsies revealed PUUV protein in vascular endothelium in all investigated organs, including the heart and lungs, along with a massive CTL response mainly in the lungs.In conclusion, cardiopulmonary involvement of varying severity was present in almost all patients with PUUV infection. Cytotoxic immune responses could contribute to disease development but also help in clearing the infection. Long lasting fatigue after hantavirus infection may be explained by remaining manifestations within the lungs.
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| 5. |
- Cardell, Kristina, 1964-
(författare)
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Studies on Hepatitis B Vaccination and Factors Associated with the Vaccine Response
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Hepatitis B virus causes liver disease and up to 2 billion people have been in contact with the virus world wide. It can cause both acute and chronic disease. The routes for transmission are through blood, mother to infant at time of delivery and sexually. Chronic hepatitis B infection is a risk factor for development of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Prevention of hepatitis B virus infection is highly desirable. Since the early1980s hepatitis B vaccine has been available. It can effectively prevent the disease and has been found to be safe. The World Health Organisation, WHO, has recommended all countries to implement the vaccine in their children’s vaccination programmes and many countries have followed this recommendation. In Sweden so far the recommendation is vaccination of identified risk groups for hepatitis B. Health care workers who are at risk of having blood contact in their work is one such risk group.In a large study on health care workers who were intradermally vaccinated with the hepatitis B vaccine, 960/1406 (68.3%) developed protective levels of antibodies to HBsAg (anti-HBs; defined as >10 mIU/mL) after three doses. After administering of an additional fourth dose to non-responders the response rate was 1187/1335 (88.9%). Risk factors for non-response were smoking and age above 40 years. Also, the vaccine response rates improved during the study and a risk of giving a too small dose with intradermal administration was also identified. This suggests that intradermal administration is dependent on well trained personnel.A genetic factor which has been proposed to be associated with a non-responder status to HBV vaccination is the HLA haplotype of the host. In a study in on 69 responders and 53 non-responders the haplotypes were therefore determined. It was found that [DQB1*0602; DQA1*0102; DR15] and [DQB1*0603; DQA1*0103; DRB1*1301] were more likely to be found in responders (p<0.025 and p<0.05 respectively). In non-responders the haplotype [DQB1*0604; DQA1*0102; DRB1*1302] was found more frequently (p<0.005). This study supports that the HLA class II of the host is involved in the ability to respond to the HBV vaccination.To further test the genetic link between the HLA of the host and a non-responder status, relatives to known intradermal non-responders with known haplotypes for DQA1, DQB1 and DRB1 were vaccinated in the same way, intradermally. The response rate in the relatives was 15/26 (58%) which is lower than expected suggesting a genetic influence on the vaccine response. In this study 5/6 with the haplotype [DQB1*0604; DQA1*0102; DRB1*1302] were non-responders which is in line with the previous data that this haplotype is correlated to hepatitis B vaccine non-response.Finally, to test a strategy by which we could induce an effective anti-HBs seroconversion in non-responders we revaccinated these with the combined hepatitis A and B vaccine intramuscularly at a double dose. Already after the first revaccination dose 26/44 (60%) responded with protective antibodies compared to 2/20 (10%) in a vaccine naïve reference group, suggesting an anamnestic response. After three doses 42/44 (95%) responded in the non-responder group and 20/20 (100%) in the reference group. All participants in the study responded to the hepatitis A antigen.In conclusion these studies show that intradermal vaccine administration can be used and is effective, and that the ability to respond is influenced by several, including genetic, factors. Importantly a non-responder status to hepatitis B vaccination is not absolute, a double dose of the combined HAV and HBV vaccine effectively overcomes this non-response in most individuals.
