Abstract
Background: The 2009 influenza pandemics underscored the need for effective vaccines to block the spread of influenza virus infection. Most live attenuated vaccines utilize cold-adapted, temperature-sensitive virus. An alternative to live attenuated virus is presented here, based on microRNA-induced gene silencing. Methods: In this study, miR-let-7b target sequences were inserted into the H1N1 genome to engineer a recombinant virus - miRT-H1N1. Female BALB/c mice were vaccinated intranasally with the miRT-H1N1 and challenged with a lethal dose of homologous virus. Results: This miRT-H1N1 virus was attenuated in mice, while it exhibited wild-type characteristics in chicken embryos. Mice vaccinated intranasally with the miRT-H1N1 responded with robust immunity that protected the vaccinated mice from a lethal challenge with the wild-type 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus. Conclusions: These results indicate that the influenza virus containing microRNA response elements (MREs) is attenuated in vivo and can be used to design a live attenuated vaccine.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 146-152 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | International Journal of Infectious Diseases |
Volume | 38 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 1 2015 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2015 The Authors.
Keywords
- H1N1
- Immunogenicity
- Influenza
- Live attenuated vaccine