A Novel Recombinant Virus-Like Particles Displaying B and T Cell Epitopes of Japanese Encephalitis Virus Offers Protective Immunity in Mice and Guinea Pigs.

Muhammad Naveed Anwar,Beibei Li,Jianchao Wei,Junjie Zhang,Di Di,Yafeng Qiu,Zhiyong Ma,Abdul Wahaab,Xin Wang,Chunying Jiang,Donghua Shao,Muddassar Hameed,Zongjie Li,Ke Liu,Shuang Guo

doi:10.3390/vaccines9090980

Abstract

Virus-like particles (VLPs) are non-replicative vectors for the delivery of heterologous epitopes and are considered one of the most potent inducers of cellular and humoral immune responses in mice and guinea pigs. In the present study, VLP-JEVe was constructed by the insertion of six Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) envelope protein epitopes into different surface loop regions of PPV VP2 by the substitution of specific amino acid sequences without altering the assembly of the virus; subsequently, the protective efficacy of this VLP-JEVe was evaluated against JEV challenge in mice and guinea pigs. Mice immunized with the VLP-JEVe antigen developed high titers of neutralizing antibodies and 100% protection against lethal JEV challenge. The neutralizing and hemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibody responses were also induced in guinea pigs vaccinated with VLP-JEVe. In addition, immunization with VLP-JEVe in mice induced effective neutralizing antibodies and protective immunity against PPV (porcine parvovirus) challenge in guinea pigs. These studies suggest that VLP-JEVe produced as described here could be a potential candidate for vaccine development.

Highlights

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is an acute infectious disease of the nervous system and is caused by Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV)
We developed a novel Virus-like particles (VLPs)-JEVe vaccine containing B and T cell epitopes of JEV
The guinea pigs vaccinated with VLP-JEVe exhibited effective neutralizing and hemagglutination inhibition responses when challenged with the porcine parvovirus (PPV)

Summary

Introduction

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is an acute infectious disease of the nervous system and is caused by Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV). JEV is the leading cause of encephalitis in Asia pacific regions, and its incidence is expected to increase in some of the world’s most populous countries, such as China, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Bangladesh [1,2]. The. World Health Organization has reported that approximately 50,000 JE cases occur each year in South Asia and Western Pacific regions, resulting in more than 10,000 deaths and. JEV infection usually occurs as asymptomatic in adult pigs, but there is an increased risk of JE disease in juvenile animals, leading to abortion and stillbirth in pregnant sows [7]

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