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| 6. |
- Lindblom, Anders, 1957-
(författare)
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Spotted Fever Rickettsioses in Sweden : Aspects of Epidemiology, Clinical Manifestations and Co-infections
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The spotted fever group rickettsiae are emerging diseases. They cause damage in their hosts by invading the endothelium in small to medium-sized blood vessels, which results in vasculitis that can cause clinical manifestations from most organs.The present thesis describes the prevalence of Rickettsia helvetica in ticks, the incidence of rickettsial infection based on seroreactivity and seroconversion in humans and their symptoms, from different parts of Sweden and the Åland Islands in Finland. This was accomplished through serological analysis of both retrospective and prospective serum samples from confirmed and suspected tick-bitten individuals compared to individuals with no knowledge of tick exposure (blood donors). We found a comparable seroprevalence to Rickettsia spp. in different geographical areas where ticks are present; it was also comparable to the seroprevalence of Borrelia spp. Seroprevalence was also more common, as suspected, in the tick-exposed group compared to blood donors. In comparison with co-infections with other tick-borne infections (Anaplasma spp. and Borrelia spp.), we could conclude that co-infections do exist and that, based on clinical findings, it is difficult to distinguish which microorganism causes certain clinical manifestations. For reliable conclusions regarding the causative microorganism, the diagnosis should basically rely on diagnostic tests. In comparison with Borrelia spp., seroconversion to Rickettisa spp. was more common in the areas we investigated, indicating that rickettsiosis is a common tick-borne infection in Sweden and most likely underdiagnosed.When investigating patients with meningitis, we found R. felis in cerebrospinal fluid from two patients with subacute meningitis. This was the first report in which R. felis was found and diagnosed in patients in Sweden. The patients recovered without sequelae and without causal treatment. To provide guidelines on when to treat Rickettisa spp. infections, more investigations are needed.The present thesis shows that Rickettsia spp. are common in ticks and do infect humans. Rickettsial infection should be considered in both non-specific or specific symptoms after a tick bite. It was also shown in the thesis that flea-borne rickettsiosis (R. felis) occurs in Sweden and may cause invasive infections
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| 7. |
- Sewe, Maquins Odhiambo, 1981-
(författare)
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Towards Climate Based Early Warning and Response Systems for Malaria
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: Great strides have been made in combating malaria, however, the indicators in sub Saharan Africa still do not show promise for elimination in the near future as malaria infections still result in high morbidity and mortality among children. The abundance of the malaria-transmitting mosquito vectors in these regions are driven by climate suitability. In order to achieve malaria elimination by 2030, strengthening of surveillance systems have been advocated. Based on malaria surveillance and climate monitoring, forecasting models may be developed for early warnings. Therefore, in this thesis, we strived to illustrate the use malaria surveillance and climate data for policy and decision making by assessing the association between weather variability (from ground and remote sensing sources) and malaria mortality, and by building malaria admission forecasting models. We further propose an economic framework for integrating forecasts into operational surveillance system for evidence based decisionmaking and resource allocation. Methods: The studies were based in Asembo, Gem and Karemo areas of the KEMRI/CDC Health and Demographic Surveillance System in Western Kenya. Lagged association of rainfall and temperature with malaria mortality was modeled using general additive models, while distributed lag non-linear models were used to explore relationship between remote sensing variables, land surface temperature(LST), normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI) and rainfall on weekly malaria mortality. General additive models, with and without boosting, were used to develop malaria admissions forecasting models for lead times one to three months. We developed a framework for incorporating forecast output into economic evaluation of response strategies at different lead times including uncertainties. The forecast output could either be an alert based on a threshold, or absolute predicted cases. In both situations, interventions at each lead time could be evaluated by the derived net benefit function and uncertainty incorporated by simulation. Results: We found that the environmental factors correlated with malaria mortality with varying latencies. In the first paper, where we used ground weather data, the effect of mean temperature was significant from lag of 9 weeks, with risks higher for mean temperatures above 250C. The effect of cumulative precipitation was delayed and began from 5 weeks. Weekly total rainfall of more than 120 mm resulted in increased risk for mortality. In the second paper, using remotely sensed data, the effect of precipitation was consistent in the three areas, with increasing effect with weekly total rainfall of over 40 mm, and then declined at 80 mm of weekly rainfall. NDVI below 0.4 increased the risk of malaria mortality, while day LST above 350C increased the risk of malaria mortality with shorter lags for high LST weeks. The lag effect of precipitation was more delayed for precipitation values below 20 mm starting at week 5 while shorter lag effect for higher precipitation weeks. The effect of higher NDVI values above 0.4 were more delayed and protective while shorter lag effect for NDVI below 0.4. For all the lead times, in the malaria admissions forecasting modelling in the third paper, the boosted regression models provided better prediction accuracy. The economic framework in the fourth paper presented a probability function of the net benefit of response measures, where the best response at particular lead time corresponded to the one with the highest probability, and absolute value, of a net benefit surplus. Conclusion: We have shown that lagged relationship between environmental variables and malaria health outcomes follow the expected biological mechanism, where presentation of cases follow the onset of specific weather conditions and climate variability. This relationship guided the development of predictive models showcased with the malaria admissions model. Further, we developed an economic framework connecting the forecasts to response measures in situations with considerable uncertainties. Thus, the thesis work has contributed to several important components of early warning systems including risk assessment; utilizing surveillance data for prediction; and a method to identifying cost-effective response strategies. We recommend economic evaluation becomes standard in implementation of early warning system to guide long-term sustainability of such health protection programs.
