# Enteric virus-microbiota interactions

> **NIH NIH R37** · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · 2024 · $621,292

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Enteric viruses encounter a vast array of microbes in the mammalian intestine, and microbiota influence their
infection efficiency. Previous work has shown that most enteric viruses benefit from the microbiota, and
microbiota depletion reduces infection with enteric viruses including poliovirus, coxsackievirus, noroviruses,
and one strain of reovirus called T3SA+. However, recent studies indicate that members of the Reoviridae
family are outliers in microbiota effects. For example, rotavirus infection is inhibited by bacteria, and most
tested strains of reovirus have enhanced replication upon microbiota depletion. Interestingly, a pair of reovirus
strains differ by a single amino acid but have opposing effects from microbiota depletion. Microbiota depletion
decreases replication of strain T3SA+ but increases replication of strain T3SA-. These viruses differ by a
proline-leucine polymorphism in the s1 attachment protein, which confers sialic acid binding to the T3SA+
strain but not the T3SA- strain. Recent studies indicate that these two reovirus strains also differ in intestinal
cell tropism and sensitivity to host innate immune responses in mice. Thus, these isogenic viruses provide an
unprecedented opportunity to define how microbiota influence viral infection. In this work we will 1) examine
the specificity of reovirus-glycan interactions including interactions with microbial glycans, 2) determine how
microbiota facilitate infection with reovirus strain T3SA+, and 3) elucidate mechanisms of microbiota inhibition
of reovirus strain T3SA-. These studies will provide mechanistic insight into how microbiota influence enteric
virus infection in the complex environment of the intestine.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10877003
- **Project number:** 5R37AI074668-16
- **Recipient organization:** UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Julie K Pfeiffer
- **Activity code:** R37 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $621,292
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2008-02-15 → 2028-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10877003

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10877003, Enteric virus-microbiota interactions (5R37AI074668-16). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-29 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10877003. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*