Algae virus can jump to mammalian cells

New research led by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has provided the first direct evidence that an algae-infecting virus can invade and potentially replicate within some mammalian cells.
Known as Acanthocystis turfacea chlorella virus 1, or ATCV-1, the pathogen is among a class of chloroviruses long believed to take up residence only in green algae.The new study, introduced ATCV-1 to macrophage cells that serve critical functions in the immune responses of mice, humans and other mammals. By tagging the virus with fluorescent dye and assembling three-dimensional images of mouse cells, the authors determined that ATCV-1 successfully infiltrated them.
Though a few studies have documented viruses jumping from one biological kingdom to another, chloroviruses were previously thought to have a limited "host range" that stopped well short of the animal kingdom.
The macrophage cells underwent multiple changes characteristic of those breached by a virus, Dunigan said. These changes eventually included a form of programmed death that virologists consider an innate "scorched earth" defense against the spread of viruses, which require living cells to survive and replicate.
Before dying, the cells exhibited multiple signs of stress that tentatively support links to mild cognitive impairments. The new study measured a post-viral rise in interleukin 6, a cellular protein that previous research has linked with diminished spatial learning and certain neurological diseases.
The new study's authors are continuing their collaboration with Johns Hopkins in the hope of ultimately confirming whether and how the virus contributes to any cognitive deficits suggested by the initial studies.
"It is still unclear whether the factors induced by the cell-based virus challenge could also be induced in the whole animal, and whether the induced factors cause cognitive impairments in the animal or the human," said co-author Tom Petro, professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

More details from: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151021185110.htm