Journal of Clinical and Cellular Immunology
Open Access
ISSN: 2155-9899
ISSN: 2155-9899
Ching-Len Liao
National Health Research Institutes, Taiwan
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Clin Cell Immunol
The positive-sense RNA genome of mosquito-borne flaviviruses appears to be flexible in terms of accommodating extra insertions of heterologous antigens into their virus genes. With assistance from inclusion of designed flanking sequences derived from the junction between E-NS1 and NS2B-NS3, such insertions can be introduced into junction of E-NS1 or NS2BNS3 to separate inserts from the Flavivirus polyprotein. In contrast, flaviviral E and NS1 can directly house foreign epitopes to become fusion proteins without significantly disturbing normal virus replication. Herein, we illustrate that the newly identified C-terminal of the core �²-ladder domain in NS1 could be readily inserted into entities such as EV-71 epitopes and the resulting NS1-epitope fusion proteins appeared to maintain normal virus replication, secretion ability and multimeric formation from infected cells. Nonetheless, such an insertion attenuated the recombinant JEV in mice, despite having retained the brain replication ability observed in wild-type JEV. Mother dams immunized with recombinant JEV expressing EV71 epitope-NS1 fused proteins elicited neutralizing antibodies that protected the newborn mice against lethal EV71 challenge. Together, our results implied a potential application of using JEV NS1 as a viral carrier protein to express a heterologous epitope to stimulate dual/multiple protective immunity concurrently against several pathogens.
Ching-Len Liao is currently the Director of National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes from Taiwan. He was trained as a Virologist from University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine.