Work

DNA Vaccination with the Hantaan Virus M Gene Protects Hamsters against Three of Four HFRS Hantaviruses and Elicits a High-Titer Neutralizing Antibody Response in Rhesus Monkeys

Year: 2001

Type: article

Abstract: Four hantaviruses-Hantaan virus (HTNV), Seoul virus (SEOV), Dobrava virus (DOBV) and Puumala virus-are known to cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in Europe and Asia. HTNV causes the most severe form of HFRS (5 to 15% case-fatality rate) and afflicts tens of thousands of people annually. Previously, we demonstrated that DNA vaccination with a plasmid expressing the SEOV M gene elicited neutralizing antibodies and protected hamsters against infection with SEOV and HTNV. Here, we report the construction and evaluation of a DNA vaccine that expresses the HTNV M gene products, G1 and G2. DNA vaccination of hamsters with the HTNV M gene conferred sterile protection against infection with HTNV, SEOV, and DOBV. DNA vaccination of rhesus monkeys with either the SEOV or HTNV M gene elicited high levels of neutralizing antibodies. These are the first immunogenicity data for hantavirus DNA vaccines in nonhuman primates. Because a neutralizing antibody response is considered a surrogate marker for protective immunity in humans, our protection data in hamsters combined with the immunogenicity data in monkeys suggest that hantavirus M gene-based DNA vaccines could protect humans against the most severe forms of HFRS.

Source: Journal of Virology

DOI: 10.1128/jvi.75.18.8469-8477.2001

Authors: J. W. Hooper, D. M. Custer, E. Thompson, C. S. Schmaljohn

Institution: United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases

Language: English

Topic: Viral Infections and Vectors

Subfield: Infectious Diseases

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institutes of Health