Strain-Dependent Norovirus Bioaccumulation in Oysters

Type Article
Date 2011-05
Language English
Author(s) Maalouf Haifa1, Schaeffer Julien1, Parnaudeau Sylvain1, Le Pendu Jacques2, Atmar Robert L.3, Crawford Sue E.3, Le Guyader Soizick1
Affiliation(s) 1 : IFREMER, Lab Microbiol LNR, F-44311 Nantes 03, France.
2 : Univ Nantes, INSERM, U892, Nantes, France.
3 : Baylor Coll Med, Dept Mol Virol & Microbiol, Houston, TX 77030 USA.
Source Applied And Environmental Microbiology (0099-2240) (Amer Soc Microbiology), 2011-05 , Vol. 77 , N. 10 , P. 3189-3196
DOI 10.1128/AEM.03010-10
WOS© Times Cited 94
Abstract Noroviruses (NoVs) are the main agents of gastroenteritis in humans and the primary pathogens of shellfish-related outbreaks. Some NoV strains bind to shellfish tissues by using carbohydrate structures similar to their human ligands, leading to the hypothesis that such ligands may influence bioaccumulation. This study compares the bioaccumulation efficiencies and tissue distributions in oysters (Crassostrea gigas) of three strains from the two principal human norovirus genogroups. Clear differences between strains were observed. The GI.1 strain was the most efficiently concentrated strain. Bioaccumulation specifically occurred in digestive tissues in a dose-dependent manner, and its efficiency paralleled ligand expression, which was highest during the cold months. In comparison, the GII.4 strain was very poorly bioaccumulated and was recovered in almost all tissues without seasonal influence. The GII.3 strain presented an intermediate behavior, without seasonal effect and with less bioaccumulation efficiency than that of the GI.1 strain during the cold months. In addition, the GII.3 strain was transiently concentrated in gills and mantle before being almost specifically accumulated in digestive tissues. Carbohydrate ligand specificities of the strains at least partly explain the strain-dependent bioaccumulation characteristics. In particular, binding to the digestive-tube-specific ligand should contribute to bioaccumulation, whereas we hypothesize that binding to the sialic acid-containing ligand present in all tissues would contribute to retain virus particles in the gills or mantle and lead to rapid destruction.
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