Engineered AAV8 capsid acquires heparin and AVB sepharose binding capacity but has altered in vivo transduction efficiency.

Naturally occurring adeno-associated virus (AAV) serotypes that bind to ligands such as AVB sepharose or heparin can be purified by affinity chromatography, which is a more efficient and scalable method than gradient ultracentrifugation. Wild-type AAV8 does not bind effectively to either of these molecules, which constitutes a barrier to using this vector when a high throughput design is required. Previously, AAV8 was engineered to contain a SPAKFA amino acid sequence to facilitate purification using AVB sepharose resin; however, in vivo studies were not conducted to examine whether these capsid mutations altered the transduction profile. To address this gap in knowledge, a mutant AAV8 capsid was engineered to bind to AVB sepharose and heparan sulfate (AAV8-AVB-HS), which efficiently bound to both affinity columns, resulting in elution yields of >80% of the total vector loaded compared to <5% for wild-type AAV8. However, in vivo comparison by intramuscular, intravenous, and intraperitoneal vector administration demonstrated a significant decrease in AAV8-AVB-HS transduction efficiency without alteration of the transduction profile. Therefore, although it is possible to engineer AAV capsids to bind various affinity ligands, the consequences associated with mutating surface exposed residues have the potential to negatively impact other vector characteristics including in vivo potency and production yield. This study demonstrates the importance of evaluating all aspects of vector performance when engineering AAV capsids.

Dysregulation of neuroprotective astrocytes, a spectrum of microglial activation states, and altered hippocampal neurogenesis are revealed by single-cell RNA sequencing in prion disease.

Prion diseases are neurodegenerative disorders with long asymptomatic incubation periods, followed by a rapid progression of cognitive and functional decline culminating in death. The complexity of intercellular interactions in the brain is challenging to unravel and the basis of disease pathobiology remains poorly understood. In this study, we employed single cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) to produce an atlas of 147,536 single cell transcriptomes from cortex and hippocampus of mice infected with prions and showing clinical signs. We identified transcriptionally distinct populations and sub-populations of all the major brain cell-types. Disease-related transcription was highly specific to not only overarching cell-types, but also to sub-populations of glia and neurons. Most striking was an apparent decrease in relative frequency of astrocytes expressing genes that are required for brain homeostasis such as lipid synthesis, glutamate clearance, synaptic modulation and regulation of blood flow. Additionally, we described a spectrum of microglial activation states that suggest delineation of phagocytic and neuroinflammatory functions in different cell subsets. Differential responses of immature and mature neuron populations were also observed, alongside abnormal hippocampal neurogenesis. Our scRNAseq library provides a new layer of knowledge on single cell gene expression in prion disease, and is a basis for a more detailed understanding of cellular interplay that leads to neurodegeneration.

AAV-monoclonal antibody expression protects mice from Ebola virus without impeding the endogenous antibody response to heterologous challenge.

Filoviruses cause severe hemorrhagic fever with case fatality rates as high as 90%. Filovirus-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) confer protection in nonhuman primates as late as 5 days after challenge, and FDA-approved mAbs REGN-EB3 and mAb114 have demonstrated efficacy against Ebola virus (EBOV) infection in humans. Vectorized antibody expression mediated by adeno-associated virus (AAV) can generate protective and sustained concentrations of therapeutic mAbs in animal models for a variety of infectious diseases, including EBOV. Here we demonstrate that AAV6.2FF-mediated expression of murine IgG2a EBOV mAbs, 2G4 and 5D2, protects from mouse-adapted (MA)-EBOV infection with none of the surviving mice developing anti-VP40 antibodies above background. Protective serum concentrations of AAV6.2FF-2G4/AAV6.2FF-5D2 did not alter endogenous antibody responses to heterologous virus infection. AAV-mediated expression of EBOV mAbs 100 and 114, and pan-ebolavirus mAbs, FVM04, ADI-15878, and CA45, as human IgG1 antibodies conferred protection against MA-EBOV at low serum concentrations, with minimum protective serum levels as low as 2 µg/mL. Vectorized expression of murine IgG2a or human IgG1 mAbs led to sustained expression in the serum of mice for >400 days or for the lifetime of the animal, respectively. AAV6.2FF-mediated mAb expression offers an alternative to recombinant antibody administration in scenarios where long-term protection is preferable to passive immunization.

