Studies on the phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of SA14 wild Japanese encephalitis virus and its attenuated viruses

The aim of this study was to explore the molecular basis for the attenuation of the Japanese encephalitis vires （JEV） vaccine strain SA14-14-2. The virulence of SA14 wild Japanese encephalitis virus （JEV） and its several attenuated viruses was tested by intracerebral （i. c. ） or intraperitonial （i. p. ） inoculation of 10-12 g mice. The stability of neumattenuation was tested by one passage in suckling mouse brain. The E protein genes of those viruses were amplified by PCR, sequenced and compared. Three attenuated virus strains, SA14-14-2 vaccine virus, SA14-9-7 and SA14-5-3, did not exhibit lethal infections by i.c. or i.p. inoculation of 10-12 g mice and revert to the virulence. The other virus strain, SA14-12- 1-7, showed no neuminvasiveness by i.p. inoculation but residual neurovimlence by i.c. inoculation and reverted to high virulence after one brain passage. Comparison of the E protein gene sequences of the five virus strains indicated that there were differences of twelve nucleotides and eight amino acids between the parent strain SA14 and vaccine strain SA14-14-2, of which six amino acids （E-107, E-176, E-439, E-138, E-279, E-315） exhibited changes common to those of SA14-9-7 and SA14-5-3, three substitutions common to SA14-12-1-7. Two amino acid substitutions at the sites E177 （T→A） and E264 （Q→H） are unique to the SA14-14-2 vaccine virus. The results suggest that the mutations of E-107 （Leu→Phe）, E- 176 （Ile→Val）, and E-439 （Lys→Arg） may contribute for the attenuation of neuminvasiveness and partially for the attenuation of neumvirulence, the mutations of E-138, E-279, E-315 may not only critical to the neumattenuation but also to its stability.

An Attenuated Strain of Cucumber Green Mottle Mosaic Virus as a Biological Control Agent against Pathogenic Viral Strains

Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV), a member of the Tobamovirus genus, causes a severe disease of cucurbits. In the Moscow region of Russian Federation, the incidence of infection on cucumber plants in greenhouses is high;however, the virus is poorly studied. In this work, the full-length genomes of two pathogenic MC-1 and MC-2 strains of CGMMV isolated from cucumber plants grown in greenhouses in the Moscow region and the attenuated VIROG-43M strain were sequenced. Comparison of VIROG-43M nucleotide sequence with those of the pathogenic strains revealed three missense mutations. Their role in attenuation is discussed. For the first time, in a number of trials conducted under laboratory conditions and in commercial greenhouses, the efficiency of the attenuated VIROG-43M strain as a biocontrol agent for cucumber plant protection resulting in significant yield gain was demonstrated. Phylogenetic analysis with 83 full-length CGMMV coat protein genes isolated in 16 different countries showed that Russian strains are related to isolates from Spain, Greece, USA and Israel.

The stability of E protein gene of the Japanese encephalitis live attenuated vaccine virus SA_(14)-14-2

The purpose of this study was to understand the stability and possibility of back mutation of Japanese encephalitis （JE） attenuated vaccine virus strain SA14-14-2 HKs on molecular level. The E genes of the SA14-14-2 HKs vaccine virus and its PHK cells passaged virus （SA14-14-2 HK17 ）, its mouse brain passaged virus （SA14-14-2 SM1 ） were sequenced and compared with the E gene of parental SAI4 virus. The total RNA was extracted from infected Vero cells and amplified by RT-PCR. The RT-PCR products were purified and cloned into T-vector. Positive clones were screened, identified and sequenced. There were twelve nucleotides and eight amino acids substitutions between SA14 parent virus and SA14-34-2 PHKs vaccine virus. The SA14-14-2 PHK17 virus showed two additional mutations （E-331 and E-398） which were not back mutations. Although five additional mutations were found in SA14-34-2 SMt virus, only one （E-307） was back mutation. Genetic characteristics of the attenuated vaccine virus SA14- 34-2 were stable when it was passaged 37 times on PHK cells or one time in mouse brains.

Evaluation of an attenuated vaccine candidate based on the genotype C of bovine parainfluenza virus type 3 in albino guinea pigs

Bovine parainfluenza virus type 3（BPIV3） is considered as one of the most important respiratory tract pathogens of both young and adult cattle, and widespread among cattle in the world. BPIV3 was first reported in China in 2008 and four strains of BPIV3 were isolated from Shandong Province, known as genotype C（BPIV3c）. Pathogen investigations had shown that BPIV3 c infection was very common among cattle in China. To date, BPIV3 can be classified into genotypes A, B and C based on genetic and phylogenetic analysis. Serological survey also demonstrates that BPIV3 infection is widespread in China, however, there is still no available vaccine for BPIV3 prevention in China nowadays. In the present study, the BPIV3 c strain SD0835 was continuously passaged on Madin-Darby bovine kidney（MDBK） cells for hundreds of times, and the pathogenicity of passage 209 was reduced in guinea pigs. The passage 209 of BPIV3 c strain SD0835 was used as a live vaccine candidate to immunize the guinea pigs. The vaccination results revealed that two vaccinations could induce excellent serum neutralizing antibody responses as well as proliferation of T lymphocytes. The vaccinated guinea pigs were well protected against challenge with a low passage of BPIV3 c strain SD0835. Additionally, the percentages of CD4~＋ and CD8~＋ T cell subsets of animals in vaccinated group increased after immunization; T cell subsets on day 2 after challenge in both groups decreased, and the decline of CD4~＋ and CD8~＋ T cell subsets levels of four guinea pigs in vaccinated group was relatively moderate, comparing with that of the control group. These data support further testing of the attenuated virus as an effective candidate vaccine.

