A model for early onset of protection against lethal challenge with highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza virus

Inhibitory Activity of Honeysuckle Extracts against Influenza A Virus In Vitro and In Vivo

Honeysuckle has been used in the treatment of influenza virus infection for thousands of years in China. However, its main active components and the functional mechanisms remain to be elucidated. Here, four honeysuckle extracts, including acids extract, flavonoids extract, total extract and acids-flavonoids mixture, were prepared to clarify the main active antiviral components. The cytopathic effect reduction assay showed that all the four extracts inhibited the replication of influenza viruses H1N1, H3N2 and the oseltamivir-resistant mutant strain H1N1-H275Y. The acids-flavonoids mixture had the strongest inhibitory effects in vitro with EC₅₀ values of 3.8, 4.1, and > 20 μg/mL against H1N1, H3N2 and H1N1-H275Y, respectively, showing competitive antiviral activity with oseltamivir and ribavirin. Honeysuckle acids extract also showed the most significant antiviral activity in vivo. Oral administration of the acids extract at a dosage of 600 mg/kg/d effectively alleviated viral pneumonia, maintained body weight and improved the survival rate to 30% of the mice infected with a lethal dose of H1N1. The results of time-of-drug addition experiment and neuraminidase (NA) inhibition assay showed that honeysuckle extracts had a broad-spectrum inhibitory effect against influenza virus NAs. The flavonoid extract showed the strongest inhibitory effect on the NA of influenza virus H7N9 with an IC₅₀ of 24.7 μg/mL. These results suggested that these extracts might exert their antiviral activity by suppressing the release of influenza viruses. Briefly, our findings demonstrate that acids and flavonoids extracts of honeysuckle are the major antiviral active components, and the acids extract has the potential to be developed into an antiviral agent against influenza virus, especially for oseltamivir-resistant viruses.

Establishment of Adequate Functional Cellular Immune Response in Chicks Is Age Dependent

The development of immunocompetence in chicks after hatching is not fully understood. However, detailed knowledge of immunocompetence and maturation processes in day-old chicks (DOCs) and juvenile chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) is necessary to implement enhanced immunization strategies. For viral diseases, this especially includes the development of cellular immunity focusing on T-cell-dependent responses. In the current study, we investigated T-cell subsets in blood and lymphoid tissues of 1-to-21-day-old chickens concerning their cellular composition and localization. We detected an increase of T-cell frequencies in blood and spleen and a shift of the CD8α dimer expression toward a CD8αβ expression on the surface of T cells with increasing age. A relocalization of lymphocytes into antigen presentation structures within the spleen was affirmed. In addition, changes in basal messenger RNA (mRNA) level, with increasing IL2 and IFNγ mRNA levels at different ages were measured. These detected changes suggest an improved T-cell-dependent antiviral response with increasing age in chickens. To confirm this finding on a functional level, we conducted a transfer experiment: adult and, as a negative control, neonatal naïve lymphocytes were transferred into DOCs. Afterward, the protection induced by these transferred cells was verified by a sublethal infection by using a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus with neuraminidase deletion, H5N_del. Previous experiments have shown that adult animals survive infection with this virus strain, while naïve DOCs show severe symptoms or even die. As a result, the transfer of adult, but not neonatal lymphocytes, confers protection to DOCs against the infection, demonstrating functional differences in lymphocytes from chicks of different ages. Collectively, these data reveal the inability of chicks to mount an effective, cellular antiviral response in the first 3 wk of life. Therefore, we propose that the observed maturation of both the innate and the adaptive arms of the immune system early in development is mandatory for controlling influenza infection in chickens, as well as for an effective vaccination with replication-competent viral vaccine strains.

A modified live bat influenza A virus-based vaccine prototype provides full protection against HPAIV H5N1

Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs) of subtype H5 are a major threat for poultry holdings worldwide, here especially the zoonotic Asian H5N1 viruses. These HPAIVs have caused more than 500 fatal spillover infections from poultry to humans, with a looming danger of a new pandemic by establishing human-to-human transmissions. Besides culling measures in infected farms in endemic areas, vaccination is the major tool against HPAIV. However, the mainly used inactivated preparations have several limitations, like application to the individual animal by injection and a reduced efficiency. Here we present a modified live influenza vaccine prototype, which is based on the H17N10 bat influenza virus. The new chimeric vaccine strain R65mono/H17N10 was able to provide full protection against a lethal challenge infection with HPAIV H5N1 of juvenile and subadult chickens, as well as ferrets after oronasal immunization. In addition, the H5 vaccine prototype cannot reassort with avian influenza viruses and therefore is a promising tool against HPAIV H5 infection, allowing new vaccination strategies for efficient disease control.