Neurons and Astrocytes Elicit Brain Region Specific Transcriptional Responses to Prion Disease in the Murine CA1 and Thalamus.

Progressive dysfunction and loss of neurons ultimately culminates in the symptoms and eventual fatality of prion disease, yet the pathways and mechanisms that lead to neuronal degeneration remain elusive. Here, we used RNAseq to profile transcriptional changes in microdissected CA1 and thalamus brain tissues from prion infected mice. Numerous transcripts were altered during clinical disease, whereas very few transcripts were reliably altered at pre-clinical time points. Prion altered transcripts were assigned to broadly defined brain cell types and we noted a strong transcriptional signature that was affiliated with reactive microglia and astrocytes. While very few neuronal transcripts were common between the CA1 and thalamus, we described transcriptional changes in both regions that were related to synaptic dysfunction. Using transcriptional profiling to compare how different neuronal populations respond during prion disease may help decipher mechanisms that lead to neuronal demise and should be investigated with greater detail.

Non-Productive Infection of Glial Cells with SARS-CoV-2 in Hamster Organotypic Cerebellar Slice Cultures.

The numerous neurological syndromes associated with COVID-19 implicate an effect of viral pathogenesis on neuronal function, yet reports of direct SARS-CoV-2 infection in the brain are conflicting. We used a well-established organotypic brain slice culture to determine the permissivity of hamster brain tissues to SARS-CoV-2 infection. We found levels of live virus waned after inoculation and observed no evidence of cell-to-cell spread, indicating that SARS-CoV-2 infection was non-productive. Nonetheless, we identified a small number of infected cells with glial phenotypes; however, no evidence of viral infection or replication was observed in neurons. Our data corroborate several clinical studies that have assessed patients with COVID-19 and their association with neurological involvement.

Single Immunization with Recombinant ACAM2000 Vaccinia Viruses Expressing the Spike and the Nucleocapsid Proteins Protects Hamsters against SARS-CoV-2-Caused Clinical Disease.

Increasing cases of SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections from immunization with current spike protein-based COVID-19 vaccines highlight the need to develop alternative vaccines using different platforms and/or antigens. In this study, we expressed SARS-CoV-2 spike and nucleocapsid proteins based on a novel vaccinia virus (VACV) ACAM2000 platform (rACAM2000). In this platform, the vaccinia virus host range and immunoregulatory gene E3L was deleted to make the virus attenuated and to enhance innate immune responses, and another host range gene, K3L, was replaced with a poxvirus ortholog gene, taterapox virus 037 (TATV037), to make virus replication competent in both hamster and human cells. Following a single intramuscular immunization, the rACAM2000 coexpressing the spike and nucleocapsid proteins induced significantly improved protection against SARS-CoV-2 challenge in comparison to rACAM2000 expressing the individual proteins in a hamster model, as shown by reduced weight loss and shorter recovery time. The protection was associated with reduced viral loads, increased neutralizing antibody titer, and reduced neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio. Thus, our study demonstrates that rACAM2000 expressing a combination of the spike and nucleocapsid antigens is a promising COVID-19 vaccine candidate, and further studies will investigate if the rACAM2000 vaccine candidate can induce a long-lasting immunity against infection by SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. IMPORTANCE Continuous emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants which cause breakthrough infection from the immunity induced by current spike protein-based COVID-19 vaccines highlights the need for new generations of vaccines that will induce long-lasting immunity against a wide range of the variants. To this end, we investigated the protective efficacy of the recombinant COVID-19 vaccine candidates based on a novel VACV ACAM2000 platform, in which an immunoregulatory gene, E3L, was deleted and both the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) antigens were expressed. Thus, it is expected that the vaccine candidate we constructed should be more immunogenic and safer. In the initial study described in this work, we demonstrated that the vaccine candidate expressing both the S and N proteins is superior to the constructs expressing an individual protein (S or N) in protecting hamsters against SARS-CoV-2 challenge after a single-dose immunization, and further investigation against different SARS-CoV-2 variants will warrant future clinical evaluations.

