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Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus Study

2:04:33 recording · AUTO · 4 speakers

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Brief overview

Two studies: LCMV quietly infects 2-3% of Philadelphia mothers, and giant viruses encode their own translation machinery.

  1. LCMV exposure is common and silentTwo to three percent of Philadelphia mothers carried IgG, none IgM, and the antibodies crossed to the cord blood.
  2. Pet rodents are a real pregnancy riskAngela notes every pet shop mouse tested in her building was LCMV infected, and hamsters and pet rats carry it too.
  3. Giant viruses run their own translationVIF4G, VIF4A and VIF4E form a viral 4F complex that preferentially translates late viral mRNAs so capsids get made.
Executive Summary AI
  • Vincent Racaniello opens with an Emerging Infectious Diseases early release on lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus seroprevalence among urban pregnant women and newborns in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, using 2021 samples.6:18
  • Kathy Spindler explains LCMV is rodent-borne, carried by the house mouse, mild or asymptomatic in most adults, but in fetuses and newborns causing chorioretinitis, neurological malformations, intellectual disability and fetal death.7:49
  • In phase one, 17 of 700 maternal samples were IgG positive (2.4%) with none IgM positive, and in phase two 8 of 300 were positive (2.7%), with the paired cord blood matching the mothers.24:00
  • None of the 37 women carrying fetuses with prenatally diagnosed malformations were seropositive and higher neighborhood deprivation did not raise seroprevalence, leaving the conclusion that 2% to 3% of Philadelphia pregnant women have past exposure.26:29
  • The second paper, a Cell study from Harvard and Aix-Marseille, shows Mimivirus encodes its own VIF4F initiation complex that reads a 2'-O-methylated A next to the cap, and deleting it costs three to five logs of titer and blocks particle assembly.37:34
Key Quote
“So be aware that pet shop mice are very dirty.”
— Angela Mingherelli10:56
Key Quote
“I don't know if you said this, but a big thing is that the virus is non-cytolytic.”
— Rich Condit12:39
Key Quote
“If we want to understand the various ways in which viruses have evolved and are shaping life on Earth, we have to keep looking in dark and unexplored areas.”
— Vincent Racaniello36:26