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Viruses2016; 8(12); 332; doi: 10.3390/v8120332

Equine Immunoglobulin and Equine Neutralizing F(ab’)₂ Protect Mice from West Nile Virus Infection.

Abstract: West Nile virus (WNV) is prevalent in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, West Asia, and North America, and causes epidemic encephalitis. To date, no effective therapy for WNV infection has been developed; therefore, there is urgent need to find an efficient method to prevent WNV disease. In this study, we prepared and evaluated the protective efficacy of immune serum IgG and pepsin-digested F(ab')₂ fragments from horses immunized with the WNV virus-like particles (VLP) expressing the WNV M and E proteins. Immune equine F(ab')₂ fragments and immune horse sera efficiently neutralized WNV infection in tissue culture. The passive transfer of equine immune antibodies significantly accelerated the virus clearance in the spleens and brains of WNV infected mice, and reduced mortality. Thus, equine immunoglobulin or equine neutralizing F(ab')₂ passive immunotherapy is a potential strategy for the prophylactic or therapeutic treatment of patients infected with WNV.
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Publication Date: 2016-12-18 PubMed ID: 27999340PubMed Central: PMC5192393DOI: 10.3390/v8120332Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article
  • Research Support
  • Non-U.S. Gov't

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This study examines how using antibodies from horses who’ve been immunized against West Nile virus could potentially provide a solution for treating or preventing the virus in people.

Introduction to the Research

The research paper focuses on exploring a potential cost-effective therapy for West Nile virus (WNV) infection. WNV, prevalent across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, West Asia, and North America, can cause epidemic encephalitis and no significant treatment has been developed. Given this, the researchers saw it important to discover an effective strategy to curtail the disease.

Research Methodology

  • The study first involved the immunization of horses with WNV virus-like particles (VLPs) that expressed WNV M and E proteins.
  • Followed by this, the researchers marked the protective efficacy of immune serum IgG and pepsin-digested F(ab’)₂ fragments from the immunized horses.
  • The paper outlines that the equine F(ab’)₂ fragments, along with the immune horse sera, efficiently neutralized WNV infection in a tissue culture.
  • The team then studied the transfer of these antibodies in mice infected with WNV to determine their effects.

Research Findings

  • The antibodies significantly accelerated the virus clearance in the spleens and brains of the infected mice, thereby, reducing mortality.
  • The role of the equine antibodies in neutralizing the WNV infection, coupled with the positive outcomes from the passive transfer of these antibodies, highlights their potential for the future study in humans.

Research Impact and Conclusion

  • The study thus infers that using equine immunoglobulin or equine neutralizing F(ab’)₂ as a passive form of immunotherapy is a potential strategy for the prophylactic or therapeutic treatment of patients infected with WNV.
  • The results of this preliminary study on mice suggest the possibility of developing a new treatment protocol against WNV, which can have significant implications for ongoing efforts to combat the virus and its impacts worldwide.

Cite This Article

APA
Cui J, Zhao Y, Wang H, Qiu B, Cao Z, Li Q, Zhang Y, Yan F, Jin H, Wang T, Sun W, Feng N, Gao Y, Sun J, Wang Y, Perlman S, Zhao J, Yang S, Xia X. (2016). Equine Immunoglobulin and Equine Neutralizing F(ab’)₂ Protect Mice from West Nile Virus Infection. Viruses, 8(12), 332. https://doi.org/10.3390/v8120332

Publication

Viruses
ISSN: 1999-4915
NlmUniqueID: 101509722
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 8
Issue: 12
PII: 332

Researcher Affiliations

Cui, Jiannan
  • College of Veterinary Medicine, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China. cjn052015@163.com.
  • Institute of Military Veterinary, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun 130122, China. cjn052015@163.com.
Zhao, Yongkun
  • Institute of Military Veterinary, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun 130122, China. zhaoyongkun1976@126.com.
  • Jiangsu Co-innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Disease and Zoonoses, Yangzhou 225009, China. zhaoyongkun1976@126.com.
Wang, Hualei
  • Institute of Military Veterinary, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun 130122, China. wangh25@hotmail.com.
  • Jiangsu Co-innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Disease and Zoonoses, Yangzhou 225009, China. wangh25@hotmail.com.
Qiu, Boning
  • College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China. zerg1230@163.com.
Cao, Zengguo
  • Institute of Military Veterinary, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun 130122, China. CC_xiaocao9ye@163.com.
Li, Qian
  • Institute of Military Veterinary, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun 130122, China. linglong662222@163.com.
Zhang, Yanbo
  • Institute of Military Veterinary, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun 130122, China. zhaoyongkun1976@126.com.
Yan, Feihu
  • Institute of Military Veterinary, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun 130122, China. yanfeih戄1@126.com.
Jin, Hongli
  • College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China. jin8616771@163.com.
Wang, Tiecheng
  • Institute of Military Veterinary, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun 130122, China. wgcha@163.com.
  • Jiangsu Co-innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Disease and Zoonoses, Yangzhou 225009, China. wgcha@163.com.
Sun, Weiyang
  • Institute of Military Veterinary, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun 130122, China. sunweiyang1987@163.com.
  • Jiangsu Co-innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Disease and Zoonoses, Yangzhou 225009, China. sunweiyang1987@163.com.
Feng, Na
  • Institute of Military Veterinary, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun 130122, China. fengna0308@126.com.
  • Jiangsu Co-innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Disease and Zoonoses, Yangzhou 225009, China. fengna0308@126.com.
Gao, Yuwei
  • Institute of Military Veterinary, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun 130122, China. gaoyuwei@gmail.com.
  • Jiangsu Co-innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Disease and Zoonoses, Yangzhou 225009, China. gaoyuwei@gmail.com.
Sun, Jing
  • State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Disease, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510120, China. sj-ji@163.com.
Wang, Yanqun
  • State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Disease, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510120, China. wangyanqun2008@163.com.
Perlman, Stanley
  • Department of Microbiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. stanley-perlman@uiowa.edu.
Zhao, Jincun
  • State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Disease, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510120, China. zhaojincun@gird.cn.
Yang, Songtao
  • Institute of Military Veterinary, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun 130122, China. yst62041@163.com.
  • Jiangsu Co-innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Disease and Zoonoses, Yangzhou 225009, China. yst62041@163.com.
Xia, Xianzhu
  • Institute of Military Veterinary, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun 130122, China. xiaxzh@cae.cn.
  • Jiangsu Co-innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Disease and Zoonoses, Yangzhou 225009, China. xiaxzh@cae.cn.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Neutralizing / administration & dosage
  • Antibodies, Viral / administration & dosage
  • Brain / virology
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Horses
  • Immunization, Passive / methods
  • Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments / administration & dosage
  • Immunologic Factors / administration & dosage
  • Mice
  • Spleen / virology
  • Treatment Outcome
  • West Nile Fever / prevention & control
  • West Nile virus / immunology
  • West Nile virus / isolation & purification

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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