scholarly journals Replacement of the F and G Proteins of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Subgroup A with Those of Subgroup B Generates Chimeric Live Attenuated RSV Subgroup B Vaccine Candidates

1999 ◽  
Vol 73 (12) ◽  
pp. 9773-9780 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. S. Whitehead ◽  
M. G. Hill ◽  
C. Y. Firestone ◽  
M. St. Claire ◽  
W. R. Elkins ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) exists as two antigenic subgroups, A and B, both of which should be represented in a vaccine. The F and G glycoproteins are the major neutralization and protective antigens, and the G protein in particular is highly divergent between the subgroups. The existing system for reverse genetics is based on the A2 strain of RSV subgroup A, and most efforts to develop a live attenuated RSV vaccine have focused on strain A2 or other subgroup A viruses. In the present study, the development of a live attenuated subgroup B component was expedited by the replacement of the F and G glycoproteins of recombinant A2 virus with their counterparts from the RSV subgroup B strain B1. This gene replacement was initially done for wild-type (wt) recombinant A2 virus to create awt AB chimeric virus and then for a series of A2 derivatives which contain various combinations of A2-derived attenuating mutations located in genes other than F and G. Thewt AB virus replicated in cell culture with an efficiency which was comparable to that of the wt A2 and B1 parents. AB viruses containing temperature-sensitive mutations in the A2 background exhibited levels of temperature sensitivity in vitro which were similar to those of A2 viruses bearing the same mutations. In chimpanzees, the replication of the wt AB chimera was intermediate between that of the A2 and B1 wt viruses and was accompanied by moderate rhinorrhea, as previously seen in this species. An AB chimeric virus, rABcp248/404/1030, which was constructed to contain a mixture of attenuating mutations derived from two different biologically attenuated A2 viruses, was highly attenuated in both the upper and lower respiratory tracts of chimpanzees. This attenuated AB chimeric virus was immunogenic and conferred a high level of resistance on chimpanzees to challenge with wt AB virus. The rABcp248/404/1030 chimeric virus is a promising vaccine candidate for RSV subgroup B and will be evaluated next in humans. Furthermore, these results suggest that additional attenuating mutations derived from strain A2 can be inserted into the A2 background of the recombinant chimeric AB virus as necessary to modify the attenuation phenotype in a reasonably predictable manner to achieve an optimal balance between attenuation and immunogenicity in a virus bearing the subgroup B antigenic determinants.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li-Nan Wang ◽  
Xiang-Lei Peng ◽  
Min Xu ◽  
Yuan-Bo Zheng ◽  
Yue-Ying Jiao ◽  
...  

AbstractHuman respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is the leading cause of lower respiratory tract illness (LRTI), and no vaccine against LRTI has proven to be safe and effective in infants. Our study assessed attenuated recombinant RSVs as vaccine candidates to prevent RSV infection in mice. The constructed recombinant plasmids harbored (5′ to 3′) a T7 promoter, hammerhead ribozyme, RSV Long strain antigenomic cDNA with cold-passaged (cp) mutations or cp combined with temperature-sensitive attenuated mutations from the A2 strain (A2cpts) or further combined with SH gene deletion (A2cptsΔSH), HDV ribozyme (δ), and a T7 terminator. These vectors were subsequently co-transfected with four helper plasmids encoding N, P, L, and M2-1 viral proteins into BHK/T7-9 cells, and the recovered viruses were then passaged in Vero cells. The rescued recombinant RSVs (rRSVs) were named rRSV-Long/A2cp, rRSV-Long/A2cpts, and rRSV-Long/A2cptsΔSH, respectively, and stably passaged in vitro, without reversion to wild type (wt) at sites containing introduced mutations or deletion. Although rRSV-Long/A2cpts and rRSV-Long/A2cptsΔSH displayed  temperature-sensitive (ts) phenotype in vitro and in vivo, all rRSVs were significantly attenuated in vivo. Furthermore, BALB/c mice immunized with rRSVs produced Th1-biased immune response, resisted wtRSV infection, and were free from enhanced respiratory disease. We showed that the combination of ΔSH with attenuation (att) mutations of cpts contributed to improving att phenotype, efficacy, and gene stability of rRSV. By successfully introducing att mutations and SH gene deletion into the RSV Long parent and producing three rRSV strains, we have laid an important foundation for the development of RSV live attenuated vaccines.


2000 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 1187-1199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ursula J. Buchholz ◽  
Harald Granzow ◽  
Kathrin Schuldt ◽  
Stephen S. Whitehead ◽  
Brian R. Murphy ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We recently developed a system for the generation of infectious bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) from cDNA. Here, we report the recovery of fully viable chimeric recombinant BRSVs (rBRSVs) that carry human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) glycoproteins in place of their BRSV counterparts, thus combining the replication machinery of BRSV with the major antigenic determinants of HRSV. A cDNA encoding the BRSV antigenome was modified so that the complete G and F genes, including the gene start and gene end signals, were replaced by their HRSV A2 counterparts. Alternatively, the BRSV F gene alone was replaced by that of HRSV Long. Each antigenomic cDNA directed the successful recovery of recombinant virus, yielding rBRSV/A2 and rBRSV/LongF, respectively. The HRSV G and F proteins or the HRSV F in combination with BRSV G were expressed efficiently in cells infected with the appropriate chimeric virus and were efficiently incorporated into recombinant virions. Whereas BRSV and HRSV grew more efficiently in bovine and human cells, respectively, the chimeric rBRSV/A2 exhibited intermediate growth characteristics in a human cell line and grew better than either parent in a bovine line. The cytopathology induced by the chimera more closely resembled that of BRSV. BRSV was confirmed to be highly restricted for replication in the respiratory tract of chimpanzees, a host that is highly permissive for HRSV. Interestingly, the rBRSV/A2 chimeric virus was somewhat more competent than BRSV for replication in chimpanzees but remained highly restricted compared to HRSV. This showed that the substitution of the G and F glycoproteins alone was not sufficient to induce efficient replication in chimpanzees. Thus, the F and G proteins contribute to the host range restriction of BRSV but are not the major determinants of this phenotype. Although rBRSV/A2 expresses the major neutralization and protective antigens of HRSV, chimpanzees infected with this chimeric virus were not significantly protected against subsequent challenge with wild-type HRSV. This suggests that the growth restriction of rBRSV/A2 was too great to provide adequate antigen expression and that the capacity of this chimeric vaccine candidate for replication in primates will need to be increased by the importation of additional HRSV genes.


2004 ◽  
Vol 78 (11) ◽  
pp. 5773-5783 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew B. Elliott ◽  
Karin S. Pryharski ◽  
Qingzhong Yu ◽  
Christopher L. Parks ◽  
Todd S. Laughlin ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The design of attenuated vaccines for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) historically focused on viruses made sensitive to physiologic temperature through point mutations in the genome. These prototype vaccines were not suitable for human infants primarily because of insufficient attenuation, genetic instability, and reversion to a less-attenuated phenotype. We therefore sought to construct novel attenuated viruses with less potential for reversion through genetic alteration of the attachment G protein. Complete deletion of G protein was previously shown to result in RSV strains overly attenuated for replication in mice. Using reverse genetics, recombinant RSV (rRSV) strains were engineered with truncations at amino acid 118, 174, 193, or 213 and respectively designated rA2cpΔG118, rA2cpΔG174, rA2cpΔG193, and rA2cpΔG213. All rA2cpΔG strains were attenuated for growth in vitro and in the respiratory tracts of BALB/c mice but not restricted for growth at 37°C. The mutations did not significantly affect nascent genome synthesis in human lung epithelial (A549) cells, but infectious rA2cpΔG virus shed into the culture medium was dramatically diminished. Hence, the data suggested that a site within the C-terminal 85 amino acids of G protein is important for efficient genome packaging or budding of RSV from the infected cell. Vaccination with the rA2cpΔG strains also generated efficacious immune responses in mice that were similar to those elicited by the temperature-sensitive cpts248/404 strain previously tested in human infants. Collectively, the data indicate that the rA2cpΔG strains are immunogenic, not likely to revert to the less-attenuated phenotype, and thus candidates for further development as vaccines against RSV.