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| 8. |
- Thunberg, Therese, 1977-
(författare)
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Study of pathogenesis and immune response in human Puumala virus infection
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Hantaviruses can cause two severe human diseases: hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS). Hantaviruses are spread to humans mainly through inhalation of infectious virions, secreted from infected rodents. The human diseases are characterized by an increased capillary leakage syndrome. Hantaviruses are known to infect endothelial cells, but they are non-cytopathogenic. The mechanism behind human disease is not well understood, but an overactive immune response is implicated in the pathogenesis. The aim of my thesis has been to investigate parts of innate and adaptive immune responses in Puumala virus-infected patients.In paper I we found a sex difference in the cytokine profile during acute infection. Females had significantly higher plasma levels of IL-9, FGF-2, GM-CSF and lower levels of IL-8 and IP-10 compared to males. These differences may affect the activation and function of the immune response.In paper II we studied the phenotype and kinetics of NK cells. We observed that CD56dim NK cells were elevated during acute infection and that these, predominantly NKG2C+ NK cells, remained elevated for at least two months after symptom debut. Our novel finding of a prolonged NK cell response, implicates that NK cells may possess adaptive immunity features. In paper III we observed a vigorous cytotoxic T cell (CTL) response during acute infection, which contracted in parallel with decrease in viral load. The CTL response was not balanced by an increase in regulatory T cells. The T cells expressed inhibitory immunoregulatory receptors, known to dampen intrinsic T cell activity. In paper IV, we found that a low IgG response in patients was significantly associated with more severe disease, while the viral load did not affect the outcome. Our findings support the use of passive immunization as a treatment alternative for hantavirus-infected patients.In conclusion, my thesis contributes to an increased knowledge about the immune response in hantavirus-infected patients. The findings, combined with future studies, will hopefully lead to a better understanding of the pathogenesis and possible treatment alternatives.
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| 9. |
- Hollowell, Thomas, et al.
(författare)
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Public health determinants of child malaria mortality : a surveillance study within Siaya County, Western Kenya
- 2023
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Ingår i: Malaria Journal. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1475-2875. ; 22:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Malaria deaths among children have been declining worldwide during the last two decades. Despite preventive, epidemiologic and therapy-development work, mortality rate decline has stagnated in western Kenya resulting in persistently high child malaria morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to identify public health determinants influencing the high burden of malaria deaths among children in this region.Methods: A total of 221,929 children, 111,488 females and 110,441 males, under the age of 5 years were enrolled in the Kenya Medical Research Institute/Center for Disease Control Health and Demographic Surveillance System (KEMRI/CDC HDSS) study area in Siaya County during the period 2003–2013. Cause of death was determined by use of verbal autopsy. Age-specific mortality rates were computed, and cox proportional hazard regression was used to model time to malaria death controlling for the socio-demographic factors. A variety of demographic, social and epidemiologic factors were examined.Results: In total 8,696 (3.9%) children died during the study period. Malaria was the most prevalent cause of death and constituted 33.2% of all causes of death, followed by acute respiratory infections (26.7%) and HIV/AIDS related deaths (18.6%). There was a marked decrease in overall mortality rate from 2003 to 2013, except for a spike in the rates in 2008. The hazard of death differed between age groups with the youngest having the highest hazard of death HR 6.07 (95% CI 5.10–7.22). Overall, the risk attenuated with age and mortality risks were limited beyond 4 years of age. Longer distance to healthcare HR of 1.44 (95% CI 1.29–1.60), l ow maternal education HR 3.91 (95% CI 1.86–8.22), and low socioeconomic status HR 1.44 (95% CI 1.26–1.64) were all significantly associated with increased hazard of malaria death among children.Conclusions: While child mortality due to malaria in the study area in Western Kenya, has been decreasing, a final step toward significant risk reduction is yet to be accomplished. This study highlights residual proximal determinants of risk which can further inform preventive actions.
