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Updated: May 14, 2026
Intranasal Administration of Recombinant Influenza Vaccines in Chimeric Mouse Models to Study Mucosal Immunity
Published on: June 25, 2015
Enhanced Influenza VLP vaccines comprising matrix-2 ectodomain and nucleoprotein epitopes protects mice from lethal
Xiao Gao1, Wenjuan Wang, Yufeng Li
1Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing 100071, China.
Abstract:
The matrix protein 2ectodomain (M2e) of the influenza A virus is a rational target antigen candidate for the development of a universal influenza virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine. In this study, a recombinant M2 protein with three tandem copies of M2e (3M2e), nucleoprotein (NP) epitopes and hepatitis B virus core (HBc), were expressed in Escherichia coli and purified by column chromatography. Mice immunized with 3M2e-NP-HBc in combination with an oil-in-water SP01 adjuvant produced robust M2e specific antibodies and cellular immune responses. Most importantly, the 3M2e-NP-HBc VLP vaccine provided enhanced protection against a lethal challenge with pandemic 2009 H1N1 and HPAI H5N1 virus through increased survival rates, a significant decrease in viral replication, and obvious alleviation of histopathological lung changes in challenged mice. Our results imply that a cellular immune response to NP is a plausible mechanism mediating this enhanced protection. These findings suggest that 3M2e-NP-HBc VLP has great potential as the basis development of a broadly protective influenza vaccine.
