RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The strength of the innate immune response drives the within-host competition between highly and low pathogenic avian influenza viruses
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.04.06.438580
DO 10.1101/2021.04.06.438580
A1 Pierre Bessière
A1 Thomas Figueroa
A1 Amelia Coggon
A1 Charlotte Foret-Lucas
A1 Alexandre Houffschmitt
A1 Maxime Fusade-Boyer
A1 Gabriel Dupré
A1 Maxence Delverdier
A1 Romain Volmer
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/04/06/2021.04.06.438580.abstract
AB Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIV) emerge from low pathogenic avian influenza viruses (LPAIV) through the introduction of basic amino acids at the hemagglutinin (HA) cleavage site. Following viral evolution, the newly formed HPAIV likely represents a minority variant within the index host, predominantly infected with the LPAIV precursor. Using reverse-genetics engineered H5N8 viruses differing solely at the HA cleavage, we tested the hypothesis that the interaction between the minority HPAIV and the majority LPAIV could modulate the risk of HPAIV emergence and that the nature of the interaction could depend on the host species. In chickens, we observed that the H5N8LP increased H5N8HP replication and pathogenesis. By contrast, the H5N8LP antagonized H5N8HP replication and pathogenesis in ducks. Ducks mounted a more potent antiviral innate immune response than chickens against the H5N8LP, which correlated with H5N8HP inhibition. Our results provide evidence that HPAIV may be more likely to emerge in chickens than in ducks because of differences in the host response to HPAIV and LPAIV co-infections.