SARS-CoV-2 membrane protein is incompetent at inducing antibody-dependent enhancement though Fc receptor pathway / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective:To investigate the immune characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 membrane (M) protein, especially the possibility of inducing antibody-dependent enhancement effect (ADE).Methods:Full-length SARS-CoV-2 M protein was prepared by prokaryotic expression system and purified. BALB/c mice were immunized subcutaneously three times (on day 1, day 14 and day 21) by purified M protein. Serum samples were collected before immunization and after each immunization. The specificity of immune sera against M protein was identified by Western blot, and the antibody titers were detected by ELISA and neutralization test. In the presence of anti-M protein serum, the proliferation of SARS-CoV-2 in dendritic cells, nature killer cells, T and B cells was detected in vitro. Results:The immune sera from BALB/c mice immunized with purified full-length M protein of SARS-CoV-2 specifically recognized viral M protein. The titer of anti-whole virus antibody in immune sera was about 1∶400, but the antibody could not neutralize live virus. Moreover, the antibody could not help the virus to infect and proliferate in the various types of immune cells with Fc receptor (FcR).Conclusions:Non-neutralizing antibody induced by M protein could not cause ADE through FcR pathway.

Heterologous vaccination strategy for containing COVID-19 pandemic

An unequitable vaccine allocation and continuously emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants pose challenges to contain the pandemic, which underscores the need for licensing more vaccine candidates, increasing manufacturing capacity and implementing better immunization strategy. Here, we report data from a proof-of-concept investigation in two healthy individuals who received two doses of inactivated whole-virus COVID-19 vaccines, followed by a single heterologous boost vaccination after 7 months with an mRNA vaccine candidate (LPP-Spike-mRNA) developed by Stemirna Therapeutics. Following the boost, Spike-specific antibody (Ab), memory B cell and T cell responses were significantly increased. These findings indicate that a heterologous immunization strategy combining inactivated and mRNA vaccines can generate robust vaccine responses and therefore provide a rational and effective vaccination regimen.

Research progress in association between herpes simplex virus type 1 infection and Alzheimer′s disease / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), as a pathogen usually leading to herpes labialis, has been found to cause more cases of genital herpes and be associated with the occurrence of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer′s disease (AD). AD is a chronic and progressive degenerative disease of the central nervous system, the pathogenesis of which has not been fully elucidated, and currently there is a lack of drugs that can effectively treat the disease. The hypothesis that HSV-1 infection is involved in the pathogenesis of AD has been discussed for a long time, but there is no definite evidence to prove it. This article briefly reviewed the research progress in the pathogenesis of AD caused by HSV-1.

Cross-protective characteristics of specific immune response induced by HSV-1 attenuated strain M3 against HSV-2 infection / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective:To analyze the characteristics of immune cross-reaction between herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2 in terms of serology and clinical protection aiming to provide data for the control and prevention of diseases caused by the two viruses.Methods:An attenuated HSV-1 strain M3 was used to immunize BALB/c mice. Specific immune responses indicated by the production of neutralizing antibodies were detected. Wild-type HSV-1 and HSV-2 strains were respectively used to infect the mice through different ways 28 d after the immunization to observe the protective immunity in the M3-immunized mice against HSV-1/2 infection.Results:M3 strain could not induce specific neutralizing antibodies against HSV-2. Therefore, viral loads in tissues of the immunized mice increased significantly following different modes of HSV-2 exposure. However, no obvious abnormal clinical manifestations were found and the histopathological damage was only slight inflammatory reaction. In contrast, HSV-1-specific neutralizing antibodies were elicited in the M3-immunizaed mice with significant protective effects against HSV-1 infection.Conclusions:The immune response induced by attenuated HSV-1 strain M3 in mice exhibited immune-protective effects characterized by production of neutralizing antibodies and inhibition of virus proliferation in vivo against wild-type HSV-1 infection. For HSV-2, instead of neutralizing virus in form of antibodies, it featured by more of clinical cross-immunoprotective abilities to control virus growth.

