Genetic characteristics of human parainfluenza viruses 1–4 associated with acute lower respiratory tract infection in Chinese children, during 2015–2021

Abstract

Human parainfluenza viruses (HPIVs) are a significant cause of acute lower respiratory tract infections (ALRTIs) among young children and elderly individuals worldwide. The four types of HPIVs (HPIV1–4) can cause recurrent infections and pose a significant economic burden on health care systems globally. However, owing to the limited availability of complete genome sequences, the genetic evolution of these viruses and the development of vaccines and antiviral treatments are hampered. To address this issue, this study utilized next-generation sequencing to obtain 156 complete genome sequences of HPIV1–4, which were isolated from hospitalized children with ALRTIs in six regions of China between 2015 and 2021. This study revealed multiple clades, lineages, or sublineages of HPIVs circulating in mainland China, with a novel clade D of HPIV1 identified as geographically restricted to China. Moreover, this study identified the endemic dominant genotype of HPIV3, lineage C3, which has widely spread and continuously circulated in China. Bioinformatic analysis of the genome sequences revealed that the proteins of HPIV3 possessed the most variable sites, with the P protein showing more diversity than the other proteins among all types of HPIVs. The HN proteins of HPIV1–3 are all under negative/purifying selection, and two amino acid substitutions in the HN proteins correspond to known mAb neutralizing sites in the two HPIV3 strains. These findings provide crucial insights into the genetic diversity and evolutionary dynamics of HPIVs circulating among children in China and may facilitate research on the molecular diagnosis, vaccine development, and surveillance of HPIVs. IMPORTANCE Phylogenetic analysis revealed the prevalence of multiple clades, lineages, or sublineages of human parainfluenza viruses (HPIVs) circulating in mainland China. Notably, a unique evolutionary branch of HPIV1 containing only Chinese strains was identified and designated clade D. Furthermore, in 2023, HPIV3 strains from Pakistan and Russia formed a new lineage within clade C, named C6. The first HPIV4b sequence obtained in this study from China belongs to lineage C2. Evolutionary rate assessments revealed that both the HN and whole-genome sequences of HPIV3 presented the lowest evolutionary rates compared with those of the other HPIV types, with rates of 6.98E−04 substitutions/site/year (95% HPD: 5.87E−04 to 8.25E−03) and 5.85E−04 substitutions/site/year (95% HPD: 5.12E−04 to 6.62E−04), respectively. Recombination analysis revealed a potential recombination event in the F gene of an HPIV1 strain in this study. Additionally, all the newly obtained HPIV1–3 strains exhibited negative selection pressure, and two mutations were identified in the HN protein of two HPIV3 strains at monoclonal antibody-binding sites.