Dedvukaj, A.; Rondeau, N. C.; Lutchko, M. C.; Stapleford, K. A.

How orthobunyaviruses establish infections and disseminate to cause disease is not well understood. In a previous study using the in vivo evolution of La Crosse virus (LACV), we discovered a cluster of mutations localizing to the LACV Gc head domain. However, we do not understand how the Gc head domain contributes to infection. We generated each of the aforementioned mutations and addressed the role of the Gc head domain in viral replication and infectivity in human neurons and myoblasts. We found that specific head domain residues could attenuate replication and infectivity in both cell lines, indicating an important role for the head domain during infection in vitro. Focusing on the Gc N609D variant which was attenuated in vitro, we infected three-week-old WT C57BL/6J mice via the footpad with WT LACV or the Gc N609D variant and found that the Gc N609D virus was completely attenuated. To address whether the variant was also attenuated in a highly susceptible mouse model, we infected Ifnar1-/- mice with WT LACV and Gc N609D and found that virulence in mice infected with Gc N609D was delayed with several mice surviving the infection. Subsequent studies looking at virus dissemination to the brain show that the Gc N609D virus has decreased neuroinvasive events, supporting a role for the head domain in virus dissemination. Together, these studies define a critical role of the Gc head domain in infectivity, dissemination, and pathogenesis. Studies are underway to further define how the orthobunyavirus Gc head domain contributes to infection and disease.