Multiple pathways for establishment of poliovirus infection

Poliovirus (PV) infects susceptible cells through poliovirus receptor (PVR), which functions to bind virus and to convert its conformation. To study early infection process of PV, infection systems were employed using in vitro cultured cells and in vivo neural pathway of PVR transgenic (Tg) mice. For in vitro study, mouse L cells were established expressing mouse high affinity Fcγ receptor molecules, and used them as in vitro PV infection system. PV infection was mediated, albeit inefficiently, by mouse anti-PV monoclonal antibodies (mAbs; IgG2a subtypes) that did not show an activity to convert PV (160S) to 135S particle. The infection efficiency was enhanced when PVR-IgG2a, a chimera molecule consisting of the extracellular moiety of PVR and the Fc portion of mouse IgG2a, was used for anti-PV mAbs. Virion conformational change to 135S particle was induced by PVR-IgG2a. For in vivo study, intramuscular (IM) inoculation of PV into the calves of PV-sensitive Tg mice was employed. PV-related materials recovered from the sciatic nerve, after the IM inoculation, were mainly composed of intact 160S virion particle, although this neural pathway appeared to be dependent on PVR. These results suggested that some specific interaction(s) of PVR to PV beyond its binding activity was important to enhance infectivity of PV in in vitro cultured cells, and that PV uncoating occurs after retrograde axonal transport of the virus through the sciatic nerve of Tg mice. Thus, PV infection may be established by any of these several pathways.