The Study on The Immune Response Induced by Expressing Recombinant Plasmid of Dengue Virus Type 2 NS3 Protein

The PSV?NS3, an expressing recombinant plasmid of dengue virus type 2 NS3 protein, was injected directly into the quadriceps of Balb/C mice to explore whether it could inducing immune response. The splenic T cell subsets of two groups was analysed by flow cytometry. It was found that the percentage of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells of experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group. The titer of IgG antibody was as high as 1∶5 120 in experimental group, but it couldn’t be detected in control group by ELISA. The western blot further proved that the IgG antibody was specific for NS3 protein. Those results Suggested that inoculation Balb/C mice with PSV?NS3 could inducing immune response, and the NS3 protein might be used as the candidate protein of DNA vaccine of dengue virus.

Critical role of Dengue Virus NS1 protein in viral replication

Dengue virus(DENV) nonstructural protein 1(NS1) is a highly conserved 46-kDa protein that contains 2 glycosylation sites(Asn-130 and Asn-207) and 12 conserved cysteine(Cys) residues. Here, we performed site-directed mutagenesis to generate systematic mutants of viral strain TSV01. The results of the subsequent analysis showed that an alanine substitution at the second N-linked glycan Asn-207 in NS1 delayed viral RNA synthesis, reduced virus plaque size, and weakened the cytopathic effect. Three mutants at Cys sites(Cys-4, Cys-55, Cys-291) and a C-terminal deletion(ΔC) mutant significantly impaired RNA synthesis, and consequently abolished viral growth, whereas alanine mutations at Asn-130 and Glu-173 resulted in phenotypes that were similar to the wild-type(WT) virus. Further analysis showed that the Asn-207 mutation slightly delayed viral replication. These results suggest that the three conserved disulfide bonds and the second N-linked glycan in NS1 are required for DENV-2 replication.

Isolation and characterization of dengue virus serotype 2 from the large dengue outbreak in Guangdong, China in 2014

Dengue has been well recognized as a global public health threat,but only sporadic epidemics and imported cases were reported in recent decades in China.Since July 2014,an unexpected large dengue outbreak has occurred in Guangdong province,China,resulting in more than 40000 patients including six deaths.To clarify and characterize the causative agent of this outbreak,the acute phase serum from a patient diagnosed with severe dengue was subjected to virus isolation and high-throughput sequencing(HTS).Traditional real-time RT-PCR and HTS with Ion Torrent PGM detected the presence of dengue virus serotype 2(DENV-2).A clinical DENV-2 isolate GZ05/2014 was obtained by culturing the patient serum in mosquito C6/36 cells.The complete genome of GZ05/2014 was determined and deposited in Gen Bank under the access number KP012546.Phylogenetic analysis based on the complete envelope gene showed that the newly DENV-2 isolate belonged to Cosmopolitan genotype and clustered closely with other Guangdong strains isolated in the past decade.No amino acid mutations that are obviously known to increase virulence or replication were identified throughout the genome of GZ05/2014.The high homology of Guangdong DENV-2 strains indicated the possibility of establishment of local DENV-2 circulation in Guangdong,China.These results help clarify the origin of this epidemic and predict the future status of dengue in China.