scholarly journals Analysis and phylogenetic comparisons of full-length VP2 genes of the 24 bluetongue virus serotypes

2007 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 621-630 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Maan ◽  
N. S. Maan ◽  
A. R. Samuel ◽  
S. Rao ◽  
H. Attoui ◽  
...  

The outer capsid protein VP2 of Bluetongue virus (BTV) is a target for the protective immune response generated by the mammalian host. VP2 contains the majority of epitopes that are recognized by neutralizing antibodies and is therefore also the primary determinant of BTV serotype. Full-length cDNA copies of genome segment 2 (Seg-2, which encodes VP2) from the reference strains of each of the 24 BTV serotypes were synthesized, cloned and sequenced. This represents the first complete set of full-length BTV VP2 genes (from the 24 serotypes) that has been analysed. Each Seg-2 has a single open reading frame, with short inverted repeats adjacent to conserved terminal hexanucleotide sequences. These data demonstrated overall inter-serotype variations in Seg-2 of 29 % (BTV-8 and BTV-18) to 59 % (BTV-16 and BTV-22), while the deduced amino acid sequence of VP2 varied from 22.4 % (BTV-4 and BTV-20) to 73 % (BTV-6 and BTV-22). Ten distinct Seg-2 lineages (nucleotypes) were detected, with greatest sequence similarities between those serotypes that had previously been reported as serologically ‘related’. Fewer similarities were observed between different serotypes in regions of VP2 that have been reported as antigenically important, suggesting that they may play a role in the neutralizing antibody response. The data presented form an initial basis for BTV serotype identification by sequence analyses and comparison of Seg-2, and for development of molecular diagnostic assays for individual BTV serotypes (by RT-PCR).

2018 ◽  
Vol 92 (16) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Marín-López ◽  
Eva Calvo-Pinilla ◽  
Diego Barriales ◽  
Gema Lorenzo ◽  
Alejandro Brun ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe development of vaccines against bluetongue, a prevalent livestock disease, has been focused on surface antigens that induce strong neutralizing antibody responses. Because of their antigenic variability, these vaccines are usually serotype restricted. We now show that a single highly conserved nonstructural protein, NS1, expressed in a modified vaccinia Ankara virus (MVA) vector can provide multiserotype protection in IFNAR−/−129 mice against bluetongue virus (BTV) that is largely dependent on CD8 T cell responses. We found that the protective antigenic capacity of NS1 resides within the N terminus of the protein and is provided in the absence of neutralizing antibodies. The protective CD8 T cell response requires the presence of a specific peptide within the N terminus of NS1, since its deletion ablates the efficacy of the vaccine formulation. These data reveal the importance of the nonstructural protein NS1 in CD8 T cell-mediated protection against multiple BTV serotypes when vectorized as a recombinant MVA vaccine.IMPORTANCEConventional vaccines have controlled or limited BTV expansion in the past, but they cannot address the need for cross-protection among serotypes and do not allow distinguishing between infected and vaccinated animals (DIVA strategy). There is a need to develop universal vaccines that induce effective protection against multiple BTV serotypes. In this work we have shown the importance of the nonstructural protein NS1, conserved among all the BTV serotypes, in CD8 T cell-mediated protection against multiple BTV serotypes when vectorized as a recombinant MVA vaccine.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Y.A. Doritchamou ◽  
Jonathan P. Renn ◽  
Bethany Jenkins ◽  
Michal Fried ◽  
Patrick E. Duffy

Placental malaria (PM) is a deadly syndrome most frequent and severe in first pregnancies. PM results from accumulation of Plasmodium falciparum (Pf)-infected erythrocytes (IE) that express the surface antigen VAR2CSA and bind to chondroitin sulfate A (CSA) in the placenta. Women become PM-resistant over successive pregnancies as they develop anti adhesion and anti-VAR2CSA antibodies, supporting VAR2CSA as the leading PM-vaccine candidate. However, the first VAR2CSA subunit vaccines failed to induce broadly neutralizing antibody and it is still unclear whether naturally acquired protective antibodies target variant or conserved epitopes. This is crucial to determine whether effective vaccines will require incorporation of many or only a single VAR2CSA allele. Here, IgG from multigravidae was sequentially purified on five full-length VAR2CSA ectodomain variants, thereby depleting IgG reactivity to each. The five VAR2CSA variants purified ~0.7% of total IgG and yielded both strain-transcending and strain-specific reactivity to VAR2CSA and IE-surface antigen. IgG purified on the first VAR2CSA antigen displayed broad cross-reactivity to both recombinant and native VAR2CSA variants, and inhibited binding of all isolates to CSA. IgG remaining after depletion on all variants showed significantly reduced binding-inhibition activity compared to initial total IgG. These findings demonstrate that a single VAR2CSA ectodomain variant displays neutralizing epitopes shared by multiple parasites, including maternal isolates, and suggest that a broadly effective PM-vaccine can be achieved with a limited number of VAR2CSA variants.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Bayarri-Olmos ◽  
Manja Idorn ◽  
Anne Rosbjerg ◽  
Laura Pérez-Alós ◽  
Cecilie Hansen ◽  
...  