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| 10. |
- Islam, Koushikul, 1985-
(författare)
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Identification and evaluation of antiviral compounds targeting Rift Valley fever virus
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV), a negative-stranded RNA virus, is the etiological agent of the vector-borne zoonotic disease Rift Valley fever (RVF). RVFV causes significant morbidity and mortality in humans and livestock throughout Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. RVFV is an emerging virus and is capable of infecting a broad range of mosquito species distributed around the world, so it poses a potential threat globally. A wide range of livestock animals (e.g. sheep, goats, cows, and camels) and some wild animals become highly affected by RVFV. In humans, RVFV infection presents as an acute self-limiting febrile illness that may lead to more severe hemorrhagic fever and encephalitis. The severity of the disease is mostly dependent on age and the species of mammal, but other factors are also important.There are no licensed RVFV vaccines for humans, and there is a lack of effective antiviral drugs. Moreover, due to the severe pathogenicity, higher-level facilities are needed―biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) or more―to work with RVFV, which makes antiviral drug development more challenging. Because RVFV causes severe disease in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, and has the potential to spread globally, it is essential that safe, efficient antiviral drugs against this virus are developed.The previously reported antiviral compound benzavir-2 inhibits the replication of several DNA viruses, i.e. human adenoviruses, herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1, and HSV type 2, indicating a broadranging activity. We wanted to evaluate whether benzavir-2 had an effect against the RNA virus RVFV. For these and subsequent studies, we used a recombinant, modified RVFV strain with a deleted NSs gene, which was replaced by a reporter gene (rRVFVΔNSs::Katushka), enabling the studies to be conducted under BSL-2 conditions. The NSs gene is the main virulence factor for RVFV and without it, RVFV become less pathogenic. The reporter gene made it possible for us to quantify infection with the help of the red fluorescent protein. We found that benzavir-2 effectively inhibited RVFV infection in cell culture at an effective concentration showing 50% inhibition (EC50) of 0.6 μM. Benzavir-2 also inhibited the production of progeny virus. When we studied the pharmacokinetic properties, we found that benzavir-2 had good in vitro solubility, permeability, and metabolic stability. When we investigated the oral bioavailability in mice by administering benzavir-2 in peanut butter pellets, high systemic distribution was observed without any adverse toxic effects. Benzavir-2 thus inhibited RVFV infection in cell culture and showed excellent pharmacokinetic properties, suggesting the possibility of evaluating its effectiveness in an animal model. Since benzavir-2 has a broad effect against both RNA and DNA viruses, we speculated that the antiviral mechanism affects cellular targets.We also wanted to explore a large number of small chemical compounds with unknown properties and identify any anti-RVFV activities. Thus, we developed a whole-cell-based high-throughput reporter-based assay, and screened 28,437 small chemical compounds. The assay was established after optimization of several parameters. After primary and secondary screening, we identified 63 compounds that inhibited RVFV infection by 60% at a concentration of 3.12 μM and showed ≥ 50% cell viability at 25 μM. After a dose-dependent screening of these 63 compounds, several compounds were identified with highly efficient anti-RVFV properties. Finally, N1-(2-(biphenyl-4-yloxy)ethyl)propane-1,3-diamine (compound 1) was selected as the lead compound. We performed a structure-activity relationship (SAR) analysis of compound 1 by replacing and changing component after component of the chemical compound to see how this affected the antiviral activity. After the SAR analysis, the antiviral activity did not change, but we could improve the cytotoxicity profile. Our studies suggested that the improved compound, 13a, might be targeting the early phase of the RVFV lifecycle.In conclusion, we developed an efficient and reliable screening method that creates possibilities for discovering and developing antivirals against RVFV under BSL-2 conditions. We also identified several chemical compounds with anti-RVFV activities, which might lead to development of therapies for RVFV infection.
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