An in-depth investigation of the safety and immunogenicity of an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine

BACKGROUNDIn-depth investigations of the safety and immunogenicity of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are needed. METHODIn a phase I randomized, double-blinded, and placebo-controlled trial involving 192 healthy adults 18-59 years of age, two injections of three different doses (50 EU, 100 EU and 150 EU) of an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine or the placebo were administered intramuscularly with a 2- or 4-week interval between the injections. The safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine were evaluated within 28 days. FINDINGIn this study, 191 subjects assigned to three doses groups or the placebo group completed the 28-day trial. There were 44 adverse reactions within the 28 days, most commonly mild pain and redness at the injection site or slight fatigue, and no abnormal variations were observed in 48 cytokines in the serum samples of immunized subjects. The serum samples diluted from 1:32 to 1:4096 and incubated with the virus did not show antibody-dependent enhancement effects (ADEs) with regard to human natural killer cells, macrophages or dendritic cells. At day 14, the seroconversion rates had reached 92%, 100% and 96% with geometric mean titers (GMTs) of 18.0, 54.5 and 37.1, and at day 28, the seroconversion rates had reached 80%, 96% and 92% with GMTs of 10.6, 15.4 and 19.6in 0, 14 and 0, 28 procedures, respectively. Seroconversion was associated with the synchronous upregulation of ELISA antibodies against the S protein, N protein and virion and a cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response. Transcriptome analysis shaped the genetic diversity of immune response induced by the vaccine. INTERPRETATIONIn a population aged 18-59 years, this inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine was safe and immunogenic. Trial registrationNCT04412538 FUNDINGThe National Key R&D Program of China (2020YFC0849700), the Program of Chinese Academy of Medicine Science and the Major Science and Technology Special Projects of Yunnan Province.

A valid protective immune response elicited in rhesus macaques by an inactivated vaccine is capable of defending against SARS-CoV-2 infection

With the relatively serious global epidemic outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 infection, public concerns focus on not only clinical therapeutic measures and public quarantine for this disease but also the development of vaccines. The technical design of our SARS-CoV-2 inactivated vaccine provides a viral antigen that enables the exposure of more than one structural protein based upon the antibody composition of COVID-19 patients convalescent serum. This design led to valid immunity with increasing neutralizing antibody titers and a CTL response detected post-immunization of this vaccine by two injections in rhesus macaques. Further, this elicited immunoprotection in macaques enables not only to restrain completely viral replication in tissues of immunized animals, compared to the adjuvant control and those immunized by an RBD peptide vaccine, but also to significantly alleviate inflammatory lesion in lung tissues in histo-pathologic detection, compared to the adjuvant control with developed interstitial pneumonia. The data obtained from these macaques immunized with the inactivated vaccine or RBD peptide vaccine suggest that immunity with a clinically protective effect against SARS-CoV-2 infection should include not only specific neutralizing antibodies but also specific CTL responses against at least the S and N antigens.

Generation of cynomolgus monkey fetuses with intracytoplasmic sperm injection based on the MII-stage oocytes acquired by personalized superovulation protocol

Background@#Mature oocytes at the metaphase II status (MII-stage oocytes) played an important role in assisted reproductive technology in non-human primates. @*Objectives@#In order to improve the proportion of MII-stage oocytes retrieval, three different superovulation protocols were performed on 24 female cynomolgus monkeys. @*Methods@#All the monkeys received once-daily injection of follicle-stimulating hormone (25 international unit [IU]) on day 3 of the menstruation, 3-day intervals, twice daily for 8–12 days until the time of human chorionic gonadotropin (1,500 IU) injection, on the 14–17th day of menstruation collecting oocytes. The difference between protocol I and protocol II was that 0.1 mg the gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist was injected on day 1 of the menstruation, while the difference between personalized superovulation protocol and protocol II was that oocytes could be collected on the 14–17th day of menstrual cycle according to the length of each monkey. @*Results@#The total number of oocytes harvested using the personalized superovulation protocol was much higher than that using protocol I (p < 0.05), and the proportion of MII-stage oocytes was significantly greater than that from either superovulation protocol I or II(p < 0.001 and p < 0.01 respectively), while the proportion of immature oocytes at the germinal vesicle was less than that from superovulation protocol I (p < 0.05). @*Conclusions@#The personalized superovulation protocol could increase the rate of MII-stage oocytes acquired, and successfully develop into embryos after intracytoplasmic sperm injection, and eventually generated fetus.