2008 ◽  
Vol 89 (7) ◽  
pp. 1553-1562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sander Herfst ◽  
Miranda de Graaf ◽  
Eefje J. A. Schrauwen ◽  
Leo Sprong ◽  
Karim Hussain ◽  
...  

Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) causes acute respiratory tract illness primarily in young children, immunocompromised individuals and the elderly. Vaccines would be desirable to prevent severe illnesses in these risk groups. Here, we describe the generation and evaluation of cold-passage (cp) temperature-sensitive (ts) HMPV strains as vaccine candidates. Repeated passage of HMPV at low temperatures in Vero cells resulted in the accumulation of mutations in the viral genome. Introduction of these mutations in a recombinant HMPV by reverse genetics resulted in a ts-phenotype, judged on the decreased shut-off temperature for virus replication in vitro. As an alternative approach, three previously described cp-respiratory syncytial virus (cp-HRSV) mutations were introduced in a recombinant HMPV, which also resulted in a low shut-off temperature in vitro. Replication of these ts-viruses containing either the cp-HMPV or cp-HRSV mutations was reduced in the upper respiratory tract (URT) and undetectable in the lower respiratory tract (LRT) of hamsters. Nevertheless, high titres of HMPV-specific antibodies were induced by both ts-viruses. Upon immunization with the ts-viruses, the LRT of hamsters were completely protected against challenge infection with a heterologous HMPV strain, and URT viral titres were reduced by 10 000-fold. In conclusion, we provide proof-of-principle for two candidate live-attenuated HMPV vaccines that induce cross-protective immunity to prevent infection of the LRT in Syrian golden hamsters. Further mapping of the molecular determinants of attenuation of HMPV should be the subject of future studies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (13) ◽  
pp. e2020969118
Author(s):  
Cyril Le Nouën ◽  
Thomas McCarty ◽  
Lijuan Yang ◽  
Michael Brown ◽  
Eckard Wimmer ◽  
...  

Recoding viral genomes by introducing numerous synonymous but suboptimal codon pairs—called codon-pair deoptimization (CPD)—provides new types of live-attenuated vaccine candidates. The large number of nucleotide changes resulting from CPD should provide genetic stability to the attenuating phenotype, but this has not been rigorously tested. Human respiratory syncytial virus in which the G and F surface glycoprotein ORFs were CPD (called Min B) was temperature-sensitive and highly restricted in vitro. When subjected to selective pressure by serial passage at increasing temperatures, Min B substantially regained expression of F and replication fitness. Whole-genome deep sequencing showed many point mutations scattered across the genome, including one combination of six linked point mutations. However, their reintroduction into Min B provided minimal rescue. Further analysis revealed viral genomes bearing very large internal deletions (LD genomes) that accumulated after only a few passages. The deletions relocated the CPD F gene to the first or second promoter-proximal gene position. LD genomes amplified de novo in Min B–infected cells were encapsidated, expressed high levels of F, and complemented Min B replicationin trans. This study provides insight on a variation of the adaptability of a debilitated negative-strand RNA virus, namely the generation of defective minihelper viruses to overcome its restriction. This is in contrast to the common “defective interfering particles” that interfere with the replication of the virus from which they originated. To our knowledge, defective genomes that promote rather than inhibit replication have not been reported before in RNA viruses.


