E-De Qin

A Broadly Flavivirus Cross-Neutralizing Monoclonal Antibody that Recognizes a Novel Epitope within the Fusion Loop of E Protein

Flaviviruses are a group of human pathogenic, enveloped RNA viruses that includes dengue (DENV), yellow fever (YFV), West Nile (WNV), and Japanese encephalitis (JEV) viruses. Cross-reactive antibodies against Flavivirus have been described, but most of them are generally weakly neutralizing. In this study, a novel monoclonal antibody, designated mAb 2A10G6, was determined to have broad cross-reactivity with DENV 1–4, YFV, WNV, JEV, and TBEV. Phage-display biopanning and structure modeling mapped 2A10G6 to a new epitope within the highly conserved flavivirus fusion loop peptide, the 98DRXW101 motif. Moreover, in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that 2A10G6 potently neutralizes DENV 1–4, YFV, and WNV and confers protection from lethal challenge with DENV 1–4 and WNV in murine model. Furthermore, functional studies revealed that 2A10G6 blocks infection at a step after viral attachment. These results define a novel broadly flavivirus cross-reactive mAb with highly neutralizing activity that can be further developed as a therapeutic agent against severe flavivirus infections in humans.

Proteomic analysis on structural proteins of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus

Recently, a new coronavirus was isolated from the lung tissue of autopsy sample and nasal/throat swabs of the patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the causative association with SARS was determined. To reveal further the characteristics of the virus and to provide insight about the molecular mechanism of SARS etiology, a proteomic strategy was utilized to identify the structural proteins of SARS coronavirus (SARS‐CoV) isolated from Vero E6 cells infected with the BJ‐01 strain of the virus. At first, Western blotting with the convalescent sera from SARS patients demonstrated that there were various structural proteins of SARS‐CoV in the cultured supernatant of virus infected‐Vero E6 cells and that nucleocaspid (N) protein had a prominent immunogenicity to the convalescent sera from the patients with SARS, while the immune response of spike (S) protein probably binding with membrane (M) glycoprotein was much weaker. Then, sodium dodecyl sulfate‐polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS‐PAGE) was used to separate the complex protein constituents, and the strategy of continuous slicing from loading well to the bottom of the gels was utilized to search thoroughly the structural proteins of the virus. The proteins in sliced slots were trypsinized in‐gel and identified by mass spectrometry. Three structural proteins named S, N and M proteins of SARS‐CoV were uncovered with the sequence coverage of 38.9, 93.1 and 28.1% respectively. Glycosylation modification in S protein was also analyzed and four glycosylation sites were discovered by comparing the mass spectra before and after deglycosylation of the peptides with PNGase F digestion. Matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization‐mass spectrometry determination showed that relative molecular weight of intact N protein is 45 929 Da, which is very close to its theoretically calculated molecular weight 45 935 Da based on the amino acid sequence deduced from the genome with the first amino acid methionine at the N‐terminus depleted and second, serine, acetylated, indicating that phosphorylation does not happen at all in the predicted phosphorylation sites within infected cells nor in virus particles. Intriguingly, a series of shorter isoforms of N protein was observed by SDS‐PAGE and identified by mass spectrometry characterization. For further confirmation of this phenomenon and its related mechanism, recombinant N protein of SARS‐CoV was cleaved in vitro by caspase‐3 and ‐6 respectively. The results demonstrated that these shorter isoforms could be the products from cleavage of caspase‐3 rather than that of caspase‐6. Further, the relationship between the caspase cleavage and the viral infection to the host cell is discussed.

Rational design of thermostable vaccines by engineered peptide-induced virus self-biomineralization under physiological conditions

The development of vaccines against infectious diseases represents one of the most important contributions to medical science. However, vaccine-preventable diseases still cause millions of deaths each year due to the thermal instability and poor efficacy of vaccines. Using the human enterovirus type 71 vaccine strain as a model, we suggest a combined, rational design approach to improve the thermostability and immunogenicity of live vaccines by self-biomineralization. The biomimetic nucleating peptides are rationally integrated onto the capsid of enterovirus type 71 by reverse genetics so that calcium phosphate mineralization can be biologically induced onto vaccine surfaces under physiological conditions, generating a mineral exterior. This engineered self-biomineralized virus was characterized in detail for its unique structural, virological, and chemical properties. Analogous to many exteriors, the mineral coating confers some new properties on enclosed vaccines. The self-biomineralized vaccine can be stored at 26 °C for more than 9 d and at 37 °C for approximately 1 wk. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrate that this engineered vaccine can be used efficiently after heat treatment or ambient temperature storage, which reduces the dependence on a cold chain. Such a combination of genetic technology and biomineralization provides an economic solution for current vaccination programs, especially in developing countries that lack expensive refrigeration infrastructures.

