A single–amino acid difference between rodent and human Andes virus affects viral glycoprotein trafficking
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Andes virus (ANDV) causes hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), with rare outbreaks involving person-to-person transmission. A human ANDV isolate from one such outbreak and a rodent isolate from the same region differ in lethality in Syrian golden hamsters. Genomic analysis revealed 25 nonsynonymous substitutions, including one leading to a T641I change in the human ANDV glycoprotein precursor near its cleavage site. Although the isolates differed in growth kinetics, strand-specific RT-qPCR did not support major differences in viral RNA synthesis, whereas virion release was delayed in the case of the human isolate. In human cell expression systems, a single I641T substitution in the human ANDV glycoprotein resulted in decreased Golgi retention and faster release of virion-like particles relative to wild-type glycoprotein. Since ANDV egress takes place at the Golgi, the T641I change present in the human ANDV isolate may represent a human adaptive mutation influencing glycoprotein trafficking and virus particle release.
Source: Science Advances
Authors: Santiago Vidal-Freire, Natalia M. Ferressini-Gerpe, Carla M. Bellomo, André Filipe Pastor, Maya Tagliavia, Rachel Somavarapu, Shruti Shirsathe, Jayden Zhang, Elaina Giannetti, Ignacio Mena, Florian Krammer, Nicole D. Tischler, Juan Angel Patiño-Galindo, Maria Kaczmarek, Mariano Sanchez-Lockhart, Gabriella Worwa, Jens H. Kuhn, Connie S. Schmaljohn, Adolfo García-Sastre, Valeria P. Martínez, Gustavo Palacios
Institutions: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Science Outreach and Pandemic Preparedness, Medical University of Vienna, Universidad San Sebastián, Fundación Ciencia and Vida, United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Tonix Pharmaceuticals (United States), Tisch Cancer Institute
Language: English
Topic: Viral Infections and Vectors
Subfield: Infectious Diseases
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,500
OpenAlex ID: W7225375376