Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42365317›Full record

ArticleVirology journal2026

Comparative dynamics of Japanese encephalitis virus adaptation in porcine macrophages and insect cells.

Andrea Marti, Alexander Nater, Jenny Pego Magalhaes, Noelle Donzé, Markus Gerber, Lea Almeida, Matthias Liniger, Sandra Chenaux, Nicolas Ruggli, Fadi G Alnaji and 3 more

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in Virology journal, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Andrea MartiInstitute of Virology and Immunology IVI, Mittelhäusern, Switzerland.
Alexander NaterInterfaculty Bioinformatics Unit (IBU) and Swiss, Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Jenny Pego MagalhaesInstitute of Virology and Immunology IVI, Mittelhäusern, Switzerland.
Noelle DonzéInstitute of Virology and Immunology IVI, Mittelhäusern, Switzerland.
Markus GerberInstitute of Virology and Immunology IVI, Mittelhäusern, Switzerland.
Lea AlmeidaInstitute of Virology and Immunology IVI, Mittelhäusern, Switzerland.
Matthias LinigerInstitute of Virology and Immunology IVI, Mittelhäusern, Switzerland.
Sandra ChenauxInstitute of Virology and Immunology IVI, Mittelhäusern, Switzerland.
Nicolas RuggliInstitute of Virology and Immunology IVI, Mittelhäusern, Switzerland.
Fadi G AlnajiA*STAR Infectious Diseases Labs (A*STAR ID Labs), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore.
Marco VignuzziA*STAR Infectious Diseases Labs (A*STAR ID Labs), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore.
Obdulio Garcia-NicolasInstitute of Virology and Immunology IVI, Mittelhäusern, Switzerland.
Artur SummerfieldInstitute of Virology and Immunology IVI, Mittelhäusern, Switzerland. artur.summerfield@ivi.admin.ch.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8292-4634

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundJapanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is a zoonotic mosquito-borne Orthoflavivirus that circulates primarily in birds and pigs. Previous observations of vector-free transmission between pigs indicates the possibility of single-host cycling in swine. Therefore, the aim of this work was to investigate the evolutionary pressure of single host cycling using a relevant primary cell culture model.

methodsTo investigate whether such single-host cycles affect viral infectivity, fitness and genomic adaptations, two strains and a reverse genetic cDNA-derived clone of JEV were serially passaged 12 times in primary porcine monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs), in Aedes albopictus-derived C6/36 cells, and alternately between both cell types. Next-generation sequencing analysis was used to identify selected single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and haplotypes. Phenotype-to-genotype connections were confirmed using reverse genetics.

resultsFor all viruses, serial passaging in MDMs - but not in C6/36 cells - led to a rapid increase in relative infectivity toward MDMs, accompanied by reduced plaque sizes in porcine endothelial cells. In contrast to C6/36 cells, MDM imposed a strong selective pressure, rapidly favoring selection of many SNVs and viral haplotypes. In addition, we identified a dominant selection of mutants with glutamic acid to lysine substitutions at positions 49 or 138 in the E protein, which explained the small plaque phenotype and caused viral sensitivity to heparin-mediated inhibition of attachment, indicating enhanced virus binding to glycosaminoglycans (GAG). The E138K mutant also explained the increased relative infectivity for MDM.

conclusionThis work demonstrates a high evolutionary pressure on JEV in MDM causing rapid selections of minor haplotypes. Furthermore, the efficient selection of E49K and E138K SNV, which were responsible for the phenotype, are likely caused by a selective pressure for GAG binding, observed in vitro with other mammalian cells.

Indexed as

AedesEncephalitis Virus, JapaneseMacrophagesAnimalsCell LineHigh-Throughput Nucleotide SequencingPolymorphism, Single NucleotideSelection, GeneticSerial PassageSwineFitness adaptationsJEVMacrophagesMosquitosOrthoflavivirusPigs

Identifiers

PMID42365317
PMCPMC13573486

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.