Immunization of Domestic Ducks with Live Nonpathogenic H5N3 Influenza Virus Prevents Shedding and Transmission of Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Virus to Chickens

Wild ducks are known to be able to carry avian influenza viruses over long distances and infect domestic ducks, which in their turn infect domestic chickens. Therefore, prevention of virus transmission between ducks and chickens is important to control the spread of avian influenza. Here we used a low pathogenic wild aquatic bird virus A/duck/Moscow/4182/2010 (H5N3) for prevention of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) transmission between ducks and chickens. We first confirmed that the ducks orally infected with H5N1 HPAIV A/chicken/Kurgan/3/2005 excreted the virus in feces. All chickens that were in contact with the infected ducks became sick, excreted the virus, and died. However, the ducks orally inoculated with 10⁴ 50% tissue culture infective doses of A/duck/Moscow/4182/2010 and challenged 14 to 90 days later with H5N1 HPAIV did not excrete the challenge virus. All contact chickens survived and did not excrete the virus. Our results suggest that low pathogenic virus of wild aquatic birds can be used for prevention of transmission of H5N1 viruses between ducks and chickens.

Challenges of influenza A viruses in humans and animals and current animal vaccines as an effective control measure

Influenza A viruses (IAVs) are genetically diverse and variable pathogens that share various hosts including human, swine, and domestic poultry. Interspecies and intercontinental viral spreads make the ecology of IAV more complex. Beside endemic IAV infections, human has been exposed to pandemic and zoonotic threats from avian and swine influenza viruses. Animal health also has been threatened by high pathogenic avian influenza viruses (in domestic poultry) and reverse zoonosis (in swine). Considering its dynamic interplay between species, prevention and control against IAV should be conducted effectively in both humans and animal sectors. Vaccination is one of the most efficient tools against IAV. Numerous vaccines against animal IAVs have been developed by a variety of vaccine technologies and some of them are currently commercially available. We summarize several challenges in control of IAVs faced by human and animals and discuss IAV vaccines for animal use with those application in susceptible populations.

Pathogenicity evaluation of neuraminidase-negative H5 and H7 viruses in day-old chicks and adult chicken

We evaluated the virulence of replication-competent NA-negative (no functional neuraminidase) avian influenza viruses in chicken of different ages. Interestingly, the virulence of a previously described NA-negative H5-virus (Kalthoff et al., J Virol 2013;87:13556) is very much age-dependent. Day-old-chicks succumb to a systemic infection, while chicken one week of age do not show any clinical signs at all. Therefore, the day-old-chick organism is most likely not able to restrict replication of the virus as older chicken do. In addition to virulence dependency on host age, the exchange of the H5 HA by an H7 HA for an H7NA-deleted HA reassortant remarkably led to a highly pathogenic phenotype even in adult chicken. This provides evidence, that the virulence of the H7-subtype is less dependent on the NA-protein than that of the H5-virus. These striking observations suggest that the HA/NA interplay might be governed by other mechanisms in HPAIV with the different serotypes H5 or H7.

Vaccines against influenza A viruses in poultry and swine: Status and future developments

Influenza A viruses are important pathogens with a very broad host spectrum including domestic poultry and swine. For preventing clinical disease and controlling the spread, vaccination is one of the most efficient tools. Classical influenza vaccines for domestic poultry and swine are conventional inactivated preparations. However, a very broad range of novel vaccine types ranging from (i) nucleic acid-based vaccines, (ii) replicon particles, (iii) subunits and virus-like particles, (iv) vectored vaccines, or (v) live-attenuated vaccines has been described, and some of them are now also used in the field. The different novel approaches for vaccines against avian and swine influenza virus infections are reviewed, and additional features like universal vaccines, novel application approaches and the "differentiating infected from vaccinated animals" (DIVA)-strategy are summarized.

14-Deoxy-11,12-dehydroandrographolide exerts anti-influenza A virus activity and inhibits replication of H5N1 virus by restraining nuclear export of viral ribonucleoprotein complexes

The highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus has become a worldwide public health threat, and current antiviral therapies have limited activity against the emerging, resistant influenza viruses. Therefore, effective drugs with novel targets against influenza A viruses, H5N1 strains in particular, should be developed. In the present study, 14-deoxy-11,12-dehydroandrographolide (DAP), a major component of the traditional Chinese medicine Andrographis paniculata, exerted potent anti-influenza A virus activity against A/chicken/Hubei/327/2004 (H5N1), A/duck/Hubei/XN/2007 (H5N1), A/PR/8/34 (H1N1), A/NanChang/08/2010 (H1N1) and A/HuNan/01/2014 (H3N2) in vitro. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms, a series of experiments was conducted using A/chicken/Hubei/327/2004 (H5N1) as an example. Our results demonstrated that DAP strongly inhibited H5N1 replication by reducing the production of viral nucleoprotein (NP) mRNA, NP and NS1proteins, whereas DAP had no effect on the absorption and release of H5N1 towards/from A549 cells. DAP also effectively restrained the nuclear export of viral ribonucleoprotein (vRNP) complexes. This inhibitory effect ought to be an important anti-H5N1 mechanism of DAP. Meanwhile, DAP significantly reduced the upregulated expression of all the tested proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, IFN-α, IL-1β and IFN-β) and chemokines (CXCL-10 and CCL-2) stimulated by H5N1. Overall results suggest that DAP impairs H5N1 replication at least in part by restraining nuclear export of vRNP complexes, and the inhibition of viral replication leads to a subsequent decrease of the intense proinflammatory cytokine/chemokine expression. In turn, the effect of modification of the host excessive immune response may contribute to overcoming H5N1. To our knowledge, this study is the first to reveal the antiviral and anti-inflammatory activities of DAP in vitro against H5N1 influenza A virus infection.