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H5 cleavage-site peptide vaccine protects chickens from lethal infection by highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza viruses

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Abstract

Highly pathogenic H5Nx avian influenza viruses constantly threaten the poultry industry and humans and have pandemic potential. These viruses continuously evolve, requiring a universal vaccine to protect chickens from members of diverse clades. The purpose of this study was to develop an H5 cleavage-site peptide vaccine containing polybasic amino acids (RRRK) to completely protect chickens from H5N6, H5N8, and H5N1 avian influenza viruses. Chickens were immunized with various doses of a keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH)-conjugated H5 cleavage-site peptide vaccine containing RRRK. The effect of RRRK was evaluated by comparing the survival rates of chickens immunized with vaccines either containing or lacking RRRK. The ability of the RRRK-containing vaccine to confer long-term protective immunity was also assessed. We found that protection was dependent on the number of antigens in the vaccine containing RRRK. Chickens immunized intramuscularly with two doses of 5 μg of the vaccine containing RRRK were completely protected, but those immunized with fewer than two doses of 3 or 1 μg were not protected. Chickens immunized with the vaccine lacking RRRK were not protected, suggesting the importance of the polybasic amino acids in conferring immunity. Our results suggest that conserved H5 cleavage-site peptides with polybasic amino acids may be a potential universal vaccine to protect chickens from various emerging clades of H5Nx avian influenza viruses.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (2019R1A2C200216812).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Influenza Research, College of Veterinary Medicine, Chungnam National University, 99 Dae-Hak Ro, Yuseong Gu, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea

    Yunyueng Jang & Sang Heui Seo

  2. Institute of Influenza Virus, Chungnam National University, 99 Dae-Hak Ro, Yuseong Gu, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea

    Yunyueng Jang & Sang Heui Seo

Authors
  1. Yunyueng Jang
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  2. Sang Heui Seo
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Correspondence to Sang Heui Seo.

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All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

The Chungnam National University (CNU) Internal Animal Use Committee approved the protocol (CNU-01191) for the pathogenicity study in chickens and the collection of clinical samples. All experiments and methods were performed with approval and in accordance with the respective relevant legal guidelines and regulations of Chungnam National University, Republic of Korea.

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Handling Editor: Ayato Takada.

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Jang, Y., Seo, S.H. H5 cleavage-site peptide vaccine protects chickens from lethal infection by highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza viruses. Arch Virol 167, 67–75 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-021-05284-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-021-05284-8

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