Pathogenesis of nasal and genital infection with herpes simplex virus type Ⅱ in BALB/c mice / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective To observe and analyze the pathological changes in BALB/c mice infected with herpes simplex virus typeⅡ (HSV-2) through nasal and genital inoculation. Methods Six-week old female BALB/c mice were divided into two groups, experimental and control groups. In the experimental group, the mice were infected with HSV-2 (104 CCID50/20μl per mouse) through nasal and genital tract in-oculation. Accordingly, the mice in the control group were injected with equal volume of PBS. Tissue speci-mens were collected from lung, nervous system and reproductive system for pathological analysis and viral load detection at different time points after infection. Lat gene expression in mouse trigeminal and sacral gan-glia was detected through in situ hybridization. In addition, the proliferation of viruses isolated form trigemi-nal and sacral ganglia of the infected mice was observed in vitro. Results Weight loss and histopathological lesions were observed in the mice of the experimental group 6 d after infection. Major pathological changes in the HSV-2-infected mice through nasal tract inoculation involved the lung and central nervous system( CNS) , including alveolar wall congestion, cerebrovascular cuff response and lymphocyte infiltration. How-ever, the major lesions in the infected mice through genital tract inoculation were found in the reproductive ducts, such as sacral ganglion necrosis, eosinophilia in the vagina and uterus, and ovarian congestion. Re-sults of the viral load detection in tissues and organs of the infected mice were consistent with the pathological changes. The mice infected through nasal tract inoculation had significantly higher viral loads in the nerves and lungs than those by genital tract inoculation, but lower viral loads in the genital tracts and sacral ganglia. Positive expression of lat gene at mRNA level was detected in the trigeminal and sacral ganglia of mice with HSV-2 latency 28 d after infection. In addition, both of the tissue fragments from trigeminal and sacral ganglia had cytopathic effects ( CPEs) on Vero cells. Enhanced expression of lat gene at mRNA level and much severer CPEs were induced by genital tract inoculation than by nasal tract inoculation. Conclu-sions HSV-2 could infect and cause histopathological damages in BALB/c mice through both nasal and genital tracts. In addition, the locations of the pathological lesions were closely related to the mode of infection.

Research progress in innate lymphoid cells / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

The newly identified innate lymphoid cells ( ILCs) are a member of innate lymphocytes which functionally resemble adaptive lymphocytes. ILCs arise from a common lymphoid progenitor ( CLP) and locate in multiple tissues. Three distinct groups of ILCs have been identified on the basis of transcription factors and expression of effector cytokines and termed ILC1s, ILC2s and ILC3s. These heterogeneous sub-sets play different roles in different tissues. They are involved in tissue remodeling, healing, anti-parasitic and anti-bacterial infections, tumor development, metabolic stability and immune tolerance to symbiotic mi-croorganisms. Here we focused on the most recent data concerning the classification, development and differ-entiation of ILCs as well as the new functions of ILCs.

Molecular characterization of immune response signaling molecules induced by transfection of cox-sackievirus B2 structural proteins into epithelial cells / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective To investigate the molecular characteristics of immune response signaling molecules induced by transfection of coxsackievirus B2 ( CVB2 ) structural proteins into epithelial cells. Methods Recombinant eukaryotic expression plasmids containing the coding regions of CVB2 structural proteins VP1-VP4 were constructed and then transfected into 16HBE cells. Culture supernatants and cell ly-sates of the transfected 16HBE cells were collected. Expression of signaling molecules involved in innate im-mune responses in transfected 16HBE cells at mRNA level was detected by RT-Q-PCR. The proliferation of T cells co-cultured with culture supernatants and cell lysates of the transfected 16HBE cells was analyzed by ELISPOT. Results Expression of innate immunity-related signaling molecules such as TGF-β-activated ki-nase ( TAK) , NF-κB-inducing kinase ( NIK) , IκB kinase α ( IKKα) and IFN-β at mRNA level was up-regulated in 16HBE cells transfected with CVB2 structural proteins VP1-VP4. Both culture supernatants and cell lysates of the transfected 16HBE cells enhanced the proliferation of T cells. Conclusions CVB2 struc-tural proteins VP1-VP4 could enhance the expression of innate immunity-related signaling molecules to var-ying degrees and promote the activation of adaptive immunity.

