Development of MVA-d34 Tetravalent Dengue Vaccine: Design and Immunogenicity

Dengue fever, an infectious disease that affects more than 100 million people every year, is a global health problem. Vaccination may be the most effective prevention strategy for the disease. However, the development of vaccines against dengue fever is complicated by the high risk of developing an antibody-dependent increase in infection. This article describes the development of an MVA-d34 vaccine against the dengue virus based on a safe and effective MVA viral vector. The DIII domains of the envelope protein (E) of the dengue virus are used as vaccine antigens, as antibodies against these domains do not cause an enhancement of infection. The use of the DIII domains of each of the four dengue virus serotypes made it possible to generate a humoral response against all four dengue virus serotypes in immunized mice. We also showed that the sera of vaccinated mice present virus-neutralizing activity against dengue serotype 2. Thus, the developed MVA-d34 vaccine is a promising candidate vaccine against dengue fever.

[HIV Restriction Factor APOBEC3G and Prospects for Its Use in Gene Therapy for HIV]

The mechanisms for the protection of the human body from viral or bacterial agents are extremely diverse. In one such mechanism, an important role belongs to the cytidine deaminase APOBEC3 family, which is the factor of congenital immunity and protects the organism from numerous viral agents. One of the proteins of this family, APOBEC3G, is able to protect against Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 in the absence of viral protein Vif. In turn, Vif opposes APOBEC3G action, causing polyubiquity of the protein and degradation in the proteasome. The review describes possible ways to increase the anti-HIV activity of APOBEC3G, giving it resistance to viral protein Vif, as well as potential approaches to the use of modified APOBEC3G in gene therapy for HIV.

Application of real-time PCR to significantly reduce the time to obtain recombinant MVA virus

Obtaining a pure recombinant Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) virus is a multistage, time-consuming procedure. We describe a novel single-tube real-time PCR which enables determination of the amount of wild type and recombinant viruses and their ratio in plaques. Use of the real-time PCR significantly reduce the time and efforts needed to obtain purified recombinant MVA. The new approach has been applied to generate recombinant MVAs encoding different SARS-COV-2 antigens.

Filamentous versus Spherical Morphology: A Case Study of the Recombinant A/WSN/33 (H1N1) Virus

Influenza A virus is a serious human pathogen that assembles enveloped virions on the plasma membrane of the host cell. The pleiomorphic morphology of influenza A virus, represented by spherical, elongated, or filamentous particles, is important for the spread of the virus in nature. Using fixative protocols for sample preparation and negative staining electron microscopy, we found that the recombinant A/WSN/33 (H1N1) (rWSN) virus, a strain considered to be strictly spherical, may produce filamentous particles when amplified in the allantoic cavity of chicken embryos. In contrast, the laboratory WSN strain and the rWSN virus amplified in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells exhibited a spherical morphology. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) suggested a rare Ser126Cys substitution in the M1 protein of rWSN, which was confirmed by the mass spectrometric analysis. No structurally relevant substitutions were found by NGS in other proteins of rWSN. Bioinformatics algorithms predicted a neutral structural effect of the Ser126Cys mutation. The mrWSN_M1_126S virus generated after the introduction of the reverse Cys126Ser substitution exhibited a similar host-dependent partially filamentous phenotype. We hypothesize that a shortage of some as-yet-undefined cellular components involved in virion budding and membrane scission may result in the appearance of filamentous particles in the case of usually "nonfilamentous" virus strains.

INCLUSION OF SITE-SPECIFIC MUTATIONS INTO CONSERVATIVE SEG- MENTS OF PA-GENE RESULTS IN ATTENUATION OF VIRULENT INFLUENZA VIRUS STRAIN A/WSN/33

AIM

Study the possibility of obtaining attenuated variants of influenza virus by including specially selected site-specific mutations into a conservative sequence of PA-gene (terminal segment of COOH-domain of the PA-gene) of a virulent strain.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A/ WSN/33 - a virulent strain of influenza virus was used in the study. Inclusion of site-specif- ic mutations into PA-gene of the A/WSN/33 virulent strain was carried out using a two-step mutation PCR. Cloning was carried out using GoldenGate reaction. 8-plasmid transfection system based on pHW2000 vector was used. Transformation was carried out in rubidium competent bacterial cells of DH5(α strain. Transfection was done using Lipofectamine LTX (Invitrogen) reagentin a 293T and MDCK cells' co-culture.

RESULTS

Transfectants with F658A substitution in the COOH-domain of the PA-gene were shown to acquire ts-phenotype and sharply reduce the ability to reproduce in mice lungs. Introduction of F658A substitution into COOH-domain of the PA-gene in combination with introduction of ts-mutations from ca influenzavirus strains into the genome ofthe virulent strain resulted in obtaining transfectants that have phenotypic characteristics typical for live influenza vaccine candidates.

CONCLUSION

The ability to obtain attenuated variants of influenza viruses by introducing spe- cially selected site-specific mutations into conservative sequence of the PA-gene is shown.

[GENETIC CHARACTERISTICS OF INFLUENZA A/H3N2 AND B VIRUSES THAT HAD CIRCULATED IN RUSSIA IN 2013 - 2015]

AIM

Establish genetic characteristics, carry out phylogenetic analysis and determination of molecular markers of resistance to etiotropic preparations against influenza A/H3N2 and B viruses that had circulated in Russia in 2013 - 2015.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

80 biological samples containing influenza A/H3N2 virus RNA and 31 samples containing influenza B virus RNA were studied. Sequencing of PCR fragments was carried out inABI-3 100 PRIZMTM GeneticAnalyzer (AppliedBiosystems, USA) and using MiSeq (Illumina, USA). Data treatment and analysis was carried out using CLC v.3.6.5., DNASTAR and BioNumerics v.6.5. programs.