A retrospective investigation on the phenotype and stability of the E-protein gene in Japanese Encephalitis (JE) virus strain SA14-14-2 used live-attenuated JE vaccine

To detect retrospectively the phenotype and stability of the E-protein gene in Japanese Encephalitis （JE） virus strain SA14-14-2 used in the live-attenuated JE vaccine prepears, the viral titer was titrated by plaque formation in BHK-21 cell cultures, and the neuro-virulence of viruses was assayed in mice with body weight of 12-14 g by intracerebral inoculation. Meanwhile, the total RNA of virus gene was extracted and amplified by RT-PCR with the designed primers, and then it was purified and cloned to the expression vector pGEM-T. The recombinant plasmid was purified and sequenced. It was found that the loss of viral titer of vaccines stored in -20℃ for longer than 10 years was less than 0.5 Lg PFU/ml. No mice inoculated intracerebrally showed signs of illness or even death. The size of plagues of the vaccine virus remained to be small, and the E genes of primary virus seed SA14-14-2 and the vaccines prepared at different years （1987-2001） were unchanged, in- cluding the 8 critical amino acid sites which were different from the parent wild virus strain SA14 and the related neuro-virulence. These results indicate that the genotypic and biological characteristics of the attenuated JE virus strain SA14-14-2 and its vaccines sion noted. prepared are quite stable without any reversion noted.

Evaluatingα-galactosylceramide as an adjuvant for live attenuated infuenza vaccines in pigs

Natural killer T(NKT)cells activated with the glycolipid ligandα-galactosylceramide(α-GalCer)stimulate a wide variety of immune cells that enhance vaccine-mediated immune responses.Several studies have used this approach to adjuvant inactivated and subunit infuenza A virus(IAV)vaccines,including to enhance cross-protective infuenza immunity.However,less is known about whetherα-GalCer can enhance live attenuated infuenza virus(LAIV)vaccines,which usually induce superior heterologous and heterosubtypic immunity compared to non-replicating infuenza vaccines.The current study used the swine infuenza challenge model to assess whetherα-GalCer can enhance cross-protective immune responses elicited by a recombinant H3N2 LAIV vaccine(TX98ΔNS1)encoding a truncated NS1 protein.In one study,weaning pigs were administered the H3N2 TX98ΔNS1 LAIV vaccine with 0,10,50,and 100μg/kg doses ofα-GalCer,and subsequently challenged with a heterologous H3N2 virus.All treatment groups were protected from infection.However,the addition ofα-GalCer appeared to suppress nasal shedding of the LAIV vaccine.In another experiment,pigs vaccinated with the H3N2 LAIV,with or without 50μg/kg ofα-GalCer,were challenged with the heterosubtypic pandemic H1N1 virus.Pigs vaccinated with the LAIV alone generated cross-reactive humoral and cellular responses which blocked virus replication in the airways,and signifcantly decreased virus shedding.On the other hand,combining the vaccine withα-GalCer reduced cross-protective cellular and antibody responses,and resulted in higher virus titers in respiratory tissues.These fndings suggest that:(i)high doses ofα-GalCer impair the replication and nasal shedding of the LAIV vaccine;and(ii)α-GalCer might interfere with heterosubtypic cross-protective immune responses.This research raise concerns that should be considered before trying to use NKT cell agonists as a possible adjuvant approach for LAIV vaccines.

Genome recoding strategies to improve cellular properties: mechanisms and advances

The genetic code,once believed to be universal and immutable,is now known to contain many variations and is not quite universal.The basis for genome recoding strategy is genetic code variation that can be harnessed to improve cellular properties.Thus,genome recoding is a promising strategy for the enhancement of genome flexibility,allowing for novel functions that are not commonly documented in the organism in its natural environment.Here,the basic concept of genetic code and associated mechanisms for the generation of genetic codon variants,including biased codon usage,codon reassignment,and ambiguous decoding,are extensively discussed.Knowledge of the concept of natural genetic code expansion is also detailed.The generation of recoded organisms and associated mechanisms with basic targeting components,including aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase–tRNA pairs,elongation factor EF-Tu and ribosomes,are highlighted for a comprehensive understanding of this concept.The research associated with the generation of diverse recoded organisms is also discussed.The success of genome recoding in diverse multicellular organisms offers a platform for expanding protein chemistry at the biochemical level with non-canonical amino acids,genetically isolating the synthetic organisms from the natural ones,and fighting viruses,including SARS-CoV2,through the creation of attenuated viruses.In conclusion,genome recoding can offer diverse applications for improving cellular properties in the genome-recoded organisms.