Generation and Characterization of a SARS-CoV-2-Susceptible Mouse Model Using Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV6.2FF)-Mediated Respiratory Delivery of the Human ACE2 Gene.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the aetiological agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) that has caused a pandemic with millions of human infections. There continues to be a pressing need to develop potential therapies and vaccines to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection to mitigate the ongoing pandemic. Epidemiological data from the current pandemic indicates that there may be sex-dependent differences in disease outcomes. To investigate these differences, we proposed to use common small animal species that are frequently used to model disease with viruses. However, common laboratory strains of mice are not readily infected by SARS-CoV-2 because of differences in the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the cellular receptor for the virus. To overcome this limitation, we transduced common laboratory accessible strains of mice of different sexes and age groups with a novel a triple AAV6 mutant, termed AAV6.2FF, encoding either human ACE2 or luciferase via intranasal administration to promote expression in the lung and nasal turbinates. Infection of AAV-hACE2-transduced mice with SARS-CoV-2 resulted in high viral titers in the lungs and nasal turbinates, establishment of an IgM and IgG antibody response, and modulation of lung and nasal turbinate cytokine profiles. There were insignificant differences in infection characteristics between age groups and sex-related differences; however, there were significant strain-related differences between BALB/c vs. C57BL/6 mice. We show that AAV-hACE2-transduced mice are a useful for determining immune responses and for potential evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and antiviral therapies, and this study serves as a model for the utility of this approach to rapidly develop small-animal models for emerging viruses.

Intranasal vaccination with a Newcastle disease virus-vectored vaccine protects hamsters from SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease.

The pandemic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Worldwide efforts are being made to develop vaccines to mitigate this pandemic. We engineered two recombinant Newcastle disease virus (NDV) vectors expressing either the full-length SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (NDV-FLS) or a version with a 19 amino acid deletion at the carboxy terminus (NDV-Δ19S). Hamsters receiving two doses (prime-boost) of NDV-FLS developed a robust SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing antibody response, with elimination of infectious virus in the lungs and minimal lung pathology at five days post-challenge. Single-dose vaccination with NDV-FLS significantly reduced SARS-CoV-2 replication in the lungs but only mildly decreased lung inflammation. NDV-Δ19S-treated hamsters had a moderate decrease in SARS-CoV-2 titers in lungs and presented with severe microscopic lesions, suggesting that truncation of the spike protein was a less effective strategy. In summary, NDV-vectored vaccines represent a viable option for protection against COVID-19.

A novel mouse AAV6 hACE2 transduction model of wild-type SARS-CoV-2 infection studied using synDNA immunogens.

More than 100 million people have been infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Common laboratory mice are not susceptible to wild-type SARS-CoV-2 infection, challenging the development and testing of effective interventions. Here, we describe the development and testing of a mouse model for SARS-CoV-2 infection based on transduction of the respiratory tract of laboratory mice with an adeno-associated virus vector (AAV6) expressing human ACE-2 (AAV6.2FF-hACE2). We validated this model using a previously described synthetic DNA vaccine plasmid, INO-4800 (pS). Intranasal instillation of AAV6.2FF-hACE2 resulted in robust hACE2 expression in the respiratory tract. pS induced robust cellular and humoral responses. Vaccinated animals were challenged with 105 TCID50 SARS-CoV-2 (hCoV-19/Canada/ON-VIDO-01/2020) and euthanized four days post-challenge to assess viral load. One immunization resulted in 50% protection and two immunizations were completely protective. Overall, the AAV6.2FF-hACE2 mouse transduction model represents an easily accessible, genetically diverse mouse model for wild-type SARS-CoV-2 infection and preclinical evaluation of potential interventions.