RESULTS

In 2013 -2014 A/Texas/50/2012-like-clade 3C.3 influenza A/H3N2 viruses dominated, 10% belonged to subclade 3C.2a and 10% - to 3C.3b. Most of the viruses (8 1%) of 2014 - 2015 were of 3C.2a clade, the portion of viruses belonging to 3C.3b and 3C.3a was 9 and 10%. Yamagata-like viruses predominated among the studied influenza B viruses, only 1 virus of 2014 - 2015 belonged to Victoria lineage, 1 reassortant of Yamagata and Victoria lineages was detected. Rimantadine- resistance mutationS3 lN(M2 protein) was detected in all the influenza A/H3N2 viruses. Mutations determining resistance to oseltamivir (NA gene) were not detected in influenza A/H3N2 and B viruses.

CONCLUSION

Increase of influenza morbidity in 2014 - 2015 was determined by the emergence of influenza A/H3N2 and B viruses, antigenically distinct from those that had circulated previously and those included into the vaccine, thus resulting in the WHO decision to change A/ H3N2 and B components of the 2015 - 2016 vaccine: Simultaneous circulation of 2 lineages of influenza B virus and emergence of their reassortants gives evidence on the necessity of use of quadrivalent vaccines, containing both lineages.

Two Cytoplasmic Acylation Sites and an Adjacent Hydrophobic Residue, but No Other Conserved Amino Acids in the Cytoplasmic Tail of HA from Influenza A Virus Are Crucial for Virus Replication

Recruitment of the matrix protein M1 to the assembly site of the influenza virus is thought to be mediated by interactions with the cytoplasmic tail of hemagglutinin (HA). Based on a comprehensive sequence comparison of all sequences present in the database, we analyzed the effect of mutating conserved residues in the cytosol-facing part of the transmembrane region and cytoplasmic tail of HA (A/WSN/33 (H1N1) strain) on virus replication and morphology of virions. Removal of the two cytoplasmic acylation sites and substitution of a neighboring isoleucine by glutamine prevented rescue of infectious virions. In contrast, a conservative exchange of the same isoleucine, non-conservative exchanges of glycine and glutamine, deletion of the acylation site at the end of the transmembrane region and shifting it into the tail did not affect virus morphology and had only subtle effects on virus growth and on the incorporation of M1 and Ribo-Nucleoprotein Particles (RNPs). Thus, assuming that essential amino acids are conserved between HA subtypes we suggest that, besides the two cytoplasmic acylation sites (including adjacent hydrophobic residues), no other amino acids in the cytoplasmic tail of HA are indispensable for virus assembly and budding.

Site-specific S-acylation of influenza virus hemagglutinin: the location of the acylation site relative to the membrane border is the decisive factor for attachment of stearate

S-Acylation of hemagglutinin (HA), the main glycoprotein of influenza viruses, is an essential modification required for virus replication. Using mass spectrometry, we have previously demonstrated specific attachment of acyl chains to individual acylation sites. Whereas the two cysteines in the cytoplasmic tail of HA contain only palmitate, stearate is exclusively attached to a cysteine positioned at the end of the transmembrane region (TMR). Here we analyzed recombinant viruses containing HA with exchange of conserved amino acids adjacent to acylation sites or with a TMR cysteine shifted to a cytoplasmic location to identify the molecular signal that determines preferential attachment of stearate. We first developed a new protocol for sample preparation that requires less material and might thus also be suitable to analyze cellular proteins. We observed cell type-specific differences in the fatty acid pattern of HA: more stearate was attached if human viruses were grown in mammalian compared with avian cells. No underacylated peptides were detected in the mass spectra, and even mutations that prevented generation of infectious virus particles did not abolish acylation of expressed HA as demonstrated by metabolic labeling experiments with [(3)H]palmitate. Exchange of conserved amino acids in the vicinity of an acylation site had a moderate effect on the stearate content. In contrast, shifting the TMR cysteine to a cytoplasmic location virtually eliminated attachment of stearate. Thus, the location of an acylation site relative to the transmembrane span is the main signal for stearate attachment, but the sequence context and the cell type modulate the fatty acid pattern.

Co-evolution analysis to predict protein-protein interactions within influenza virus envelope

Interactions between integral membrane proteins hemagglutinin (HA), neuraminidase (NA), M2 and membrane-associated matrix protein M1 of influenza A virus are thought to be crucial for assembly of functionally competent virions. We hypothesized that the amino acid residues located at the interface of two different proteins are under physical constraints and thus probably co-evolve. To predict co-evolving residue pairs, the EvFold ( http://evfold.org ) program searching the (nontransitive) Direct Information scores was applied for large samplings of amino acid sequences from Influenza Research Database ( http://www.fludb.org/ ). Having focused on the HA, NA, and M2 cytoplasmic tails as well as C-terminal domain of M1 (being the less conserved among the protein domains) we captured six pairs of correlated positions. Among them, there were one, two, and three position pairs for HA-M2, HA-M1, and M2-M1 protein pairs, respectively. As expected, no co-varying positions were found for NA-HA, NA-M1, and NA-M2 pairs obviously due to high conservation of the NA cytoplasmic tail. The sum of frequencies calculated for two major amino acid patterns observed in pairs of correlated positions was up to 0.99 meaning their high to extreme evolutionary sustainability. Based on the predictions a hypothetical model of pair-wise protein interactions within the viral envelope was proposed.