Passage of Zika virus inRag1-deficient mice selects for unique envelope glycosylation motif mutants that show enhanced replication
Authors: Nakayama Eri , Tang Bing , Stewart Romal , Cox Abigail L. , Yan Kexin , Bishop Cameron R. , Dumenil Troy , Nguyen Wilson , Slonchak Andrii , Sng Julian , Khromykh Alexander A. , Lutzky Viviana P. , Rawle Daniel J. , Suhrbier Andreas 
Published: September 2024

N-linked glycosylation of flavivirus envelope proteins is widely viewed as a requirement for optimal folding, processing and/or transit of envelope proteins, and the assembling virons, through the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi. Herein we show that serial passage of ZIKVNatalinRag1-/-mice generated two unique envelope glycan-deficient mutants, ZIKV-V153D and ZIKV-N154D, that, surprisingly, produced titers ∼1 to 2.6 logshigherthan the glycosylated parental ZIKVNatalin Vero E6 cells and human brain organoids. RNA-Seq of infected organoids suggested that this increased replication fitness was associated with upregulation of the unfolded protein response (UPR). Cell death, cellular viral RNA and viral protein levels were not significantly affected, arguing that these glycan mutants enjoyed faster ER/Golgi folding, processing, assembly, transit, and virion egress, assisted by an upregulated UPR. Thus, ZIKV envelope N-linked glycosylation is not essential for promoting envelope folding, assembly and transit through the ER/Golgi, as aspartic acid (D) substitutions in the glycosylation motif achieve this with significantly greater efficiency. V153D and N154D mutants have not been employed in flavivirus envelope glycosylation studies. Instead, mutants such as N154A have been used, which may impart unfavorable properties that have a greater impact than the loss of the glycan. ZIKV-V153D and -N154D may avoid this by preserving the surface negative charge provided by the glycan moiety in the parental ZIKVNatal. InIfnar-/-mice ZIKV-V153D and -N154D showed faster viremia onsets, but reduced viremic periods, than the parental ZIKVNatal, consistent with the contention that these glycans have evolved to delay neutralizing antibody activity.

IMPORTANCE

Studies seeking to understand the role(s) of N-linked glycosylation of flavivirus envelope proteins often introduce amino acid substitutions that disrupt the glycosylation motif, which in ZIKV has the sequence153VNDT156. Unfortunately, such substitutions, for instance N154A, may themselves impart unfavorable properties on envelope that have a greater impact than the loss of the glycan moiety. Herein we describe two unique glycosylation motif mutants, ZIKV-V153D and -N154D that were positively selected during passage of ZIKVNatalinRag1-/-mice. These N154glycan-deficient viruses produced viral titers up to ∼400 fold higher than the parental ZIKVNatalin Vero cells and in human brain organoids. Such glycans are thus clearly not a requirement for optimal folding and trafficking of ZIKV envelope through the endoplasmic reticulum/Golgi. These results provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms underpinning viral fitnessin vitroandin vivo, and also have implications for virus-like-particle vaccine design and production.