Safety, Immunogenicity, and Mechanism of a Rotavirus mRNA-LNP Vaccine in Mice.

Rotaviruses (RVs) are a major cause of diarrhea in young children worldwide. The currently available and licensed vaccines contain live attenuated RVs. Optimization of live attenuated RV vaccines or developing non-replicating RV (e.g., mRNA) vaccines is crucial for reducing the morbidity and mortality from RV infections. Herein, a nucleoside-modified mRNA vaccine encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles (LNP) and encoding the VP7 protein from the G1 type of RV was developed. The 5' untranslated region of an isolated human RV was utilized for the mRNA vaccine. After undergoing quality inspection, the VP7-mRNA vaccine was injected by subcutaneous or intramuscular routes into mice. Mice received three injections in 21 d intervals. IgG antibodies, neutralizing antibodies, cellular immunity, and gene expression from peripheral blood mononuclear cells were evaluated. Significant differences in levels of IgG antibodies were not observed in groups with adjuvant but were observed in groups without adjuvant. The vaccine without adjuvant induced the highest antibody titers after intramuscular injection. The vaccine elicited a potent antiviral immune response characterized by antiviral clusters of differentiation CD8+ T cells. VP7-mRNA induced interferon-γ secretion to mediate cellular immune responses. Chemokine-mediated signaling pathways and immune response were activated by VP7-mRNA vaccine injection. The mRNA LNP vaccine will require testing for protective efficacy, and it is an option for preventing rotavirus infection.

All-Electron Scalar Relativistic Calculations on the Adsorption of Small Gold Clusters Toward Methanol Molecule.

Under the framework of DFT, an all-electron scalar relativistic calculation on the adsorption of Aun (n = 1-13) clusters toward methanol molecule has been performed with the generalized gradient approximation at PW91 level. Our calculation results reveal that the small gold cluster would like to bond with oxygen of methanol molecule at the edge of gold cluster plane. After adsorption, the chemical activities of hydroxyl group and methyl group are enhanced to some extent. The even-numbered AunCH3OH cluster with closed-shell electronic configuration is relatively more stable than the neighboring odd-numbered AunCH3OH cluster with open-shell electronic configuration. All the AunCH3OH clusters prefer low spin multiplicity (M = 1 for even-numbered AuNCH3OH clusters, M = 2 for odd-numbered AunCH3OH clusters) and the magnetic moments are mainly contributed by gold atoms. The odd-even alterations of magnetic moments and electronic configurations can be observed clearly and may be simply understood in terms of the electron pairing effect.

All-electron scalar relativistic calculation of water molecule adsorption onto small gold clusters.

An all-electron scalar relativistic calculation was performed on Au( n )H(2)O (n = 1-13) clusters using density functional theory (DFT) with the generalized gradient approximation at PW91 level. The calculation results reveal that, after adsorption, the small gold cluster would like to bond with oxygen and the H(2)O molecule prefers to occupy the single fold coordination site. Reflecting the strong scalar relativistic effect, Au( n ) geometries are distorted slightly but still maintain a planar structure. The Au-Au bond is strengthened and the H-O bond is weakened, as manifested by the shortening of the Au-Au bond-length and the lengthening of the H-O bond-length. The H-O-H bond angle becomes slightly larger. The enhancement of reactivity of the H(2)O molecule is obvious. The Au-O bond-lengths, adsorption energies, VIPs, HLGs, HOMO (LUMO) energy levels, charge transfers and the highest vibrational frequencies of the Au-O mode for Au( n )H(2)O clusters exhibit an obvious odd-even oscillation. The most favorable adsorption between small gold clusters and the H(2)O molecule takes place when the H(2)O molecule is adsorbed onto an even-numbered Au( n ) cluster and becomes an Au( n )H(2)O cluster with an even number of valence electrons. The odd-even alteration of magnetic moments is observed in Au( n )H(2)O clusters and may serve as material with a tunable code capacity of "0" and "1" by adsorbing a H(2)O molecule onto an odd or even-numbered small gold cluster.