IFITMs from Naturally Infected Animal Species Exhibit Distinct Restriction Capacities against Toscana and Rift Valley Fever Viruses

Viruses. 2023 Jan 22;15(2):306. doi: 10.3390/v15020306.

Abstract

Rift Valley Fever virus (RVFV) and Toscana virus (TOSV) are two pathogenic arthropod-borne viruses responsible for zoonotic infections in both humans and animals; as such, they represent a growing threat to public and veterinary health. Interferon-induced transmembrane (IFITM) proteins are broad inhibitors of a large panel of viruses belonging to various families and genera. However, little is known on the interplay between RVFV, TOSV, and the IFITM proteins derived from their naturally infected host species. In this study, we investigated the ability of human, bovine, and camel IFITMs to restrict RVFV and TOSV infection. Our results indicated that TOSV was extremely sensitive to inhibition by all the animal IFITMs tested, while RVFV was inhibited by human IFITM-2 and IFITM-3, but not IFITM-1, and exhibited a more heterogeneous resistance phenotype towards the individual bovine and camel IFITMs tested. Overall, our findings shed some light on the complex and differential interplay between two zoonotic viruses and IFITMs from their naturally infected animal species.

Keywords: IFITM; Rift Valley fever virus; Toscana virus; viral restriction.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Camelus
  • Cattle
  • Host Specificity
  • Humans
  • Interferons
  • Membrane Proteins
  • Rift Valley Fever*
  • Rift Valley fever virus*
  • Sandfly fever Naples virus*
  • Zoonoses

Substances

  • Interferons
  • Membrane Proteins

Grants and funding

This study was funded by the Institut National de la Recherche pour l’agriculture, l’alimentation et l’environnement, the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes and the University of Lyon 1. FM is a post-doctoral fellow of the ANRS|Maladies infectieuses émergentes (ANRS|MIE). AC is supported by the CNRS. Work in the laboratory of AC is supported by grants from the ANRS (AO-2019-1 and AO-2021-1), as well as ANR (ANR-20-CE15-0025-01). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.