Epidemiological characteristics of herpes simplex virus / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) commonly causes orolabial ulcers. However, HSV-1 has become an increasing cause of genital infection in recent years and found to have close relationship associated with Alzheimer′s disease. HSV infection is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases. It has been received renewed attention in recent years, due to improvements in the understanding of the epidemiological synergy between HSV and other severe diseases, including HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and even neurocognitive impairment. In the context of global renewed attention and responses to HSV infection, we summarize the epidemic of HSV infection at home and abroad in this review, to provide an overview of the data available on HSV infections situation, trends and responses.

Preparation of monoclonal antibodies against pneumococcal polysaccharide and hepatitis B virus surface protein / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective@#To prepare monoclonal antibodies against pneumonia serotype 33F polysaccharides (Pn33Fps) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface proteins (HBs) by using the conjugate of Pn33Fps and HBs as antigen.@*Methods@#The conjugate of Pn33Fps and HBs was used as antigen to immunize mice with different immune doses, different immune procedures and different immune sites. Mouse spleen cells with higher antibody level after immunization were isolated and fused with SP2/0 myeloma cells. The hybridoma cells were screened specifically with Pn33Fps or HBs to prepare corresponding monoclonal antibodies.@*Results@#Serum antibodies against Pn33Fps and HBs were induced by immunizing mice with the conjugate. Monoclonal cell lines capable of continuously expressing antibodies against Pn33Fps or HBs were obtained. It has been proved that the recovery rates of samples of Pn33Fps and HBs prepared in three batches tested with ascites monoclonal antibodies prepared by these two monoclonal cell lines were between 95% and 105%.@*Conclusions@#Monoclonal antibodies against Pn33Fps and HBs could be prepared simultaneously by immunizing mice with the conjugate of Pn33Fps and HBs and used for the quantitative detection of Pn33Fps and HBs.

Epidemiological characteristics of herpes simplex virus / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Herpes simplex virus type 1 ( HSV-1 ) commonly causes orolabial ulcers. However, HSV-1 has become an increasing cause of genital infection in recent years and found to have close relation-ship associated with Alzheimer′s disease. HSV infection is one of the most common sexually transmitted dis-eases. It has been received renewed attention in recent years, due to improvements in the understanding of the epidemiological synergy between HSV and other severe diseases, including HIV, sexually transmitted in-fections, and even neurocognitive impairment. In the context of global renewed attention and responses to HSV infection, we summarize the epidemic of HSV infection at home and abroad in this review, to provide an overview of the data available on HSV infections situation, trends and responses.

Preparation of monoclonal antibodies against pneumococcal polysaccharide and hepatitis B virus sur-face protein / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective To prepare monoclonal antibodies against pneumonia serotype 33F polysac-charides (Pn33Fps) and hepatitis B virus ( HBV) surface proteins ( HBs) by using the conjugate of Pn33Fps and HBs as antigen. Methods The conjugate of Pn33Fps and HBs was used as antigen to immu-nize mice with different immune doses, different immune procedures and different immune sites. Mouse spleen cells with higher antibody level after immunization were isolated and fused with SP2/0 myeloma cells. The hybridoma cells were screened specifically with Pn33Fps or HBs to prepare corresponding monoclonal antibodies. Results Serum antibodies against Pn33Fps and HBs were induced by immunizing mice with the conjugate. Monoclonal cell lines capable of continuously expressing antibodies against Pn33Fps or HBs were obtained. It has been proved that the recovery rates of samples of Pn33Fps and HBs prepared in three bat-ches tested with ascites monoclonal antibodies prepared by these two monoclonal cell lines were between 95％ and 105％. Conclusions Monoclonal antibodies against Pn33Fps and HBs could be prepared simul-taneously by immunizing mice with the conjugate of Pn33Fps and HBs and used for the quantitative detection of Pn33Fps and HBs.