Inactivated SARS-CoV Vaccine Prepared from Whole Virus Induces a High Level of Neutralizing Antibodies in BALB/c Mice

We tested the ability of inactivated SARS-CoV vaccine to induce neutralizing antibodies in BALB/c mice. The inactivated vaccine was prepared by SARS-CoV virus propagation in Vero cells, with subsequent beta-propiolactone inactivation and Sepharose 4FF column chromatography purification. One hundred forty BALB/c female mice were divided into seven groups of 20 mice each. Of the seven groups, three groups were inoculated with 0.1, 1, and 3 microg of the vaccine without adjuvant while three other groups were inoculated at the same three dosages of vaccine with aluminum hydroxide as adjuvant, respectively. The remaining group was set up as a blank control. Each mouse was inoculated twice at an interval of 3 weeks. One week after the second immunization, mice sera were collected to detect serum neutralizing antibodies. An assay for determining neutralizing antibody titers was developed. The results can be summarized as follows: (1) higher dosages of vaccine induced higher levels of neutralizing antibody titer; (2) the level of neutralizing antibodies induced by the inoculation with aluminum hydroxide adjuvant was slightly higher than that without adjuvant, but the difference was not statistically significant.

Rational design of a flavivirus vaccine by abolishing viral RNA 2'-O methylation.

ABSTRACT Viruses that replicate in the cytoplasm cannot access the host nuclear capping machinery. These viruses have evolved viral methyltransferase(s) to methylate N-7 and 2′-O cap of their RNA; alternatively, they “snatch” host mRNA cap to form the 5′ end of viral RNA. The function of 2′-O methylation of viral RNA cap is to mimic cellular mRNA and to evade host innate immune restriction. A cytoplasmic virus defective in 2′-O methylation is replicative, but its viral RNA lacks 2′-O methylation and is recognized and eliminated by the host immune response. Such a mutant virus could be rationally designed as a live attenuated vaccine. Here, we use Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), an important mosquito-borne flavivirus, to prove this novel vaccine concept. We show that JEV methyltransferase is responsible for both N-7 and 2′-O cap methylations as well as evasion of host innate immune response. Recombinant virus completely defective in 2′-O methylation was stable in cell culture after being passaged for >30 days. The mutant virus was attenuated in mice, elicited robust humoral and cellular immune responses, and retained the engineered mutation in vivo. A single dose of immunization induced full protection against lethal challenge with JEV strains in mice. Mechanistically, the attenuation phenotype was attributed to the enhanced sensitivity of the mutant virus to the antiviral effects of interferon and IFIT proteins. Collectively, the results demonstrate the feasibility of using 2′-O methylation-defective virus as a vaccine approach; this vaccine approach should be applicable to other flaviviruses and nonflaviviruses that encode their own viral 2′-O methyltransferases.

Antibody dependent enhancement infection of Enterovirus 71 in vitro and in vivo

BackgroundHuman enterovirus 71 (EV71) has emerged as a significant cause of acute encephalitis and deaths in young children. The clinical manifestations caused by EV71 varied from mild hand, foot and mouth disease to severe neurological complications and deaths, but its pathogenesis remains elusive. Antibody dependent enhancement (ADE) infection has been reported in various viruses and has been shown to contribute to disease severity.ResultsIn this study, the presence of sub-neutralizing antibody was demonstrated to enhance EV71 infection in THP-1 cells and increase the mortality of EV71 infection in a suckling mouse model. Further, a secondary infection model was established to characterize the correlation between ADE and disease severity, and primary asymptomatic EV71 infection was shown to increase the mortality of the secondary EV71 infection in suckling mice.ConclusionsTogether, these in vitro and in vivo experiments strongly supported the hypothesis of ADE infection of EV71. The present findings indicate ADE might contribute to the pathogenesis of severe EV71 infection, and raise practical issues of vaccine development and antibody-based therapy.