Differential pathogenesis between Andes virus strains CHI-7913 and Chile-9717869in Syrian Hamsters.

Hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) is a severe respiratory disease caused by orthohantaviruses in the Americas with a fatality rate as high as 35%. In South America, Andes orthohantavirus (Hantaviridae, Orthohantavirus, ANDV) is a major cause of HCPS, particularly in Chile and Argentina, where thousands of cases have been reported since the virus was discovered. Two strains of ANDV that are classically used for experimental studies of the virus are Chile-9717869, isolated from the natural reservoir, the long-tailed pygmy rice rat, and CHI-7913, an isolate from a lethal human case of HCPS. An important animal model for studying pathogenesis of HCPS is the lethal Syrian golden hamster model of ANDV infection. In this model, ANDV strain Chile-9717869 is uniformly lethal and has been used extensively for pathogenesis, vaccination, and therapeutic studies. Here we show that the CHI-7913 strain, despite having high sequence similarity with Chile-9717869, does not cause lethal disease in Syrian hamsters. CHI-7913, while being able to infect hamsters and replicate to moderate levels, showed a reduced ability to replicate within the tissues compared with Chile-9717869. Hamsters infected with CHI-7913 had reduced expression of cytokines IL-4, IL-6, and IFN-γ compared with Chile-9717869 infected animals, suggesting potentially limited immune-mediated pathology. These results demonstrate that certain ANDV strains may not be lethal in the classical Syrian hamster model of infection, and further exploration into the differences between lethal and non-lethal strains provide important insights into molecular determinants of pathogenic hantavirus infection.Importance:Andes orthohantavirus (ANDV) is a New World hantavirus that is a major cause of hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS, also referred to as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome) in South America, particularly in Chile and Argentina. ANDV is one of the few hantaviruses for which there is a reliable animal model, the Syrian hamster model, which recapitulates important aspects of human disease. Here we infected hamsters with a human isolate of ANDV, CHI-7913, to assess its pathogenicity compared with the classical lethal Chile-9717869 strain. CHI-7913 had 22 amino acid differences compared with Chile-9717869, did not cause lethal disease in hamsters, and showed reduced ability to replicate in vivo Our data indicate potentially important molecular signatures for pathogenesis of ANDV infection in hamsters and may lead to insights into what drives pathogenesis of certain hantaviruses in humans.

Characterization of a novel STAT 2 knock-out hamster model of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus pathogenesis.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is a tick-borne pathogen causing a febrile illness in humans, which can progress to hemorrhagic manifestations, multi-organ failure, and death. Current mouse models of CCHFV infection reliably succumb to virus challenge but vary in their ability to reflect signs of disease similar to humans. In this study, we established a signal transducer and activator of transcription 2 (STAT2) knockout hamster model to expand the repertoire of animal models of CCHFV pathogenesis that can be used for therapeutic development. These hamsters demonstrated a systemic and lethal disease in response to infection. Hallmarks of human disease were observed including petechial rash, blood coagulation dysfunction, and various biochemistry and blood cell count abnormalities. Furthermore, we also demonstrated the utility of this model for anti-CCHFV therapeutic evaluation. The STAT2 knock-out hamster model of CCHFV infection may provide some further insights into clinical disease, viral pathogenesis, and pave the way for testing of potential drug and vaccine candidates.

Establishment of an RNA polymerase II-driven reverse genetics system for Nipah virus strains from Malaysia and Bangladesh.

