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Xu X, Feng X, Wang L, Yi T, Zheng L, Jiang G, Fan S, Liao Y, Feng M, Zhang Y, Li D, Li Q. A HSV1 mutant leads to an attenuated phenotype and induces immunity with a protective effect. PLoS Pathog 2020; 16:e1008703. [PMID: 32776994 PMCID: PMC7440667 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2020] [Revised: 08/20/2020] [Accepted: 06/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1) is a complicated structural agent with a sophisticated transcription process and a high infection rate. A vaccine against HSV1 is urgently needed. As multiple viral-encoded proteins, including structural and nonstructural proteins, contribute to immune response stimulation, an attenuated or deficient HSV1 vaccine may be relatively reliable. Advances in genomic modification technologies provide reliable means of constructing various HSV vaccine candidates. Based on our previous work, an M6 mutant with mutations in the UL7, UL41, LAT, Us3, Us11 and Us12 genes was established. The mutant exhibited low proliferation in cells and an attenuated phenotype in an animal model. Furthermore, in mice and rhesus monkeys, the mutant can induce remarkable serum neutralizing antibody titers and T cell activation and protect against HSV1 challenge by impeding viral replication, dissemination and pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingli Xu
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Kunming, China
| | - Xiao Feng
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Kunming, China
| | - Lichun Wang
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Kunming, China
| | - Ting Yi
- Weirui Biotechnology (Kunming) Co., Ltd, Kunming, China
| | - Lichun Zheng
- Weirui Biotechnology (Kunming) Co., Ltd, Kunming, China
| | - Guorun Jiang
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Kunming, China
| | - Shengtao Fan
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Kunming, China
| | - Yun Liao
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Kunming, China
| | - Min Feng
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Kunming, China
| | - Ying Zhang
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Kunming, China
| | - Dandan Li
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Kunming, China
| | - Qihan Li
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Kunming, China
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The Mutation of the Genes Related to Neurovirulence in HSV-2 Produces an Attenuated Phenotype in Mice. Viruses 2020; 12:v12070770. [PMID: 32708847 PMCID: PMC7412103 DOI: 10.3390/v12070770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2020] [Revised: 07/13/2020] [Accepted: 07/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
HSV-2 (Herpes simplex virus type 2) is a critical viral agent that mainly causes genital herpes and life-long latent infection in the dorsal root ganglia. Gene modification via CRISPR/Cas9 Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat sequences/CRISPR associated 9) was used here to construct HSV-2 mutant strains through the deletion of fragments of the RL1 (Repeat Long element 1) and/or LAT (Latency-associated Transcript) genes. The HSV-2 mutant strains LAT-HSV-2 and RL1-LAT-HSV-2 present different biological properties. The proliferation of RL1-LAT-HSV-2 in nerve cells was decreased significantly, and the plaques induced by RL1-LAT-HSV-2 in Vero cells were smaller than those induced by LAT-HSV-2 mutant and wild-type strains. The observation of mice infected with these two mutants compared to mice infected with the wild-type strain indicated that the mutant RL1-LAT-HSV-2 has an attenuated phenotype with reduced pathogenicity during both acute and latent infections and induces a stronger specific immune response than the wild-type strain, whereas the attenuation effect was not found in mice infected with the LAT-HSV-2 mutant containing the LAT gene deletion. However, the simultaneous mutation of both the RL1 and LAT genes did not completely restrict viral proliferation in nerve cells, indicating that multiple HSV genes are involved in viral replication in the neural system. This work suggests that the HSV-2 genes RL1 and/or LAT might be involved in the virulence mechanisms in mouse infections.
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Xu X, He Y, Fan S, Feng M, Jiang G, Wang L, Zhang Y, Liao Y, Li Q. Reducing Viral Inhibition of Host Cellular Apoptosis Strengthens the Immunogenicity and Protective Efficacy of an Attenuated HSV-1 Strain. Virol Sin 2019; 34:673-687. [PMID: 31506828 DOI: 10.1007/s12250-019-00156-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2019] [Accepted: 06/17/2019] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), a member of α herpesviruses, shows a high infectivity rate of 30%-60% in populations of various ages. Some herpes simplex (HSV) vaccine candidates evaluated during the past 20 years have not shown protective efficacy against viral infection. An improved understanding of the immune profile of infected individuals and the associated mechanism is needed. HSV uses an immune evasion strategy during viral replication, and various virus-encoded proteins, such as ICP47 and Vhs, participate in this process through limiting the ability of CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes to recognize target cells. Other proteins, e.g., Us3 and Us5, also play a role in viral immune evasion via interfering with cellular apoptosis. In this work, to study the mechanism by which HSV-1 strain attenuation interferes with the viral immune evasion strategy, we constructed a mutant strain, M5, with deletions in the Us3 and Us5 genes. M5 was shown to induce higher neutralizing antibody titers and a stronger cellular immune response than our previously reported M3 strain, and to prevent virus infection more effectively than the M3 strain in an in vivo mouse challenge test.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingli Xu
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, 650118, China
| | - Yufeng He
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, 650118, China
| | - Shengtao Fan
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, 650118, China
| | - Min Feng
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, 650118, China
| | - Guorun Jiang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, 650118, China
| | - Lichun Wang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, 650118, China
| | - Ying Zhang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, 650118, China
| | - Yun Liao
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, 650118, China
| | - Qihan Li
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, 650118, China.