1999 ◽  
Vol 73 (10) ◽  
pp. 8384-8392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesley C. Dupuy ◽  
Sean Dobson ◽  
Vira Bitko ◽  
Sailen Barik

ABSTRACT The major site of in vitro phosphorylation by casein kinase 2 (CK2) was the conserved Ser232 in the P proteins of human, bovine, and ovine strains of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Enzymatic removal of this phosphate group from the P protein instantly halted transcription elongation in vitro. Transcription reconstituted in the absence of P protein or in the presence of phosphate-free P protein produced abortive initiation products but no full-length transcripts. A recombinant P protein in which Ser232 was mutated to Asp exhibited about half of the transcriptional activity of the wild-type phosphorylated protein, suggesting that the negative charge of the phosphate groups is an important contributor to P protein function. Use of a temperature-sensitive CK2 mutant yeast revealed that in yeast, phosphorylation of recombinant P by non-CK2 kinase(s) occurs mainly at Ser215. In vitro, P protein could be phosphorylated by purified CK1 at Ser215 but this phosphorylation did not result in transcriptionally active P protein. A triple mutant P protein in which Ser215, Ser232, and Ser237 were all mutated to Ala was completely defective in phosphorylation in vitro as well as ex vivo. The xanthate compound D609 inhibited CK2 but not CK1 in vitro and had a very modest effect on P protein phosphorylation and RSV yield ex vivo. Together, these results suggest a role for CK2-mediated phosphorylation of the P protein in the promoter clearance and elongation properties of the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase.


2002 ◽  
Vol 76 (6) ◽  
pp. 2871-2880 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Lu ◽  
Robert Brazas ◽  
Chien-Hui Ma ◽  
Tina Kristoff ◽  
Xing Cheng ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The phosphoprotein (P) of human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is an essential component of the viral RNA polymerase, along with the large polymerase (L), nucleocapsid (N), and M2-1 proteins. By screening a randomly mutagenized P gene cDNA library, two independent mutations, one with a substitution of glycine at position 172 by serine (G172S) and the other with a substitution of glutamic acid at position 176 by glycine (E176G), were identified to result in the loss of N-P interaction at 37°C in the yeast two-hybrid assay. Both P mutants exhibited greatly reduced activity in supporting the replication and transcription of an RSV minigenome replicon at 37 and 39°C. The G172S and E176G mutations were introduced individually into the RSV A2 (rA2) antigenomic cDNA, and recombinant viruses, rA2-P172 and rA2-P176, were obtained. Both viruses replicate as well as wild-type A2 virus in both Vero and HEp-2 cells at 33°C, but each mutant virus exhibited temperature-sensitive replication in both cell lines. rA2-P176 is more temperature sensitive than rA2-P172. Coimmunoprecipitation of the N protein with each P mutant from virus-infected cells demonstrates that N-P interaction is impaired at 37°C. In addition, the levels of replication of rA2-P172 and rA2-P176 in the lungs of mice and cotton rats were reduced. As is the case with the in vitro assays, rA2-P176 is more restricted in replication in the lower respiratory tract of mice and cotton rats than rA2-P172. During in vitro passage at 37°C, the E176G mutation in rA2-P176 was rapidly changed from glycine to predominantly aspartic acid; mutations to cysteine or serine were also detected. All of the revertants lost the temperature-sensitive phenotype. To analyze the importance of the amino acids in the region from positions 161 to 180 for the P protein function, additional mutations were introduced and their functions were analyzed in vitro. A double mutant containing both G172S and E176G changes in the P gene, substitution of the three charged residues at positions 174 to 176 by alanine, and a deletion of residues from positions 161 to 180 completely abolished the P protein function in the minigenome assay. Thus, the amino acids at positions 172 and 176 and the adjacent charged residues play critical roles in the function of the P protein.


mBio ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jia Meng ◽  
Sujin Lee ◽  
Anne L. Hotard ◽  
Martin L. Moore

ABSTRACTRespiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most important pathogen for lower respiratory tract illness in children for which there is no licensed vaccine. Live-attenuated RSV vaccines are the most clinically advanced in children, but achieving an optimal balance of attenuation and immunogenicity is challenging. One way to potentially retain or enhance immunogenicity of attenuated virus is to mutate virulence genes that suppress host immune responses. The NS1 and NS2 virulence genes of the RSV A2 strain were codon deoptimized according to either human or virus codon usage bias, and the resulting recombinant viruses (dNSh and dNSv, respectively) were rescued by reverse genetics. RSV dNSh exhibited the desired phenotype of reduced NS1 and NS2 expression. RSV dNSh was attenuated in BEAS-2B and primary differentiated airway epithelial cells but not in HEp-2 or Vero cells. In BALB/c mice, RSV dNSh exhibited a lower viral load than did A2, and yet it induced slightly higher levels of RSV-neutralizing antibodies than did A2. RSV A2 and RSV dNSh induced equivalent protection against challenge strains A/1997/12-35 and A2-line19F. RSV dNSh caused less STAT2 degradation and less NF-κB activation than did A2in vitro. Serial passage of RSV dNSh in BEAS-2B cells did not result in mutations in the deoptimized sequences. Taken together, RSV dNSh was moderately attenuated, more immunogenic, and equally protective compared to wild-type RSV and genetically stable.IMPORTANCERespiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of infant viral death in the United States and worldwide, and no vaccine is available. Live-attenuated RSV vaccines are the most studied in children but have suffered from genetic instability and low immunogenicity. In order to address both obstacles, we selectively changed the codon usage of the RSV nonstructural (NS) virulence genes NS1 and NS2 to the least-used codons in the human genome (deoptimization). Compared to parental RSV, the codon-deoptimized NS1/NS2 RSV was attenuatedin vitroand in mice but induced higher levels of neutralizing antibodies and equivalent protection against challenge. We identified a new attenuating module that retains immunogenicity and is genetically stable, achieved through specific targeting of nonessential virulence genes by codon usage deoptimization.


1999 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 871-877 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen S. Whitehead ◽  
Cai-Yen Firestone ◽  
Ruth A. Karron ◽  
James E. Crowe ◽  
William R. Elkins ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cpts530/1030 is an attenuated, temperature-sensitive subgroup A vaccine candidate derived previously from cold-passaged RSV (cpRSV) by two sequential rounds of chemical mutagenesis and biological selection. Here,cpts530/1030 was shown to be highly attenuated in the upper and lower respiratory tracts of seronegative chimpanzees. However, evaluation in seropositive children showed that it retains sufficient replicative capacity and virulence to preclude its direct use as a live attenuated vaccine. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the genome of cpts530/1030 showed that it had acquired two nucleotide substitutions (compared to its cpts530 parent), both of which were in the L gene: a silent mutation at nucleotide position 8821 (amino acid 108) and a missense mutation at nucleotide position 12458 resulting in a tyrosine-to-asparagine change at amino acid 1321, herein referred to as the 1030 mutation. It also contained the previously identified 530 missense mutation at nucleotide 10060 in the L gene. The genetic basis of attenuation ofcpts530/1030 was defined by the introduction of the 530 and 1030 mutations into a cDNA clone of cpRSV, from which recombinant RSV was derived and analyzed to determine the contribution of each mutation to the temperature sensitivity (ts) and attenuation (att) phenotypes of cpts530/1030. The 530 mutation, derived from cpts530, was previously shown to be responsible for the ts and attphenotypes of that virus. In the present study, the 1030 mutation was shown to be responsible for the increased temperature sensitivity ofcpts530/1030. In addition, the 1030 mutation was shown to be responsible for the increased level of attenuation ofcpts530/1030 in the upper and lower respiratory tracts of mice. The 530 and 1030 mutations were additive in their effects on thets and att phenotypes. It was possible to introduce the 1030 mutation, but not the 530 mutation, into an attenuated vaccine candidate with residual reactogenicity in very young infants, namely, cpts248/404, by use of reverse genetics. The inability to introduce the 530 mutation into thecpts248/404 virus was shown to be due to its incompatibility with the 248 missense mutation at the level of L protein function. The resulting rA2cp248/404/1030 mutant virus was more temperature sensitive and more attenuated than thecpts248/404 parent virus, making it a promising new RSV vaccine candidate created by use of reverse genetics to improve upon an existing vaccine virus.


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