Abstract Effective tools to monitor SARS-CoV-2 transmission and humoral immune responses are highly needed. Protective humoral immunity involves neutralizing antibodies and will be a hallmark for the evaluation of a vaccine response efficacy. Here we present a sensitive, fast and simple neutralization ELISA method to determine the levels of antibody-mediated virus neutralization. We can show that it is strongly correlated with the more elaborate plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) (ρ = 0.9231, p < 0.0001). Furthermore, we present pre-clinical vaccine models using recombinant receptor binding domain (RBD) and full-length spike antigen as immunogens showing a profound antibody neutralization capacity that exceeds the highest neutralization titers from convalescent individuals. Using a panel of novel high-affinity murine monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) we also show that majority of the RBD-raised mAbs have inhibitory properties while only a few of the spike-raised mAbs do. In conclusion, the ELISA-based viral neutralization test offers a time- and cost-effective alternative to the PRNT. The immunization results indicate that vaccine strategies focused only on the RBD region may have major advantages over those based on the full spike sequence.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phanramphoei N. Frantz ◽  
Aleksandr Barinov ◽  
Claude Ruffié ◽  
Chantal Combredet ◽  
Valérie Najburg ◽  
...  

AbstractIn light of the expanding SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, developing efficient vaccines that can provide sufficient coverage for the world population is a global health priority. The measles virus (MV)-vectored vaccine is an attractive candidate given the measles vaccine’s extensive safety history, well-established manufacturing process, and induction of strong, long-lasting immunity. We developed an MV-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine using either the full-length spike (S) or S2 subunit as the antigen. While the S2 antigen failed to induce neutralizing antibodies, the prefusion-stabilized, full-length S (MV-ATU2-SF-2P-dER) construct proved to be an attractive vaccine candidate, eliciting strong Th1-dominant T-cell and neutralizing antibody responses against the S antigen while minimizing reactivity to the vector itself. Neutralizing antibody titers remained high three months after homologous prime-boost immunization, and infectious virus was undetectable in all animals after challenge with a mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 virus.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-71
Author(s):  
Donovan Guttieres ◽  
Anthony J Sinskey ◽  
Stacy L Springs

Abstract Background Neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) against SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) can play an important role in reducing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, complementing ongoing public health efforts such as diagnostics and vaccination. Rapidly designing, manufacturing and distributing nAbs requires significant planning across the product value chain and an understanding of the opportunities, challenges and risks throughout. Methods A systems framework comprised of four critical components is presented to aid in developing effective end-to-end nAbs strategies in the context of a pandemic: (1) product design and optimization, (2) epidemiology, (3) demand and (4) supply. Quantitative models are used to estimate product demand using available epidemiological data, simulate biomanufacturing operations from typical bioprocess parameters and calculate antibody production costs to meet clinical needs under various realistic scenarios. Results In a US-based case study during the 9-month period from March 15 to December 15, 2020, the projected number of SARS-CoV-2 infections was 15.73 million. The estimated product volume needed to meet therapeutic demand for the maximum number of clinically eligible patients ranged between 6.3 and 31.5 tons for 0.5 and 2.5 g dose sizes, respectively. The relative production scale and cost needed to meet demand are calculated for different centralized and distributed manufacturing scenarios. Conclusions Meeting demand for anti-SARS-CoV-2 nAbs requires significant manufacturing capacity and planning for appropriate administration in clinical settings. MIT Center for Biomedical Innovation’s data-driven tools presented can help inform time-critical decisions by providing insight into important operational and policy considerations for making nAbs broadly accessible, while considering time and resource constraints.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 850
Author(s):  
José Esteban Muñoz-Medina ◽  
Concepción Grajales-Muñiz ◽  
Angel Gustavo Salas-Lais ◽  
Larissa Fernandes-Matano ◽  
Constantino López-Macías ◽  
...  

Until recently, the incidence of COVID-19 was primarily estimated using molecular diagnostic methods. However, the number of cases is vastly underreported using these methods. Seroprevalence studies estimate cumulative infection incidences and allow monitoring of transmission dynamics, and the presence of neutralizing antibodies in the population. In February 2020, the Mexican Social Security Institute began conducting anonymous unrelated sampling of residual sera from specimens across the country, excluding patients with fever within the previous two weeks and/or patients with an acute respiratory infection. Sampling was carried out weekly and began 17 days before Mexico’s first officially confirmed case. The 24,273 sera obtained were analyzed by chemiluminescent-linked immunosorbent assay (CLIA) IgG S1/S2 and, later, positive cases using this technique were also analyzed to determine the rate of neutralization using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We identified 40 CLIA IgG positive cases before the first official report of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Mexico. The national seroprevalence was 3.5% in February and 33.5% in December. Neutralizing activity among IgG positives patients during overall study period was 86.1%. The extent of the SARS-CoV-2 infection in Mexico is 21 times higher than that reported by molecular techniques. Although the general population is still far from achieving herd immunity, epidemiological indicators should be re-estimated based on serological studies of this type.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 628
Author(s):  
Aeron C. Hurt ◽  
Adam K. Wheatley

