Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Ya-Nan Zhang, Na Li, Qiu-Yan Zhang, Jing Liu, Shun-Li Zhan, Lei Gao, Xiang-Yue Zeng, Fang Yu, Hong-Qing Zhang, Xiao-Dan Li, Cheng-Lin Deng, Pei-Yong Shi, Zhi-Ming Yuan, Shao-Peng Yuan, Han-Qing Ye, Bo Zhang
Summary: The development of a new live-attenuated vaccine, WNV-poly(A), shows promising results with efficient propagation and high attenuation in mouse models, providing full protection after a single dose vaccination. This poly(A) vaccine strategy may have wide applications in the development of flavivirus live-attenuated vaccines due to its general target regions in flaviviruses.
EMBO MOLECULAR MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Virology
Rebecca Salgado, Seth A. Hawks, Francesca Frere, Ana Vazquez, Claire Y. -H. Huang, Nisha K. Duggal
Summary: The study showed that exposure to an attenuated form of WNV protects against severe USUV disease in mice, providing critical insight into immune mechanisms and potential vaccine development for both USUV and WNV.
Article
Virology
Enyue Fang, Xiaohui Liu, Miao Li, Jingjing Liu, Zelun Zhang, Xinyu Liu, Xingxing Li, Wenjuan Li, Qinhua Peng, Yongxin Yu, Yuhua Li
Summary: Since its first isolation in 1943, the dengue virus (DENV) has spread globally, but effective antiviral drugs or vaccines are still lacking. Researchers constructed a reporter DENV containing the NanoLuc reporter gene, providing a stable tool for vaccine development and antiviral drug screening. Through a live imaging mouse model, the neurovirulence of the reporter virus was confirmed, and the importance of intestinal lymphoid tissues in DENV pathogenesis was revealed.
Review
Immunology
Corey May Fulton, Wendy J. Bailey
Summary: Research on neurovirulence testing methods for live viral vaccines and potential alternative models, the advantages and disadvantages of different methods, feasibility need further study to develop more accurate and rapid alternatives.
Article
Microbiology
Alex W. Wessel, Michael P. Doyle, Taylor B. Engdahl, Jessica Rodriguez, James E. Crowe, Michael S. Diamond
Summary: This study isolated human monoclonal antibodies from individuals previously infected with WNV, mapped their epitopes, and evaluated their efficacy in vivo against lethal WNV challenge. The most protective epitopes clustered at three antigenic sites on extracellular NS1 forms. This information may aid in the development of NS1-based countermeasures against flaviviruses.
Article
Immunology
Rebecca Weiss, Leila Issmail, Alexandra Rockstroh, Thomas Grunwald, Jasmin Fertey, Sebastian Ulbert
Summary: West Nile Virus is a virus transmitted by mosquitoes that can cause severe neurological symptoms. However, there is currently no human vaccine available for WNV. This study found that the E protein and the fusion loop domain (FL) of WNV have cross-reactivity, which should be taken into consideration for vaccine development.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Julie Eclercy, Patricia Renson, Edouard Hirchaud, Mathieu Andraud, Veronique Beven, Frederic Paboeuf, Nicolas Rose, Yannick Blanchard, Olivier Bourry
Summary: This study revealed that the re-adaptation of the DV strain to pigs is linked to faster replication and increased transmission of the vaccine strain. After limited passages in pigs, a decrease in attenuation of the DV vaccine strain associated with clinical signs and increased viremia may occur. Furthermore, three mutations linked to pig re-adaptation and five other mutations as potential virulence determinants were identified.
Article
Immunology
Hyun Jung Ji, A-Yeung Jang, Joon Young Song, Ki Bum Ahn, Seung Hyun Han, Seok Jin Bang, Ho Kyoung Jung, Jin Hur, Ho Seong Seo
Summary: Salmonella enterica is a major cause of food-borne diseases in humans and can be transmitted from animals to humans. This study developed a live vaccine strain using Radiation-Mutation Enhancement Technology (R-MET). The vaccine candidate, ATOMSal-L6, showed greatly reduced virulence and induced strong protective immune responses in mice and sows.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Virology
Renee Zakhia, Alan P. Dupuis, Faycal Khodr, Mahdi Fadel, Laura D. Kramer, Nabil Haddad
Summary: Through serological screening and mosquito collection testing, evidence of local exposure of the Lebanese population to West Nile virus was found, along with the first report of equine WNV in the country.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Sergio Magallanes, Francisco Llorente, Maria Jose Ruiz-Lopez, Josue Martinez-de la Puente, Ramon Soriguer, Juan Calderon, Miguel Angel Jimenez-Clavero, Pilar Aguilera-Sepulveda, Jordi Figuerola
Summary: West Nile virus (WNV) is a re-emerging zoonotic pathogen that has shown increasing incidence in Europe, with a recent outbreak in Spain in 2020. The factors explaining these changes in WNV incidence are not fully understood. Longitudinal monitoring of WNV in wild animals can help understand its ecology and the risk of transmission to humans, but such studies are limited.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Laia Casades-Marti, Raul Cuadrado-Matias, Alfonso Peralbo-Moreno, Sara Baz-Flores, Yolanda Fierro, Francisco Ruiz-Fons
Summary: Through a 15-year study in five environmentally diverse areas of Spain, it was found that the transmission risk of West Nile virus (WNV) is closely related to environmental and host factors. Wild ungulates can serve as sentinel species for predicting the transmission risk of WNV.
Article
Immunology
Joshua A. Acklin, Javier D. Cattle, Arianna S. Moss, Julia A. Brown, Gregory A. Foster, David Krysztof, Susan L. Stramer, Jean K. Lim
Summary: The presence of pre-existing West Nile virus (WNV) immunity does not significantly impact the pathogenesis of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy, according to a study involving murine pregnancy models. This finding suggests promising safety for implementing WNV vaccines in the continental US.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Cristina Romero-Lopez, Margarita Roda-Herreros, Beatriz Berzal-Herranz, Sara Esther Ramos-Lorente, Alfredo Berzal-Herranz
Summary: RNA viruses rely on RNA-RNA interactions involving genomic structural elements for viral replication and translation. In this study, intra- and intermolecular RNA-RNA interactions in the 3' UTR of the West Nile virus genome are observed, with intermolecular interactions forming molecular dimers. Functional analysis suggests a relationship between 3' UTR dimerization and viral translation efficiency. These findings imply the existence of a network of RNA-RNA interactions involving 3' UTR structural elements that regulate viral translation.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Virology
Celine Chessa, Charles Bodet, Clement Jousselin, Andy Lariviere, Alexia Damour, Julien Garnier, Nicolas Leveque, Magali Garcia
Summary: LL-37 can directly inhibit West Nile virus (WNV), while hBD-3 does not have an inhibitory effect on WNV replication. Both peptides have immunomodulatory properties in WNV-infected keratinocytes.
Article
Virology
Alex W. Wessel, Kimberly A. Dowd, Scott B. Biering, Ping Zhang, Melissa A. Edeling, Christopher A. Nelson, Kristen E. Funk, Christina R. DeMaso, Robyn S. Klein, Janet L. Smith, Thu Minh Cao, Richard J. Kuhn, Daved H. Fremont, Eva Harris, Theodore C. Pierson, Michael S. Diamond
Summary: This study compared the roles of Flavivirus NS1 proteins in the pathogenesis of Dengue virus (DENV) and West Nile virus (WNV), and found that a specific P101K mutation in WNV NS1 led to reduced infectivity in the brain and lethality in mice. The study suggests that levels of NS1 in the circulation facilitate WNV dissemination to the brain and impact disease outcomes.
JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY
(2021)