Understanding the mechanisms of hepatitis C virus (HCV) pathogenesis and persistence has been hampered by the lack of small, convenient animal models. GB virus B (GBV-B) is phylogenetically the closest related virus to HCV. It causes generally acute and occasionally chronic hepatitis in small primates and is used as a surrogate model for HCV. It is not known, however, whether GBV-B has evolved strategies to circumvent host innate defenses similar to those of HCV, a property that may contribute to HCV persistence in vivo. We show here in cultured tamarin hepatocytes that GBV-B NS3/4A protease, but not a related catalytically inactive mutant, effectively blocks innate intracellular antiviral responses signaled through the RNA helicase, retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I), an essential sensor molecule that initiates host defenses against many RNA viruses, including HCV. GBV-B NS3/4A protease specifically cleaves mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS; also known as IPS-1/Cardif/VISA) and dislodges it from mitochondria, thereby disrupting its function as a RIG-I adaptor and blocking downstream activation of both interferon regulatory factor 3 and nuclear factor kappa B. MAVS cleavage and abrogation of virus-induced interferon responses were also observed in Huh7 cells supporting autonomous replication of subgenomic GBV-B RNAs. Our data indicate that, as in the case of HCV, GBV-B has evolved to utilize its major protease to disrupt RIG-I signaling and impede innate antiviral defenses. These data provide further support for the use of GBV-B infection in small primates as an accurate surrogate model for deciphering virus-host interactions in hepacivirus pathogenesis.Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection affects millions of people worldwide and poses a major threat to human health (42). However, efforts to understand HCV pathogenesis and identify specific HCV antivirals to supplement or substitute for current interferon (IFN)-based therapies have been impeded by the lack of a robust, fully permissive tissue culture system and the absence of small, convenient animal models of HCV infection. While the former problem has been partially solved recently by the development of systems allowing productive HCV infection in human hepatoma cells (25,45,49,51), the chimpanzee remains the only well-validated animal model that is susceptible to HCV infection. Several drawbacks, however, including availability, ethical considerations, and extraordinary cost, limit use of the chimpanzee for modeling HCV infection and confirming the activity of candidate antivirals.

Immunoglobulin A (IgA) monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) directed at the conserved inner core protein VP6 of rotavirus, such as the IgA7D9 MAb, provide protective immunity in adult and suckling mice when delivered systemically. While these antibodies do not have traditional in vitro neutralizing activity, they could mediate their antiviral activity either by interfering with the viral replication cycle along the IgA secretory pathway or by acting at mucosal surfaces as secretory IgA and excluding virus from target enterocytes. We sought to determine the critical step at which antirotaviral activity was initiated by the IgA7D9 MAb. The IgA7D9 MAb appeared to directly interact with purified triple-layer viral particles, as shown by immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting. However, protection was not conferred by passively feeding mice with the secretory IgA7D9 MAb. This indicates that the secretory IgA7D9 MAb does not confer protection by supplying immune exclusion activity in vivo. We next evaluated the capacity of polymeric IgA7D9 MAb to neutralize rotavirus intracellularly during transcytosis. We found that when polymeric IgA7D9 MAb was applied to the basolateral pole of polarized Caco-2 intestinal cells, it significantly reduced viral replication and prevented the loss of barrier function induced by apical exposure of the cell monolayer to rotavirus, supporting the conclusion that the antibody carries out its antiviral activity intracellularly. These findings identify a mechanism whereby the well-conserved immunodominant VP6 protein can function as a target for heterotypic antibodies and protective immunity.Rotavirus (RV) is the main cause of severe diarrhea in young infants worldwide and is responsible for 611,000 deaths per year (36). Two vaccines based on attenuated live viruses have recently completed successful phase III clinical trials and showed efficacy in preventing severe RV diarrhea caused by multiple serotypes (45, 50). However, the relevant immune effectors required for achieving protection against diverse circulating strains are still a matter of considerable debate. While CD8 ϩ T cells facilitate the timely clearance of rotavirus infection, B cells with the appropriate pattern of mucosal homing receptors and antibody production have been demonstrated as crucial for protection from reinfection (17, 24).Neutralizing antibodies against RV that block viral replication in cell culture are felt to play a major role in defense. A variety of passive antibody transfer studies in animals (28), as well as immunization studies using selected rotavirus reassortants in humans (7), have demonstrated a clear role for VP4 and VP7 in protective immunity. Neutralizing antibodies are directed against the outer shell VP4 and VP7 proteins, whose variable antigenic specificities define multiple serotypes, assigned as P and G serotypes, respectively (41). Worldwide, the G1-to-G4 serotypes associated with P4 and P8 and the more recently described G9/P6 or P8 serotypes are globally important rotavirus G/P combinations in human...

CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) is a receptor for chemokines and the coreceptor for R5 HIV-1 entry into CD4(+) T lymphocytes. Chemokines exert anti-HIV-1 activity in vitro, both by displacing the viral envelope glycoprotein gp120 from binding to CCR5 and by promoting CCR5 endocytosis, suggesting that they play a protective role in HIV infection. However, we showed here that different CCR5 conformations at the cell surface are differentially engaged by chemokines and gp120, making chemokines weaker inhibitors of HIV infection than would be expected from their binding affinity constants for CCR5. These distinct CCR5 conformations rely on CCR5 coupling to nucleotide-free G proteins ((NF)G proteins). Whereas native CCR5 chemokines bind with subnanomolar affinity to (NF)G protein-coupled CCR5, gp120/HIV-1 does not discriminate between (NF)G protein-coupled and uncoupled CCR5. Interestingly, the antiviral activity of chemokines is G protein independent, suggesting that "low-chemokine affinity" (NF)G protein-uncoupled conformations of CCR5 represent a portal for viral entry. Furthermore, chemokines are weak inducers of CCR5 endocytosis, as is revealed by EC50 values for chemokine-mediated endocytosis reflecting their low-affinity constant value for (NF)G protein-uncoupled CCR5. Abolishing CCR5 interaction with (NF)G proteins eliminates high-affinity binding of CCR5 chemokines but preserves receptor endocytosis, indicating that chemokines preferentially endocytose low-affinity receptors. Finally, we evidenced that chemokine analogs achieve highly potent HIV-1 inhibition due to high-affinity interactions with internalizing and/or gp120-binding receptors. These data are consistent with HIV-1 evading chemokine inhibition by exploiting CCR5 conformational heterogeneity, shed light into the inhibitory mechanisms of anti-HIV-1 chemokine analogs, and provide insights for the development of unique anti-HIV molecules