R01AI169467

Human 3D Neuro-Muscular Assembloids to Study Cell Tropism and Host Factor Utilization of Divergent Neuropathogenic Enteroviruses - Project Summary

Enteroviruses are the leading cause of viral meningitis in children, and recent outbreaks of emerging non-polio enteroviruses (NPEVs) have been associated with a polio-like paralysis named Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM). Discovery and characterization of cellular components that are critical for neuropathogenesis hold promise for revealing new approaches to treat enterovirus disease.

In recent years, multiple receptors have been identified for EV-A71 and EV-D68, NPEVs which are most commonly associated with AFM. Using unbiased genome-scale screens, we have identified the phospholipase PLA2G16 as an entry factor acting immediately downstream of receptor engagement following NPEV infection. How the multiple receptors and PLA2G16 work together to enable infection in cell types relevant for neuropathogenesis is, however, largely unknown.

Infection of cell types present in the central nervous system is critical for developing severe neurological forms of disease following infection with NPEVs. Although mouse models have been widely used to gain insights into enterovirus infection processes, genetic and physiological differences between human and rodents limit their translational potential. Moreover, species incompatibilities in host factor interactions of these human enteroviruses necessitate overexpression of human receptors, mouse-adapted strains, or neonatal infections.

In work that forms a foundation for this proposal, we have developed from pluripotent stem cells human spinal cord organoids that recapitulate some of the cell diversity of the human spinal cord. Importantly, we have pioneered an approach to functionally connect motor neurons in spinal cord organoids with human skeletal muscle and cortical neurons in a preparation we named assembloids. These motor assembloids form functional neuro-muscular junctions and can control muscle contraction.

Here, we propose to systematically study the role of known host factors in cell lines derived from neural tissue on EV-A71 and EV-D68, discover novel host factors by performing unbiased genome-scale genetic screens in neural cell lines, and compare cell lineage tropism and effect on neuronal function during enterovirus infections of cortico-motor assembloids.

Our results will reveal the role and relative contribution of a distinct set of critical receptors and broad-acting host factors to infection by multiple enteroviruses, discover and provide details on the molecular mechanism of novel host factors in neural cell types, and leverage a unique neural organoid system to uncover the specific tropism and functional effect on human neural-muscular circuits during infections with the paralytic enteroviruses EV-D68 and EV-A71.

The Leland Stanford Junior University

TO ASSIST PUBLIC AND PRIVATE NONPROFIT INSTITUTIONS AND INDIVIDUALS TO ESTABLISH, EXPAND AND IMPROVE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND RELATED AREAS, TO CONDUCT DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH, TO PRODUCE AND TEST RESEARCH MATERIALS. TO ASSIST PUBLIC, PRIVATE AND COMMERCIAL INSTITUTIONS TO CONDUCT DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH, TO PRODUCE AND TEST RESEARCH MATERIALS, TO PROVIDE RESEARCH SERVICES AS REQUIRED BY THE AGENCY FOR PROGRAMS IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES, AND CONTROLLING DISEASE CAUSED BY INFECTIOUS OR PARASITIC AGENTS, ALLERGIC AND IMMUNOLOGIC DISEASES AND RELATED AREAS. PROJECTS RANGE FROM STUDIES OF MICROBIAL PHYSIOLOGY AND ANTIGENIC STRUCTURE TO COLLABORATIVE TRIALS OF EXPERIMENTAL DRUGS AND VACCINES, MECHANISMS OF RESISTANCE TO ANTIBIOTICS AS WELL AS RESEARCH DEALING WITH EPIDEMIOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS IN HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS OR COMMUNITY POPULATIONS AND PROGRESS IN ALLERGIC AND IMMUNOLOGIC DISEASES. BECAUSE OF THIS DUAL FOCUS, THE PROGRAM ENCOMPASSES BOTH BASIC RESEARCH AND CLINICAL RESEARCH. SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM EXPANDS AND IMPROVES PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH. THE SBIR PROGRAM INTENDS TO INCREASE AND FACILITATE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TO INCREASE SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. THE SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM STIMULATES AND FOSTERS SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. RESEARCH CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARDS SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENTISTS DURING THE FORMATIVE STAGES OF THEIR CAREERS. INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARDS (NRSAS) ARE MADE DIRECTLY TO APPROVE APPLICANTS FOR RESEARCH TRAINING IN SPECIFIED BIOMEDICAL SHORTAGE AREAS. IN ADDITION, INSTITUTIONAL NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARDS ARE MADE TO ENABLE INSTITUTIONS TO SELECT AND MAKE AWARDS TO INDIVIDUALS TO RECEIVE TRAINING UNDER THE AEGIS OF THEIR INSTITUTIONAL PROGRAM.

93.855 - Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) [HHS - NIH]

Stanford, California 94305 United States

Single Zip Code

Basic Research to Inform Vaccine and Therapeutic Development for Non-Polio Human Enteroviruses (NPEV) (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (RFA-AI-21-006)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 294% from $762,346 to $3,007,447.