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and subsequent COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a significant global public health burden, leading to an urgent need for effective therapeutic strategies. In this article, we review the role of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) in the clinical management of COVID-19 and provide an overview of recent randomized controlled trial data evaluating nAbs in the ambulatory, hospitalized and prophylaxis settings. Two nAb cocktails (casirivimab/imdevimab and bamlanivimab/etesevimab) and one nAb monotherapy (bamlanivimab) have been granted Emergency Use Authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of ambulatory patients who have a high risk of progressing to severe disease, and the European Medicines Agency has similarly recommended both cocktails and bamlanivimab monotherapy for use in COVID-19 patients who do not require supplemental oxygen and who are at high risk of progressing to severe COVID-19. Efficacy of nAbs in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 has been varied, potentially highlighting the challenges of antiviral treatment in patients who have already progressed to severe disease. However, early data suggest a promising prophylactic role for nAbs in providing effective COVID-19 protection. We also review the risk of treatment-emergent antiviral resistant “escape” mutants and strategies to minimize their occurrence, discuss the susceptibility of newly emerging SARS-COV-2 variants to nAbs, as well as explore administration challenges and ways to improve patient access.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nanda Kishore Routhu ◽  
Narayanaiah Cheedarla ◽  
Venkata Satish Bollimpelli ◽  
Sailaja Gangadhara ◽  
Venkata Viswanadh Edara ◽  
...  

AbstractThere is a great need for the development of vaccines that induce potent and long-lasting protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2. Multimeric display of the antigen combined with potent adjuvant can enhance the potency and longevity of the antibody response. The receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein is a primary target of neutralizing antibodies. Here, we developed a trimeric form of the RBD and show that it induces a potent neutralizing antibody response against live virus with diverse effector functions and provides protection against SARS-CoV-2 challenge in mice and rhesus macaques. The trimeric form induces higher neutralizing antibody titer compared to monomer with as low as 1μg antigen dose. In mice, adjuvanting the protein with a TLR7/8 agonist formulation alum-3M-052 induces 100-fold higher neutralizing antibody titer and superior protection from infection compared to alum. SARS-CoV-2 infection causes significant loss of innate cells and pathology in the lung, and vaccination protects from changes in innate cells and lung pathology. These results demonstrate RBD trimer protein as a suitable candidate for vaccine against SARS-CoV-2.


Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 134
Author(s):  
Zekun Mu ◽  
Barton F. Haynes ◽  
Derek W. Cain

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic introduced the world to a new type of vaccine based on mRNA encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). Instead of delivering antigenic proteins directly, an mRNA-based vaccine relies on the host’s cells to manufacture protein immunogens which, in turn, are targets for antibody and cytotoxic T cell responses. mRNA-based vaccines have been the subject of research for over three decades as a platform to protect against or treat a variety of cancers, amyloidosis and infectious diseases. In this review, we discuss mRNA-based approaches for the generation of prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines to HIV. We examine the special immunological hurdles for a vaccine to elicit broadly neutralizing antibodies and effective T cell responses to HIV. Lastly, we outline an mRNA-based HIV vaccination strategy based on the immunobiology of broadly neutralizing antibody development.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongbing Pan ◽  
Jianhui Du ◽  
Jia Liu ◽  
Hai Wu ◽  
Fang Gui ◽  
...  

AbstractAs the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to threaten public health worldwide, the development of effective interventions is urgently needed. Neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) have great potential for the prevention and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this study, ten nAbs were isolated from two phage-display immune libraries constructed from the pooled PBMCs of eight COVID-19 convalescent patients. Eight of them, consisting of heavy chains encoded by the immunoglobulin heavy-chain gene-variable region (IGHV)3-66 or IGHV3-53 genes, recognized the same epitope on the receptor-binding domain (RBD), while the remaining two bound to different epitopes. Among the ten antibodies, 2B11 exhibited the highest affinity and neutralization potency against the original wild-type (WT) SARS-CoV-2 virus (KD = 4.76 nM for the S1 protein, IC50 = 6 ng/mL for pseudoviruses, and IC50 = 1 ng/mL for authentic viruses), and potent neutralizing ability against B.1.1.7 pseudoviruses. Furthermore, 1E10, targeting a distinct epitope on RBD, exhibited different neutralization efficiency against WT SARS-CoV-2 and its variants B.1.1.7, B.1.351, and P.1. The crystal structure of the 2B11–RBD complexes revealed that the epitope of 2B11 highly overlaps with the ACE2-binding site. The in vivo experiment of 2B11 using AdV5-hACE2-transduced mice showed encouraging therapeutic and prophylactic efficacy against SARS-CoV-2. Taken together, our results suggest that the highly potent SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing antibody, 2B11, could be used against the WT SARS-CoV-2 and B.1.1.7 variant, or in combination with a different epitope-targeted neutralizing antibody, such as 1E10, against SARS-CoV-2 variants.


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