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Fan S, Xu X, Liao Y, Wang Y, Wang J, Feng M, Wang L, Zhang Y, He Z, Yang F, Fraser NW, Li Q. Attenuated Phenotype and Immunogenic Characteristics of a Mutated Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Strain in the Rhesus Macaque. Viruses 2018; 10:E234. [PMID: 29724057 PMCID: PMC5977227 DOI: 10.3390/v10050234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2018] [Revised: 04/28/2018] [Accepted: 04/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Herpes simplex virus type 1(HSV-1) presents a conundrum to public health worldwide because of its specific pathogenicity and clinical features. Some experimental vaccines, such as the recombinant viral glycoproteins, exhibit the viral immunogenicity of a host-specific immune response, but none of these has achieved a valid epidemiological protective efficacy in the human population. In the present study, we constructed an attenuated HSV-1 strain M3 through the partial deletion of UL7, UL41, and the latency-associated transcript (LAT) using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. The mutant strain exhibited lowered infectivity and virulence in macaques. Neutralization testing and ELISpot detection of the specific T-cell responses confirmed the specific immunity induced by M3 immunization and this immunity defended against the challenges of the wild-type strain and restricted the entry of the wild-type strain into the trigeminal ganglion. These results in rhesus macaques demonstrated the potential of the attenuated vaccine for the prevention of HSV-1 in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shengtao Fan
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Kunming 650118, China.
| | - Xingli Xu
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Kunming 650118, China.
| | - Yun Liao
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Kunming 650118, China.
| | - Yongrong Wang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Kunming 650118, China.
| | - Jianbin Wang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Kunming 650118, China.
| | - Min Feng
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Kunming 650118, China.
| | - Lichun Wang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Kunming 650118, China.
| | - Ying Zhang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Kunming 650118, China.
| | - Zhanlong He
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Kunming 650118, China.
| | - Fengmei Yang
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Kunming 650118, China.
| | - Nigel W Fraser
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Qihan Li
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Kunming 650118, China.
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Zhang X, Jiang Q, Xu X, Wang Y, Liu L, Lian Y, Li H, Wang L, Zhang Y, Jiang G, Zeng J, Zhang H, Han JDJ, Li Q. Immune mechanisms induced by an HSV-1 mutant strain: Discrepancy analysis of the immune system gene profile in comparison with a wild-type strain. Vaccine 2018; 36:2394-2402. [PMID: 29602705 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.03.056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2018] [Revised: 03/07/2018] [Accepted: 03/21/2018] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Herpes simplex virus is a prevalent pathogen of humans of various age groups. The fact that no prophylactic or therapeutic vaccine is currently available suggests a significant need to further investigate the immune mechanisms induced by the virus and various vaccine candidates. We previously generated an HSV-1 mutant strain, M3, with partial deletions in ul7, ul41 and LAT that produced an attenuated phenotype in mice. In the present study, we performed a comparative analysis to characterize the immune responses induced by M3 versus wild-type HSV-1 in a mouse model. Infection with wild-type HSV-1 triggered an inflammatory-dominated response and adaptive immunity suppression and was accompanied by severe pathological damage. In contrast, infection with M3 induced a systematic immune response involving full activation of both innate and adaptive immunity and was accompanied by no obvious pathological changes. Furthermore, the immune response induced by M3 protected mice from lethal challenge with wild-type strains of HSV-1 and restrained virus proliferation and impaired latency. These data are useful for further HSV-1 vaccine development using a mutant strain construction strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaolong Zhang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Quanlong Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Computational Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Collaborative Innovation Center for Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences-Max Planck Partner Institute for Computational Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xingli Xu
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Yongrong Wang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Lei Liu
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Yaru Lian
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Hao Li
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Lichun Wang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Ying Zhang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Guorun Jiang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Jieyuan Zeng
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Han Zhang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Jing-Dong Jackie Han
- Key Laboratory of Computational Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Collaborative Innovation Center for Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences-Max Planck Partner Institute for Computational Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Qihan Li
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research and Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
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