Abir Anis Suraya Mohamad, Tan Wen Siang, Omar Abdul Rahman, Ho Kok Lian, Iqbal Munir, Mariatulqabtiah Abdul Razak
Laboratory of Vaccine and Biomolecules, Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia.
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia.
Vaccines (Basel). 2025 Jun 27;13(7):701. doi: 10.3390/vaccines13070701.
Avian influenza is an economically significant disease affecting poultry worldwide and is caused by influenza A viruses that can range from low to highly pathogenic strains. These viruses primarily target the respiratory, digestive, and nervous systems of birds, leading to severe outbreaks that threaten poultry production and pose zoonotic risks. The ectodomain of the avian influenza virus (AIV) matrix protein 2 (M2e), known for its high conservation across influenza strains, has emerged as a promising candidate for developing a universal influenza vaccine in a mouse model. However, the efficacy of such expression against poultry AIVs remains limited. The objective of this study was to evaluate the immunogenicity of nodavirus-like particles displaying the M2e proteins. In this study, three synthetic heterologous M2e genes originated from AIV strains H5N1, H9N2 and H5N2 were fused with the nodavirus capsid protein (NVC) of the giant freshwater prawn (NVC-3xAvM2e) prior to immunogenicity characterisations in chickens. The expression vector pTRcHis-TARNA2 carrying the gene cassette was introduced into TOP-10 cells. The recombinant proteins were purified, inoculated into one-week-old specific pathogen-free chickens subcutaneously and analysed. The recombinant protein NVC-3xAvM2e formed virus-like particles (VLPs) of approximately 25 nm in diameter when observed under a transmission electron microscope. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis revealed that the VLPs have a polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.198. A direct ELISA upon animal experiments showed that M2e-specific antibodies were significantly increased in vaccinated chickens after the booster, with H5N1 M2e peptides having the highest mean absorbance value when compared with those of H9N2 and H5N2. A challenge study using low pathogenic AIV (LPAI) strain (H9N2) at 10 EID showed significant viral load in the lung and cloaca, but not in the oropharyngeal of vaccinated animals when compared with the unvaccinated control group. Collectively, this study suggests that nodavirus-like particles displaying three heterologous M2e have the potential to provide protection against LPAI H9N2 in chickens, though the vaccine's efficacy and cross-protection across different haemagglutinin (HA) subtypes should be further evaluated.
禽流感是一种在全球范围内对家禽具有重大经济影响的疾病,由甲型流感病毒引起,这些病毒包括从低致病性到高致病性的毒株。这些病毒主要侵袭鸟类的呼吸系统、消化系统和神经系统,导致严重疫情,威胁家禽生产并带来人畜共患病风险。禽流感病毒(AIV)基质蛋白2(M2e)的胞外域在各流感毒株中具有高度保守性,在小鼠模型中已成为开发通用流感疫苗的一个有前景的候选对象。然而,这种表达对家禽AIVs的效力仍然有限。本研究的目的是评估展示M2e蛋白的诺达病毒样颗粒的免疫原性。在本研究中,三个源自AIV毒株H5N1、H9N2和H5N2的合成异源M2e基因在鸡中进行免疫原性表征之前,与巨型淡水虾的诺达病毒衣壳蛋白(NVC)融合(NVC - 3xAvM2e)。携带该基因盒的表达载体pTRcHis - TARNA2被导入TOP - 10细胞。重组蛋白被纯化,皮下接种到一周龄的无特定病原体鸡中并进行分析。在透射电子显微镜下观察时,重组蛋白NVC - 3xAvM2e形成了直径约25 nm的病毒样颗粒(VLPs)。动态光散射(DLS)分析表明,这些VLPs的多分散指数(PDI)为0.198。动物实验后的直接ELISA显示,加强免疫后接种疫苗的鸡中M2e特异性抗体显著增加,与H9N2和H5N2相比,H5N1 M2e肽的平均吸光度值最高。使用低致病性AIV(LPAI)毒株(H9N2)以10个鸡胚感染剂量(EID)进行的攻毒研究表明,与未接种疫苗的对照组相比,接种疫苗的动物肺部和泄殖腔中有显著病毒载量,但口咽部没有。总体而言,本研究表明展示三种异源M2e的诺达病毒样颗粒有潜力为鸡提供针对低致病性H9N2的保护,不过该疫苗的效力以及对不同血凝素(HA)亚型的交叉保护作用仍需进一步评估。
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