Analysis of Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus genome and implications for recombinant JE vaccine

From the information of nucleotide sequences and deduced amino acid sequences of flaviviruses including JEV, we can postulate processing mechanisms of a polyprotein translated from single long open reading frame of the genome and mechanisms of construction of antigenic structures of structural proteins with biologically active forms after these proteins are translated. The results of comparative analysis of amino acid sequences among flaviviruses and epitope analysis on the E proteins which are the most important antigens for protective immunity suggest that the E protein of flaviviruses may have a similar structure closely related to each other. PrM and E proteins which had predictable signal sequences upstream on the N terminals were expressed with antigenically active form and molecular size the same as the authentic ones by the recombinant viruses. However, the recombinant viruses which had no such signal sequence expressed unprocessed proteins with antigenically denatured forms. These results suggest that normal proteolytic processing is needed to construct biologically active structures of JEV structural proteins. The E proteins which were expressed by the recombinant viruses as antigenically active form could elicit nutralizing and HI antibodies in animals and protective immunity in mice. The recombinant vaccinia viruses which express the E protein could induce strong immunologic memory against the E protein in mice. These results indicate that the development of a new type of vaccine against JEV will become possible in future.