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A single immunization with a minute dose of a lentiviral vector‐based vaccine is highly effective at eliciting protective humoral immunity against West Nile virus
Author(s) -
Iglesias Maria Candela,
Frenkiel MariePascale,
Mollier Karine,
Souque Philippe,
Despres Philippe,
Charneau Pierre
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the journal of gene medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.689
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1521-2254
pISSN - 1099-498X
DOI - 10.1002/jgm.837
Subject(s) - virology , viral vector , vaccination , immunization , biology , immunity , immune system , humoral immunity , neutralizing antibody , flavivirus , antibody , viral encephalitis , vector (molecular biology) , virus , encephalitis , immunology , gene , recombinant dna , biochemistry
Background Lentiviral vectors, due to their capacity to transduce non‐dividing cells, have become precious and worldwide used gene transfer systems. Their ability to efficiently and stably transduce dendritic cells (DCs) has led to their successful use as vaccination vectors for eliciting strong, specific and protective cellular immune responses mostly in anti‐tumoral but also in anti‐viral applications. However, the ability of lentiviral vectors to elicit an antibody‐based protective immunity has, to date, not been evaluated. In the present study, we evaluated the potential of a lentiviral vector‐based vaccine to elicit humoral immunity against West Nile virus (WNV). WNV is a mosquito‐borne flavivirus that emerged in North America and causes encephalitis in humans, birds and horses. Neutralizing anti‐WNV antibodies have been shown to be crucial for protection against WNV encephalitis. Methods The ability of lentiviral vector TRIP/sE WNV , expressing the secreted soluble form of the envelope E‐glycoprotein (sE WNV ) from the highly virulent IS‐98‐ST1 strain of WNV, to induce a specific humoral response and protection against WNV infection was assessed in a mouse model of WNV encephalitis. Results Remarkably, a single immunization with a minute dose of TRIP/sE WNV was efficient at eliciting a long‐lasting, protective and sterilizing humoral immunity, only 1 week after priming. Conclusions This study broadens the applicability of lentiviral vectors as efficient non‐replicating vaccines against pathogens for which a neutralizing humoral response is one active arm of the protective immunity. The TRIP/sE WNV lentiviral vector appears to be a promising tool for veterinary vaccination against zoonotic WNV. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.