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Vaccinia Virus Expressing Interferon Regulatory Factor 3 Induces Higher Protective Immune Responses against Lethal Poxvirus Challenge in Atopic Organism. Viruses 2021; 13:v13101986. [PMID: 34696416 PMCID: PMC8539567 DOI: 10.3390/v13101986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2021] [Revised: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Vaccinia virus (VACV) is an enveloped DNA virus from the Orthopoxvirus family, various strains of which were used in the successful eradication campaign against smallpox. Both original and newer VACV-based replicating vaccines reveal a risk of serious complications in atopic individuals. VACV encodes various factors interfering with host immune responses at multiple levels. In atopic skin, the production of type I interferon is compromised, while VACV specifically inhibits the phosphorylation of the Interferon Regulatory Factor 3 (IRF-3) and expression of interferons. To overcome this block, we generated a recombinant VACV-expressing murine IRF-3 (WR-IRF3) and characterized its effects on virus growth, cytokine expression and apoptosis in tissue cultures and in spontaneously atopic Nc/Nga and control Balb/c mice. Further, we explored the induction of protective immune responses against a lethal dose of wild-type WR, the surrogate of smallpox. We demonstrate that the overexpression of IRF-3 by WR-IRF3 increases the expression of type I interferon, modulates the expression of several cytokines and induces superior protective immune responses against a lethal poxvirus challenge in both Nc/Nga and Balb/c mice. Additionally, the results may be informative for design of other virus-based vaccines or for therapy of different viral infections.
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Sheean ME, Malikova E, Duarte D, Capovilla G, Fregonese L, Hofer MP, Magrelli A, Mariz S, Mendez-Hermida F, Nistico R, Leest T, Sipsas NV, Tsigkos S, Vitezic D, Larsson K, Sepodes B, Stoyanova-Beninska V. Nonclinical data supporting orphan medicinal product designations in the area of rare infectious diseases. Drug Discov Today 2019; 25:274-291. [PMID: 31704277 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2019.10.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2019] [Revised: 10/15/2019] [Accepted: 10/30/2019] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
This review provides an overview of nonclinical in vivo models that can be used to support orphan designation in selected rare infectious diseases in Europe, with the aim to inform and stimulate the planning of nonclinical development in this area of often neglected diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria E Sheean
- Orphan Medicines Office, European Medicines Agency, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Max-Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Helmholz Association, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Eva Malikova
- Committee of Orphan Medicinal Products, European Medicines Agency, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; State Institute for Drug Control, Bratislava, Slovak Republic; Comenius University, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
| | - Dinah Duarte
- Committee of Orphan Medicinal Products, European Medicines Agency, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; INFARMED - Autoridade Nacional do Medicamento, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Giuseppe Capovilla
- Committee of Orphan Medicinal Products, European Medicines Agency, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; C. Poma Hospital, Mantova, Italy; Fondazione Poliambulanza, Brescia, Italy
| | - Laura Fregonese
- Orphan Medicines Office, European Medicines Agency, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Matthias P Hofer
- Orphan Medicines Office, European Medicines Agency, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Armando Magrelli
- Committee of Orphan Medicinal Products, European Medicines Agency, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Segundo Mariz
- Orphan Medicines Office, European Medicines Agency, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Fernando Mendez-Hermida
- Committee of Orphan Medicinal Products, European Medicines Agency, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Agencia Española de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios, Madrid, Spain
| | - Robert Nistico
- Committee of Orphan Medicinal Products, European Medicines Agency, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Malta Medicines Authority, San Ġwann, Malta
| | - Tim Leest
- Committee of Orphan Medicinal Products, European Medicines Agency, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; The Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Nikolaos V Sipsas
- Committee of Orphan Medicinal Products, European Medicines Agency, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Stelios Tsigkos
- Orphan Medicines Office, European Medicines Agency, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Dinko Vitezic
- Committee of Orphan Medicinal Products, European Medicines Agency, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; University of Rijeka Medical School and University Hospital Centre Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
| | - Kristina Larsson
- Orphan Medicines Office, European Medicines Agency, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Bruno Sepodes
- Committee of Orphan Medicinal Products, European Medicines Agency, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; INFARMED - Autoridade Nacional do Medicamento, Lisbon, Portugal; Universidade de Lisboa - Faculdade de Farmácia, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Violeta Stoyanova-Beninska
- Committee of Orphan Medicinal Products, European Medicines Agency, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Medicines Evaluation Board, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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The Virulence of Different Vaccinia Virus Strains Is Directly Proportional to Their Ability To Downmodulate Specific Cell-Mediated Immune Compartments In Vivo. J Virol 2019; 93:JVI.02191-18. [PMID: 30567985 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.02191-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2018] [Accepted: 12/11/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Vaccinia virus (VACV) is a notorious virus for a number of scientific reasons; however, most of its notoriety comes from the fact that it was used as a vaccine against smallpox, being ultimately responsible for the eradication of that disease. Nonetheless, many different vaccinia virus strains have been obtained over the years; some are suitable to be used as vaccines, whereas others are virulent and unsuitable for this purpose. Interestingly, different vaccinia virus strains elicit different immune responses in vivo, and this is a direct result of the genomic differences among strains. In order to evaluate the net result of virus-encoded immune evasion strategies of vaccinia viruses, we compared antiviral immune responses in mice intranasally infected by the highly attenuated and nonreplicative MVA strain, the attenuated and replicative Lister strain, or the virulent WR strain. Overall, cell responses elicited upon WR infections are downmodulated compared to those elicited by MVA and Lister infections, especially in determined cell compartments such as macrophages/monocytes and CD4+ T cells. CD4+ T cells are not only diminished in WR-infected mice but also less activated, as evaluated by the expression of costimulatory molecules such as CD25, CD212, and CD28 and by the production of cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), gamma interferon (IFN-γ), interleukin-4 (IL-4), and IL-10. On the other hand, MVA infections are able to induce strong T-cell responses in mice, whereas Lister infections consistently induced responses that were intermediary between those induced by WR and MVA. Together, our results support a model in which the virulence of a VACV strain is proportional to its potential to downmodulate the host's immune responses.IMPORTANCE Vaccinia virus was used as vaccine against smallpox and was instrumental in the successful eradication of that disease. Although smallpox vaccination is no longer in place in the overall population, the use of vaccinia virus in the development of viral vector-based vaccines has become popular. Nonetheless, different vaccinia virus strains are known and induce different immune responses. To look into this, we compared immune responses triggered by mouse infections with the nonreplicative MVA strain, the attenuated Lister strain, or the virulent WR strain. We observed that the WR strain was capable of downmodulating mouse cell responses, whereas the highly attenuated MVA strain induced high levels of cell-mediated immunity. Infections by the intermediately attenuated Lister strain induced cell responses that were intermediary between those induced by WR and MVA. We propose that the virulence of a vaccinia virus strain is directly proportional to its ability to downmodulate specific compartments of antiviral cell responses.