A Chimeric Dengue Virus Vaccine using Japanese Encephalitis Virus Vaccine Strain SA14-14-2 as Backbone Is Immunogenic and Protective against Either Parental Virus in Mice and Nonhuman Primates

ABSTRACT The development of a safe and efficient dengue vaccine represents a global challenge in public health. Chimeric dengue viruses (DENV) based on an attenuated flavivirus have been well developed as vaccine candidates by using reverse genetics. In this study, based on the full-length infectious cDNA clone of the well-known Japanese encephalitis virus live vaccine strain SA14-14-2 as a backbone, a novel chimeric dengue virus (named ChinDENV) was rationally designed and constructed by replacement with the premembrane and envelope genes of dengue 2 virus. The recovered chimeric virus showed growth and plaque properties similar to those of the parental DENV in mammalian and mosquito cells. ChinDENV was highly attenuated in mice, and no viremia was induced in rhesus monkeys upon subcutaneous inoculation. ChinDENV retained its genetic stability and attenuation phenotype after serial 15 passages in cultured cells. A single immunization with various doses of ChinDENV elicited strong neutralizing antibodies in a dose-dependent manner. When vaccinated monkeys were challenged with wild-type DENV, all animals except one that received the lower dose were protected against the development of viremia. Furthermore, immunization with ChinDENV conferred efficient cross protection against lethal JEV challenge in mice in association with robust cellular immunity induced by the replicating nonstructural proteins. Taken together, the results of this preclinical study well demonstrate the great potential of ChinDENV for further development as a dengue vaccine candidate, and this kind of chimeric flavivirus based on JE vaccine virus represents a powerful tool to deliver foreign antigens.

Novel cis-Acting Element within the Capsid-Coding Region Enhances Flavivirus Viral-RNA Replication by Regulating Genome Cyclization

ABSTRACT cis-Acting elements in the viral genome RNA (vRNA) are essential for the translation, replication, and/or encapsidation of RNA viruses. In this study, a novel conserved cis-acting element was identified in the capsid-coding region of mosquito-borne flavivirus. The downstream of 5′ cyclization sequence (5′CS) pseudoknot (DCS-PK) element has a three-stem pseudoknot structure, as demonstrated by structure prediction and biochemical analysis. Using dengue virus as a model, we show that DCS-PK enhances vRNA replication and that its function depends on its secondary structure and specific primary sequence. Mutagenesis revealed that the highly conserved stem 1 and loop 2, which are involved in potential loop-helix interactions, are crucial for DCS-PK function. A predicted loop 1-stem 3 base triple interaction is important for the structural stability and function of DCS-PK. Moreover, the function of DCS-PK depends on its position relative to the 5′CS, and the presence of DCS-PK facilitates the formation of 5′-3′ RNA complexes. Taken together, our results reveal that the cis-acting element DCS-PK enhances vRNA replication by regulating genome cyclization, and DCS-PK might interplay with other cis-acting elements to form a functional vRNA cyclization domain, thus playing critical roles during the flavivirus life cycle and evolution.

Co-circulation of two genotypes of dengue virus serotype 3 in Guangzhou, China, 2009

Dengue is emerging as the most important mosquito borne viral disease in the world. In mainland China, sporadic and large outbreaks of dengue illness caused by the four serotypes of dengue virus (DENV-1 to DENV-4) have been well documented. Guangdong province is the major affected area in China, and DENV-1 has dominantly circulated in Guangdong for a long time. In this study, a family cluster of DENV-3 infection in Guangzhou was described. Three cases were diagnosed as dengue fever based on clinical manifestation, serological and RT-PCR assays. Two DENV-3 strains were isolated in C6/36 cells and the complete genome sequences were determined. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the new DENV-3 isolates from the family cluster were grouped within genotype III. Considering the fact that several DENV-3 strains within genotype V were also identified in Guangzhou in 2009, at least two genotypes of DENV-3 co-circulated in Guangzhou. Careful investigation and virological analysis should be warranted in the future.

Virus-like particles produced in Saccharomyces cerevisiae elicit protective immunity against Coxsackievirus A16 in mice

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) has caused significant morbidity and mortality in the Asia-Pacific regions, particularly in infants and young children. Coxsackievirus A16 (CA16) represents one of the major causative agents for HFMD, and the development of a safe and effective vaccine preventing CA16 infections has become a public health priority. In this study, we have developed a yeast system for the production of virus-like particles (VLPs) for CA16 by co-expressing P1 and 3CD of CA16 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. These VLPs exhibit similarity in both protein composition and morphology as empty particles from CA16-infected cells. Immunization with CA16 VLPs in mice potently induced CA16-specific IgG and neutralization antibodies in a dose-dependent manner. IgG subclass isotyping revealed that IgG1 and lgG2b were dominantly induced by VLPs. Meanwhile, cytokine profiling demonstrated that immunization with VLPs significantly induced the secretion of IFN-γ, indicating potent cellular immune response. Furthermore, in vivo challenge experiments showed that passive immunization with anti-VLPs sera conferred full protection against lethal CA16 challenge in neonate mice. Taken together, our data demonstrated that VLPs produced in yeast might have the potential to be further developed as a vaccine candidate against HFMD.