Detection of ON1 and novel genotypes of human respiratory syncytial virus and emergence of palivizumab resistance in Lebanon

Hadi Abou-El-Hassan; Elie Massaad; Nadia Soudani; Aia Assaf-Casals; Rouba Shaker; Mireille Lteif Khoury; Soha Ghanem; Maria Karam; Rabih Andary; Reiko Saito; Ghassan Dbaibo; Hassan Zaraket

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0212687

Detection of ON1 and novel genotypes of human respiratory syncytial virus and emergence of palivizumab resistance in Lebanon

PLoS One. 2019 Feb 21;14(2):e0212687. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0212687. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Hadi Abou-El-Hassan^{1

2}, Elie Massaad^{1

2}, Nadia Soudani^{1

2

3}, Aia Assaf-Casals^{2

4}, Rouba Shaker^{2

4}, Mireille Lteif Khoury^{2

4}, Soha Ghanem⁵, Maria Karam⁶, Rabih Andary⁷, Reiko Saito⁸, Ghassan Dbaibo^{2

4

9}, Hassan Zaraket^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Experimental Pathology, Immunology, and Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
² Center for Infectious Diseases Research, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
³ Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, EDST, Lebanese University, Hadath, Lebanon.
⁴ Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon.
⁵ Department of Pediatrics, Makassed General Hospital, Beirut, Lebanon.
⁶ Kiserwan Medical Center, Jounieh, Lebanon.
⁷ Al-Jabal Hospital, Aley, Lebanon.
⁸ Division of International Health (Public Health), Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
⁹ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.

Abstract

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common cause of respiratory tract infections in children and immunocompromised individuals. A multi-center surveillance of the epidemiologic and molecular characteristics of RSV circulating in Lebanon was performed. The attachment (G) and fusion (F) glycoproteins were analyzed and compared to those reported regionally and globally. 16% (83/519) of the nasopharyngeal swabs collected during the 2016/17 season tested positive for RSV; 50% (27/54) were RSV-A and 50% (27/54) were RSV-B. Phylogenetic analysis of the G glycoprotein revealed predominance of the RSVA ON1 genotype, in addition to two novel Lebanese genotype variants, hereby named LBA1 and LBA2, which descended from the ON1 and NA2 RSV-A genotypes, respectively. RSV-B strains belonged to BA9 genotype except for one BA10. Deduced amino acid sequences depicted several unique substitutions, alteration of glycosylation patterns and the emergence of palivizumab resistance among the Lebanese viruses. The emergence of ON1 and other novel genotypes that are resistant to palivizumab highlights the importance of monitoring RSV globally.

Publication types

Multicenter Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Antiviral Agents / pharmacology*
Antiviral Agents / therapeutic use
Child
Child, Preschool
Drug Resistance, Viral*
Female
Humans
Infant
Lebanon / epidemiology
Male
Middle Aged
Models, Molecular
Mutation
Palivizumab / pharmacology*
Palivizumab / therapeutic use
Phylogeny
Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections / epidemiology
Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections / virology*
Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human / drug effects
Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human / genetics*
Respiratory Tract Infections / epidemiology
Respiratory Tract Infections / virology
Young Adult

Substances

Antiviral Agents
Palivizumab

Grants and funding

This work was supported by JSPS Core-to-core Program, B.Asia-Africa Science Platforms sourced from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT); Kakenhi (Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research) from MEXT, grant number 18K10043. Collection of specimens was supported by a grant from Sanofi Pasteur. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.