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Review
. 2012 Feb;2(1):103-10.
doi: 10.1016/j.coviro.2011.10.029. Epub 2011 Nov 25.

Transmission of viruses through shellfish: when specific ligands come into play

Françoise S Le Guyader  1 , Robert L Atmar, Jacques Le Pendu
Affiliations
Review

Transmission of viruses through shellfish: when specific ligands come into play

Françoise S Le Guyader et al. Curr Opin Virol. 2012 Feb.

Abstract

Shellfish are known as vectors for human pathogens and despite regulation based on enteric bacteria they are still implicated in viral outbreaks. Among shellfish, oysters are the most common vector of contamination, and the pathogens most frequently involved in these outbreaks are noroviruses, responsible for acute gastroenteritis in humans. Analysis of shellfish-related outbreak data worldwide show an unexpected high proportion of NoV GI strains. Recent studies performed in vitro, in vivo and in the environment indicate that oysters are not just passive filters, but can selectively accumulate norovirus strains based on viral carbohydrate ligands shared with humans. These observations contribute to explain the GI bias observed in shellfish-related outbreaks compared to other outbreaks.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Genotype frequency in stool and shellfish samples. NoV GI (red) and GII (blue) genotype detected in stool (plain bar) and shellfish (striped bar) samples.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Influence of oyster in the selection of NoV transmission. 1: Shedding in the environment of large amounts of GII NoVs (blue) and much lower amounts of GI strains (red) due to the overwhelming predominance of NoV GII in human outbreaks. Shedding of NoV GIII (green) in cattle is also shown. 2: Viruses present in seawater are ingested by oysters. GI NoVs particles are very rapidly directed to the gut, whereas GII particles are retained in mantle or gills possibly via a sialic acid containing ligand. GIII NoVs are probably randomly distributed. 3: NoV GI and GII are accumulated in the gut via an HBGA A-like ligand, most GII and GIII particles outside the gut are presumably destroyed. 4: Upon consumption of a NoV-contaminated oyster, infection caused by GI and GII strains occur with similar frequency because of the selective accumulation and retention of GI viral particles. GIII NoV transmission is unlikely to happen as few particles persist in oysters and humans do not express the glycan ligand.
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