Expression characteristics of signaling molecules associated with innate immune response induced by HSV1 and HSV2 in respiratory and vaginal epithelial cells / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective To investigate the influences of herpes simplex virus 1 and 2 ( HSV1 and HSV2) infection on the expression of signaling molecules associated with innate immune response in respira-tory and vaginal epithelial cells for bettering understanding of HSV infection and pathological characteristics in the primary infection site, namely mucosal epithelial tissues. Methods KMB17 and VK2 cells were in-fected with HSV. Changes in cell morphology and inner structure after HSV infection were observed under optical microscope and scanning electron microscope, respectively. Viral proliferation in KMB17 and VK2 cells was detected by plaque assay, microcytopathic assay and real-time quantitative PCR. Expression of sig-naling molecules associated with innate immune response in virus-infected KMB17 and VK2 cells were ana-lyzed by real-time quantitative PCR. Results Both HSV1 and HSV2 could infect KMB17 and VK2 cells, and cause damage to cell morphology and inner structure after 12 hours. Both of the two viruses formed simi-lar plaque on the single layer of KMB17 and VK2 cells, although HSV2 proliferated slower than HSV1. There were differences in the expression of signaling molecules associated with innate immune response in-duced by the two viruses in KMB17 and VK2 cells. Conclusion Both HSV1 and HSV2 could infect and proliferate in epithelial cells ( KMB17 and VK2 cells) . Although there were slight differences in viral prolif-eration between them, significant differences in the expression of signaling molecules associated with innate immune response induced by the two viruses were observed.

Differences in clinical, pathological and etiological features of herpes simplex virus 1 infection in different BALB/c mouse models / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective To provide a comprehensive reference index for different mouse models of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) infection by investigating the related clinical manifestations, pathological features and characteristics of viral distribution in tissues and organs of BALB/c mice infected with different HSV-1 strains by using different strategies.Methods Acute infection models were established by challenging BALB/c mice at age three or six weeks with HSV-1 17+ and McKrae strains via intranasal and corneal administrations.Correspondingly, chronic infection models were established with BALB/c mice through subcutaneous and foot pad injections.Results Although all experimental mice showed trichiasis and roachback, there were differences in weight and fatality rate among different groups.Results of the quantitative PCR detection indicated that the proliferation of HSV-1 in the nervous tissues (brain, spinal cord, trigeminal ganglion) varied among different groups.The pathological examination indicated that in the acute infection groups, significant pathological changes only occurred in the brain tissues, while in the chronic infection groups, pathological injuries only occurred in the trigeminal ganglia.Although a key index latency-associated transcript (LAT) was not detected in the trigeminal nerve tissues of mice in the chronic infection groups, co-culturing the tissues with Vero cells resulted in infectious lesions in the cells.Conclusion This study indicates that there are significant differences in weight and fatality rate among different BALB/c mouse models of HSV-1 infection.Varied replication dynamics of HSV-1 were observed in different tissues or organs of the BALB/c mice in different groups.Therefore, different indexes should be adopted to evaluate different HSV-1 infection models.

Dynamic monitoring of anti-poliovirus neutralizing antibody and anti-hepatitis A virus IgG antibody in healthy children immunized with inactivated enterovirus 71 vaccine (human diploid cell) / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective To investigate the dynamic changes of three types of anti-poliovirus neutralizing antibodies and anti-hepatitis A virus (HAV) IgG antibody in children who were immunized with inactivated enterovirus 71 (EV71) vaccine (human diploid cell).Methods Serum samples were collected from the subjects immunized with inactivated EV71 vaccine.Neutralizing antibodies against EV71 and poliovirus were detected by micro-cytopathic effect neutralization test.Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect IgG antibody against HAV.Results The geometric mean titers (GMTs) of anti-EV71 neutralizing antibody increased to 4.85 following the first-dose injection of inactivated EV71 vaccine.A significant increase of GMTs (up to 64.37) could be observed 28 days after the second-dose vaccination.Meanwhile, results of the dynamic monitor showed that there were slight fluctuations in the neutralizing antibodies against three types of poliovirus on day 28 (28 days after the first-dose vaccination) compared with those on day 0 (before vaccination) (P0.05).The level of anti-HAV IgG antibody was stable and no significant difference was found during the observation period (P>0.05).Conclusion This study shows that inactivated EV71 vaccine has no impact on anti-HAV IgG antibody in Children during the two-dose vaccination and in anti-EV71 antibody-producing period, but has slight influence on the anti-poliovirus antibodies.In general, changes in antibody profile do not affect the clinical efficacy of immune response.