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Achdout H, Lustig S, Israely T, Erez N, Politi B, Tamir H, Israeli O, Waner T, Melamed S, Paran N. Induction, treatment and prevention of eczema vaccinatum in atopic dermatitis mouse models. Vaccine 2017. [PMID: 28625523 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.06.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Eczema vaccinatum is a severe and occasionally lethal complication of smallpox vaccine, characterized by systemic viral dissemination, distant from the initial inoculation site of the vaccine. A major risk factor for eczema vaccinatum is a background of atopic dermatitis, a chronic, common allergic, relapsing disorder, manifested by dry and inflamed skin, itchy rash, Th2 biased immune response and hypersensitivity to various antigens. Unlike the severe manifestations of eczema vaccinatum in humans, current models present only mild symptoms that limits examination of potential therapeutics for eczema vaccinatum. The atopic dermatitis and eczema vaccinatum models we present here, are the first to simulate the severity of the diseases in humans. Indeed, dermatitic mice display persistent severe dermatitis, characterized by dry and inflamed skin with barrier dysfunction, epidermal hyperplasia and significant elevation of serum IgE. By exposing atopic dermatitis mice to ectromelia virus, we generated eczema vaccinatum that mimic the human disease better than known eczema vaccinatum models. Similarly to humans, eczematous mice displayed enlarged and disseminated skin lesions, which correlated with elevated viral load. Cidofovir and antiviral antibodies conferred protection even when treatment started at a late eczematous stage. Moreover, we are the first to demonstrate that despite a severe background of atopic dermatitis, modified vaccinia Ankara virus (MVA) vaccination protects against lethal ectromelia virus exposure. We finally show that protection by MVA vaccination is dependent on CD4+ T cells and is associated with significant activation of CD8+ cytotoxic T cells and induction of humoral immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hagit Achdout
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR), Ness-Ziona, Israel
| | - Shlomo Lustig
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR), Ness-Ziona, Israel
| | - Tomer Israely
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR), Ness-Ziona, Israel
| | - Noam Erez
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR), Ness-Ziona, Israel
| | - Boaz Politi
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR), Ness-Ziona, Israel
| | - Hadas Tamir
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR), Ness-Ziona, Israel
| | - Ofir Israeli
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR), Ness-Ziona, Israel
| | - Trevor Waner
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR), Ness-Ziona, Israel
| | - Sharon Melamed
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR), Ness-Ziona, Israel
| | - Nir Paran
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR), Ness-Ziona, Israel.
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Volz A, Sutter G. Modified Vaccinia Virus Ankara: History, Value in Basic Research, and Current Perspectives for Vaccine Development. Adv Virus Res 2016; 97:187-243. [PMID: 28057259 PMCID: PMC7112317 DOI: 10.1016/bs.aivir.2016.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 195] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Safety tested Modified Vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) is licensed as third-generation vaccine against smallpox and serves as a potent vector system for development of new candidate vaccines against infectious diseases and cancer. Historically, MVA was developed by serial tissue culture passage in primary chicken cells of vaccinia virus strain Ankara, and clinically used to avoid the undesirable side effects of conventional smallpox vaccination. Adapted to growth in avian cells MVA lost the ability to replicate in mammalian hosts and lacks many of the genes orthopoxviruses use to conquer their host (cell) environment. As a biologically well-characterized mutant virus, MVA facilitates fundamental research to elucidate the functions of poxvirus host-interaction factors. As extremely safe viral vectors MVA vaccines have been found immunogenic and protective in various preclinical infection models. Multiple recombinant MVA currently undergo clinical testing for vaccination against human immunodeficiency viruses, Mycobacterium tuberculosis or Plasmodium falciparum. The versatility of the MVA vector vaccine platform is readily demonstrated by the swift development of experimental vaccines for immunization against emerging infections such as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. Recent advances include promising results from the clinical testing of recombinant MVA-producing antigens of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 or Ebola virus. This review summarizes our current knowledge about MVA as a unique strain of vaccinia virus, and discusses the prospects of exploiting this virus as research tool in poxvirus biology or as safe viral vector vaccine to challenge existing and future bottlenecks in vaccinology.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Volz
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Institute for Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, LMU University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - G Sutter
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Institute for Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, LMU University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
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