Nipah virus (NiV) has emerged as a highly lethal zoonotic paramyxovirus that is capable of causing a febrile encephalitis and/or respiratory disease in humans for which no vaccines or licensed treatments are currently available. There are two genetically and geographically distinct lineages of NiV: NiV-Malaysia (NiV-M), the strain that caused the initial outbreak in Malaysia, and NiV-Bangladesh (NiV-B), the strain that has been implicated in subsequent outbreaks in India and Bangladesh. NiV-B appears to be both more lethal and have a greater propensity for person-to-person transmission than NiV-M. Here we describe the generation and characterization of stable RNA polymerase II-driven infectious cDNA clones of NiV-M and NiV-B. In vitro, reverse genetics-derived NiV-M and NiV-B were indistinguishable from a wildtype isolate of NiV-M, and both viruses were pathogenic in the Syrian hamster model of NiV infection. We also describe recombinant NiV-M and NiV-B with enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) inserted between the G and L genes that enable rapid and sensitive detection of NiV infection in vitro. This panel of molecular clones will enable studies to investigate the virologic determinants of henipavirus pathogenesis, including the pathogenic differences between NiV-M and NiV-B, and the high-throughput screening of candidate therapeutics.

Vesicular Stomatitis Virus-Based Vaccines Provide Cross-Protection against Andes and Sin Nombre Viruses.

Andes virus (ANDV) and Sin Nombre virus (SNV) are the main causative agents responsible for hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) in the Americas. HCPS is a severe respiratory disease with a high fatality rate for which there are no approved therapeutics or vaccines available. Some vaccine approaches for HCPS have been tested in preclinical models, but none have been tested in infectious models in regard to their ability to protect against multiple species of HCPS-causing viruses. Here, we utilize recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus-based (VSV) vaccines for Andes virus (ANDV) and Sin Nombre virus (SNV) and assess their ability to provide cross-protection in infectious challenge models. We show that, while both rVSVΔG/ANDVGPC and rVSVΔG/SNVGPC display attenuated growth as compared to wild type VSV, each vaccine is able to induce a cross-reactive antibody response. Both vaccines protected against both homologous and heterologous challenge with ANDV and SNV and prevented HCPS in a lethal ANDV challenge model. This study provides evidence that the development of a single vaccine against HCPS-causing hantaviruses could provide protection against multiple agents.

A recombinant vesicular stomatitis-based Lassa fever vaccine elicits rapid and long-term protection from lethal Lassa virus infection in guinea pigs.

The World Health Organization has identified Lassa virus (LASV) as one of the top five pathogens to cause a severe outbreak in the near future. This study assesses the ability of a leading vaccine candidate, recombinant Vesicular stomatitis virus expressing LASV glycoprotein (VSVΔG/LASVGPC), and its ability to induce rapid and long-term immunity to lethal guinea pig-adapted LASV (GPA-LASV). Outbred guinea pigs were vaccinated with a single dose of VSVΔG/LASVGPC followed by a lethal challenge of GPA-LASV at 7, 14, 25, 189, and 355 days post-vaccination. Statistically significant rapid and long-term protection was achieved at all time points with 100% protection at days 7 and 14 post-vaccination. While 83 and 87% protection were achieved at 25 days and 6 months post-vaccination, respectively. When guinea pigs were challenged one year after vaccination 71% protection was achieved. Notable infectious virus was isolated from the serum and tissues of some but not all animals. Total LASVGPC-specific IgG titers were also measured on a monthly basis leading up to LASV challenge however, it is unclear if antibody alone correlates with short and long term survival. These studies confirm that a single dose of VSVΔG/LASVGPC can induce rapid and long-term protection from LASV infection in an aggressive outbred model of infection, and supports further development in non-human primates.

The cell type resolved mouse transcriptome in neuron-enriched brain tissues from the hippocampus and cerebellum during prion disease.

