Farrell A, Phan T, Brooke CB, Koelle K, Ke R. Semi-infectious particles contribute substantially to influenza virus within-host dynamics when infection is dominated by spatial structure. Virus Evol. 2023 Mar 21;9(1):vead020
Influenza is an ribonucleic acid virus with a genome that comprises eight segments. Experiments show that the vast majority of virions fail to express one or more gene segments and thus cannot cause a productive infection on their own. These particles, called semi-infectious particles (SIPs), can induce virion production through complementation when multiple SIPs are present in an infected cell. Previous within-host influenza models did not explicitly consider SIPs and largely ignore the potential effects of coinfection during virus infection. Here, we constructed and analyzed two distinct models explicitly keeping track of SIPs and coinfection: one without spatial structure and the other implicitly considering spatial structure. While the model without spatial structure fails to reproduce key aspects of within-host influenza virus dynamics, we found that the model implicitly considering the spatial structure of the infection process makes predictions that are consistent with biological observations, highlighting the crucial role that spatial structure plays during an influenza infection. This model predicts two phases of viral growth prior to the viral peak: a first phase driven by fully infectious particles at the initiation of infection followed by a second phase largely driven by coinfections of fully infectious particles and SIPs. Fitting this model to two sets of data, we show that SIPs can contribute substantially to viral load during infection. Overall, the model provides a new interpretation of the in vivo exponential viral growth observed in experiments and a mechanistic explanation for why the production of large numbers of SIPs does not strongly impede viral growth. Being simple and predictive, our model framework serves as a useful tool to understand coinfection dynamics in spatially structured acute viral infections.
See Also:
Latest articles in those days:
- The evolution, complexity, and diversity of swine influenza viruses in China: A hidden public health threat 18 hours ago
- MHC class II proteins mediate sialic acid independent entry of human and avian H2N2 influenza A viruses 18 hours ago
- Histopathologic Features and Viral Antigen Distribution of H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus Clade 2.3.4.4b from the 2022–2023 Outbreak in Iowa Wild Birds 18 hours ago
- Detection and characterization of H5N1 HPAIV in environmental samples from a dairy farm 22 hours ago
- Genomic Characterization of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A H5N1 Virus Newly Emerged in Dairy Cattle 22 hours ago
[Go Top] [Close Window]