Biological characteristics of different epidemic enterovirus 71 strains and their pathogeneses in neonatal mice and rhesus monkeys.

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) has been prevalent in China since 2008. Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is a common causative agent of HFMD, and various strains of EV71 are prevalent worldwide. The EV71C4 subgenotype is the most endemic strain in China. However, few studies investigating the biological characteristics and pathogeneses of different C4 strains have been reported. Therefore, the current study investigated 19 clinical EV71 strains in neonatal ICR mice and neonatal rhesus monkeys by comparing pathogenicity; the virulence of different viral passages, dosages, and routes of infection; and the effects produced by subject animal age. These 19 clinical EV71 strains, which were of the same subtype, displayed varying pathogenic effects. Three strains (HE31, 231 and 262) induced limb paralysis in neonatal ICR mice. In addition, the degree of virulence was largely dependent upon the dose, route of infection, and number of passages of the challenge virus, as well as the ages of the infected animals. The present study provides valuable basic data to enable further research into EV71 pathogenesis and to facilitate the development of new drugs and vaccines.

Application of genome editing technologies in researches on herpes simplex virus 1 / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

The viral genome editing technologies have been shown to largely contribute to the stud-ies of viral gene functions and to the treatment of infectious diseases. With the development of genetic engi-neering technologies, a variety of viral genome mutation technologies have been established. The homologous recombination is traditionally used to edit the viral genome, but the low frequency of homologous recombina-tion limits its application. Large genome DNA viruses including herpes simplex virus 1 can be edited by bac-terial artificial chromosome system. However, the cloning of viral genome to bacterial artificial chromosome plasmid is both laborious and time-consuming, and parts of the plasmid genes or drug selection markers may remain in the genome of virus and then affect the function of virus. Fortunately, the CRISPR-cas9 system which was discovered in 2013 can be used to edit the viral genome efficiently and accurately. Furthermore, the experiment is simple and will not leave any trail of the viral genome when the genetic mutation is per-formed. Here, we briefly review the application of homologous recombination, bacterial artificial chromosome system and CRISPR-cas9 system in researches on herpes simplex virus 1.

Cloning of UL7 protein of HSV-1 and analysis of the expression of UL7 protein during the prolifera-tion of HSV-1 / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective To express and purify the recombinant UL7 protein of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), to prepare the corresponding UL7-specific polyclonal antibody and to preliminarily analyze the expression of UL7 protein during the proliferation of HSV-1. Methods The UL7 gene was amplified by PCR and then cloned into the pGEX-5X-1 vector for expression of UL7 protein in the prokaryotic expression system. The constructed expression plasmid, pGEX-5X-1-UL7, was transformed into E. coli BL21 (DE3) to induce the expression of UL7 protein by IPTG. The purified GST-UL7 fusion protein was used as antigen to inject the ICR mouse for the preparation of polyclonal antibody specific for UL7 protein. The titer and speci-ficity of the polyclonal antibody were analyzed by using indirect ELISA and Western blot assay, respectively. The UL7 protein-specific polyclonal antibody was used to detect the expression of UL7 protein at different time points after infecting Vero cells with HSV-1. Results The GST-UL7 fusion protein was efficiently ex-pressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3). The UL7 protein-specific polyclonal antibody was prepared with high titer (1 ∶ 105) and high specificity as indicated by the indirect ELISA and Western blot assay. The expression of UL7 protein was detected at different time points after infecting Vero cells with HSV-1. Conclusion The GST-UL7 fusion protein was obtained successfully and the UL7 protein-specific polyclonal antibody was pre-pared. Accompany with the proliferation of HSV-1, the expression of UL7 protein was detected at different time points by using the polyclonal antibody.