Multiple cell types and complex connection networks are an intrinsic feature of brain tissue. In this study we used expression profiling of specific microscopic regions of heterogeneous tissue sections isolated by laser capture microdissection (LCM) to determine insights into the molecular basis of brain pathology in prion disease. Temporal profiles in two mouse models of prion disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and a mouse-adapted strain of scrapie (RML) were performed in microdissected regions of the CA1 hippocampus and granular layer of the cerebellum which are both enriched in neuronal cell bodies. We noted that during clinical disease the number of activated microglia and astrocytes that occur in these areas are increased, thereby likely diluting the neuronal gene expression signature. We performed a comparative analysis with gene expression profiles determined from isolated populations of neurons, microglia and astrocytes to identify transcripts that are enriched in each of these cell types. Although the incubation periods of these two models are quite different, over 300 days for BSE and ~160 days for RML scrapie, these regional microdissections revealed broadly similar profiles. Microglial and astrocyte-enriched genes contributed a profound inflammatory profile consisting of inflammatory cytokines, genes related to phagocytosis, proteolysis and genes coding for extracellular matrix proteins. CA1 pyramidal neurons displayed a net upregulation of transcription factors and stress induced genes at pre-clinical stages of disease while all tissues showed profound decrease of overlapping genes related to neuronal function, in particular transcripts related to neuronal communication including glutamate receptors, phosphatase subunits and numerous synapse-related markers. Of note, we found a small number of genes expressed in neurons that were upregulated during clinical disease including, COX6A2, FZD9, RXRG and SOX11, that may be biomarkers of neurodegeneration.

A Novel Triple-Mutant AAV6 Capsid Induces Rapid and Potent Transgene Expression in the Muscle and Respiratory Tract of Mice.

Gene therapy for the treatment of genetic disorders has demonstrated considerable therapeutic success in clinical trials. Among the most effective and commonly used gene delivery vectors are those based on adeno-associated virus (AAV). Despite these advances in clinical gene therapy, further improvements in AAV vector properties such as rapid intracellular processing and transgene expression, targeted transduction of therapeutically relevant cell types, and longevity of transgene expression, will render extension of such successes to many other human diseases. Engineering of AAV capsids continues to evolve the specificity and efficiency of AAV-mediated gene transfer. Here, we describe a triple AAV6 mutant, termed AAV6.2FF, containing F129L, Y445F, and Y731F mutations. AAV6.2FF yielded 10-fold greater transgene expression in lung than AAV6 after 21 days. Additionally, this novel capsid demonstrated 101-fold and 49-fold increased transgene expression in the muscle and lungs, respectively, 24 hr post vector delivery when compared with the parental AAV6. Furthermore, AAV6.2FF retains heparin sulfate binding capacity and displays a 10-fold increase in resistance to pooled immunoglobulin neutralization in vitro. The rapid and potent expression mediated by AAV6.2FF is ideally suited to applications such as vectored immunoprophylaxis, in which rapid transgene expression is vital for use during an outbreak response scenario.

Migratory culture, population structure and stock identity in North Pacific beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas).

The annual return of beluga whales, Delphinapterus leucas, to traditional seasonal locations across the Arctic may involve migratory culture, while the convergence of discrete summering aggregations on common wintering grounds may facilitate outbreeding. Natal philopatry and cultural inheritance, however, has been difficult to assess as earlier studies were of too short a duration, while genetic analyses of breeding patterns, especially across the beluga's Pacific range, have been hampered by inadequate sampling and sparse information on wintering areas. Using a much expanded sample and genetic marker set comprising 1,647 whales, spanning more than two decades and encompassing all major coastal summering aggregations in the Pacific Ocean, we found evolutionary-level divergence among three geographic regions: the Gulf of Alaska, the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Seas, and the Sea of Okhotsk (Φst = 0.11-0.32, Rst = 0.09-0.13), and likely demographic independence of (Fst-mtDNA = 0.02-0.66), and in many cases limited gene flow (Fst-nDNA = 0.0-0.02; K = 5-6) among, summering groups within regions. Assignment tests identified few immigrants within summering aggregations, linked migrating groups to specific summering areas, and found that some migratory corridors comprise whales from multiple subpopulations (PBAYES = 0.31:0.69). Further, dispersal is male-biased and substantial numbers of closely related whales congregate together at coastal summering areas. Stable patterns of heterogeneity between areas and consistently high proportions (~20%) of close kin (including parent-offspring) sampled up to 20 years apart within areas (G = 0.2-2.9, p>0.5) is the first direct evidence of natal philopatry to migration destinations in belugas. Using recent satellite telemetry findings on belugas we found that the spatial proximity of winter ranges has a greater influence on the degree of both individual and genetic exchange than summer ranges (rwinter-Fst-mtDNA = 0.9, rsummer-Fst-nDNA = 0.1). These findings indicate widespread natal philopatry to summering aggregation and entire migratory circuits, and provide compelling evidence that migratory culture and kinship helps maintain demographically discrete beluga stocks that can overlap in time and space.

