Package of NDV-pseudotyped HIV-Luc virus and its application in the neutralization assay for NDV infection

Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is a member of the Paramyxovirinae subfamily and can infect most species of birds. It has been a great threat for the poultry industry all around the world. In this report, we successfully produced infectious pseudotyped pNL4-3-Luc-R(-)E(-) (HIV-Luc) viruses with the HN and F envelope proteins of NDV. Further investigation revealed the cytoplasmic domains of HN and F, especially HN, plays a significant role in the infection efficiency of these pseudotyped HIV-Luc viruses. Replacement of, or direct fusion to the cytoplasmic domain of the HN protein by that of vesicular stomatitis virus G (VSV-G) could greatly enhance or destroy the infective potential of HN and F-pseudotyped (NDV-pseudotyped) HIV-Luc virus. We further established a novel neutralization assay to evaluate neutralizing antibodies against NDV with the NDV-pseudotyped HIV-Luc viruses. Comparative neutralization data indicate that the results determined by using the NDV-pseudotyped HIV-Luc viruses are as reliable as those by the conventional virus-neutralization assay (VN test) with native NDV. Moreover, the results show that the novel neutralization assay is more sensitive than the VN test.