The variation of antigenic and histo-blood group binding sites synergistically drive the evolution among chronologically emerging GII.4 noroviruses
Xiaojing Hong,
Liang Xue,
Yingwen Cao,
Ruiquan Xu,
Jingmin Wang,
Junshan Gao,
Shuidi Miao,
Yueting Jiang,
Xiaoxia Kou
Affiliations
Xiaojing Hong
Guangzhou Key Laboratory for Clinical Rapid Diagnosis and Early Warning of Infectious Diseases, KingMed School of Laboratory Medicine, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Science, China
Liang Xue
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Science, China; Corresponding author.
Yingwen Cao
Guangzhou Key Laboratory for Clinical Rapid Diagnosis and Early Warning of Infectious Diseases, KingMed School of Laboratory Medicine, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Ruiquan Xu
Guangzhou Key Laboratory for Clinical Rapid Diagnosis and Early Warning of Infectious Diseases, KingMed School of Laboratory Medicine, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Jingmin Wang
Guangzhou Key Laboratory for Clinical Rapid Diagnosis and Early Warning of Infectious Diseases, KingMed School of Laboratory Medicine, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Junshan Gao
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Science, China
Shuidi Miao
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Science, China
Yueting Jiang
Department of Laboratory Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510120, China; Corresponding author.
Xiaoxia Kou
Guangzhou Key Laboratory for Clinical Rapid Diagnosis and Early Warning of Infectious Diseases, KingMed School of Laboratory Medicine, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China; Corresponding author.
Norovirus, commonly found on shellfish and vegetables, is a foodborne virus with GII.4 as the dominant genotype responsible for widespread outbreaks since 1995. Continuous variation of major capsid protein VP1 can lead to changes in the immunogenicity and host receptor binding ability of norovirus, which is an important evolutionary mechanism. Therefore, analyzing the immunogenicity of VP1 and its binding ability to various HBGAs in GII.4 variants could improve our understanding of the persistent prevalence of GII.4. Here, the results suggest that GII.4 has gradually enhanced its HBGAs binding ability over time for various types of receptors. Variants exhibit significantly stronger immune response to homologous mouse antiserum than heterologous ones, highlighting the importance of variation of antigenic and histo-blood group binding sites in driving the evolution of GII.4. These synergistic forces constantly lead to antigenic drift and changes in receptor binding, resulting in continuous emergence of new variant strains and sustained prevalence.
