Native Wolbachia from Aedes albopictus Blocks Chikungunya Virus Infection In Cellulo

PLoS One. 2015 Apr 29;10(4):e0125066. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0125066. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Wolbachia, a widespread endosymbiont of terrestrial arthropods, can protect its host against viral and parasitic infections, a phenotype called "pathogen blocking". However, in some cases Wolbachia may have no effect or even enhance pathogen infection, depending on the host-Wolbachia-pathogen combination. The tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus is naturally infected by two strains of Wolbachia, wAlbA and wAlbB, and is a competent vector for different arboviruses such as dengue virus (DENV) and chikungunya virus (CHIKV). Interestingly, it was shown in some cases that Ae. albopictus native Wolbachia strains are able to inhibit DENV transmission by limiting viral replication in salivary glands, but no such impact was measured on CHIKV replication in vivo. To better understand the Wolbachia/CHIKV/Ae. albopictus interaction, we generated a cellular model using Ae. albopictus derived C6/36 cells that we infected with the wAlbB strain. Our results indicate that CHIKV infection is negatively impacted at both RNA replication and virus assembly/secretion steps in presence of wAlbB. Using FISH, we observed CHIKV and wAlbB in the same mosquito cells, indicating that the virus is still able to enter the cell in the presence of the bacterium. Further work is needed to decipher molecular pathways involved in Wolbachia-CHIKV interaction at the cellular level, but this cellular model can be a useful tool to study the mechanism behind virus blocking phenotype induced by Wolbachia. More broadly, this put into question the ecological role of Wolbachia symbiont in Ae. albopictus, but also the ability of the CHIKV to counteract Wolbachia's antiviral potential in vivo.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aedes / microbiology*
  • Animals
  • Chikungunya Fever / microbiology
  • Chikungunya Fever / transmission*
  • Chikungunya Fever / virology
  • Chikungunya virus / genetics
  • Chikungunya virus / pathogenicity*
  • Humans
  • Symbiosis
  • Virus Replication / genetics
  • Wolbachia / genetics
  • Wolbachia / pathogenicity*

Grants and funding

This work was partially funded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR, http://www.agence-nationale-recherche.fr/) grant ANR-2010-BLAN-170101 (ImmunSymbArt), the Fondation pour la Recherche et la Biodiversité (FRB, http://www.fondationbiodiversite.fr/) grant FRBCD-AOOI-07-12, the Action Concertée InterPasteurienne (ACIP) grant A-10-2009 and the ERA-Net BiodivERsA network (http://www.biodiversa.org/) with the national funders ANR France (ANR-13-EBID-0007-01), FWF Austria (FWF I-1437), and DFG Germany (DFG KL 2087/6-1), part of the 2012-2013 BiodivERsA call for research proposals.