scholarly journals Advanced Safety and Genetic Stability in Mice of a Novel DNA-Launched Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus Vaccine with Rearranged Structural Genes

Vaccines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dylan M. Johnson ◽  
Kevin J. Sokoloski ◽  
Jenny D. Jokinen ◽  
Tia L. Pfeffer ◽  
Yong-Kyu Chu ◽  
...  

The safety and genetic stability of V4020, a novel Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus (VEEV) vaccine based on the investigational VEEV TC-83 strain, was evaluated in mice. V4020 was generated from infectious DNA, contains a stabilizing mutation in the E2-120 glycoprotein, and includes rearrangement of structural genes. After intracranial inoculation (IC), replication of V4020 was more attenuated than TC-83, as documented by low clinical scores, inflammation, viral load in brain, and earlier viral clearance. During the first 9 days post-inoculation (DPI), genes involved in inflammation, cytokine signaling, adaptive immune responses, and apoptosis were upregulated in both groups. However, the magnitude of upregulation was greater in TC-83 than V4020 mice, and this pattern persisted till 13 DPI, while V4020 gene expression profiles declined to mock-infected levels. In addition, genetic markers of macrophages, DCs, and microglia were strongly upregulated in TC-83 mice. During five serial passages in the brain, less severe clinical manifestations and a lower viral load were observed in V4020 mice and all animals survived. In contrast, 13.3% of mice met euthanasia criteria during the passages in TC-83 group. At 2 DPI, RNA-Seq analysis of brain tissues revealed that V4020 mice had lower rates of mutations throughout five passages. A higher synonymous mutation ratio was observed in the nsP4 (RdRP) gene of TC-83 compared to V4020 mice. At 2 DPI, both viruses induced different expression profiles of host genes involved in neuro-regeneration. Taken together, these results provide evidence for the improved safety and genetic stability of the experimental V4020 VEEV vaccine in a murine model.

2000 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 371-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy L. Davis ◽  
Ian J. Caley ◽  
Kevin W. Brown ◽  
Michael R. Betts ◽  
David M. Irlbeck ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Vaccine vectors derived from Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEE) that expressed simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) immunogens were tested in rhesus macaques as part of the effort to design a safe and effective vaccine for human immunodeficiency virus. Immunization with VEE replicon particles induced both humoral and cellular immune responses. Four of four vaccinated animals were protected against disease for at least 16 months following intravenous challenge with a pathogenic SIV swarm, while two of four controls required euthanasia at 10 and 11 weeks. Vaccination reduced the mean peak viral load 100-fold. The plasma viral load was reduced to below the limit of detection (1,500 genome copies/ml) in one vaccinated animal between 6 and 16 weeks postchallenge and in another from week 6 through the last sampling time (40 weeks postchallenge). The extent of reduction in challenge virus replication was directly correlated with the strength of the immune response induced by the vectors, which suggests that vaccination was effective.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 346
Author(s):  
Caitlin W. Lehman ◽  
Kylene Kehn-Hall ◽  
Megha Aggarwal ◽  
Nicole R. Bracci ◽  
Han-Chi Pan ◽  
...  

The host proteins Protein Kinase B (AKT) and glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) are associated with multiple neurodegenerative disorders. They are also important for the replication of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV), thereby making the AKT/GSK-3 pathway an attractive target for developing anti-VEEV therapeutics. Resveratrol, a natural phytochemical, has been shown to substantially inhibit the AKT pathway. Therefore, we attempted to explore whether it exerts any antiviral activity against VEEV. In this study, we utilized green fluorescent protein (GFP)- and luciferase-encoding recombinant VEEV to determine the cytotoxicity and antiviral efficacy via luciferase reporter assays, flow cytometry, and immunofluorescent assays. Our results indicate that resveratrol treatment is capable of inhibiting VEEV replication, resulting in increased viability of Vero and U87MG cells as well as reduced virion production and viral RNA contents within host cells for at least 48 h with a single treatment. Furthermore, the suppression of apoptotic signaling adaptors, caspase-3, caspase-7, and annexin V may also be implicated in resveratrol-mediated antiviral activity. We found that decreased phosphorylation of the AKT/GSK-3 pathway, mediated by resveratrol, can be triggered during the early stages of VEEV infection, suggesting that resveratrol disrupts the viral replication cycle and consequently promotes cell survival. Finally, molecular docking and dynamics simulation studies revealed that resveratrol can directly bind to VEEV glycoproteins, which may interfere with virus attachment and entry. In conclusion, our results suggest that resveratrol exerts inhibitory activity against VEEV infection and upon further modification could be a useful compound to study in neuroprotective research and veterinary sciences.


2001 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 813-821 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilmer Méndez ◽  
Jonathan Liria ◽  
Juan-Carlos Navarro ◽  
Carmen Z. García ◽  
Jerome E. Freier ◽  
...  

Teratology ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. T. London ◽  
Neil H. Levitt ◽  
Stephen G. Kent ◽  
Vernon G. Wong ◽  
John L. Sever

PLoS ONE ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. e86745 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moushimi Amaya ◽  
Kelsey Voss ◽  
Gavin Sampey ◽  
Svetlana Senina ◽  
Cynthia de la Fuente ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jasper Lee ◽  

Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) is a New World Alphavirus that causes Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE), which is characterized by a febrile illness that can progress to neurological disease and death. While no major outbreaks of VEE have occurred since 1995, VEEV is a virus of concern as, in addition to its spread through mosquitos, it can be aerosolized and used as a bioweapon. Unfortunately, there are currently no FDA-approved vaccines or antivirals against VEEV. Efforts have been made to discover small molecules with an inhibitory effect on VEEV, but the potential for emergence of antiviral resistance to these compounds will remain a concern because VEEV is an RNA virus with a high mutation rate and grows to high titers. To examine the evolutionary trajectory of antiviral resistance in VEEV, we developed a next-generation sequencing pipeline to examine single-nucleotide polymorphisms that emerged after repeated passaging of the virus with increasing concentrations of antiviral compounds. In addition, we examined the effect of the microenvironment on the evolution of antiviral resistance, both in cell culture and mouse models. We found that VEEV evolves resistance to the compound ML336 and its derivatives through mutations in the nsP2 and nsP4 genes, but the number, timing of emergence, and the extent of penetrance of these SNPs depend on the compound. These mutations emerged more slowly when infecting an astrocyte cell line. We also found that neurons in the mouse brain did not impose a selective pressure on VEEV during an infection. These results demonstrate how the population dynamics of RNA viruses can be tracked over time and the extent to which they are affected by selective pressures, as well as opening questions about how viruses can mutate and adapt at the molecular level.


2015 ◽  
Vol 201 ◽  
pp. 94-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime Guillén ◽  
Julie Lichière ◽  
Nadia Rabah ◽  
Brett F. Beitzel ◽  
Bruno Canard ◽  
...  

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