Intramuscular Adeno-Associated Virus-Mediated Expression of Monoclonal Antibodies Provides 100% Protection Against Ebola Virus Infection in Mice.

The 2013-2016 West Africa outbreak demonstrated the epidemic potential of Ebola virus and highlighted the need for counter strategies. Monoclonal antibody (mAb)-based therapies hold promise as treatment options for Ebola virus infections. However, production of clinical-grade mAbs is labor intensive, and immunity is short lived. Conversely, adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated mAb gene transfer provides the host with a genetic blueprint to manufacture mAbs in vivo, leading to steady release of antibody over many months. Here we demonstrate that AAV-mediated expression of nonneutralizing mAb 5D2 or 7C9 confers 100% protection against mouse-adapted Ebola virus infection, while neutralizing mAb 2G4 was 83% protective. A 2-component cocktail, AAV-2G4/AAV-5D2, provided complete protection when administered 7 days prior to challenge and was partially protective with a 3-day lead time. Finally, AAV-mAb therapies provided sustained protection from challenge 5 months following AAV administration. AAV-mAb may be a viable alternative strategy for vaccination against emerging infectious diseases.

MicroRNA-16 targets mRNA involved in neurite extension and branching in hippocampal neurons during presymptomatic prion disease.

The mechanisms that lead to neuronal death in neurodegenerative diseases are poorly understood. Prion diseases, like many more common disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, are characterized by the progressive accumulation of misfolded disease-specific proteins. The earliest changes observed in brain tissue include a reduction in synaptic number and retraction of dendritic spines, followed by reduced length and branching of neurites. These pathologies are observable during presymptomatic stages of disease and are accompanied by altered expression of transcripts that include miRNAs. Here we report that miR-16 localized within hippocampal CA1 neurons is increased during early prion disease. Modulating miR-16 expression in mature murine hippocampal neurons by expression from a lentivirus, thus mimicking the modest increase seen in vivo, was found to induce neurodegeneration. This was characterized by retraction of neurites and reduced branching. We performed immunoprecipitation of the miR-16 enriched RISC complex, and identified associated transcripts from the co-immunoprecipitated RNA (Ago2 RIP-Chip). These transcripts were enriched with predicted binding sites for miR-16, including the validated miR-16 targets APP and BCL2, as well as numerous novel targets. In particular, genes within the neurotrophin receptor mediated MAPK/ERK pathway were potentially regulated by miR-16; including TrkB (NTRK2), MEK1 (MAP2K1) and c-Raf (RAF). Increased miR-16 expression in neurons during presymptomatic prion disease and reduction in proteins involved in MAPK/ERK signaling represents a possible mechanism by which neurite length and branching are decreased during early stages of disease.

Human polyclonal antibodies produced in transchromosomal cattle prevent lethal Zika virus infection and testicular atrophy in mice.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is rapidly spreading throughout the Americas and is associated with significant fetal complications, most notably microcephaly. Treatment with polyclonal antibodies for pregnant women at risk of ZIKV-related complications could be a safe alternative to vaccination. We found that large quantities of human polyclonal antibodies could be rapidly produced in transchromosomal bovines (TcB) and successfully used to protect mice from lethal infection. Additionally, antibody treatment eliminated ZIKV induced tissue damage in immunologically privileged sites such as the brain and testes and protected against testicular atrophy. These data indicate that rapid development and deployment of human polyclonal antibodies could be a viable countermeasure against ZIKV.